Zombieland is a film which did surprise me and I did enjoy it, here is my review of it....
America has been taken over by Zombie but a young boy called Columbus has survived. He lives by his 30 rules and travels in search of finding other humans and some of his family. He is quite a shy boy and lacks power and strength, he spent most of his college days before the zombies in his room too scared to make friends.
Columbus manages to find a car and sets off in search of family but along the way he has an accident and meets Tallahasse, another human who hides from the zombie. Tallahasse is ruthless and hard, the total opposite of Columbus but they do strike up a friendship and they decide to stick together. The pair set off again on their travels, Tallahasses is on his own mission, he needs a twinkie, and soon they arrive at a supermarket and decide to go inside to get some supplies.
It is at the supermarket that they meet with a frightened girl who says her sister has been bitten by a zombie, the men go off to investigate and soon discover that one of them has to shoot the younger girl before she turns into a zombie.
Can they really shoot this young girl and if not what will the outcome be. Will any of the humans ever find a safe zombie free place to live?
I had never really been interested in watching this film but as it came on the comedy film channel and I needed a good fun film to watch both me and hubby decided to give it a go. I was actually surprised by the film and ended up quite enjoying it. I found that the story was good, although there seemed nothing new about it at all and it was lacking in depth but I found it worked well with the comedy that was added to it and I enjoyed what we had on offer.
The acting was good and the lead role of Columbus was played by Jesse Eisenberg. He was a good choice for the role as he had a good geeky look which suited the type of character he was trying to portray. He managed to deliver all of his lines with ease and I felt I got to know a good amount about him. I like the way we got a few flash backs to before the Zombies took over as this gave his character a little depth. He came across at times as a frightened little boy and I felt he turned to the role of Tallahasses to be a father figure to him and I think this worked well. The role of Tallahasses was played by Woody Harrelson and I found him to be a great addition to the cast. He looked mean and moody and I found the appearance was good. He managed to show other sides as the film moved on and he handled them all very well. He did sort of take on a fatherly role of Columbus and it was nice to watch at times. I did have a few issues when he was fighting and dealing with the zombies as he seemed a little unsure with the weapons but for me I think this helped with the humour of the film.
We had two other very good strong roles in the film and the stand out one for me was that of Abigail Breslin, she took the role of Little Rock, she was very old for her age and I loved how she had adapted to the new way of life. She certainly is turning out to be a fine young actress. I found the surprise appearance from Bill Murray was also a nice one and I felt he bought a lot to the film.
The setting for the film was America and we travelled around a lot. There was a lot of the film set on the road and as a result we did get some lovely scenery shots, these were slightly disrupted with abandoned cars and accident at times but overall I enjoyed them. We do go into a few places, including a supermarket a house and some outside areas and I found the sets to be of a good high standard and fitted well into the film. We do also have a lot of make up effects and CGI in the film and it was all great and enjoyable to watch. I did find the appearance of some of the zombies to be quite horrid at times but once I had seen a few of them they all seemed to look alike after and did not scare me. I did also jump a few times when zombie shot out from behind things and hubby found this hilarious.
The music was good and fitting for the film but it was nothing exceptionally special and not a soundtrack I would buy to listen to without the film. I felt it could have been stronger and a few more well known tracks played. I did enjoy the Ghostbusters theme being played and found this fitted in very well with the scene it was in.
This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 88 minutes and I did find this to be a good length, the story moved at a steady pace from that to finish and although it seems a short film I felt it would have been dragged out too much had the run time been lengthened. The rate of the film is a 15 and I do agree with this, we have lots of scenes of zombies eating people and killing and I think some of them do actually look quite scary, there is also a little swearing and I do agree with this rate. The DVD can now be bought from on line for under £5 and I do think this is a fair price.
I am going to recommend this film as both me and hubby enjoyed it. The story was good although not original and nothing very special, the acting was good and I felt there was just enough humour to give this film a good 4 stars. I would not recommend paying more than £5 for the DVD or even better would be to catch this for free whilst it is still on Sky movies.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Cheap and effective
My newest post is a product review for Asda Chesty cough syrup...
Whenever I am suffering from a cold I always end up with a cough to go with it and it always ends up being a chesty one. I think having whooping cough when I was young means I am prone to getting the chesty cough rather than the tickly one. After watching a programme several months ago about medicines and the ingredients in them I learnt that the own brand drugs are just as good, if not batter than the named ones. Therefore I had no problem in buying the Asda own brand cough medicine.
The medicine comes in a 300ml bottle which is made from glass and a very dark brown colour. There is a white screw top on the bottle but this is not child proof. The label on the bottle is a white and deep pink colour and it has the Asda logo and the product name on the front and the directions and warnings on the back.
The medicine is supposed to be cherry flavoured, there is a faint hint of cherry but no where near enough to make this actually taste nice. I know they say what tastes bad is good for you but this really is bad! The dosage for children over 12 years of age and adults is 1-2 5-10ml spoons every 2-3 hours. No more than 4 doses should be taken in every 24 hours. Children under 12 should not take this medicine.
I have found that the stated does is good. I have 2 5ml spoonfuls at one time and I am finding that this dose will last me for about 5 hours and only then am I needing to take more. Hubby has had the same results and he sometimes does not need to take another dose for even longer. I find that this is ideal for taking about half an hour before bed as it means I get a good nights sleep and am not waking up from coughing all of the time.
The medicine is very easy to take, the liquid is a good consistency so very easy to pour but it is not overly runny so it all dribbles off the spoon. The smell is slightly off putting but if you try not to think of this you should be able to take the medicine with ease. I do instantly feel is putting a smooth coating down my throat as it goes down and this does actually feel quite nice for the few seconds it is there before I have to have a drink to get rid of the taste!
The ingredients for the medicine include:-
Guailenesin 100mg per 5ml, Glucose, Methylhydroxybenzoate E218, Citric Acid, E330, Sodium Citrate E331, Sodium Saccharin E945, Carmoisine Red E122, Caramel E150c, Cherry Flavour, Ethanol and Purified Water.
