Taron Egerton

Film/TV Favourites of recent

Posted on by Danielle

This blog post will be split into two posts as i’ve been loving a lot of things recently. This first post is all about the Films & TV shows that i’ve watched and I totally recommend all of them. 

Films

Rocketman
I’ve been to see this film twice at the cinema already and I would quite happily go see it again! And being totally honest, the main reason I was so interested in the film in the first place was the fact that my fave actor and crush Taron Egerton, was playing Elton John. You can also add to that my love of musical movies (The Greatest Showman, Mamma Mia, Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star Is Born etc.) and biographical movies enable us to learn more about a stars life – things we never knew and this film does exactly that. Taron plays the role superbly and he also showcases how good a singer he is (please release an album one day Taron!) and the support cast which includes: Jamie Bell, Richard Madden and Bryce Dallas Howard also give top performances too.

The Jonas Brothers: Chasing Happiness (Documentary)
This year has brought us the long awaited Jonas Brothers reunion, yay! They treated us to new music (more on that further down this post), announced a UK tour and released a documentary. The documentary was a must see for me as i’ve been a fan of them since my mid teens. It told us all about their lives pre fame and how the group came about, through to them gaining more popularity when they became the stars of the hit Disney movie Camp Rock. Though things began to go sour when tensions began to show in the group and they also grew tired of their ‘teen’ show Jonas LA. They then decided to break up and each went and did their own solo projects with Kevin starring in his own reality show with wife Danielle, Nick going solo and starring on Broadway and Joe going solo and also forming the group DNCE. The brothers have since worked on their differences, are now in a better place and ready for this new chapter.

Departures (Netflix)
I like how Netflix has many different films available in it’s catalogue and you can guarantee there will always be something to watch when in your free time, this being one of them. Though this movie is a rather sad one with the plot centred on  Skye, a teenage girl (played by Maisie Williams) who is in her final stages of cancer. Calvin (Asa Butterfield), an hypochondriac who constantly fears he’s dying is advised by his doctor to attend the cancer support group to gain a different perspective. There he meets Skye and the two form a friendship. He helps her with her bucket list of things she wants to do before she dies and she helps him with gaining interest from his crush Izzy (Nina Dobrev). And like all movies theres the conflict that the characters face, this mainly comes from Calvin due to his crush Izzy thinking he has cancer.

TV

The Society (Netflix) 
I really enjoyed this show and i’m hoping that it comes back for a series 2 as it leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions! I love that it’s a quick watch with there only being 10 episodes but I also wish there were more. The series focuses on a group of teens who return from a school trip, to find that all the adults have disappeared and that there’s no way to leave the town. They then have to work together to survive making up rules and recruiting leaders, guards etc. so that life is peaceful. But of course not everyone gets along and there’s more violence than there is harmony so there’s a lot of drama going on!

Teen Wolf
I used to watch this when it aired on TV a few years ago but for some reason they stopped airing it and I lost track of it. I started watching it on Netflix a few months ago and i’m currently on series 4. I did put it on a pause for a while to watch other things and i’d also gotten a bit bored but overall I do enjoy the show and I like how there is always something happening so it’s always dramatic. It’s about a teenage boy called Scott McCall who turns into a werewolf and he has to navigate all that comes with it, whilst juggling school, friendship and romances. As the series goes on, there are new enemies that Scott has to face which makes the show feel fresh. 

New Amsterdam (Amazon Prime)
I surprised myself with this show as I don’t normally have an interest in medical dramas. And that’s why you should always try new things! It’s actually based on a true story and sees Dr. Max Goodwin become the medical director of an hospital, that he goes about reforming so that it offers an high standard of care to patients. The staff of the hospital and their families make up the rest of the cast and they each have problems going on in their lives. Each episode also sees different patients turn up at the hospital and the team working their hardest to save them. It offers a mix of comic relief and sad moments throughout the series and doesn’t hold back on the drama, the series itself ending on a cliffhanger. I’m really hoping there is a second season as I need more of this show.

Stranger Things Series 3 (Netflix)
I was late to the party with this show. I only watched the first 2 seasons of it last year and again this is another show that surprised me, as I don’t tend to watch much in the sci-fi/horror genres. But again, it was a good surprise as it’s such a fantastic show and the young cast are just as good as the more seasoned cast members. Millie Bobby Brown shines especially as Eleven and I think that over the next few years she’ll become an even bigger star than she is now. I’ll not ruin the plot of the series but I will say that you need to give it a watch and revel in the awesomeness of it. Heres to series 4! 

Girls Incarcerated Season 2 (Netflix)
I rather enjoy watching shows that take place in prisons, correctional facilities etc. and this one caught my eye when it shown up on Netflix. It focuses on the teenage inmates of Madison Juvenile Correctional Facility (Season 1) and LaPorte Juvenile (Season 2) and their day to day lives whilst they in the facility and it also informs us as to why the inmates are in there. It also updates us on how the ones who get released have fared on the outside world. It’s interesting to hear what made the inmates do the things they did and to watch how they behave whilst in the correctional facility. Some of them are so badly behaved it makes you question what will happen in their futures, as once they turn 18 prison is where they would then go.

Awkward
I’d watched the first 4 seasons of this show already and finally got around to watching the final series and to be honest, I was disappointed with the final episode. I feel that they were planning on doing more series but obviously that wasn’t to be and it just kinda fell flat. But overall I feel that it’s an enjoyable show and with it only being around 20 minutes long it makes for a quick watch. Jenna & Matty are up there as one of my all time favourite TV couples and whilst I wasn’t a fan of how on and off they were, I really did find it endearing how their friendship and relationship become stronger over the seasons. For me, they were definitely the best part of the show. Also, I found Sadie’s character to be so grating in the first 2 seasons but she becomes a lot more likeable (even though she’s such a bitch and never really becomes nice at any point) and her “You’re welcome” catchphrase is so iconic to the show.

