Glee Highlights - Bumper Edition!

Oh my gosh, I am so behind with my Glee updates. Well, only two episodes, but with the Oscars and my giveaway and my DVD review of Ramona and Beezus, suddenly here we are thirty minutes away from a new episode and I'm feeling kind of frazzled.

So, instead of one episode* highlight, in this entry you get two! Bonus bumper edition!

Too many exclamation points. I'll stop that now, I promise.

Here we go......

*I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have mistyped the word 'episode.' I am so tired.

Pin It

Movie Review - Ramona and Beezus

The Movie: Ramona and Beezus
The Players: John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan, Selena Gomez, Joey King, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel
The Makers: Elizabeth Allen (director), Laurie Craid, Nick Pustay (writers), Beverly Cleary (novel)
Run time: 103 minutes

Anyone familiar with the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary will instantly have an idea of what this film is about, but here's a brief synopsis anyway!

Ramona is an eight year old girl who is anything but ordinary. She's a talented artist, an imaginative, brave little girl who gets easily frustrated and upset at unfair situations and adults. Her older sister, Beezus (short for Beatrice), is the complete opposite - friendly, mature and perfect. Obviously her mother's favourite (according to Ramona). They live on Klickitat Street in Oregon, a fairly ordinary middle class neighbourhood, with their parents and baby sister Roberta, and next door to Ramona's best friend Howie and his family. Ramona is the kind of girl who takes an idea and runs with it, often trying to mimic the behaviour she sees on television, or pitch in and "help" with disastrous results.

The film adaptation of Beezus and Ramona was actually an amalgamation of all of the Ramona books combined into one neat and tidy narrative. The film begins with some great scenes of basic introduction to the Quimby family for the audience. From the get-go, it's obvious that the writers have kept the script as close to the books as possible, just modernising it slightly. The initial scenes deal with the renovations to the Quimby house and the chaos that it brings to their lives. To Ramona and Howie, it's the most amazing thing that's ever happened and they spend endless hours playing amongst the building, which makes for some cute scenes as the hole in the house provides a nice vehicle for Ramona's fantasies.

Tension heats up though, when Ramona's dad is made redundant from his job. Money woes mean that Dorothy has to go back to work part time and Bob becomes a stay at home dad, allowing him more time with his girls. While the threat of unpaid bills hangs over their heads, the film manages to continue with it's entertaining, light tone. In amongst these tense scences, Ramona goes to school, hangs out with Howie and looks forward to visits from the always fun, always glamorous Aunt Bea (Ginnifer Goodwin). The film incorporates many of the hilarious messes Ramona manages to find herself in, which readers of the books will instantly recognise, from her audition for a television commercial with a crown made from burrs, saying a "bad" word, cracking a raw egg over her head, and running away from home with the help of her mother, just to name a few.

I have to say that I really, really enjoyed this film. Obviously my affection for the Ramona books makes me biased, but I think even if you didn't read the books when you were younger this film would appeal to you. It's a gorgeous snapshot of life for an average family, with a daughter whose inquisitive nature makes life chaotic and fun. Her adventures, while full of good intentions, often end up causing her family a lot more hassle than expected. Director Elizabeth Allen doesn't have many feature films under her belt, but she has painted a rich and colourful environment for one of the most loved characters from children's literature, with help from a wonderful cast.

Even if you don't have kids, this film is perfect for a rainy day, and if you do have kids I recommed that you rent this to watch as a family because I guarantee each and every person will find some enjoyment in it.

In a word: Charming





Pin It

Friday morning melody

Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs - Sparkadia

Love this. His voice reminds me so much of Zachary Francis Condon from Beirut.

P.S. Have you entered the Lantern Studios giveaway yet? Competition ends tonight at midnight Melbourne time! Pin It

Oscars 2011 Fashion Round Up

Where was all the crazy this year? I have to hand it to the ladies of Hollywood - they mostly pulled it off this year in the fashion stakes. But there were a few WTF moments on the red carpet, so let's take a look.

"Uh, Anne.....Annie, my leeeetle principessa! I am filled with amore for you too, darrrrrlink, but stop trying to kiss my cheek. My tan will smudge. SMUDGE I TEEEEELL YOU! Step away from me, PRONTO! Look, look over there is Mary Hart - can you believe she's 60? Please, go. Go and ask her what de secret is, please darlink."

Pin It

Boredom Abounds By Julia - Giveaway time - Winner!

As mentioned, it was my birthday last week and I ate a bunch of yummy stuff. So, to celebrate all the food I stuffed in my mouth, I decided to give away some cute things from Lantern Studios to jazz up your kitchen and inspire your culinary side!

Check it:

From back left we have:

- Notecards (pack of 10)

- Recipe box holder with starter pack of recipe cards

- Magnetic shopping list with pencil

- Pair of oven mitts

Just head over to the Boredom Abounds By Julia Facebook page and do the following TWO things:

1) Hit the "Like" button on the Boredom Abounds Facebook page to receive all the latest Boredom Abounds blog posts and updates.

2) Go to the "Discussions" tab on the Boredom Abounds Facebook page and reply to the discussion topic I've started by telling me what the best meal you've ever eaten was and where. If you have already "Liked" the Facebook page previously, then all you have to do it reply to the discussion topic and your entry in the competition is complete!