The bottle does contain several warnings and some of these include not giving this to children under 12, not to be used if you have a sugar intolerance or alcohol problem. Pregnant and breast women should seek advise before using. I do strongly recommend that you fully read the back of the bottle if you suffer from any medical condition before using this cough medicine. There can be side effects from using this medicine which may include gastro-intestinal discomfort, nausea or vomiting and if you do suffer from any of these then you should see your doctor.
The bottle does last for a good amount of time and the one which I last bough a few days ago has just under 3 years on the best before date. The medicine is an Asda own brand so it is only available to buy in their store. You can buy this on the shelf and not have to go to the pharmacy. The 300ml bottle will cost you £2 and it currently is the only size they do.
I a happy to give this product the full 5 stars despite the taste. It works extremely well and after only a few minutes of taking it, it means I can get a good nights sleep, and I can just about put up with the taste. A great cheap alternative to the branded named medicines.
Whenever I am suffering from a cold I always end up with a cough to go with it and it always ends up being a chesty one. I think having whooping cough when I was young means I am prone to getting the chesty cough rather than the tickly one. After watching a programme several months ago about medicines and the ingredients in them I learnt that the own brand drugs are just as good, if not batter than the named ones. Therefore I had no problem in buying the Asda own brand cough medicine.
The medicine comes in a 300ml bottle which is made from glass and a very dark brown colour. There is a white screw top on the bottle but this is not child proof. The label on the bottle is a white and deep pink colour and it has the Asda logo and the product name on the front and the directions and warnings on the back.
The medicine is supposed to be cherry flavoured, there is a faint hint of cherry but no where near enough to make this actually taste nice. I know they say what tastes bad is good for you but this really is bad! The dosage for children over 12 years of age and adults is 1-2 5-10ml spoons every 2-3 hours. No more than 4 doses should be taken in every 24 hours. Children under 12 should not take this medicine.
I have found that the stated does is good. I have 2 5ml spoonfuls at one time and I am finding that this dose will last me for about 5 hours and only then am I needing to take more. Hubby has had the same results and he sometimes does not need to take another dose for even longer. I find that this is ideal for taking about half an hour before bed as it means I get a good nights sleep and am not waking up from coughing all of the time.
The medicine is very easy to take, the liquid is a good consistency so very easy to pour but it is not overly runny so it all dribbles off the spoon. The smell is slightly off putting but if you try not to think of this you should be able to take the medicine with ease. I do instantly feel is putting a smooth coating down my throat as it goes down and this does actually feel quite nice for the few seconds it is there before I have to have a drink to get rid of the taste!
The ingredients for the medicine include:-
Guailenesin 100mg per 5ml, Glucose, Methylhydroxybenzoate E218, Citric Acid, E330, Sodium Citrate E331, Sodium Saccharin E945, Carmoisine Red E122, Caramel E150c, Cherry Flavour, Ethanol and Purified Water.
The bottle does contain several warnings and some of these include not giving this to children under 12, not to be used if you have a sugar intolerance or alcohol problem. Pregnant and breast women should seek advise before using. I do strongly recommend that you fully read the back of the bottle if you suffer from any medical condition before using this cough medicine. There can be side effects from using this medicine which may include gastro-intestinal discomfort, nausea or vomiting and if you do suffer from any of these then you should see your doctor.
The bottle does last for a good amount of time and the one which I last bough a few days ago has just under 3 years on the best before date. The medicine is an Asda own brand so it is only available to buy in their store. You can buy this on the shelf and not have to go to the pharmacy. The 300ml bottle will cost you £2 and it currently is the only size they do.
I a happy to give this product the full 5 stars despite the taste. It works extremely well and after only a few minutes of taking it, it means I can get a good nights sleep, and I can just about put up with the taste. A great cheap alternative to the branded named medicines.
Thought Provoking
My new post is a film review for The Green Mile....
It is the 1930’s and Paul Edgecomb works in a prison, he is in charge of death row which is a hard job to have and takes its toll on him. He sees men coming in and he and his team are faced with keeping them until their time for the electric chair comes. Paul has a hard job as he sees how sad these men are knowing what is coming and he does find it a hard job. Paul’s life is about to be turned around though when a new prisoner comes in.
John Coffey is a very large black man who is on death row as he is believed to have killed to little girls. Paul instantly feels he did not do it and rather likes John. Paul is about to have a massive shock when he gets ill from a urine infection and when John touches him he takes the pain and virus away. Paul does not talk about this to anyone but his wife and tries to find out about John’s past. His investigations lead him to a dead end but he does not give up.
Can Paul discover just what power John has and will this change his fate or will John go the same way as the other men on Death Row?
I have looked at this film over the years and never really fancied it but when I spotted the DVD for the bargain price of £2 I decided to give it a go. I thought from the cover of the DVD and the appearance of Tom, Hanks that it was going to be connected to the military but how wrong was I. I did actually enjoy the story and felt it was touched up in a very emotional and powerful way. I thought it was an original idea and I know this is based on a book but as I have not read the book I cannot make comment on how well or badly this has been transferred to the screen. The short plot outline which I have given really is only a basic one, we have other smaller side stories happening involving some of the other prisoners and guards but I felt that these are best left to be discovered by watching the film. I did enjoy the inclusion of these as they gave some depth to the film and overall story.
The acting for me was superb. Tom Hanks played the lead role of Paul and he did an excellent job. We got to know just enough about him to understand his mind and how he though about things and I enjoyed seeing a bit of his personal life as well. He was hard and strong for the majority of the film but I also liked the softer more sensitive side which did come out. I felt he did justice to the role he way playing and showed what a hard job he had. He formed a wonderful connection with John and even though John was a prisoner I felt they formed a good friendship. John was played by Michael Clark Duncan, I have to confess that the only other film I know him from is the role of Bear in Armageddon and I did not know what to expect from him. He gave the best performance of the film for me and I had so many different emotions forming from his performance. He looked quite dumb and sad for the majority of the film and as if he was suffering. When he spoke I felt sadness and loss from him but there were times when he showed a little strength and he did give me one or two small chuckles. He looked powerful and intimidating but he did not come across this way when he spoke or talked to Paul.
