Films I've seen of late (September)

#53 Under the Skin (2013)
Sci-fi horror meets arthouse in this dark tale about an alien who seduces lonely men in order to harvest their flesh. The antithesis to Hollywood action hero fare, Under the Skin ironically features one of its most prominent superhero actresses (Johanssen) - who delivers a captivating performance as the otherworldly siren.
(9/10)

#54 Captain Underpants (2017)
Two best friends come up against their mean school principal and inadvertently turn him into their own comic book invention 'Captain Underpants'. Starts well, but soon gets muddled along the way and ultimately resorts to a slightly tired ending. 
(5/10)

#55 Paddington (2015)
The children's classic is given the feature film treatment in this enjoyable origin story of the clumsy but loveable bear's adoption into a London family. Updating the stories to 21st century Britain feels a little forced at times, and the evil villain (Nicole Kidman) doesn't seem to fit well with the tone of the original stories. Even so, a good effort.
(7/10)

#56 American Made (2017)
Tom Cruise is on top form in this biopic of Barry Seal, ace pilot who gets recruited by the CIA to spy on South American rebels in the 70s. His actions come to the attention of drug lords who see his usefulness and ask him to run drugs to the States as well. Before long, the money is flowing but soon Barry's luck begins to run out. Well-paced and tightly directed, American Made feels more of an indie flick than a hollywod blockbuster (despite Cruise as the lead) which plays to its advantage. An enjoyable true story.
(8.5/10)

#57 Passengers (2016)
Two passengers aboard a colony ship travelling through space find themselves awake ninety years too early. Restricted from returning to cryosleep, they come to terms with their fate and fall in love - but a dark secret hangs over their lives. Critics panned this film but I think it's pretty decent - yes, it could have been a lot darker but understandably the studio played it safe. Good performances, amazing visuals and an interesting dilemma for the protagonists make this entirely watchable.
(8/10)

#58 Office Space (1999)
Cult classic comedy about a frustrated office worker in a dead-end job who has an epiphany and seeks to take revenge on corporate America. Feels like it loses its way half way through but is enjoyable nonetheless.
(7.5/10)

The Joy of Baking (again)

My new (second hand) breadmaker and its produce - yum!

Back in the day, I had the bread-making bug and tried numerous times to make it myself with varying degrees of success.

Because bread making is not as easy as, say, making cakes I kinda gave up on the whole thing though. I was fed up of making heavy, overly-yeasty bread that didn't taste right. I longed to be able to produce soft and fluffy white loaves like they make in the bakery. Had I more time, I guess I could have worked to perfect my skills – but time is a precious commodity of which I have very little at present.

Until, that is, that we were bequeathed a bread maker. Oh yes!

Now, I accept that this is sort of cheating but I thought I'd give it a go and I have been impressed with the results so far.

I've been fairly unadventurous and stuck with white loaves (apart from one wholemeal that I made which the family disapproved of), and each time they have come out pretty much perfect. So, the bread making will continue (despite the fact that it's far, far cheaper to buy the stuff from the supermarket!), and maybe I'll try a few more exciting varieties down the line.

At some point, I hope to use the bread maker to just do the kneading (this is the hard part - not just physically but technically, I feel) and do the rest myself. But that, unfortunately, requires a bit more time.

So, maybe one day...

Female Movie Voiceover

At a trip to the cinema recently, it struck me that the voiceover for every trailers is always a man.

I don't think I've ever heard a female voice for trailers and I wonder why. Sure, it feels like it should be a bloke, but when you listen to this:

I don't have a problem with this at all.

It's time to redress the balance, people. Let's have more female voicovers for trailers please!