February 2011 in Films, Books and Music

You can probably assess how much work I’ve done in a month, purely from reading these end-of-month-review blogs. If there were a lot of books and music and not many films, that would mean I’d done quite a lot – I listen to music whilst I’m working and wind-down after intense essay sessions with a good book. If there are a shedload of films and one book, that pretty much means I spent the month bunking off at the cinema. And February 2011? Well, see for yourself...

Films
1. Tangled - I'm a bit of a Disney fangirl. Thought I'd warn you straight off the mark. I REALLY enjoyed this. I mean, people will judge those like me who get a real kick out of cliche lines, predictable plots and spontaneous musical numbers, but I left that cinema with a smile splitting my face, so figure out for yourself whether or not I care.
2. Hereafter - zzzzzzzzzz, sorry what? I think I was expecting too much of this, but of the three storylines that kind of bumped clumsily together at the end, I was only actually interested in one. And in that one, a character behaved so unforgivably stupidly that I lost interest in that too. Not a BAD film, just a dull one.
3. Cherrybomb - obviously this wasn't at the cinema, but I'm going through a bit of a Robert Sheehan-stalking episode, and I'd already watched both series of Misfits, back-to-back. Oh yeah. I'm cool. Anyway, the ending of this kind of annoyed me, but I did enjoy it - could have done with a few more laughs, but ultimately a good, fast-paced, gripping film.
4. True Grit - it's Oscar season, so as a film buff I had to give this a shot, and was shocked how much I enjoyed it. I had absolutely no idea what the hell Jeff Bridges was saying throughout (he was going for 'drunken cowboy' and hit the mark at 'whaaaaaaaaaa??'), but Matt Damon is usually good value and the little girl - Hailee Steinfeld - was genuinely extraordinary. She was the highlight of the whole film for me, and one to watch for the future....
5. True Grit - contrary to what I'm sure you're thinking, I did not accidentally type this twice. After seeing the new one at the cinema, my dad (who's a hardcore John Wayne fangirl) insisted I watch the original. It was alright actually; films made before the 70s do tend to get on my nerves, but this was good - though I have to say that the general standard of acting has risen markedly in the past forty years or so. Curiously, the character that made the new version great nearly ruined the original - Kim Darby made Mattie Ross a shrill, girly, hyper-irritating and thoroughly grit-less character, which kind of stamped on the whole point of the film...
6. Paul - Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are one of those duos whom I usually take with a pinch of salt. They strike the occasional hilarity chord, but I can generally take them or leave them. But this was great. Much, much funnier than I had expected, and if I ever meet and alien, I will be crushed if it does not sound like Seth Rogen.

Music
1. Gavin DeGraw - 'Free' - this was leant to me by a friend, and it was quite good. Not an extraordinary album, but one of those with a couple of doozies and a couple of gems. Worth a listen, certainly. Favourite tracks: 'Dancing Shoes', 'Stay' and 'Lover Be Strong'.
2. Glee - 'The Music, vol. 1' - I know, I know. You can be forgiven for judging me. In my defence, I actually bought this album as a present for a friend, but it was in my bag during the great Coke Spill of '10, so I had to buy her a clean copy and kept this one. I have to say though, think what you like about Glee - they have done some pretty awesome covers. Hoenstly. Favourite tracks: 'Take A Bow', 'Somebody To Love' and 'Defying Gravity'.
3. Kate Rusby - 'Make The Light' - I said you'd be hearing more about this lovely lady from me, and it does not end here - I'm going to see her live in August, so you have been warned. Anyway, this is (I THINK) her most recent album, and compiled of more original than covered work, and I loved it. Not as good as Awkward Annie, but still a superb album that I'll be listening to for years to come. Favourite tracks: 'The Wishing Wife', 'Only Hope' and 'Shout To The Devil'.

Books
1. Paper Towns - John Green - see the last-but-one post for full details on the pure awesomeness that is this book.
2. Looking For Alaska - John Green - whenever I've read an extraordinary book, I'm always very hesitant before reading anything else from that author, because I always expect it to disappoint. Especially as this was written before Paper Towns, and deals with more depressing subject matter, to say I was dubious is putting it mildly. And whilst it wasn't as good as Paper Towns, I did really enjoy it, and thus have no qualms whatsoever about buying and reading John Green's third book - An Abundance of Katherines.
3. Collected Poems - W.H. Auden - I never used to be much of a poetry person, but a friend bought me a 'Collected Works' for Christmas and, of all the mini-books in it, Auden is by far and away my favourite (with the possible exception of John Keats). We've all heard 'Funeral Blues', but that isn't even close to Auden's best work, so seriously -- give it a shot. This guy is amazing.