Clink 
Even though i’m a bit unsure about this show, i’ve still decided to include it. I felt like that it was trying really hard to be the next Orange Is The New Black, Wentworth Prison and Bad Girls (Ironically Alicya Eyo who stars in this as the acting governor, played an inmate in Bad Girls) but it failed. It was’t bad by any means, it did have things going for it but I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t to get another season. Focusing on the positives, it didn’t fail in bringing the grittiness of life in prison and the harsh realities the inmates face and the final episode was most definitely it’s best, leaving you with many questions that needed answers. On the negative side, it was also quite typical of other shows and I did find my attention fading at times. Nevertheless I think I would watch a season 2 if it was to come about as i’m interested in what happens next.

April favourites

Posted on by Danielle

Seeing Little Mix, 5 Seconds Of Summer & The Vamps 
It was pretty exciting attending all the shows so close to each other and I had a blast at them all.
Little Mix certainly know how to put on a show. They sounded just as I expected and dazzled in each outfit they wore (There were a few!). I also applaud them on the fact that many of their songs are accompanied by energetic dance routines yet their voices were perfect all the way through. I loved getting to hear my faves – Secret Love Song which was absolutely stunning and Black Magic which got everyone up on their feet and singing along. Nathan Sykes and Joey Devries were great choices as the support acts although I knew Nathan would be fantastic as i’ve loved him since The Wanted.

5 Seconds Of Summer sent the crowd crazy and that was no surprise at all. Just being in the presence of one of one the biggest groups of today was good enough but getting to see them live on their own tour was a dream. It’s hard to believe that I once saw them as a support act to One Direction at that same arena and now fans were there for them. They sang a mixture of old and new songs – Catch Fire, Heartache On The Big Screen & Jet Black Heart being my faves. Also the support act Jessarae is one to watch, every song was likeable so I hope he releases some songs soon.

The Vamps concert was a complete bargain as i managed to get the £9.50 tickets. Also the programme for the show was only £10 (The other shows were charging £15) and i got a t-shirt for £10! It was without a doubt value for money and out of the three shows it was my fave. The support acts Hometown, Conor Maynard & The Tide made for a nice addition to the show and it was a pleasure to see them all perform. The Vamps themselves put on a top show and you could tell how hard they had worked on it. They also had New Hope Club (A group they’ve signed, along with The Tide) come on singing Cecilia. I loved hearing Written Off though i wish they’d sang the whole song and also hearing Rest Your Love.

The Hometown album
In my previous post i mentioned how much i was loving Hometown right now and i still cannot stop listening to their album. I was as excited about seeing Hometown at The Vamps concert as i was seeing The Vamps themselves and hope they do their own show in the UK someday. The album itself is amazing from start to finish, you literally cannot fault it. My fave songs are Cry For Help, I Wrote This For You, Roses and For Your Love. If you are a fan of artists like Union J, The Wanted, One Direction and older groups like Westlife (basically a boyband fan like myself) then you will absolutely love this. I give it a 10/10

The Duff – Kody Keplinger (Book)
After seeing the film i decided to buy the book and i finally got around to reading it the other week. Though i really enjoyed the film i was very surprised by how different it was to the book itself. The film centres more around Bianca finding out and then wanting to rid her image as The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) whereas the book touches lightly on The Duff subject but it isn’t a big part of the story. Also there is no Madison (Bella Thorne’s character) in the book and Bianca detests Wesley way more than she does in the movie. Those being just a few of the differences to the movie. I’m now intrigued as to what the movie would have been like if it had followed the book more closely but all in all i couldn’t fault both ‘versions’.

Eddie The Eagle (Movie)
The Eddie The Eagle movie was such a feel good film from start to finish and there were laughs a plenty throughout. Though i knew little about the real life Eddie, that didn’t matter as the story was a mixture of half biographical and half fiction. Taron Egerton did a superb job as Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards and Hugh Jackman made a nice edition as Bronson Peary  a former champion ski jumper.  It was nice to see a film that celebrated the underdog and gave you that ‘anything is possible’ feeling.  It was a really enjoyable film and i look forward to watching it again when it comes on DVD. I have to give it a 10/10!

Awkward (TV show)
I remember watching the first couple of episodes back when it first aired in the UK but somehow stopped watching. I signed up for a free 30 day trial to Amazon prime and when i discovered that i could watch this, i just had give it another go. I’m already on series 3 after less than week and obsessed (it helps that it’s only 20 minutes long so i can cram a lot in!). I love Jenna & Matty, they are my fave ship right now and i hope they end up together – the actors have such good chemistry and Matty is very good looking. Each episode gives Jenna a new problem to deal with and keeps the stories fresh and it’s also such a laugh. It’s my fave tv show at the moment.

Lukas Graham (Album)
I wasn’t sure if i’d like this or not but i noticed it on amazon prime music and thought why not? I also loved 7 Years (Though it’s overplayed now and i’m kinda sick of hearing it!). I have to say it really took me by surprise and i really did enjoy all the songs on it. Take The World By Storm, Mama Said and Drunk In The Morning being my faves – my mum was even singing along to TTWBS and it was literally the first time she’d heard it. I get an Olly Murs vibe from some of the songs so if you are a fan of his (or if not) give it a listen as i think you’ll like it. I’ll give it a 9/10.