Edinburgh Film Festival 2014:

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After my fantastic experience at Glasgow's Film Festival back in February, I was very excited to get the chance to attend this summer's Edinburgh International Film Festival, reviewing for WOW247 once again.  It's the first time I've been to EIFF and - although I had an amazing time at GFF - it was so nice to have my pick of new movies waiting virtually on my doorstep.

Unfortunately I could only make it along for three days of the two week long festival (thanks for that, dissertation) but I managed to squeeze seven film screenings into that short space of time.  I have to admit, I was very excited about getting a proper press pass with my photo on it, even if the photo was (quite embarrassingly) an old Instagram selfie...

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I kicked things off with Australian offering, The Infinite Man (click the link to read my review).  It turned out to be a pretty dark and puzzling comedy, but funny nonetheless.  Time travel causes most of the confusion (as it tends to do) in this starcrossed romance that I've dubbed a 'rustic sci fi'.  Catchy, right?  I'm hoping the term catches on.

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My second screening was the one I got most excited about, despite my well publicised fear of anything scary (particularly zombies).  Life After Beth stars the amazingly deadpan Aubrey Plaza (April Ludgate in Parks and Recreation) as well as a supporting cast full of familiar faces, including John C. Reilly and Anna Kendrick.  Following in the footsteps of films like Shaun of the Dead, Life After Beth is a RomZomCom which I found both funny and clever.  And I only had to hide behind my hands a couple of times (in a screening full of serious members of the press...).

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Next on my list was a 9am screening of a Romanian film called The Japanese Dog - the first Romanian film I've ever seen!  The story follows a recently widowed and grumpy (but loveable) old man as he reconnects with his friends and family.  It was simple, yet emotional and looked absolutely beautiful, especially the rural landscape shots.  Not a bad way to start off a day!

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Later that day, I saw Castles in the Sky starring comedian Eddie Izzard in a (mostly) serious role as Scotsman Robert Watson-Watt, the developer of radar.  I went into this screening not really sure what to expect, and came out knowing a lot more about the truly fascinating (and, in my opinion, quite surprising) true story of how radar came about during the Second World War.  Tim McInnerny does a truly awful Winston Churchill impersonation at one point, but it's fairly amusing, so don't let that put you off an otherwise very interesting and gripping movie!

After Castles in the Sky, I stuck around in the Cineworld lobby for an open press photo call with actress Aubrey Plaza and director Jeff Baena for Life After Beth, complete with a troupe of zombies.  I absolutely love Aubrey in Parks and Rec, and I'd really enjoyed Life After Beth, so I was looking forward to seeing her in the flesh in my hometown.  

I did see her in the flesh and snap a few photos but then - totally by accident, if I'm honest - I actually managed to (sort of) stalk her to the cinema's bar, introduce myself and get a photo.  She did her signature April glower especially for me, Jeff Baena took the photo, I babbled to them both about how much I loved their film and then I ran away.  It was all very exciting and totally surreal!

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The following morning I was present and correct (clutching a coffee) for another 9am screening.  Greyhawk is a really heartbreaking and at times nervewracking British drama about a blind man's unrelenting search for his guide dog and best friend, set in a run down council estate.  It reminded me a lot of the Michael Caine film Harry Brown, bleak, full of despair and painfully realistic.  Greyhawk was a gripping watch, with some brilliant acting.

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After Greyhawk, I rushed across to Edinburgh's Odeon for a bit of a curveball screening: The Nut Job.  I chose this animated kids' film because I'm a big kid who loves animated movies, and also because it stars great voice actors like Will Arnett, Katherine Heigl and Brendan Fraser.  Although I enjoyed this cute comedy adventure about a group of wild animals plotting to gather enough nuts to survive winter, I do think that The Nut Job is aimed primarily at children, with very few jokes for the adults watching.  Sadly, in my opinion it doesn't quite capture the magic that a lot of my favourite Pixar films and other animated movies do.

After The Nut Job I sought refuge from the rain in the nearest Starbucks (as I had done a few times already that week) to start writing up my reviews.  Once I'd regained some strength, I headed to the Filmhouse for my last film of EIFF 2014, which also turned out to be my absolute favourite of the whole festival!

