Mix It Up This Valentine’s Day!!

Valentine’s day is slowly drawing near, a time where we tell the people we love just how much they mean to us (As if, somehow, you’re not supposed to do that all year round). Every couple wants the special day to be perfect; chocolates and a fancy meal are usually a safe bet. But why not mix things up a little bit this year. Here are a few of my picks that are sure to make your valentine’s day something to be remembered:

Gifts: Subscription Boxes

When it comes to a cute valentine’s day gift, subscription boxes really are the gift that keeps giving (If you get what I’m saying 🙂 ). As such I’ve done some trawling through the internet and found some really interesting subscription boxes that’ll deliver something special to your door every month.

http://vinylmeplease.com/ – For the retro lover in your life, Vinyl Me Please is one of the most interesting subscription boxes I’ve come across. Each month they personally pick out and send you a limited edition record – which is pretty awesome! Normally I’m quite picky with my music and wouldn’t really trust someone who I didn’t know picking music for me. However, if you look at the vinyl’s that have previously been on offer it’s safe to say the people have great taste. You can either sign up for a regular delivery or arrange a gift subscription which enables the person to have a few random Vinyls, as well as select a Vinyl from their pretty expansive collection. If you love music, then you should totally look into this!

https://www.trytheworld.com/ – This subscription box is a real must have for foodies of all shapes and sizes and offers you and your loved one a chance to explore the various foods and cultures from around the world. Every 2 months they send you a box containing various ingredients and goodies from a particular country for you to try in the comfort of your own home. This is great, as they are often foods that very rare or obscure and quite hard to find on their own. It also comes with a fun little booklet telling you more about each country and the culture, with facts, information about popular songs and films to check out.

https://thecravory.com/ – For the people who have more of a sweet tooth, The Cravory is well worth looking into. Every month, depending on which subscription you pick, they send you a variety of delicious cookies to your door for you and your partner to chow down on. These would be absolutely perfect for when you both just want to chill together and can’t be bothered to cook anything. They’ve got a really cool selection of flavours so I’m sure there’s something for everyone.

One of the staples of valentine’s day is the inevitable romantic movie night. So I figured I’d throw in a few more unconventional suggestions that should (hopefully) be a nice change to your standard Rom Com with the huge celebrity cast for you lot to watch.

Her

Simply summing up what makes Spike Jones’ “Her” so utterly incredible is rather difficult, it has great cinematography, the script is genius, and the performances are fantastic. But, that isn’t why I love it, it just makes me feel so emotionally attached. Joaquin Phoenix plays a shy, reserved man who falls in love with his Siri-like operating system (played by Scarlet Johansson) and through their love begins to come out his shell. Now, a man falling in love with his phone may sound a bit weird, however it really works! Their relationship just seems so genuine and authentic as if we are watching a long distance relationship from one perspective.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Not only is this film probably in my top 15 favourite films ever made, it’s also a perfect date night film if you and your significant other are slightly nerdy or pop-culture obsessed. Based on the awesome books by Brian O’Malley, Michael Cera (who’s just so loveable) plays Scott Pilgrim a bassist in a band who falls in love with a girl called Ramona flowers. However, all is not as it seems and Scott has to fight his way through Ramona’s “7 evil exes” in order to win her affection. Packed full of hilarious gags and obscure references; if you haven’t seen this film yet you totally should!

Juno

Juno is one of those incredibly rare feel good films that never gets old and pretty much invented the Indie-comedy genre. Ellen Page plays Juno, a smart and sarcastic teenager, who all of a sudden finds herself pregnant. Following the reveal, she faces a lot of trials and tribulations as she decides whether to put the baby up for adoption, or look after it with the father (Michael Cera – who just seems to have a knack at these types of comedies). The film is absolutely heart-warming, witty and just generally hilarious.

The Lobster

The Lobster was one of my favourite Indie films of last year and is absolutely perfect for the kind of person who’s a bit cynical of the whole dating thing. This is the first English Language film by Yorgos Lanthimos and is a wonderfully unique dark comedy. In a strange alternate future, Colin Farrell plays a man who has recently become single and is forced to go to a hotel where if you don’t fall in love in 45 days you get turned into an animal and released into the wilderness. This film offers an incredibly unusual take on the dating world and is probably the strangest film on the list but is well worth a watch if you’re into artier comedies or independent films.

So, there we have it! Those are my tips for switching up your valentine’s day. I’ve also attached a playlist full of interesting songs exploring the theme of love in some way or another (I hope you enjoy them!!). Thank you so much for reading, whatever you do this weekend I hope you have an absolutely incredible time. If you have anything you want me to look at or post about in the future let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do!

