The 10s: A Decade in Review

10 Years of Change

The last 10 years can only be described as constant change and personal growth. That does come from starting the decade as a child, to ending it as an adult.
In 2010 I was 11 years old, and at the time being bullied by some of my peers. Now, at the end of 2019, I'm 21 years old and have become someone my 11 year old self never dreamed I'd become. 

In this decade, I discovered the moral I live by, from an actor in Broadway's 'Dear Evan Hansen.'

I mean, I think it's impossible to try to worry about fitting in because no matter what happens somebody isn't gonna like you. Whether they're projecting onto you, or, you know maybe you just don't gel with that person. So I think as difficult as it is, just be your most authentic version of yourself. It's truly the only thing you can do. Because if you spend time not doing that, I think you're wasting time getting to know yourself, and you should be your own best friend.

If I could tell my 11 year old self anything, it would definitely be this. I spent so much time worrying about what I liked, who liked me, being too nerdy (believe it or not at one point I refused to wear fandom tops because I was worried about judgement), and even my writing. I tried for most of secondary school to keep it a secret because I didn't want the judgement from my peers.

But moving on from secondary school, I decided to do a round up of some of my favourite things from this decade. There won't be any photos on this post, but the list I've compiled is:

• Age
• Favourite Singer/Band
• Favourite Song
• Favourite Film
• Favourite TV Show
• Favourite Book
• A High Moment
• A Low Moment

I'm relying a lot on memory here, but I'm going to do my best to keep it true to what it was back then as I possibly can.

2010

Age: 11/12
Favourite Singer/Band: Taylor Swift
Favourite Song: Everybody in Love - JLS
Favourite Film: Twilight
Favourite TV Show: Doctor Who
Favourite Book: Bloodlust by Alex Duval
A High Moment: Achieving my yellow belt in TaeKwonDo.
A Low Moment: Being dragged into drama that I didn't want to be involved in.

2011

Age: 12/13
Favourite Singer/Band: Big Time Rush
Favourite Song: What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
Favourite Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Favourite TV Show: Victorious
Favourite Book: Divergent - Veronica Roth
A High Moment: Starting KickBoxing.
A Low Moment: Being dragged into more drama - the first two years of secondary school brought me a lot of unnecessary drama.

2012

Age: 13/14
Favourite Singer/Band: One Direction
Favourite Song: Wings - Little Mix
Favourite Film: Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1
Favourite TV Show: Big Time Rush
Favourite Book: Initiation - Alex Duval
A High Moment: Getting guinea pigs.
A Low Moment: The car accident.

2013

Age: 14/15
Favourite Singer/Band: One Direction
Favourite Song: Best Song Ever - One Direction
Favourite Film: Man of Steel
Favourite TV Show: The Fosters
Favourite Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
A High Moment: Going to my first tattoo convention. 
A Low Moment: It seems ridiculous, but having my writing outed to a lot of the year group by one of my classmates.

2014

Age: 15/16
Favourite Singer/Band: Lyon Estate
Favourite Song: Catch Me - Lyon Estate
Favourite Film: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Favourite TV Show: The Fosters
Favourite Book: Two Boys Kissing - David Leviathan
A High Moment: Getting a short story published in an anthology.
A Low Moment: Discovering that I have exam anxiety, and low blood pressure.

2015

Age: 16/17
Favourite Singer/Band: Lyon Estate
Favourite Song: Carry on My Wayward Son - Kansas
Favourite Film: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Favourite TV Show: Supernatural
Favourite Book: Divine by Mistake - P.C. Cast
A High Moment: Seeing the short story I wrote adapted into a short film.
A Low Moment: A holiday that went horribly wrong and awakened my travel anxiety.

2016

Age: 17/18
Favourite Singer/Band: Shawn Mendes
Favourite Song: If You Know What I Mean - Lyon Estate
Favourite Film: Me Before You
Favourite TV Show: MacGyver
Favourite Book: Me Before You - JoJo Moyes
A High Moment: Getting into Derby Uni through clearing.
A Low Moment: Not getting the grades I wanted in my A Levels and missing out on my first two choices for uni.

2017

Age: 18/19
Favourite Singer/Band: All Time Low
Favourite Song: Somewhere in Neverland - All Time Low
Favourite Film: Beauty and the Beast
Favourite TV Show: Stranger Things
Favourite Book: Memories - Lang Leav
A High Moment: Going to FanFest with one of my best friends.
A Low Moment: Living with my first year housemate. It wasn't the best environment to live in.

2018

Age: 19/20

Favourite Singer/Band: The cast of Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Favourite Song: Talk Too Much - COIN

Favourite Film: Call Me By Your Name

Favourite TV Show: You

Favourite Book: Mythos - Stephen Fry

A High Moment: Cosplaying when I went back to the Studio Tour.

A Low Moment: Having an early piece of writing criticised without it being constructive.