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To be honest, I really wanted to see We'll Never Have Paris purely because I love Paris, and also because it was written and co-directed by Simon Helberg (AKA Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory).  Quinn (Helberg) and his longterm girlfriend Devon (Melanie Lynskey) go through a rocky patch that results in Melanie suddenly moving to Paris - cue Quinn's fight to win her back.  I had a feeling this film would be good, but I didn't expect it to be quite as hilarious or quite as realistic as it turned out to be.  It perfectly encapsulates pretty much every human insecurity there is, and is simultaneously pant wettingly funny and very moving.  I can't wait to see this film again as soon as I can!

Organiser review 2014:

It's that beautiful, joyful time of year again, folks: new academic planner time.  Most universities have just begun their new terms, and crazy people like me have been drooling in front of 'back to school' stationery displays all across the country.

Last year I posted a back to uni stationery haul, and also a guide to my favourite academic planners.  After finishing university this summer (hopefully for the last time...) I decided to become a real grown up lady and purchase my very first Filofax style organiser which should last me for the foreseeable future.  Although I wasn't completely against buying a proper Filofax, the organiser I eventually fell in love with was from Paperchase.  I've never seen anything like it anywhere else!

My new baby is a wood effect, teal coloured A5 size organiser, with plenty of room for all of the business cards, inserts and customisations anyone could ever want or need.  It also cost £22 which (as long as I use it for at least a few years) is pretty good value, and cheaper than the Filofax brand.

Devastatingly, I can't find this exact organiser on the Paperchase website any more, but I bought mine in store here in Edinburgh, so there might still be a few lurking in shops if this particular planner tickles your fancy.  The website still has different designs in the same size, like this purple, floral pattern (£22), or alternatively a pocket organiser in the wood effect teal (£12).

Along with the organiser, I also bought a pack of A5 'To Do List' refills (£2.25) - because I'm a to do list obsessive! - and two A5 plastic zip wallets (£2.25) which I've been using in the front of my planner to store pens and post it notes.  The organiser came with an all important 18 month week per page diary insert (usually £5) included in the £22 price, making it even better value.

Although I might like to personalise my organiser a little more in the future (possibly with customised dividers or inserts for added functionality) at the moment I'm quite happy with the system I've developed over the last month or so.  I had a day to day style planner last year, but found that I never really used up the space on each page.  Going back to a week to week set up has been absolutely fine, and I love the flexibility of using inserts.

As you can see from the snapshot below I have a vague colour coding system on the go (blue for work, red for important dates, black for everything else).  I've also started using small post it notes to plan out my blog posts.  This means I can plan well in advance, but also easily move the order around if I want to change things, or if I simply don't have time to publish a post on that day.  Once I've written the post in question, I write it in my organiser, tick it off (because who doesn't love the satisfaction of ticking off a task once it's completed?) and throw away the post it note.  

I keep my every day to do lists on a larger post it note, stuck on the opposite page, and then another to do list over the page on one of the Paperchase refills, with more longterm tasks.

Do you have a stationery and planner obsession like me?  Thanks to Instagram, I know I'm not the only one!  Please feel free to share your own planner and organisational set up with me, I'm always on the lookout for inspiration!

Inferior Inspiration #13: Wedding edition!

A couple of weeks ago I found myself caught up in a whirlwind wedding week (not my own, I hasten to add) in lovely Brittany, France.  The beautiful bride and dashing groom were my very good family friends Anna and James, who went on to enjoy a well deserved mini-moon in Paris after the festivities were over.  I was honoured when Anna asked me to be a bridesmaid for the first time, and I'll never forget the amazing experience I had alongside such a lovely bunch of ladies.

Let's be honest though - mushy romance stuff aside - the best part about getting married has to be receiving lots of presents, right?  Like most couples, Anna and James registered for gifts so their family and friends could purchase something online, but they were also happy for guests to bring along their own choice of wedding present.  It was a brave move - they risked ending up with seventy or so romantic birdhouse mailboxes (any Office fans out there?) - but they also opened themselves up to a little bit of surprise and mystery (alongside the towels and Playmobil pandas - a must have for all newlyweds).

As this seems to be a wedding heavy time of year for a lot of people, I've put together a list of gift ideas below (at varying costs) to inspire those guests bold enough to go 'off list'.  By now you all probably know that I usually lean towards practical things, but that doesn't mean they can't be beautiful too!

