Posts Tagged ‘reviews’

The Making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s

Monday, February 11th, 2013

Audrey Hepburn

I don’t think I know many women who haven’t watched and loved Breakfast at Tiffany’s a thousand times over. It speaks to the greatness of the film that it still resonates so much with women of every generation. It wasn’t until a couple of years after I first saw the movie that I read Truman Capote’s original book. There were some definite stark differences between the book and what eventually made it to screen. So when I was recently sent ’5th Avenue, 5 A.M. Audrey Hepburn and the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, I couldn’t wait to read more of the story of how this cult classic came about. (more…)

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Posted in fashion | 4 Comments »

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel

Monday, September 24th, 2012

Last week, I heard about, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, a new documentary about the legendary fashion editor of Harpers Bazaar and Vogue, and vowed see it immediately. Lucky I found out about it when I did because it’s only showing for a number of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dates in the UK. I treated myself to a viewing at the Curzon Mayfair on Saturday afternoon and have felt inspired and creative ever since. I cannot recommend this film to you enough.

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Bangs Likes….Knomo Bags

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

I used this bag by Knomo in my photo shoot in Glamour magazine (what? Did I not mention I’m in Glamour magazine this month? October issue – I’m part of their Style Tribe, page 223, anyhoo I digress…) and loads of people asked me about it, which is lucky, ’cause I’ve been dying to tell you about it. This bag is a slice of genius and has rapidly become my new favourite thing.

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Posted in fashion | 11 Comments »

Review: Eee Pad Transformer

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

It’s no secret that tablets is the way the computer market is headed. With all the brouhaha over the iPad 2 you, like me, may have missed the hype about the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t heard of ASUS until they contacted me and offered to send me one to try out – and it’s a good thing they did because apparently these things have been selling like hot cakes. The first shipment sold out crazy fast and the next load won’t be available til June 1st. Amazon recently said that the Transformer is its best selling tablet to date.

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Posted in life | 14 Comments »

Review: 127 Hours

Monday, January 31st, 2011

Hate to give away the ending right off the bat, but a dude cuts his arm off in this movie. But don’t let that put you off. This real life story of Aron Ralston (played by James Franco) is about way more than the arm, or lack of it, or whatever. And while yes, you do spend much of the movie on the edge of your seat, waiting for that inevitable moment, the lead up to it is so beautifully constructed by director Danny Boyle, that in that moment, you just want to be there to help him.

Ralston is a charming outdoorsy type who, in 2003 decided to explore Blue John Canyon in the remote Utah desert, something we get the feeling he has done many times before, only this time, for some inexplicable reason, he didn’t tell anyone where he was going. From the outset of the film, we’re struck with incredible expansive landscapes, the type that you don’t really believe are real as you only see them in movies like this. The way Boyle shoots, with a dizzying array of wide shots, close cuts, hand held video cameras, quick edits can leave your head spinning somewhat, but it all adds to the sense of adventure.

It’s not long into the film when Ralston jumps down into a crevasse and a boulder decides to follow him, trapping his arm. What follows is five days of what can only be described as sheer hell as he fights to survive, break free from the death grip of the boulder, ponder life and what he imagines will be his inevitable death rather matter of factly and ultimately tries to stay sane. This part of the film, as we are down there in that crevasse with him, is claustrophobic without a doubt.

I always marvel at tales like this where survival instinct just kicks in. Given, Ralston was a keen outdoorsman but I was nonetheless uber impressed with his ability to use everything he’d packed in his bag; ropes, water, pen knife, watch – to ultimately set him free. Watching him experiment with different ideas was fascinating and when it came to that heart wrenching moment, where he was all out of options, where there was no other choice but to amputate his own arm with a blunt knife, you willed him on to do it, because someone so charming, so resourceful, witty and resilient deserves to get out of that goddamn crevasse any way he damn well can.

It should be said that James Franco puts in the performance of a lifetime. For much of the film, he is alone (save for a few flashbacks of family life) and it’s no easy task to keep an audience engaged for that long. If I was a bit wishy washy about Franco before, he’s proved his acting chops with this little nugget.

Overall, this film made me think: could I do it? Would I do it? Would I fight with everything in me to survive or just accept death in what seems like an impossible situation to escape? But not only that, would I step up when it matters in other areas? Could I fight off a would-be attacker? Could I save someone else? It really makes you question your own character and if you’d have what it takes to do what’s necessary in those fight or flight moments. For me, this story of pure, unadulterated grit and determination couldn’t have come at a better time in my life.

To describe the film as ‘enjoyable’ would be off the mark, but it is an intense journey in every sense and well worth a watch.

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Posted in life | 3 Comments »

Review: The Blow Bar

Friday, December 24th, 2010

It is my dream in life to one day have enough money to have a hair stylist on my ‘staff’ (along with a manicurist, an errand runner and a token gay man). My hair is long (I like to point out the obvious) and often times, I just don’t feel as though I have enough arms to deal with it. I love for someone else to take the reins and just handle it.

So, The Blow Bar, a new one stop shop for all your blow drying needs in Islington, is my dream come true. I was invited there this week to get my hair blow dried and you can see the results above. I had a meeting in the afternoon, so it was ideal for me to stop off there first and get my tresses sorted – can you imagine if I’d rocked into my meeting looking like that before picture? The horror!

Candice took care of taming my wild mane into lovely big, bouncy curls – her arms must have been killing her by the end of it, bless ‘er. Both Candice and Emma (pictured) gave me a really warm welcome when I arrived. There’s complimentary drinks, plenty of mags to browse through and joy of all joys, free wifi (an ideal hang out for a blogger with long hair!).

I really enjoyed the experience. Great products were used on my hair, the girls were friendly and a good laugh and best of all, I came out of it looking more polished for my meeting, without the hassle of having to sort it out myself (at least this way I could take care of emails and tweet my way through – two birds with one stone and all that).

All in all, I highly recommend it. If you have an important meeting, a party to go to or just know you’ll be bumping into your ex that day and want to look a million bucks, The Blow Bar is definitely worth a visit.

The Blow Bar is at 25 Camden Passage, Islington, London and you can find out more details over on their website.

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Posted in fashion | 5 Comments »

Sex & The City 2: A Review

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

I went to see Sex & The City 2. God help me. This video explains my thoughts.

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Posted in video blogs | 19 Comments »