We had some very good support actors and I felt they too all played very good role, some of the actors included, David Morse, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter and Sam Rockwell, they were all very different role, some stronger and louder than the other but they all bought some magic to the story in their own different ways.
There was really only two settings in this film for the majority of it, we had the green mile, the wing of the prison where the prisoners on death row had their cells and the room with the electric chair. I found the settings to be good and thought the way of life for them back in the 30’s was shown well. I found it looked and fitted the era and the lack of technology and moderness of it all was shown in a good way. We did get one or two outside shots and these were a good little relief from the other settings. I thought the costumes were also good and in keeping with the theme and year of the film.
There were a few places in the film where I did have to look away as they were stomach turning and a little scary for me, I must confess though that I am a wimp! I though the parts when the prisoners were being placed in the electric chair were unsettling and also some of the things which John did turned my stomach. The DVD claims that there is some horror in the film and although I felt quite jumpy at parts O would not class them as horror. There are some brutal parts involving people dying but they are not overly gruesome or bad. We do have some swearing in the film and so the 18 rate which this has is one which I agree with, I also think a younger audience will not truly be able to follow this story. The one downside to this film is the run time, it is 181 minutes long, I do think this will put a few people off from watching but I have to say once we got into the story I lost track of the time and never felt as if it had been going on forever, I think it could have lost about 30-40 and still have been as powerful as it was.
I did think the ending was very powerful and it did actually reduce me to tears and this is where I would have liked the film to end. At the very start we see Paul when he is an elderly man in a nursing home and we return to this point at the very end of the film. Both me and hubby felt this was taking it a little far and making it a little far fetched with what he told us, I would have liked this to have been left out of the film. I did enjoy seeing one certain little member of the cast again.
I have stated that I bought the DVD for just £2 but as I have not watched the bonus features on it then I am classing this review as a film only one. The DVD does range in price depending on where you shop for it so make sure you too get a good bargain like I did.
I am more than happy to give this film the full 5 stars and a very high recommendation as it was an amazing film. The story was excellent and not only was it sad and emotional but we had a few good little fun parts which gave us some light relief, the acting from all involved was powerful and strong and I think this film should be watched by all over the age of 18 despite the running time as it has had a very powerful effect on me and I do still keep thinking back to the ending even a week after watching it.
It is the 1930’s and Paul Edgecomb works in a prison, he is in charge of death row which is a hard job to have and takes its toll on him. He sees men coming in and he and his team are faced with keeping them until their time for the electric chair comes. Paul has a hard job as he sees how sad these men are knowing what is coming and he does find it a hard job. Paul’s life is about to be turned around though when a new prisoner comes in.
John Coffey is a very large black man who is on death row as he is believed to have killed to little girls. Paul instantly feels he did not do it and rather likes John. Paul is about to have a massive shock when he gets ill from a urine infection and when John touches him he takes the pain and virus away. Paul does not talk about this to anyone but his wife and tries to find out about John’s past. His investigations lead him to a dead end but he does not give up.
Can Paul discover just what power John has and will this change his fate or will John go the same way as the other men on Death Row?
I have looked at this film over the years and never really fancied it but when I spotted the DVD for the bargain price of £2 I decided to give it a go. I thought from the cover of the DVD and the appearance of Tom, Hanks that it was going to be connected to the military but how wrong was I. I did actually enjoy the story and felt it was touched up in a very emotional and powerful way. I thought it was an original idea and I know this is based on a book but as I have not read the book I cannot make comment on how well or badly this has been transferred to the screen. The short plot outline which I have given really is only a basic one, we have other smaller side stories happening involving some of the other prisoners and guards but I felt that these are best left to be discovered by watching the film. I did enjoy the inclusion of these as they gave some depth to the film and overall story.
The acting for me was superb. Tom Hanks played the lead role of Paul and he did an excellent job. We got to know just enough about him to understand his mind and how he though about things and I enjoyed seeing a bit of his personal life as well. He was hard and strong for the majority of the film but I also liked the softer more sensitive side which did come out. I felt he did justice to the role he way playing and showed what a hard job he had. He formed a wonderful connection with John and even though John was a prisoner I felt they formed a good friendship. John was played by Michael Clark Duncan, I have to confess that the only other film I know him from is the role of Bear in Armageddon and I did not know what to expect from him. He gave the best performance of the film for me and I had so many different emotions forming from his performance. He looked quite dumb and sad for the majority of the film and as if he was suffering. When he spoke I felt sadness and loss from him but there were times when he showed a little strength and he did give me one or two small chuckles. He looked powerful and intimidating but he did not come across this way when he spoke or talked to Paul.
We had some very good support actors and I felt they too all played very good role, some of the actors included, David Morse, James Cromwell, Michael Jeter and Sam Rockwell, they were all very different role, some stronger and louder than the other but they all bought some magic to the story in their own different ways.
There was really only two settings in this film for the majority of it, we had the green mile, the wing of the prison where the prisoners on death row had their cells and the room with the electric chair. I found the settings to be good and thought the way of life for them back in the 30’s was shown well. I found it looked and fitted the era and the lack of technology and moderness of it all was shown in a good way. We did get one or two outside shots and these were a good little relief from the other settings. I thought the costumes were also good and in keeping with the theme and year of the film.