Much Love xx

Sam 🙂

Hipster Film Club: Submarine (2010)

So, as a huge movie buff, one of my favourite things in the world is discovering a little cinematic gem of a film that I was previously unaware of. That feeling of stumbling across a movie that not many people had heard of, but deserves to been seen. As such I’ve decided to introduce a new segment called “Hipster Film Club” in which I look at slightly lesser known (or overlooked) films. To get the ball rolling I’ve decided to look at one of my favourite coming of age films – Submarine 🙂

Submarine is a quirky coming of age drama/comedy directed by British comedian Richard Ayoade (who you might know from TV shows such as “The IT Crowd”). Now, I know a lot of people (me included) who tend to cringe at the very mention of a “coming of age drama”. They are normally either seeped in teenage angst and melodrama or crazily pretentious (talking about “moments of awakening” or something like that). However, Submarine manages to bring something incredibly fresh and innovative to the genre. The story focuses on a boy named Oliver Tate and his teenage years in a small Welsh village, during which he has to struggle with maintaining a relationship with his girlfriend whilst also trying to re-kindle his parents dying marriage. This in itself may not sound particularly revolutionary, however it’s the character themselves, the tone, wittiness and deadpan ‘tongue-in-cheek’ humour that make this movie truly special.

The script (and the straight-faced “Wes Anderson-esque” delivery of the lines by the actors) is genuinely hilarious.  I’ve always had a great love for comedies that rely on a combination of clever dialogue, and bucket loads of sarcasm, and Submarine delivers this kind of comedy. The majority of the humour in the film comes from the crazy, quirky characters and their interactions they have with the other characters and their interactions with one another. Be it a crazy new-age hippie guru, a rebellious teenage love interest, or the main character of Oliver – a cinephile who is wise beyond his years (yet still quite socially awkward), the characters just work so well together to provide excellent comedic moments.

Despite all of the comedy Submarine is also incredibly heartfelt. Tackling a lot of interesting and important issues and events that effect a lot of people as they grow up. Living in a relatively small town in Britain I never really connected with many of the other coming of age dramas. Not in the way a lot of other people did. I was never a jock (in fact I’m not entirely sure I know what a ‘jock’ is), I never had a “super sweet sixteen” and prom was never really a big thing. However, there’s just something about Submarine that was different for me. The film is pretty much universal and has something to say for almost anyone from any walk of life.

The film also has an absolutely phenomenal soundtrack by Alex Turner (from the Arctic Monkeys). The songs just fit the scenes perfectly, enhancing the melancholic scenes and adding extra emphasis to the feelings of youthfulness throughout the movie. After I watched the film, the first thing I did was go and find the soundtrack and I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since (I’ll attach a link to it at the bottom of this review if you want to check it out).

If you’re even vaguely curious about this film, I’d say it’s well worth a look if you can find it. I really enjoyed it, and I get the feeling you will too.

Have you seen Submarine? If so I’d love to hear your thoughts on the film in the comments below. Thank you so much for all your support and kind words about this it really means the world to me!! If you haven’t already I’d love it if you follow me on twitter (@reelreviewdude) and like my Facebook page!

I hope you all have a great week 🙂

Sam 🙂 x

2015: Looking Back

WE MADE IT!! 2015 is finally over, and what a year it’s been.

Around about this time of year everyone puts up a sort of arbitrary “Best of *insert year*” post where they look at the various things that happened this year and give their thoughts. So I figured “if I can’t beat them, why not join them?”. This is going to be an incredibly brief breakdown of my favourite films, and albums that 2015 had to offer. I’ve decided to limit myself to two films and one album in order to keep this list vaguely concise (as let’s face it – I could talk about this stuff for hours!!). With all that out the way let’s get started on our list!

FILMS

I’m going to be perfectly honest with you guys I found it quite hard to narrow this down to two films. I remember sitting looking at all of the films that were coming out this year and I couldn’t help but get excited. We had revivals of beloved franchises like Jurassic Park, Terminator (but we can look over that one) and yes STAR WARS, great animated films such as Inside Out, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and Song Of The Sea, and incredibly interesting gems that took me by surprise (such as Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Lobster and Tangerine). However, they were just beaten to the post by these films

Ex Machina

Ex Machina was a wonderful little Sci Fi gem that came out in January (before my blog was really a thing). It’s the classic bluebeard story with all the makings of a classic psychological thriller with an incredibly tense claustrophobic atmosphere and great central performances by Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander. This film was placed joint 3^rd on my list of films I was most looking forward to in 2015. It took a while for me to completely connect with the films, however, upon multiple viewings I absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop thinking about it. If you’re into really intelligent Sci Fi films then this film is totally for you.

