Film Reviews (Spoilers)

Hmm so despite having no money post-uni and being unable to work courtesy of my gammy foot....I have found my overdraft pretty handy to fund my cinema addiction.

I am about to go and see Harry Potter and the half-blood prince for the second time tonight. No-one can deny that the CGI is incredible, rendering the world of Hogwarts almost believable. Of the 6 films, this was my favourite. In fact, I was downright disappointed with the others...I didn’t even bother seeing 4 and 5 in the cinema.

As I could write pages and pages of praise for this film, I am sure readers are more interested in criticisms and my interpretation.
First, the 'death' scene did not seem adequate to me. I'm pretty sure the brave, and sometimes stupidly courageous Harry would not have stood by and watched his arch enemy murder his father-figure (Albus Dumbledore). Rowling staged this scene perfectly in the book, why didn’t they stick with that? So that Harry was forcibly restrained by Dumbledore's spell? It was highly uncharacteristic for him to sit-by.

The lack of tears from Harry as he is sprawled across Dumbledore's lifeless form disappointed me... Rowling emphasises, in each book, the importance of Harry's ability to feel, to love. Surely sniffing a fresh onion prior to- 'action' may have added the much needed emotion from the hero.
Emma Watson, on the other hand, was fantastic during this scene...and the entire film actually. Her sincere tears set me off - I need to start wearing waterproof mascara to the cinema!

I also wonder about the point of The Burrow being destroyed by Bellatrix and Fenrir? I cant see how that entire scene was relevant to plot development, it wasn’t in the book and I didn't think it was realistic. Why were Harry and Ginny not attacked? It would have been easy enough. Please enlighten me, if you can see how this merged with the rest of the film? Maybe I missed something.

Overall, I think the film flowed well and transferred the crucial plot and subplots from the book. The performances were fantastic. I know a lot of people criticise Daniel Radcliffe (as I have done already on one point) but overall, he is Harry for me. He isn’t the bog-standard hero, he is real, flawed and awkward - like every other teenager!
I highly recommend it to anyone. It had me laughing out loud and gripping my seat 5*s

Arty Bits.

So, my two passions have inspired me to draw and paint. Horses and Film from the past 3 years (I have a ton of Anakin Skywalker pre-2006, but have no scans yet)

Ok, firstly...the legend that is Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp is a genius. I drew this in 2006, it took over 70 hours and a lot of patience!



Second, an Icelandic Mare and her foal. Again...70+ hours. The hair was endless.



Thirdly, my favourite heroine (and actress) alongside Elizabeth Bennet. The beautiful Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan.



Finally, my first ever painting. Twilight poster using acrylics. Bella and Edward. Oh, if only such a man existed.



Anyway, I hope you like them :)Lucy xx

And my life begins....

Ok, so introductions first.

I'm Lucy. That's me on the left, with my good friend Ella...



I'm 20, just graduated from Southampton University in Film and English. I got a 2:1 but was 1.5% off a 1st....pretty upsetting really, but I gave it my best shot.

I've been stuck on crutches for 3 weeks so far, thanks to a foot operation. Having lost all my dignity being showered by my mum, having my guests look after me as well as themselves and having biceps the size of small rabbits...I'm trying to use my time more productively than complaining. Mind you, being incapacitated does have its benefits...I have barely lifted a finger, let alone a foot and have been able to watch film, after film, after film. Hmm, maybe my foot may take longer to heal after all... I've also lost half a stone thanks to being unable to make it to the shops or kitchen cuboards to stock up on chocolate!

Anyway, enough of that. I've wanted to work in the film industry ever since I fell in love with stories. I've always loved reading, but I am fascinated by the way an image can speak a thousand words and a page of text can be adapted into just one frame. I've written letters to casting agencies from the age of 13 when I found a website on the internet telling me that I could be an extra on a film and learn everything about the process. Reading the letters now, I can understand why they didn’t pick me. But I was just a kid, and it is still my dream to be on the set of a mainstream film like Harry Potter or Terminator. I'm going more down the runner route now as I have limited acting experience. Imagine being a part of something like that? Being able to say you helped to create something that is enjoyed by millions of people the world over.

If anyone is even reading this...I'm going to tell you more about me because I'm told that’s what blogs are for. Maybe if you are procrastinating from essays and happened to stumble across this via google while searching for a reference, you are still reading this because it is preferable to whatever torture your tutors have given you to write about? hehe

My all-time favourite story is Pride and Prejudice and it has been since I was eight when I watched the 1940's adaptation with Lawrence Olivier. My mum couldn’t believe it when she found me glued in front of the screen. I prefer the 1995 BBC version though...although maybe that has something to do with Colin Firth?
The new obsession is Twilight...and the subsequent prequels. It got me through a tough 3rd year of Uni providing escapism from the endless essays. I owe Stephanie Meyer a lot; she really inspired me to write. I would love to produce something that can remind people why they love reading, with characters so likeable that the reader truly cares about their fate. Some people say that she can’t write and her work is 'trash', but how can they say that about a book that has been in bestselling charts worldwide? It's simple, if she wasn’t a good writer, people wouldn’t buy her books. What makes a good writer? Correct use of English? Who cares, no-one would read something however perfectly grammar and language are applied if the content was boring. No-one reads Barthes for fun! I clarify a good writer by someone who successfully provides a story that creates an aesthetic reaction in a reader, losing them entirely in the story. That is real talent. I feel pretty strongly about this particular topic! I would love more books in the world as enticing as Twilight, Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. Books you cant put down and would cancel plans to finish.