There were a few places in the film where I did have to look away as they were stomach turning and a little scary for me, I must confess though that I am a wimp! I though the parts when the prisoners were being placed in the electric chair were unsettling and also some of the things which John did turned my stomach. The DVD claims that there is some horror in the film and although I felt quite jumpy at parts O would not class them as horror. There are some brutal parts involving people dying but they are not overly gruesome or bad. We do have some swearing in the film and so the 18 rate which this has is one which I agree with, I also think a younger audience will not truly be able to follow this story. The one downside to this film is the run time, it is 181 minutes long, I do think this will put a few people off from watching but I have to say once we got into the story I lost track of the time and never felt as if it had been going on forever, I think it could have lost about 30-40 and still have been as powerful as it was.
I did think the ending was very powerful and it did actually reduce me to tears and this is where I would have liked the film to end. At the very start we see Paul when he is an elderly man in a nursing home and we return to this point at the very end of the film. Both me and hubby felt this was taking it a little far and making it a little far fetched with what he told us, I would have liked this to have been left out of the film. I did enjoy seeing one certain little member of the cast again.
I have stated that I bought the DVD for just £2 but as I have not watched the bonus features on it then I am classing this review as a film only one. The DVD does range in price depending on where you shop for it so make sure you too get a good bargain like I did.
I am more than happy to give this film the full 5 stars and a very high recommendation as it was an amazing film. The story was excellent and not only was it sad and emotional but we had a few good little fun parts which gave us some light relief, the acting from all involved was powerful and strong and I think this film should be watched by all over the age of 18 despite the running time as it has had a very powerful effect on me and I do still keep thinking back to the ending even a week after watching it.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Rude and crude but oh so funny!
Get him to teh Greek is a film which I found hillarious, read my review for it....
Aaron Green works for a music company which is struggling and needs to come up with a big idea to raise money. Aaron comes up with the suggestion that they get old rocker, Aldous Snow to do an anniversary concert at the Greek. Aaron gets the gig and soon finds himself travelling to pick up Aldous for some press conferences and then the concert. Unfortunately Aldous is a typical rocker and is not impressed with being told what to do.
Aaron has a hard task ahead of him as all Aldous wants to do is party and have sex with women. They miss their first plane and have to fly in late to America to following day much to the disgust of Aaron’s boss. Aaron is warned that if Aldous does not get to the gig then he will loos his job.
Can Aaron get Aldous to the Greek and just what will he be subjected to along the way?
I have only given a very brief outline for the plot as I feel giving too much away will spoil it for those who may not have seen this film yet, but please do not think the film is as basic as I have made it out to be as it really isn’t and there is a lot to the story and an awful lot happens in the film. I did enjoy this film a lot of felt it was very funny. The story was good, not very original and the story is nothing exceptionally special but the way it is told to us with the humour is very entertaining and both me and hubby laughed out loud so many times when watching.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of Russell Brand and do find him very annoying but for some reason whenever I have watched him in a film I have found him to be excellent and easy to watch, this film was no exception. He played a great character who really did have a lot of issues, he was drugged up for the majority of the film and I felt this helped to add to the humour and he seemed to at easy playing the role. I liked the depth we got from him and thought it was good the way he did express emotions and felling as this made him easier to get to know and understand. He worked very well with Jonah Hill who played Aaron. He was a very different character, he was straight and wanted a simple life and had his world turned upside down by Aldous but he handled it all very well. I liked the way we got to know some background about him as I felt I got to know the way he thought and felt about new things. The chemistry between the pair was great and they had a good comedy timing when together on screen.
We did have some other very good actors in the film, P Diddy played a good role and I was quite surprised by how well he did, Elisabeth Moss played Aarons suffering girlfriend and the role which I was not keen on but was played well was that of Aldous’ father played by Colm Meaney.
There is a lot of humour in this film and I must say it is not going to be to everyone’s taste. It all involves drink, drugs and sex. There are times when we get a few good one liners but the majority of the humour comes from these three things. There are some very crude parts to the film which I was not overly keen on but for me the laughs did out weight these so I would not let them put you off from watching. I felt the comedy timing from all involved was excellent and they helped to make the gags more funny. We did have a lot of visual gags which were all done very well and I loved how Jonah Hill dealt with the ones he was given and felt he was a perfect choice for this role. He managed to try and play them straight faced which only added to the delivery.
The film does contain a lot of bad language and drug and sex references, we also have a few sex scenes so I do advise caution if you are easily offended or do not like watching people being sick on themselves. I do have to agree with the 15 rate on this film and say it is not at all suitable for the younger viewer. The running time of the film us 1 hour 45 minutes and I did find this to be a good length with the story moving at a steady pace throughout. The film can be bought on DVD fro around £5 now and I think this is a good price. This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about.
I am more than happy to give this film the full 5 stars despite the few issues I had with it. I really can’t remember the last time a film made me laugh as much as this one did. The acting was great and Brand really did surprise me again by being so good. This is certainly a film to watch if you are not easily offended but again I advise caution if you are.
Aaron Green works for a music company which is struggling and needs to come up with a big idea to raise money. Aaron comes up with the suggestion that they get old rocker, Aldous Snow to do an anniversary concert at the Greek. Aaron gets the gig and soon finds himself travelling to pick up Aldous for some press conferences and then the concert. Unfortunately Aldous is a typical rocker and is not impressed with being told what to do.
Aaron has a hard task ahead of him as all Aldous wants to do is party and have sex with women. They miss their first plane and have to fly in late to America to following day much to the disgust of Aaron’s boss. Aaron is warned that if Aldous does not get to the gig then he will loos his job.
Can Aaron get Aldous to the Greek and just what will he be subjected to along the way?
I have only given a very brief outline for the plot as I feel giving too much away will spoil it for those who may not have seen this film yet, but please do not think the film is as basic as I have made it out to be as it really isn’t and there is a lot to the story and an awful lot happens in the film. I did enjoy this film a lot of felt it was very funny. The story was good, not very original and the story is nothing exceptionally special but the way it is told to us with the humour is very entertaining and both me and hubby laughed out loud so many times when watching.