Crimson Peak

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favourite directors working at the moment. His films just have this phenomenal attention to detail and craftsmanship, and Crimson Peak is his most lavish film to date. A lot of people gave this film a lukewarm reception, however I thought it was incredible. It was absolutely stunning to look at from a visual point of view (with its giant mansion with long dingy corridors and red ooze seeping through the floor boards), the performances were great (with Jessica Chastain absolutely killing it as the monstrous Lucile) and the entire thing was seeped in all of the troupes of classic Gothic literature. This film received the highest rating of any film I reviewed this year (9.4) and I really can’t sing this films praises enough.

You can check out my full review of Crimson Peak here: https://reelreviewdude.wordpress.com/2015/11/08/crimson-peak-movie-review/

MUSIC

Music was a huge part of this year for me. I’m the kind of person who likes to have music playing whenever possible. As such I have quite a varied music taste and do a lot of exploration and experimentation with what I listen to. There were a lot of albums that I was really looking forward to, such as the new albums by Muse and Of Monsters and Men (two of my favourite bands) and one of my favourite vocalists Chris Cornell’s “Higher Truth”. However, there was one album in particular that took me completely by surprise.

Tomorrow Is Nearly Yesterday and Everyday Is Stupid – Crywank

I stumbled on a lot of really new and interesting upcoming albums this year, such as “dc snuff film/waste yrself” by Teen Suicide and “The Ark Work” by Liturgy. But with one of the greatest band/album names ever “Tomorrow Is Nearly Yesterday and Everyday Is Stupid” by Crywank takes the spot. With a sound reminiscent of The Smiths (my favourite band) with a slightly acoustic folk twist, this album is absolutely perfect. The lyrics capture teenage melancholy brilliantly and the awesome instrumental work makes this album worth coming back to time and time again. This album was on loop for pretty much all of 2015 and I feel that everyone needs to listen to it at least once in their lives.

Favourite Songs: Leech Boy, Notches, and If I Were You I’d Be Throwing Up

Thank You so much for reading (it means a lot!!). I hope your 2016 has kicked off to a good start and that the rest of the year brings you love, friendship, great memories, and everything you could possibly ever hope for.

Much Love

Sam 🙂 x

Hey, 2016!- Reflection & January Playlist Part I

Last night as I cruised my way into the new year, I was listening to a local indie radio station. Every single song seemed to have played a big part of my life this past year, whether they were bands I’d seen in concert or just a few favorite tunes. It seemed as if it was almost fate, and because it’s the first of the month I figured I’d incorporate these songs into one of January’s playlists. This first playlist will contain some songs I heard on the radio last night, and will also be a tribute to my favorite bands and top songs of 2015.  Stay tuned for another playlist with new, fresh bands to ease you into 2016.

The end of the year was bittersweet, I saw a few of my friends and got some phone calls from around the world. 2015 had it’s ups and downs: I met some life long friends and went to a lot of music festivals, started college, got a social media internship, and even fell in and out of love a few times. This year was really one where I gained some independence and learned how to make peace with lost relationships. I have some high hopes for the new year, and I’m going to try my all to do all the things I want to do without letting anything hold me back. I hope the same for you, reader. I would like to say a special thank you to everyone to has stuck around to read my blog over the past year. All 2,000 of you (from over 80 different countries!) mean so much to me and have made this blog a success. I love you all very much, and I’m sending all of my positive energy your way. Let’s make this year one for the books! Merry 2016!

-Steph

A LESSER KNOWN CHRISTMAS TREAT – TANGERINE FILM REVIEW :)

I love Christmas! It’s the perfect time to get together with family and friends, eat good food, and just generally have a fun time. It’s also a great opportunity to sit back and watch some classic Christmas movies. You know the ones you can just put in and just relax on the sofa wrapped in copious blankets. This familiarity can be a good thing. However, after a while a lot of these films begin to lose their edge and become a little bit ‘safe’ (and dare I say it – boring). So I found a really great little independent Christmas (ish) comedy that came out this year called “Tangerine” that I thought I’d share with you (as it totally deserves to be seen by more people).

Tangerine primarily tells the story of Sin-Dee Rella, a transgender sex-worker, and her friend Alexandria over the course of one Christmas Eve (which makes it slightly festive – I guess?) . After spending 28 days in prison Sin-Dee comes out to discover that her “boyfriend” (who is really more like a pimp) has been cheating on her with another girl. Sin-dee then embarks on a raucous path of destruction as she hunts down the girl responsible across town, with her friend Alexandria picking up the pieces along the way.