Wow, I have really blabbed on. This makes me sound pretty boring. I'm not, honest. I'm always busy. I was on the horse riding and polo teams at Uni which was awesome fun. Socials, training and competitions at various places around the country. Polo parties at nationals were especially memorable with our coaches getting more drunk than the rest of us and causing incredible scandal. I was really lucky to have the best bunch of friends in halls, the 'Archers Road Massive' as we were once known... we had some good times. Namely sing-offs with other halls in Jesters (Apparently voted #2 worst club in the country, for reasons too disgusting to disclose on the internet) and inter-mural football and netball matches. I also played tennis in the first year, but quickly realised that two sports was enough, three was impossible to squeeze into my timetable!
In my second year I was also secretary of Archers Road JCR (Junior Common Room) committee which basically organised events for, and were in charge of the welfare of freshers. Also, handling the money we were given by the university. Meetings were stressful, with thirteen of us (10 boys and 3 girls) trying to agree on various points. But socials were incredible.

I spent last summer in Boston (USA) working as Horseback Director for a camp in Cape Cod. It was the most incredible summer of my life and it was life-changing. I learnt so much about myself and about other people in the 4 months I was there. Rustic living (a wooden cabin with snakes and spiders), dreadful food and 12 hour days with no more than 6 hours sleep a night allowed me to break down any barriers and be myself. There was no time to gussy up and look pretty, you wanted the extra sleep and working with the horses, I was constantly covered in dirt. It took me about 5 days to adapt to the crazy singing and dancing at meal times, finding the energy when you were past exhaustion was trying, but it was always there. The phrase 'dance like no-ones watching' totally came into play. By the second week I was jumping around like everyone else, having a ball and being more myself than I have ever been allowed to in the reserved English lifestyle I have grown up in. I've never laughed so much and I made friends for life. Being promoted from Assistant Director to Co-Director in my first week as a 19 year old (in a position meant for a 21 year old) meant I was under immense pressure. With 7 members of staff and 14 horses, it was a huge responsibility. My Co and I had to make all decisions related to the horses and on our respective days off, the other was left with the reins. A six am wake-up call was tough when you'd got to bed at 1am the night before (socialising was important, most of the time we all just dozed on each other, but sometimes someone would bring a guitar, or we'd watch films.) As the Resource staff (all the directors) we had to organise events for the whole camp and run them. The kids were great, I wish I'd been able to work more closely with them (at home I'm a play worker on the local play scheme, so it's what I'm used to) but my job was with the horses and they kept me busy enough. I tagged along on a few cabin activities like a fashion show with bin bags (the girls gave me a mono-brow...lovely) and tubing (a rubber ring tied to the back of a speedboat - GREAT fun). I had my own cabin in the last week and had the best 7 girls with my Co, Georgie. We dressed up as trees on the first night, had midnight feasts and it was my best week at camp. One of my girls cried on the last night because she was so happy and that made me feel great. I will never forget everyone I met and I hope to go back one day, when I have some money!! - it was not a cheap trip!!

Erm, ok so what else? I love to draw. I was never allowed to take Art at school because we were only allowed to take one creative subject (which is stupid because that is my strong point) so I took music for GCSE and Theatre Studies at A-Level. But I'm glad because art has always been a hobby. I've started painting now too and I am self taught so probably technically completely wrong, but I've won a few prizes at local competitions. I play the Piano too and enjoy acting. I used to go running a lot, but then I hurt my foot so cant do that anymore...horse riding is exercise enough though - it uses almost every muscle in the body, polo especially is exhausting. I do miss running, but cant do much about it.

So anyway, that is about it. Apart from maybe, I lived in Japan for 18 months when I was 3-4 and 1/2 and I want to move to America a.s.a.p because I love it over there. Boston or somewhere in California. But looks like I'll be living at home for a while to recover from the costs of university and to get some work experience. Thanks for reading, if you've got this far you either know me or have a very long attention span so well done! :)

So what's next? Well, once my foot is better I can apply for internships, jobs as a runner and anything in the industry. This blog page hopefully will be full of experiences for other industry hopefuls....in the meantime I am writing, writing, writing to finish the novel I have started :)

Lucy xx