I have to admit that I am not a fan of Russell Brand and do find him very annoying but for some reason whenever I have watched him in a film I have found him to be excellent and easy to watch, this film was no exception. He played a great character who really did have a lot of issues, he was drugged up for the majority of the film and I felt this helped to add to the humour and he seemed to at easy playing the role. I liked the depth we got from him and thought it was good the way he did express emotions and felling as this made him easier to get to know and understand. He worked very well with Jonah Hill who played Aaron. He was a very different character, he was straight and wanted a simple life and had his world turned upside down by Aldous but he handled it all very well. I liked the way we got to know some background about him as I felt I got to know the way he thought and felt about new things. The chemistry between the pair was great and they had a good comedy timing when together on screen.
We did have some other very good actors in the film, P Diddy played a good role and I was quite surprised by how well he did, Elisabeth Moss played Aarons suffering girlfriend and the role which I was not keen on but was played well was that of Aldous’ father played by Colm Meaney.
There is a lot of humour in this film and I must say it is not going to be to everyone’s taste. It all involves drink, drugs and sex. There are times when we get a few good one liners but the majority of the humour comes from these three things. There are some very crude parts to the film which I was not overly keen on but for me the laughs did out weight these so I would not let them put you off from watching. I felt the comedy timing from all involved was excellent and they helped to make the gags more funny. We did have a lot of visual gags which were all done very well and I loved how Jonah Hill dealt with the ones he was given and felt he was a perfect choice for this role. He managed to try and play them straight faced which only added to the delivery.
The film does contain a lot of bad language and drug and sex references, we also have a few sex scenes so I do advise caution if you are easily offended or do not like watching people being sick on themselves. I do have to agree with the 15 rate on this film and say it is not at all suitable for the younger viewer. The running time of the film us 1 hour 45 minutes and I did find this to be a good length with the story moving at a steady pace throughout. The film can be bought on DVD fro around £5 now and I think this is a good price. This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about.
I am more than happy to give this film the full 5 stars despite the few issues I had with it. I really can’t remember the last time a film made me laugh as much as this one did. The acting was great and Brand really did surprise me again by being so good. This is certainly a film to watch if you are not easily offended but again I advise caution if you are.
Sparks does it again!
Theresa is a divorced Mom who is in her 30’s, she is happy with life but does get a little lonely so her friend Deena invited her along on holiday. It is when she is on holiday running on the beech that her life is turned upside down. She finds a message in a bottle which when reading reduces her to tears as it is no emotional and well written. Theresa talks the message back to Deena who suggests that she publishes it in her column on the newspaper.
The letter gets published and soon she gets inundated with letters about it. One person in particular shocks her by saying she also found a letter and sends her a copy. Theresa is shocked to discover that it was written by the same person. Garrett is the author and he is writing to his dead wife Catherine. Theresa is intrigued by the letters and soon Deena comes up with the idea of tracking him down and meeting him.
Theresa is persuaded to go and find Garrett after they tracked him down to Wilmington where he owns a diving shop. When she arrives she is pleasantly surprised by Garrett and they end up going sailing together where they strike up a friendship.
Just how far will their friendship go and can Garrett ever get over Catherine and will Theresa ever confess her real reason why she met Garrett?
I had no problems in picking this book up and buying it as I am a big fan of Nicholas Sparks and have loved all of his other books I have read, they are all packed with lovely moving stories, great characters and a lot of emotion, this one was no exception. I must admit this was another book which I was unable to put down though as I just got so into the story and fell in love with all of the characters and the places they visited. The story was very good and although it was quite basic the fact it was full of all this emotion and feeling just made it so interesting and moving to read.
I loved the setting, we were again on the coast in America, the actual town was Wilmington. I have noticed that all of his book seem set around this area and I do kind of like this as it makes it all sound familiar and easy to fall in love with. It was a slow paced town which was so unlike Boston which is where Theresa came from. I don’t think this story would have worked as well if it had been set in another place as we would not have had the same effects and the talks of the ocean and the stillness of the air and peace and quiet. I felt I got a good idea of the town by how it was described and I was able to get a good mental picture of the places they visited.
All of the character were easy to get to know and understand. The lead character of Theresa was good and I felt I got to know a good amount about her and her life so I got a good idea of the way she thought and dealt with things. She was a normal woman who just wanted some company and to love and protect her son. She came across as genuine and wore her heart on her sleeve which made me feel so close to her. Garrett was also a great character and I felt so many different emotions about him. I felt he was a lovely honest man who had big issues. I liked the descriptions we had and he seemed a nice simple man. He did have problems when it came to his dead wife and I felt this was handled in a very good way and not one which was overly sentimental or unrealistic. I felt we had a very good balance. The support characters were also very good and I felt we got to know just enough about them to understand their part in the story but not too much so we lost focus on the main storyline.
There were times in the story when the character of Garrett would go into a dream world and sort of daze and talk of dreams about Catherine and at first I did find it quite hard to separate this part from what was happening in the main story but after this happened a few times I was able to understand it better and I did actually think this was a great addition to the story as it made me understand more and Garrett. These parts were always quite touching and moving and I did have a few times when I did have tears in my eyes from the emotions in them.
I loved this book from start to finish and felt it was very easy to read and understand. The writing style was great and for me the ending was a shock. I thought I had worked out how it was all going to end and hoped it would but I was so far off the mark. I felt it was a lovely ending but one I was not expecting. I think Nicholas Sparks has a good way of seemingly writing a predictable book only to throw a massive unexpected twist and this is one of the things I enjoy about his books. This book has been made into a film but I have not watched it yet and am unsure if I really want to as it will never be a patch on this book with the level of feelings and emotions it has.
The book which I have is the paper back edition and the retail price of this is £7.99. It can be bought for under £5 on Amazon though. I have to say I would be prepared to pay full price for this thought as it is a great book. It was published by Sphere and has a total of 347 pages. At the very end of the book, as with all of the others by this author, we get a chapter from one of his other books, I do quite enjoy this as it gets me interested in other books and wanting to read them too.