What makes this film so great are the characters that inhabit this world. A lot of films seem to be focusing on Transgender characters (be it Jared Leto in “Dallas Buyers Club” or Eddie Redmayne in “Danish Girl”) however what Tangerine does with these characters is truly special. They just feel so genuine, they don’t try and sugar-coat them or make them out to be something they’re not. They are real people with real human flaws and imperfections that are just so endearing. They’re hilarious (funnier than most comedies I’ve seen this year), they’re heartfelt at times, and I had a lot of fun following them over the course of the movie.  It isn’t condescending or judge-y in its portrayal, it clearly has a lot of love and affection for the characters and I think that shows through the various multi-faceted personality traits they have given them. Tangerine is worth watching just to see these characters put to screen.

The performances in this film are genuinely incredible. The main characters of Sin-Dee and Alexandria absolutely steal the scene every time they appear on screen. In my opinion both of them deserve an awards nomination in the category of “best-breakthrough” or something like that. The other performances by the various side characters that show up along the way. Being a smaller, more independent film, a lot of the people had never acted before (or this was their first feature film). However, they could go toe-to-toe with most actors working at the moment.

It’s also phenomenally shot. The film was entirely recorded on iPhones (which got it a lot of coverage, because let’s face it that’s actually pretty impressive). But, what’s more impressive is that it still looks better visually than most films nowadays. The colours are so vibrant and seem to burst off the screen, giving the movie a stylishness almost music video-like quality.

If you want an incredibly fun film, that will be a good laugh to sit and watch around this time of year then tangerine is a must! It only came out this year, however it is already in my top 10 Christmas films and is one of my favourite films of the year. I don’t know if it’s still in cinemas (as it had a pretty small release), but you should definitely look out for it in the future.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you have an absolutely fantastic Christmas (full of food, family and all of those awesome things). Have you had a chance to see Tangerine? What films do you love watching at this time of year (for me its Gremlins and Raymond Briggs’ “The Snowman”)? Let me know in the comments below.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Sam 🙂

Take a Listen: Oh Wonder

Hey guys! I’ve decided that I’m going to start a new weekly post topic called “Take a Listen”. Each post will include the best new artists around (or maybe one depending on the week). To kick off a new column, I present you with Oh Wonder!

I first heard one of Oh Wonder’s songs on a Spotify Indie Electronica playlist that I threw on one day over the summer when packing for a vacation. I remember having a moment of complete awe when I heard the first notes to their song “Drive”, and I’ve completely fallen in love with the band ever since. Oh Wonder is a melodic pop duo made up of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht. The band formed in London back in 2014, and that September they began releasing a song every month for the whole year. Therefore their self-titled debut album was released on September 4th of 2015. I featured “Drive” and “Technicolor Beat” on my Freckhled Back to School Playlist, and a mind-blowing, energetic “Lose It” remix by Jerry Folk on this month’s playlist! Oh Wonder is hands down the best breakout band of 2015, and I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us. Listen here for a small Spotify playlist of my favorite songs by them, and don’t forget to take a look at their website.

Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy. Thanks for listening. xx

-Steph

**Disclaimer: I do not own any pictures used unless otherwise stated.

Freckhled September Playlist

Hey, cool cats! I’m back once again with my monthly playlists, picking back up with this month, September! The vibes for this playlist have started off with a more electronic ambient feel, with a few remixes that I’ve completely fallen in love with. As always I will keep updating daily, and I will also be taking song requests! I think it would be really cool to hear back from all of you who read this blog, so feel free to comment with any suggestions! Also don’t forget to comment with any new post ideas, or just anything you would like to see more of! Thanks for listening! Enjoy! xx

-Steph

Freckhled Back to School Playlist

Hello, hello! I am back from my summer long hiatus, I quit my job at my local movie theatre, got another tattoo, and started college! Things have been very hectic due to all of the traveling and moving around I’ve been doing, but I am back now and more ready than ever! I have compiled a Back to School Playlist which consists of some new and upcoming musicians, as well as some old, feel good classics. This playlist is perfect for anything from moving into your dorm, chilling with your roommates, or even doing homework. As always it will be updated daily so keep checking it often to hear some new music. I wish you all the best of luck in the new school year, and once again: Thanks for listening. xx

-Steph

Freckhled February Playlist

Hello to my favorite month of the year: February! My birthday is on the 13th, which means it falls on Friday the 13th this year which is super gnarly plus the following day is Valentine’s Day (HOORAY FOR BEING SINGLE). Anywho I’ve put together this month’s playlist with songs that have been recently released and a few songs that I’ve heard around and liked. I will be updating this playlist daily, so make sure to keep checking it! Feel free to follow my soundcloud to listen to more tracks I love. I hope you enjoy.

Oh and happy belated birthday to the world’s most beautiful man, Harry Styles.

Happy February, enjoy. xx

-Steph