Tinkerbell's Pages

On loving reminiscing with This Life...

For those of you out there who know me, you will know that it does not really take much to please me. Therefore, words cannot express my delight at the news that the fantastic TV programme This Life is currently being shown again on our TV screens. For those of you unaware of its existence - it's a cult show which was first shown in 1996 about a group of twenty-something friends (Miles, Anna, Milly, Egg and Warren - pictured above) who work in law and share a house together in London. There's loads of swearing, sex, alcohol and drugs (it's a bit like a grittier, dirtier British version of Friends) and it's absolutely fantastic. There are loads of dodgy camera angles and they play Radiohead songs in the background. A LOT. What more can you ask for?! I remember watching it when I was in my late teens in my bedroom with my boyfriend at home and being totally gripped by it. Now as I watch it I reminisce shamelessly about the 1990s (I seem to be doing that a lot lately). In those days I had just left school, I was at university and the world was my oyster. How quickly times change! (Still have the same lovely boyfriend though!) I especially like it when they have fleeting shots of Miles and Anna leaving Chancery Lane tube station, as it reminds me of a very happy time in my life when I tempted in an office just down the road from there. Ahhhh, the memories.....

And the reason this fantastic piece of televisual nostalgia has been brought back to our screens? It's because they're going to show a ten-year anniversary Christmas special!!! I'm just too excited to write any more. It's just TOO good : )

On sweating my way through Superman...

Went to see the new Superman movie last night. Wasn't expecting too much of it to be honest, since the trailers I had seen didn't really inspire me. We decided to go and see it anyway because the boyfriend and I do normally enjoy a good superhero movie. Anyway, when we got the the cinema and bought our tickets we were informed that the air-conditioning in the building was not working. I didn't think this would be too much of a problem because I generally spend about 99% of my life feeling cold, but we armed ourselves with drinks and ice-cream (which I think they should have given us for free) and headed for our seats.

The heat hit us as soon as we got in. I had worn jeans and trainers because usually I feel cold in the cinema with the air-conditioning on. However, I was HOT. I took off my socks and trainers which did help the situation slightly, but then did seriously consider sitting in my bra several times during the film. I could have taken my T-shirt off because obviously it was dark and there weren't that many people in there. My sister and boyfriend wouldn't have minded at all, but I didn't think my brother would have been too impressed at the sight, so I sat there and sweated it out. The movie was actually not too bad and entertaining enough, although it did seem to go on for quite a long time. But that could have been because we had run out of drinks and ice-cream by the end... : )

On seeing the Da Vinci Code ...

Went to see The Da Vinci Code as planned last night. My brother decided to come along too at the last minute which was nice. Well, what can I say? I don't feel that I can comment completely fairly and make comparisons between the book and the film, since I have only just started reading the book. However, both siblings accompanying me last night have read the whole book and seemed to quite enjoy the film. Maybe it was because I was tired due to the length of the movie (it did seem to be about 5 hours long), but I found myself struggling to keep up with the twists and turns of the plot at some points, or even which country the action was taking place in. (Are we now in Paris, London, somewhere else? Who knows?!) It was an enjoyable enough thriller, but it did seem unnecessarily long - and let's be honest, there's only so much of Tom Hanks a person can take. In my humble opinion, he reached his peak way back in the 1980s with Big and it's all been going downhill from there ...

Anyway, I digress. On the subject of mysteries (although this is perhaps not such a controversial and world-changing one), I've 'misplaced' a very important box of computer disks and can't find them anywhere. I even ventured into school to look for them this morning, but alas, to no avail. Aaaarrghhh - I just HATE losing things. Where are the code-breakers and mystery-solvers of this world when a girl REALLY needs help?! I ask you.

On going to see X-Men 3 ...

Went to see X-Men 3 on Saturday. The boyfriend's a bit of a movie buff and we used to go to the cinema at least once a month, but we hadn't been for ages so decided to go. Anyway, for pure escapism and a bit of comic-book fun, there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours. In this third film of the series, scientists have discovered a special child who carries a gene which can 'cure' mutants and make them 'normal' people. This announcement proves to be very controversial among the mutant population (stick with me here...), with some who have been trying all their lives to hide or rid themselves of their particular mutation supporting the new findings and others who embrace their mutant powers appalled by it. Or something.

All very silly really, but if the makers of the film were trying to make a profound statement about acceptance and being proud of who you are etc., it was kind of lost on me due to the following distractions in the film: (a) the appearance of a large blue furry Kelsey Grammer (aka Frasier Crane), (b) a completely pointless performance from Vinny Jones as a cocky mutant Juggernaunt (?!); and (c) most off-putting - Halle Berry's terrible eighties fright-wig which she wears for the entire film. What were the wardrobe department thinking?! Anyway, if you can get past these things, it's worth a watch because it's all good fun and the special effects are great!

On the eagerly-awaited return of Big Brother ...

I don't know why the boyfriend and I bother. At around this time every year, we see the adverts for the latest Big Brother on TV and both pretend to each other that we're really not interested in it at all. Yet, every year without fail, we both get sucked in and spend weeks getting slowly more obsessed by the whole thing. When I say obsessed, we're really not THAT sad, but we always end up watching it together until it finally finishes at the end of July. I'm happy to report that neither of us have actually done any of the following: (a) voted to keep/get rid of any of the contestants, (b) missed a night out to stay in and watch it, (c) watched the 'live streaming' (which mainly consists of watching the contestants sleeping), or (d) been to an eviction night. We have however both: (a) videoed it if we are going out so that we can watch it later, (b) been so angry/amused/disgusted by it that we've ended up shouting at the TV, (c) had long and involved debates about upcoming/recent evictions and (d) been just a little sad when it's finished at the end of the series.

Well, it all starts again this Thursday night and I might as well admit that I'm looking forward to it! Somehow May, June and July would never be the same again without it. There's also the added bonus of getting to see the lovely Dermot O'Leary every day presenting Big Brother's Little Brother and the hysterical Russell Brand presenting the E-Forum or whatever it might be called this time round. Unfortunately, I'm out at yoga on Thursday and the boyfriend's working late, so we might just have to tape it and watch it later on in the evening : )