I am more than happy to give this book a massive recommendation and the full 5 stars. It has a lovely story with a twist at the end, the characters and places are all easy to get to know and like and it is packed full of emotion and love. Definitely another one to add to me favourites books list!
The letter gets published and soon she gets inundated with letters about it. One person in particular shocks her by saying she also found a letter and sends her a copy. Theresa is shocked to discover that it was written by the same person. Garrett is the author and he is writing to his dead wife Catherine. Theresa is intrigued by the letters and soon Deena comes up with the idea of tracking him down and meeting him.
Theresa is persuaded to go and find Garrett after they tracked him down to Wilmington where he owns a diving shop. When she arrives she is pleasantly surprised by Garrett and they end up going sailing together where they strike up a friendship.
Just how far will their friendship go and can Garrett ever get over Catherine and will Theresa ever confess her real reason why she met Garrett?
I had no problems in picking this book up and buying it as I am a big fan of Nicholas Sparks and have loved all of his other books I have read, they are all packed with lovely moving stories, great characters and a lot of emotion, this one was no exception. I must admit this was another book which I was unable to put down though as I just got so into the story and fell in love with all of the characters and the places they visited. The story was very good and although it was quite basic the fact it was full of all this emotion and feeling just made it so interesting and moving to read.
I loved the setting, we were again on the coast in America, the actual town was Wilmington. I have noticed that all of his book seem set around this area and I do kind of like this as it makes it all sound familiar and easy to fall in love with. It was a slow paced town which was so unlike Boston which is where Theresa came from. I don’t think this story would have worked as well if it had been set in another place as we would not have had the same effects and the talks of the ocean and the stillness of the air and peace and quiet. I felt I got a good idea of the town by how it was described and I was able to get a good mental picture of the places they visited.
All of the character were easy to get to know and understand. The lead character of Theresa was good and I felt I got to know a good amount about her and her life so I got a good idea of the way she thought and dealt with things. She was a normal woman who just wanted some company and to love and protect her son. She came across as genuine and wore her heart on her sleeve which made me feel so close to her. Garrett was also a great character and I felt so many different emotions about him. I felt he was a lovely honest man who had big issues. I liked the descriptions we had and he seemed a nice simple man. He did have problems when it came to his dead wife and I felt this was handled in a very good way and not one which was overly sentimental or unrealistic. I felt we had a very good balance. The support characters were also very good and I felt we got to know just enough about them to understand their part in the story but not too much so we lost focus on the main storyline.
There were times in the story when the character of Garrett would go into a dream world and sort of daze and talk of dreams about Catherine and at first I did find it quite hard to separate this part from what was happening in the main story but after this happened a few times I was able to understand it better and I did actually think this was a great addition to the story as it made me understand more and Garrett. These parts were always quite touching and moving and I did have a few times when I did have tears in my eyes from the emotions in them.
I loved this book from start to finish and felt it was very easy to read and understand. The writing style was great and for me the ending was a shock. I thought I had worked out how it was all going to end and hoped it would but I was so far off the mark. I felt it was a lovely ending but one I was not expecting. I think Nicholas Sparks has a good way of seemingly writing a predictable book only to throw a massive unexpected twist and this is one of the things I enjoy about his books. This book has been made into a film but I have not watched it yet and am unsure if I really want to as it will never be a patch on this book with the level of feelings and emotions it has.
The book which I have is the paper back edition and the retail price of this is £7.99. It can be bought for under £5 on Amazon though. I have to say I would be prepared to pay full price for this thought as it is a great book. It was published by Sphere and has a total of 347 pages. At the very end of the book, as with all of the others by this author, we get a chapter from one of his other books, I do quite enjoy this as it gets me interested in other books and wanting to read them too.
I am more than happy to give this book a massive recommendation and the full 5 stars. It has a lovely story with a twist at the end, the characters and places are all easy to get to know and like and it is packed full of emotion and love. Definitely another one to add to me favourites books list!
Sunday, 27 March 2011
Handy at Protecting hands
New post is a product review for some bargain rubber gloves I found...
My friend has started doing nail art and as I am her guinea pig I decided to invest in some rubber gloves to help protect my nails when doing dirty household jobs. I have never bought rubber gloves before so did not know what to look for in a pair of them. The ones I opted for were the Tesco Value rubber gloves as they seemed to be decent enough and for the amount of times I would be wearing them (I mean I don’t often clean the cooker!) they seemed suitable.
The gloves comes in a white plastic bag which has a red banner on the top with the product name in, above this is the Tesco value logo. On the back of the packet is all the information about the gloves and some small warnings.
The gloves are bright yellow in colour and do look very summery. They are a decent size, the packet claims that they are a medium sized glove. They seem to fit very well onto my hands and I am an average sized person. The gloves are soft to the touch and are made from rubber. On the inside they do have a very thin flock lining which is very soft on the skin.
I have found the gloves very easy to get on and off, even when they are wet and have had great success wearing them. There is a small pattern on the inside of the glove, this is a small indented pattern which means you will still be able to grip items such as glass when they are wet and you wont risk dropping anything.
The fit of the gloves is very good and I do feel they fit snugly around the finger without there being too much excess material in between, the gloves do come a little way up the arm and I would say this is about 4 inches up from the wrist. I like the length here as it means I can put the whole of my hand in a bowl of water and not risk getting any water inside the glove.
I have done some very gruelling jobs wearing these gloves and they have held up well. I gave the oven a much needed scrub which involved using brillo pads and they did not tear rip or even become thin on any areas despite all of the scrubbing. I have also found these great for using when hand washing and bleaching white school tops. The bleach does not affect the colour of the gloves or the rubber. I have also found that my long nails do not pierce the tips of the fingers which is a bonus for me.
