Smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile.

After suffering from a slight bout of negativity these past few days I've finally made a recovery of sorts. I was feeling a bit downtrodden about the Journalism side of my course as I was unsure whether or not that I wanted to do it for another two years. I looked at ways of getting out of it, particularly by swapping it for a course that I may enjoy more so, such as Film Studies or English. However, I've decided against it and here is a list of reasons as to why:

• Both Journalism and the other courses that I was interested in had their pros and cons that would make me uneasy with the courses. At least with Journalism I know what I'm to expect now.
• Thinking in the long run, a joint honours with Journalism will be more beneficial than one with Film Studies.
• I can always study subjects such as Film Studies/English etc etc at a later date.

So, now I'm feeling a bit more cheery, especially after making my first ever chilli earlier (unashamedly from a jar) which was tip top, watching Breaking Bad and realising I have just over a week before I'm back at home.

Moving on, one thing I've noticed with people out and about that grinds (no bad language here, kids) me down is that they all need to be a bit more positive. It annoys me when I walk past people with their eyes towards the ground making little effort to be pleasent. I just think it would be much better, and mentally more healthy for people to keep their chin and try to raise a smile every once in a while. I'm not asking you to overly assert your positivity into everyones faces, but I do believe smiles are contagious, which is good, very good! And if you want someone to do it for, think of the children...

Moving on, a couple of updates in my world of TV and film:

My Neighbour Totoro is absolutely brilliant. I've been a bit lazy with my half-promise to watch the five Studio Ghibli films I have and review them, but I have watched this one at last. The film is colourful, pleasent and extremely imaginative. Sure it's main target audience are kids, but there's definitely a sense that the film (and Studio Ghibli films in general) has also been made with an older audience in mind. The story is simple to follow and little conflict is thrown in, which by the time things get a bit tense towards the end you'll find yourself thoroughly enjoying what the film has to offer. 7/10

Walking Dead Season 2 finale was without any sense of irony, absolutely epic. It was tense, surprising and quite gory, but not overly done. The first half of the episode showed the intense battle between Rick, Hershel and the rets of the farm against the herd of walkers. A couple of twists are thrown in, although they aren't too surprising for anyone who's read the comics (SPOILER: Michonne's arival, the prison, truth about zombie infection) although it's interesting to see that Andrea has been split from the group and I'm excited to see where they go with that in season 3. The second half of the episode deals with the aftermath of the prior event, where the above twists are introduced and everyone deals with the deaths of some of their friends. It makes up for some of the lacklustre happenings in previous episodes and rounds up the show so far excellently. 9/10

I'd review the pilot of Breaking Bad, but is was first aired years ago and so I'm going to review the first season once I'm finished watching it instead.

Song(s) of the Day:

Alexisonfire - "Hey, It's Your Funeral Mama"
Funeral for a Friend - This Year's Most Open Heartbreak
Dear Prudence - Valentine

Source Code.

I watched a very, very good film last night. It was so good in fact, that it takes my place as the best film of 2012 so far (despite it's 2011 release), over Drive. This film would be Source Code, a sci-fi thriller that runs along similar lines to Twelve Monkeys (also highly recommended). As such, I believe it deserves a review on this here blog.

Source Code (2011)

Source Code went very much under the radar. Despite starring Hollywood hits Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) and Vera Farmiga (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) I didn't hear about Source Code until I was at a friends house in August 2011 when his dad had asked him about it. Now nearly a third way through 2012, I've finally seen this marvelous and captivating film. The base plot of the film is that army helicoptor pilot Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) is put through a machine, known as the Source Code where upon he is instructed by Captain Colleen Goodwin (Farmiga) and is given eight minutes to find out about the bombing of a mainline Chicago train and help prevent any further bombings. Unaware of how he got himself into the situation he is currently in, Stevens desperataly races against time to find out what he is doing on the train as well trying to find out who was behind the bombing.

If I were to say anything more about the plot would ruin it - as such is the richness and boldness of the films storyline. Gyllenhaal's performance is brilliant and he helps to further cement his place as one of Hollywood's finest actors. The style is slick, and the always changing realities will have you guessing at what is coming next. Despite not having a massive plot-twist it is far from predictable and even at it's short run time (a measly 93 minutes) the film does well to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat from the very first scene.

All in all, visually impressive and a well acted plotline.

9/10

Oh, and let us not forget this...

Song of the Day:

Asking Alexandria - Someone, Somewhere (Acoustic)