Et Voila! Once you've done both of those things, you're eligble to go into the draw to win the books!

T's & C's:

The competition will be open until midnight on Friday, 4th March, 2011 (Melbourne, Australia time). 

The winner will be selected at random and announced on Saturday, 5th March, 2011. 

I will ship the prize to any destination in the world, so no matter where you are, you're eligible to enter (as long as you have a home address or PO box I can send them to, of course!) and if you spread the word amongst your friends, they can head over to the Facebook page and enter as well. It's too easy!

I'm pleased to announce the winner  of this giveaway is Genevieve! Congratulations! Please email me at boredomabounds at gmail.com and I will send the goodies out to you this week!

Pin It

Gadding About - Birthday Edition

It was my birthday last Saturday. I don't want this to turn into a photo heavy blog post of five billion different photo angles of the same ingredients/meals/etc, so I'll keep it brief (but delicious).

Here is everything I ate.

Enjoy.

Cupcakes from Cupcake Central in Hawthorn. They were the baby cakes and were $2 each. So light and moist and perfect for a bite sized dessert. We got a variety of raspberry and white chocolate, chocolate devils food cake, vanilla vanilla, cookies 'n' cream (each shown above) and chocolate malted milkshake (not pictured). I will definitely be going back there to sample the rest of the flavours, and I highly recommend you stop in to stuff your face with cupcakes ASAP.

On my actual birthday evening we dined at Hellenic Republic, where I've been wanting to go for a while now because I love Greek food (and NOT because it's one of the Masterchef judges' restaurants, I promise you). 

Entree was Tyri saganaki (Kefalograviera with peppered figs - left) and warm pita bread with Taramosalata (white cod roe dip right). These three things were some of the most delicious entrees I have ever eaten. EVER. The salty cheese with the sweetness of the figs was delicious, and the pita bread and dip were so fresh and perfectly prepared they were delightful to eat.

Main meal was grilled calamari (tasted like it had dill and another herb I couldn't identify), Arni sto fourno (slow roasted lamb, garlic, oregano) and Fasolakia (green beans with feta and pine nuts). The calamari was nice and tasty, but holy cow - that lamb? Incredible. So tender and the spices were flavoursome without tasting too salty or garlicky). The green bean salad was small, but the flavours went well with the mains.

Then we saw Black Swan and feasted on Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert. No pics because I HAD TO EAT IT ALL REALLY FAST. I had the mint choc chip flavour and the chocolate pudding flavour, which went nicely together.

And that's how I began the last year of my twenties. It better be a good one, universe (shakes tiny fist at the skies)!!

The end.


Actually, wait. Not the end.

I will be announcing a new giveaway on the weekend, so check back for your chance to win some fun prizes! Pin It

Glee Highlights: Season 2, Episode 11 - The Sue Sylvester Shuffle

Overall, I thought this was a fun episode - I mean, forcing groups of people together who have a mutual loathing of each other always makes for fun TV, so it was nice to see Coach Bieste and Mr Schue jam the glee club and the football team into the choir room and watch them behave like three hundred drunk women waiting to use the only toilet in a nightclub (feigned pleasantries that barely conceals their hatred of everyone in the line ahead of them. Especially that one girl who goes in, vomits everywhere, uses all the toilet paper to "wipe" it up, then leaves giggling with her friends).

First off though, the return of Sue's journaling  was awesome, but the back tattoo??

Perfection.


Rachel and Puck duet

These two have such great chemistry and they sound great together, but WHY did they choose such a generic, boring song? I find music like that Lady Antebellum song just so, so blah.What a wasted opportunity. But did anyone else love that Coach Bieste knew all the words? Can you imagine her rocking out to it while she irons all her shorts and waits for America's Next Top Model to start? Because I totally can.


Rumble in the choir room

An all-out melee! Even the girls jumped in - Rachel had to be picked up and held back. She may be a diva, but she's scrappy. I like that.

Figgins

Whenever this show is lacking in funny moments, I always wish Figgins is featured to liven things up with his shouting and saliva spraying and arm waving. And this time he was! FIGGINS! Oh, and Sue lost half her budget. SUCK IT.


Sue's Rampage

Obviously any teacher who went on a violent rampage in the school would be fired in a heartbeat, but I adored the fact that during Sue's tantrum in the gym, she couldn't pick up a medicine ball to throw it. Kind of puts a dampener on the whole destruction thing, huh?


The girls' bathroom

I need to make the term "ninja poop" a part of my vocabulary ASAP.


She's Not There

I really liked this number. The zombie make up and dance moves added a weird element to it, but I think it was kind of cool since the song is by The Zombies after all.


Co-ed football team

I loved that the girls stepped up to the challenge. The little football helmet head-butt between Rachel and Puck was too cute.


Michael Jackson / Yeah Yeah Yeahs number

So awesome. Make up, costumes, dancing, just everything. Fantastic.

Loser of the Year

Nice touch with Katie Couric doing the interview. Sue's world has been turned upside down. I'm interested to see how crazy this makes her.

Aaaaannddd.......

Karofsky is still a closeted gay man masquerading as a giant homophobe. I like that the footballers suddenly enjoying themselves while singing and dancing didn't magic the homophobe out of Karofsky. I wonder how they're going to make things come to head between him and Kurt. It has to happen soon, I think. Pin It