There are some warnings on the back of the packet of the gloves and they include not wearing these gloves when using petrol, mineral oil, paraffin or turpentine substances. I have had no reason to use them on these products so cannot comment on the reasons behind this. The gloves are to be dabbed dry when they have been used and stored out of direct sunlight and away from moisture and heat. The gloves are lasting and even after some very mucky jobs I am still on my first pair one month after buying them. You do get two pairs of gloves in each packet so this is good value for money.
These gloves are a Tesco value product so they are only available to buy in their stores, they are price at just over 50p per packet of two pairs which is very cheap compared to branded gloves being nearly £2 for just one pair. I am more than happy to give these gloves a high recommendation and the full 5 stars. I would say thought that they do seem more suited for the female market as the fingers are a snug fit for me so chunky man fingers may find these gloves too small or tight. For the price they are a great investment in keeping hands and nails safe when doing the dreaded dirty jobs.
My friend has started doing nail art and as I am her guinea pig I decided to invest in some rubber gloves to help protect my nails when doing dirty household jobs. I have never bought rubber gloves before so did not know what to look for in a pair of them. The ones I opted for were the Tesco Value rubber gloves as they seemed to be decent enough and for the amount of times I would be wearing them (I mean I don’t often clean the cooker!) they seemed suitable.
The gloves comes in a white plastic bag which has a red banner on the top with the product name in, above this is the Tesco value logo. On the back of the packet is all the information about the gloves and some small warnings.
The gloves are bright yellow in colour and do look very summery. They are a decent size, the packet claims that they are a medium sized glove. They seem to fit very well onto my hands and I am an average sized person. The gloves are soft to the touch and are made from rubber. On the inside they do have a very thin flock lining which is very soft on the skin.
I have found the gloves very easy to get on and off, even when they are wet and have had great success wearing them. There is a small pattern on the inside of the glove, this is a small indented pattern which means you will still be able to grip items such as glass when they are wet and you wont risk dropping anything.
The fit of the gloves is very good and I do feel they fit snugly around the finger without there being too much excess material in between, the gloves do come a little way up the arm and I would say this is about 4 inches up from the wrist. I like the length here as it means I can put the whole of my hand in a bowl of water and not risk getting any water inside the glove.
I have done some very gruelling jobs wearing these gloves and they have held up well. I gave the oven a much needed scrub which involved using brillo pads and they did not tear rip or even become thin on any areas despite all of the scrubbing. I have also found these great for using when hand washing and bleaching white school tops. The bleach does not affect the colour of the gloves or the rubber. I have also found that my long nails do not pierce the tips of the fingers which is a bonus for me.
There are some warnings on the back of the packet of the gloves and they include not wearing these gloves when using petrol, mineral oil, paraffin or turpentine substances. I have had no reason to use them on these products so cannot comment on the reasons behind this. The gloves are to be dabbed dry when they have been used and stored out of direct sunlight and away from moisture and heat. The gloves are lasting and even after some very mucky jobs I am still on my first pair one month after buying them. You do get two pairs of gloves in each packet so this is good value for money.
These gloves are a Tesco value product so they are only available to buy in their stores, they are price at just over 50p per packet of two pairs which is very cheap compared to branded gloves being nearly £2 for just one pair. I am more than happy to give these gloves a high recommendation and the full 5 stars. I would say thought that they do seem more suited for the female market as the fingers are a snug fit for me so chunky man fingers may find these gloves too small or tight. For the price they are a great investment in keeping hands and nails safe when doing the dreaded dirty jobs.
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Relegated to cooking!
My newest post is a review of Ryelands milk chocolate...
Chocolate is a treat in my house, both me and hubby are trying to loose a little bit of weight but we do both agree with the having the odd treat. When we were last shopping we spotted this Ryelands chocolate which was on offer so decided to give it a try. We have had a lot of success in the past with the Tesco discount brands so did not hesitate in giving this one a try.
~~PACKAGING~~
The chocolate comes in a deep blue foil packet which has a white oval shape in the middle with a picture of 3 of the chocolate squares. Above this picture is the Ryeland logo and the words ‘milk chocolate’. The bottom right hand corner has a brief outline of the nutritional values for 4 chocolate squares. On the back of the packet we have all of the details about the chocolate including ingredients, full nutritional values and allergy warnings.
~~TASTE AND APPEARANCE~~
The chocolate is nothing special to look at and it is a rich brown colour. The large bar has small rectangles on it which helps to break it into smaller pieces, there is no pattern on the top of the chocolate. There is a nice pleasant smell to the chocolate which is not overly sweet and really makes you want to eat some.
I found it was very simple to break the chocolate into the small pieces due to the design of it and found that they were good bit size pieces and found I fitted each one into my mouth with ease. When I first placed the chocolate into my mouth I noticed that it did not start to melt straight away but required me to start sucking it slightly for this to happen. I did feel it was a effort to get the chocolate to melt and ended up biting the large square to make it easier to eat. The chocolate seemed to be quite thick and not as light as the branded ones. I did find that once it was melted it seemed to be very heavy and it all seemed to stick to my teeth. The initial taste was good and it just tasted like any other milk chocolate but once I got through the first 3 squares I noticed the taste started to change. It became an effort to eat anymore and I was left with a horribly aftertaste from the chocolate. I also felt like I had fur all over my teeth and did have to have a large drink to help remove this. I did end up having to brush my teeth to get this feeling to go away fully.
The chocolate left a quite nasty aftertaste in my mouth which I did not like and I was completely put off from eating any more of the bar. I have tried it again after leaving ht chocolate in the fridge to harden it up but I have had just the same results from it. Hubby did not have such a bad experience with this chocolate as I did and he did manage to eat a good half of the bar although he did get a nasty after taste from it.
I feel that for the price this chocolate would be ideal for cooking with. It would give a good taste to rice krispie and cornflake cakes but I feel it may be a little too heavy too add to any sponge cakes and may cause the sponge not to rise as well as it normally would. Stick to the basic children’s cakes with this chocolate.
~~INFO~~
The chocolate comes in a bar size of 200g and this is a good sharing size.
