films

Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Another week down and another month gone. We’re almost halfway through 2023 and I think it’s going okay. Certainly better than the previous few years I suppose. The whole pandemic feels both current and like old news. To think it was only a few years ago that we were stuck inside and wearing masks everywhere. Fair play to anyone still wearing one. I completely buckled as soon as the majority of people did. I achieved my greatest reading year ever in 2021 because of the pandemic. I finally crossed the 100 books mark. I feel great that I managed it once but I know that it will be tricky to do it again. I’m ahead of schedule for my target this year but I’m putting less pressure on myself. I want to read more of the books I own and some of the longer ones I’ve been putting off. I need to improve my attention span when it comes to reading.

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Film Review – Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

films, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

According to multiverse theory, there is at least one universe in which Edgar Wright directed the first Ant-Man film. I like to think in that universe, the Ant-Man franchise was a much bigger success than it’s turned out to be in our universe. I’ve tried so hard to love these films because I think there’s so much potential. If I’m honest, I think I’ve always been a bit forgiving of these films. I’ve always loved an underdog and these films were always Marvel’s underdogs. They benefited from having Paul Rudd in the main role alongside a great cast. It was just the storytelling. Nobody really knew what to do with Scott or Hope. The second film was disappointing, so I can’t say I was looking forward to the third. One of the reasons why it’s taken so long to get around to watching it. The other reason being my general boredom with the MCU of late. It’s just too much these days. The different phases used to last for 2, 3 or even 4 years. Now it’s basically 1.5. Marvel is a content farm these days and I’m struggling to care.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

It’s been so hot this weekend. I’m not at all ready for the sun, so I’ve been madly trying to stock up on Summer clothes. I need to be ready for more record-breaking temperatures like last year. Those few days of scorching weather were just unbearable. This is the UK. We should not be getting into these situations. I was having to sleep under a towel soaked in cold water. It’s not even the kind of weather that you can sit outside in. It’s just too much. You’d find me cowering inside with the curtains closed. Anything to avoid being burnt t a crisp. If I even see a glimpse of the sun, I go red. It’s just not worth the hassle. Good job reading is the kind of hobby that doesn’t force you outside unless you want it to.

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Film Review – Air (2023)

films, reviews

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

There’s something to be said about the power of certain actors. One of the only reasons that I wanted to watch this film was because of Viola Davis. She’s such a powerhouse of an actor and could make anything seem great. I guess I also love Jason Bateman but he’s hardly as consistent with his film choices. And Ben Affleck? He’s been doing good things lately but I wasn’t sure that he would be able to make this concept work in the same way he made Argo work. After all, there’s something tricky about an underdog story about one of the biggest brands in the world. How can you make audiences sympathetic towards a billion-dollar company like Nike? It feels like the kind of story that someone like Adam McKay could have done fun things with but Nke would never have risked that.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

Normal service is resumed this week. It’s been a pretty decent week although I haven’t done as much reading as I wanted. Thankfully, I’ve got a couple of 4 day weeks coming up thanks to a long weekend. Hopefully, that will give me the chance to get back on top. I’ve not listened to any audiobooks at work recently, so my totals are down a little. I might try and get back into it this week. There are a couple that I have on my library app to get through.

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Monday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I’m running a little behind this week thanks to a particularly hectic weekend. Well, a hectic Saturday that ended in a Eurovision party and a Sunday spent recovering. Meaning I’m late getting my weekly rundown written. Not that there’s much to report. I’ve only just finished the book I was reading last week because work pretty much destroyed me last week. I had no energy for reading beyond two chapters a night. I need to get back on form this week.

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Film Review – Peter Pan and Wendy (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 3 out of 5.

One of the stops on my recent holiday was Moat Brae house in Dumfries. Between 1873 and 1878, author J M Barrie lived in the city and was a frequent visitor to the house. He even suggested that the gardens helped inspire him to create Neverland. In 2019, the house was turned into a museum and it’s absolutely amazing. It left me with a desire to read Barrie’s book again. It also gave me the perfect excuse to watch the latest Disney live-action remake.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

There’s really not much point in posting this rundown this week because I basically didn’t post anything new last week. However, I have read a couple of things so I figured it was worth a quick update. I didn’t end up reading as much as I expected on my week off. Mostly because we spent the week exploring and doing so much. I had assumed the weather would keep us inside but it was lovely. So lovely that we didn’t spend much time inside relaxing. At least I managed to finish a couple and get a good chunk into the next one. Hopefully, it’ll get May off to a good start.

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Sunday Rundown: That’s What She Read

books, films, rundown
Sunday Rundown

What have you been reading this week?

I’ll be in Scotland enjoying my holiday by the time this gets posted. That could either mean getting out in the nice Spring weather or hiding from the torrential rain inside. Either way, it beats being at work. No doubt I’ll have packed a huge pile of books to take that I definitely won’t finish. I’ll hopefully get a fair amount done but I always overestimate. It’s so easy to do. Especially when your TBR is as big as mine. As I’m writing this in the past, I don’t actually know which books I’ll be taking yet because I’m leaving it to the last minute. That seems like the best way. Otherwise, I’ll never decide.

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Film Review – Bullet Train (2022)

films, reviews

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

We’re going away tomorrow, so I should really be finishing packing. Or, at least, getting an early night so I can finish packing in the morning. Admittedly, we’re not setting off early but it still doesn’t seem wise to be sitting up writing blog posts. Still, I actually watched a film this week that wasn’t a rubbish animated film. It was a film that I was actually looking forward to seeing. I was meant to see it at the cinema when it came out but that never happened. It’s taken a while but I finally go around to it this week. All the more impressive considering it’s the first film I’ve seen in ages that’s had a run time of over 90 minutes.

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