The end of an era!

University has officially ended, and as it really is the end of an era, I thought I'd spice today's blog post up a little bit.

So, here it is, my own compilation of fantastic memories from over the last three years at Cardiff University with some of the amazing people I have met! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp_fGGvMlB8&feature=youtube_gdata

Let me know what you think! 

Snow White goes dark

The juxtaposition between good and evil has never been so striking than in Rupert Sanders' Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Twilight's Kristen Stewart in the title role of the princess and well known actress Charleze Theron as her step mother and malevolent evil queen.

From the producers of Alice in Wonderland, the epic action-adventure film Snow White and the Huntsman which was released on May 30th 2012, explores the wonders of computer graphics and really shines as a beautifully produced work of art.

When watching the film, however, the most striking aspects remain in the narrative, which is perfectly adapted from the 1937 Walt Disney version to create a contemporary take on the well known fairytale.

Beautiful and innocent, Kristen Stewart plays Snow White, who's step mother murdered her father to become an all-powerful queen. Since then, she has been held prisoner in a tower and is the only person in the land who is fairer than the Queen Ravenna, who is out to destroy her for the reward of never ending youth. When the Queen sends her brother to order Snow to her death, she escapes, and finds her way into the Dark Forest, where she is guaranteed death.

However, with all the help she could need from the Huntsman and of course, some lovable dwarfs, Snow White is able to escape from the the evil grasp of Queen Ravenna, by stabbing her in the heart, becoming Queen and returning the kingdom to its former glory when her father was king.

The beautiful production makes even the likes of Twilight look dated, and Kristen Stewart's acting is even stronger in the role of the princess which suits her like no other role I have ever seen her in - even her fake British accent is convincing.

The film's beauty is further emphasised by its hair-raising soundtrack 'Breath of Life' by Florence and The Machine, which compliments the film's modern, quirky style and reinforces the refreshing female strength and dominance within the narrative.

One criticism could be the glossing over of some background information about some of the characters, such as Queen Ravenna, which could have been expanded much further. However, the 127 minute long film would struggle to be any longer, unless it wanted it's cinema going audiences' bums becoming numb.

Overall, the film was superbly made and is definitely one to watch this summer, guaranteeing that even the skeptics will be proved wrong.

8/10

Our Road trip to West Wales...

Enjoying the scenery at Caerfai Bay 

Cloudbathing on Newgale Beach

Having a wander around St David's Cathedral

Having a cuppa and eating healthy things...

Looks like we're abroad!

Oh no,  we're definitely in Britain... Drunk of course.

Excited!

My girls!

                      Names in the sand on Newgale Beach

We're like children when we go to the beach!

Cheese!

One of my favourite places in the world!

Go away!

Drunk.. again!

<3

                                                              Love my girls!

                   Thanks for an amazing few days away, I'm going to miss you so much next year! 

Fifty Shades of Fabulous

Fifty Shades of Grey is the first in the trilogy of novels by E L James and is currently a New York Times best seller. But what is all the hype about? Ever since I heard about the 'Fifty Shades' books a few weeks ago, they have since been on the tip of everyone's lips. Last week, I therefore thought I'd buy the first book, to test the waters, before I splashed out on all three.
As you know, if you read my blog, I am very fond of criticising everything and anything, and it is very rare that I praise a novel of a film without a negative comment. But things were about to change as soon as I picked up the novel from the shelf at my local supermarket, as I haven't been able to put it down since.

Usually, when reading novels, especially of the romance genre, I tend to get easily bored, or sometimes, I even find them cringy, as I am definitely more of a horror/thriller kind of girl.
However, there is nothing cringy about these novels, unless you aren't fond of the erotic nature which they are oh so happy to indulge in.
Right from page 1, the story surrounding Anastasia Steele, and her mysterious first love, Christian Grey, is captivating and mind-blowing, and will leave you rushing to Amazon.com to buy your next fix.
Recently compared to the recent Twilight series (no wonder I like it) the Fifty Shades trilogy continues with Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, which I am very much looking forward to reading.

Just like Twilight, E L James is considering film versions of all three novels due to their outstanding success. Warner Bros., Sony, Paramount and Universal Pictures all entered for film rights to the trilogy, but in March, it was announced that the rights had been secured by Universal Pictures and Focus Features.
I personally cannot wait for the films to be released, as with such a good storyline which includes such in depth detail, the films should be just as good, if not better than the novel, with actors such as Ian Somerhalder from The Vampire Diaries and Ashley Benson from Pretty Little Liars expressing interest in acting in the films.