2019

Age: 20/21
Favourite Singer/Band: 3ree
Favourite Song: Sincerely, Me - Dear Evan Hansen Cast
Favourite Film: Beautiful Boy
Favourite TV Show: Mindhunter
Favourite Book: Machines Like Me - Ian McEwan
A High Moment: Graduating uni with a 2:1
A Low Moment: Having a breakdown in Singapore airport - I was so overwhelmed that all I could do was cry for three hours.


And there we go. It's so interesting how much I've changed, just based on my tastes in music, literature and songs. Some of the high and low moments took me a long time to think of, particularly the 2019 one. I don't see that as a low moment, just an overwhelmed one, but it took a lot to share the photo on my personal Facebook. 

Anyway, I hope the 2020 and the 20s will allow me to grow even more as a person. 

See you soon!

-Emmaberry-

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again Review

Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again

Rating: 9 out of 10.

Here we go again with another film review. I've seen this film three times now, and already parodied one of the songs to someone I know on Twitter. 

Ever since I saw the first teaser, I was so excited for this film. Anyone who knows me, knows Mamma Mia is my go to feel good film. Over the past couple of weeks, I've been obsessed with watching the press junkets for the film, so I probably have a variety of knowledge I probably will never need to use again in my life, but hey, maybe there will be a question on Mamma Mia on quiz shows in the future. 

What do I love about this film? The story! Even though there were some twists, and continuity differences between the first film and this one, I didn't mind them so much. I think they were needed to help tell a deeper story. I liked that it was a prequel, sequel, and the transitions really worked with bringing the two together. As it was described in the pitch, "The Godfather 2."
I also love the casting choices. Though there were subtle differences, such as eye colours, or height, the acting was phenomenal. Everyone praised Lily James (Cinderella, Baby Driver), and yes, I found her to be the perfect choice for Young Donna, it was actually Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, The Railway Man) who stole the show for me. My heart broke when he sung Knowing Me, Knowing You, and I don't know whether it was because I was so emotionally invested in the story, or if the acting was so spot on that it just broke me. 
Another part that destroyed me, was Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye, Mamma Mia) singing acapella. I can not laugh at all the memes my friend and I had about him singing, because it was just a heartbreaking scene.

What didn't I like? Where were Sophie's friends from the first film? They didn't even make an appearance at the end of the film! It's bugged me every time I've seen the film, because they were such a prominent part of the first film. 
I didn't like having to wait for the entire credits to play through to get the extra scene, even if it was worth it. 

It's honestly so difficult to find things that I dislike about the film, because I just adore it. My final rating is 9 out of 10.

***

Thank you for reading! I decided in the end to have a week off, rather than spend time playing catch up. This is because I was away, and I wanted to make sure I was really happy with this review before posting it. 

See you Monday, with the first of the August musical posts!

-Emmaberry-

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My World Cinema Collection.

What is my favourite film from World Cinema?

Aside from the cropping Instragram did when I posted this picture, this is my DVD collection. I haven't actually counted how many DVDs I have. Packing and unpacking these from university, it is one of the few times I've acknowledged I have too many DVDs. However, I still aim to buy more. Three of them are going to be honourable mentions, due to not having them in my collection. The others: The Good Doctor Season One, Criminal Minds Boxset Seasons 1-12, and Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012), are on my wishlist, but are probably going to end up on my Christmas list, rather than my summer list. 

I have twelve foreign language films, in eight different languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Sweedish, Spanish, Zulu and Hebrew. Two of the other films I wish to buy are Finnish, with one of them being a mix of Finnish and English, and the other is Spanish. There is one film on my list that you could argue is possibly a foreign language film: Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017), however, I do not consider it a foreign language film myself. Therefore, I will not be including it on my list, otherwise it would take the number one spot. 

A common theme you will find with these films, is me discovering them when I was at college. Without my Film Studies course, I would not be as into foreign language films as I am. If you want a blog post on how Film Studies revealed my inner film nerd, let me know. 

But without futher adieu, onto my honourable mentions, counting down from twelve, to one. Lets start with the three honourable mentions. I highly recommend watching all these films - foreign language films don't get as much love as they deserve.

All opinions are my own, so if they differ from yours let me know. I'd be interested on your thoughts about ranking these. 

Honourable Mentions

• Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Jalmari Helander, 2010). Finnish.
  I first watched this film during my second year at college, and I really enjoyed it. Until watching this film, I was unfamiliar with Krampus, so when I first watched it, I was curious. I definitely prefer this tale of Krampus, to the actual Krampus films. I aim to buy this in time for Christmas 2018, as I wanted to watch this last year with a friend, and didn't have access to it on their laptop. As someone who isn't a massive horror fan, I really recommend this film.

• Big Game (Jalmari Helander, 2014). Finnish/English.
  This is the first foreign language film I watched, and I went into it completely blind. I had no idea it was Finnish and English, but I really enjoyed it. My brother and I were the youngest in the audience by about twenty years. When I saw this, it was prior to the inner film nerd in me coming out, so I like to think this is a turning point for my film nerd.
  Samuel L. Jackson was a welcome actor for this film, and his character really worked well with the other characters in the film. Definitely one I wish to re-watch again.