There are some allergy warnings on the packet and these include the fact that this chocolate contains milk and soya. There are no nuts in the recipe and it has been made in a nut free factory but Tesco cannot guarantee that all of the ingredients are nut free.
The ingredients for the chocolate are:-
Sugar, cocoa butter, dried whole milk, cocoa mass, whey powder, dried skimmed mil, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithins), Natural flavouring.
The milk chocolate contains: cocoa solids 27% minimum, Milk solids 20% minimum.
For each 4 squares of the chocolate the nutritional values are:-
Energy – 155 Kcal
Protein – 2.1g
Carbohydrate – 17.6g
Of which sugars – 17.1g
Fat – 8.0g
Of which saturates – 5.0g
Mono-unsaturates – 2.5g
Polyunsaturates – 0.3g
Fibre – 0.5g
Sodium – trace
Salt equivalent – trace
These are not the best values but as this is chocolate this is only to be expected.
The chocolate must be stored in a cool and dry place and out of sunlight. The shelf life is pretty good and the bar which we bought one week ago has a shelf life of 1 ½ years.
~~PRICE AND AVAILABILITY~~
The Ryelands brand is only available to buy in Tesco stores, it is their new discount brand. This chocolate come priced at just over £1 but there are usually offers on with 2 bars for £1.80. I think this is a good price but such a shame that the chocolate does not taste better.
~~RECOMMENDED?~~
I was looking forward to my chocolate treat but felt very let down by this brand. I felt it is worthy of 2 stars as it is good for using on rice krispie and corn flake cakes. It has a reasonable price and I must say this is the perfect bar for dieters as you can only eat a small amount before it gets sickly ad the horrible after taste starts. A disappointing discount brand product.
Chocolate is a treat in my house, both me and hubby are trying to loose a little bit of weight but we do both agree with the having the odd treat. When we were last shopping we spotted this Ryelands chocolate which was on offer so decided to give it a try. We have had a lot of success in the past with the Tesco discount brands so did not hesitate in giving this one a try.
~~PACKAGING~~
The chocolate comes in a deep blue foil packet which has a white oval shape in the middle with a picture of 3 of the chocolate squares. Above this picture is the Ryeland logo and the words ‘milk chocolate’. The bottom right hand corner has a brief outline of the nutritional values for 4 chocolate squares. On the back of the packet we have all of the details about the chocolate including ingredients, full nutritional values and allergy warnings.
~~TASTE AND APPEARANCE~~
The chocolate is nothing special to look at and it is a rich brown colour. The large bar has small rectangles on it which helps to break it into smaller pieces, there is no pattern on the top of the chocolate. There is a nice pleasant smell to the chocolate which is not overly sweet and really makes you want to eat some.
I found it was very simple to break the chocolate into the small pieces due to the design of it and found that they were good bit size pieces and found I fitted each one into my mouth with ease. When I first placed the chocolate into my mouth I noticed that it did not start to melt straight away but required me to start sucking it slightly for this to happen. I did feel it was a effort to get the chocolate to melt and ended up biting the large square to make it easier to eat. The chocolate seemed to be quite thick and not as light as the branded ones. I did find that once it was melted it seemed to be very heavy and it all seemed to stick to my teeth. The initial taste was good and it just tasted like any other milk chocolate but once I got through the first 3 squares I noticed the taste started to change. It became an effort to eat anymore and I was left with a horribly aftertaste from the chocolate. I also felt like I had fur all over my teeth and did have to have a large drink to help remove this. I did end up having to brush my teeth to get this feeling to go away fully.
The chocolate left a quite nasty aftertaste in my mouth which I did not like and I was completely put off from eating any more of the bar. I have tried it again after leaving ht chocolate in the fridge to harden it up but I have had just the same results from it. Hubby did not have such a bad experience with this chocolate as I did and he did manage to eat a good half of the bar although he did get a nasty after taste from it.
I feel that for the price this chocolate would be ideal for cooking with. It would give a good taste to rice krispie and cornflake cakes but I feel it may be a little too heavy too add to any sponge cakes and may cause the sponge not to rise as well as it normally would. Stick to the basic children’s cakes with this chocolate.
~~INFO~~
The chocolate comes in a bar size of 200g and this is a good sharing size.
There are some allergy warnings on the packet and these include the fact that this chocolate contains milk and soya. There are no nuts in the recipe and it has been made in a nut free factory but Tesco cannot guarantee that all of the ingredients are nut free.
The ingredients for the chocolate are:-
Sugar, cocoa butter, dried whole milk, cocoa mass, whey powder, dried skimmed mil, milk fat, emulsifier (soya lecithins), Natural flavouring.
The milk chocolate contains: cocoa solids 27% minimum, Milk solids 20% minimum.
For each 4 squares of the chocolate the nutritional values are:-
Energy – 155 Kcal
Protein – 2.1g
Carbohydrate – 17.6g
Of which sugars – 17.1g
Fat – 8.0g
Of which saturates – 5.0g
Mono-unsaturates – 2.5g
Polyunsaturates – 0.3g
Fibre – 0.5g
Sodium – trace
Salt equivalent – trace
These are not the best values but as this is chocolate this is only to be expected.
The chocolate must be stored in a cool and dry place and out of sunlight. The shelf life is pretty good and the bar which we bought one week ago has a shelf life of 1 ½ years.
~~PRICE AND AVAILABILITY~~
The Ryelands brand is only available to buy in Tesco stores, it is their new discount brand. This chocolate come priced at just over £1 but there are usually offers on with 2 bars for £1.80. I think this is a good price but such a shame that the chocolate does not taste better.
~~RECOMMENDED?~~
I was looking forward to my chocolate treat but felt very let down by this brand. I felt it is worthy of 2 stars as it is good for using on rice krispie and corn flake cakes. It has a reasonable price and I must say this is the perfect bar for dieters as you can only eat a small amount before it gets sickly ad the horrible after taste starts. A disappointing discount brand product.
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