• La Zona (Rodrigo Plá, 2007). Spanish.
  La Zona is the only film I studied during my Film A Levels that I have yet to buy. I haven't watched it since college, but I still remember really enjoying this film. As I type this, I can still see the opening sequence, and various scenes from the film (though that could be because I studied the film, so I had to analyse some of the scenes that I'm currently visualising). The only issue I have with buying this film, is it's actually really difficult for me to find the film to buy.
• 
  

The Countdown

• 12 - Cinema Paridiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988). Italian. Whilst I enjoyed the film, and the cinematography is gorgeous for the late 1980s, it wasn't my favourite. I can see why it won an Oscar, and is a must see for foreign language films, but I've enjoyed other films more. It's one I'll watch again, but it's not one I'd immediately reach for. 

• 11 - Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012). French.I'll admit, the only reason this is at number 11 is because I haven't actually watched it yet. I picked it up during this past academic year because it looks like a powerful love story. I am determined to watch this film over the summer. I'm interested to see where this will end up after I have watched the film. 

• 10 - Chungking Express (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994). Cantonese.Chungking Express (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994) confused me when I first watched it. The two narratives going on side by side, and stopping and starting during the film just didn't work. I recently bought it, in the hopes of watching it again and hopefully understanding the film more. This was definitely the hardest to track down out of the foreign language films I own, but it was so worth it.

• 9 - La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995). French.I did enjoy studying this La Haine, and the social and historical content, but I haven't picked it up since college. Whilst I believe that this film is still relevant, it is no longer my favourite French film. What I do love about this film, is how it is set over twenty four hours. It's a definite film to watch if you're answering a question on social context.

• 8 - Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008). Sweedish. 
  Let me start off by saying this is the definitive version of this film you should watch. I'm not a horror fan, which is why this is so low on the list. Truth be told, this final eight was really difficult to rank. The American adaptation of this film has a score that just ruins the film. I actually walked out (I had film club after and the option to stay and watch the film, or go to film club, and I chose film club). What is unique about the original version, is it only uses a film score as and when it is needed. My aim is to make this my Halloween tradition because it is just such a wonderful film. 

• 7 - City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, 2002). Portuguese. 
  I've actually been debating buying the sequel and documentary to this film, because socially this film was outstanding. I love the progression of this film over the different decades, and how it is still an accurate representation of what living in certain parts of Brazil is like today. I highly recommend this film, especially as the documentary from 2012 accompanies the development of the social context perfectly. 

• 6 - Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard, 2012). French. 
  This is one of the films I've watched a couple of times, so I'm surprised I actually put it at six. It's a lovely story line, and every time I watch it, I see something new. This is another one that I watched in film club, and even though it has been a while since I last saw this film, I can still see the opening sequence, as well as a few other scenes playing in my head. Definitely one I'm going to re-watch over the summer.

• 5 - Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006). Spanish. 
  Until I was in film club, I had never seen this film. Aesthetically is is gorgeous, and had me captivated with Guillermo del Toro's work. If only I could write a screenplay half as well as del Toro, I could die happy. As I type, I'm visualising characters and scenes and it just makes me want to watch the film all over again. It's one of those films I wish I could forget watching, just so I can repeatedly experience it again for the first time. 

• 4 - Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001). French. 
  I think a lot of people that know me would be surprised that this isn't number one on my list. And I did struggle to decide whether or not it's 3 or 4 on this list. I recently re-watched this with one of my friends and I still find it as wonderful now, as I did when I first watched it in college. If you are starting out with foreign language films, this is the film I recommend you start with. 

• 3 - Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008). Hebrew. 
  This was another film that was quite difficult to buy, but it does deserve its place in my top 3. It did, in the end come down to a narrative as to whether this film took third or fourth place. The animation is brilliant for it's time, and the way the story is presented is even better. I am definitely glad this is animated, as I think some of the story would have been lost had it been live action. Without giving too many away, if you want to know more about the Lebanon War of the early eighties, this film is a must see. 

• 2 - Tsotsi (Gavin Hood, 2005) Zulu.
  There is more reason than the fact the ending made me cry to me placing this film at number two. I studied this one at college and there is so much you can talk about, from power divides, to social context. The film takes place over six days and so much goes on in it that perhaps goes unnoticed, that whenever I go back to watch this film, I always notice something new.

• 1 - Untouchable/The Intouchables (Oliver Nakache, Éric Toledano, 2011). French. 
  I think most people who have watched this film will agree that is one of the purest and most wonderful narratives they have seen. Every year I see a picture from this film that I shared praising this story and the acting. Based on a true story, it is heartwarming and one of my feel good films. The more I research the film, the more I love it. I definitely recommend watching this film. 

Thank you so much for reading and sticking by me through this long and slightly vague post. I didn't want to do full reviews of each film, though I will happily do a more in depth film review for each of these films if you'd like. Let me know. 

Also, like I mentioned earlier, if you want to know my Film Studies story - what I learnt, how it made me more confident about being a film nerd, why I considered switching courses at the start of first year, let me know. I can do it as a mid-week post, or a full Saturday post. 

With all that said, I'll see you next week with another post. 

-Emmaberry-

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