Making a scrapbook or album of photographs is a fairly low cost gift option, but it is undoubtedly one of the most thoughtful presents anyone could give.  I think the laser cut heart scrapbook from Paperchase (£12.50) is very wedding appropriate, and you can either fill the whole album with special memories, or leave some pages blank for the happy couple to add to in the future.

If you're in the market for a bigger gift in the same vein, Polaroid style, instant cameras are very 'in' at the moment.  Sadly, Polaroid film is pretty ridiculously expensive these days, but the Fujifilm Instax brand is a comparable alternative.  I think their Mini 8 Camera (which comes in a few different colours) is adorable!  The John Lewis set of a Mini 8, batteries and twenty shots (£69.95) seems to be the most cost effective, seeing as Amazon are charging £59 just for the camera.  Make sure you hand this present to the bride and groom on the special day so they can start taking snaps straight away!

Crockery might seem like a boring cop out, but there are plenty of cute and quirky marriage appropriate pieces out there that I'm sure any couple would appreciate as a reminder of their wedding day.  You can find 'Mr & Mrs' mugs in different styles and at various prices all over the internet, but I'm a big fan of the Emma Bridgewater set (£39.95) because they also do a matching tea pot with four mugs (£54.95) and a 'Just Married' cake plate (£39.95) all in the same pattern and style.

Le Creuset is a fairly traditional gift, but (even though your Mum undoubtedly has some in her kitchen cupboards) the brand is still very popular, and they have some lovely and unusual items in their range that will last forever!  I like the idea of giving little 'Sweet Hearts' lidded dishes (£30 for a set of two) as a wedding present, maybe even filled with the bride and groom's favourite sweets or chocolates?  A good trick for guests on a budget is to keep an eye out for these dishes in TK Maxx, as they usually have them for sale individually at much cheaper prices.

Everyone loves a good novelty gift, but - come on, guys - let's make sure yours are cute and useful so they don't end up at the back of a cupboard somewhere, 'til death do us part.  They always say communication is key in any relationship, and the speech bubble chalkboard from Urban Outfitters (£12) will give the new Mr and Mrs an easy way to leave love notes (or abuse) for each other every day.

I think a heart shaped vinyl record would be an adorable wedding present, whether it's to be played or hung up on the wall for decoration.  The one above happens to be a remastered version of 'Love Me Do' by The Beatles which I found on Amazon (from £5.99) but any heart shaped record would do!  I know that Scottish band Kid Canaveral also have one for £4.99.

Finally (if you don't fancy any of my suggestions) there are approximately one billion lovely wedding gifts for sale at notonthehighstreet.com.  My personal favourite has to be these 'big spoon' and 'little spoon' pillow cases (£25).

Lifers, a documentary:

This summer I predominantly spent my time either filming behind a camera, or editing in front of a computer screen.  The reason for this was my MA Journalism postgraduate dissertation, and the final outcome was a twenty minute long documentary about the modern music industry, which I've decided to call Lifers.

I still cringe at the parts I feel are badly filmed or edited, but overall I'm fairly proud of how my first stab at documentary making turned out.  I was only brave enough to post it online yesterday, but I've already had lots of lovely comments and feedback from family, friends, colleagues and those who appeared in the film.  Matthew from Song, By Toad even wrote about Lifers on his blog today (you can read the post here) which makes me feel a teeny bit famous!

The documentary features Three Blind Wolves, Dan Willson of Withered Hand fame, Neil Pennycook (Supermoon/Meursault) and Tony Taylor (formerly X-Lion Tamer), as well as my industry experts (Nick Mitchell, Nicola Meighan and Matthew Young).  If you're a fan of the Scottish indie music scene, or just music in general, you will hopefully find the topic interesting - maybe even enough to watch the whole thing!

There is a fairly amusing (at least to me) 'making of' documentary still to come, which I'm in the process of editing right now, but in the mean time I hope you enjoy Lifers, if you can spare the time to give it a watch.  Rather than get all mushy about it again, I'll leave you with a heartfelt message from my past self, posted last night on my Facebook:

Instagram #26:

1. My wee Dad getting into the wedding spirit with a pint of red wine!

2. The band formerly known as Meursault on stage for the last time with some extra special guests.

3. 'So long, it's been good to know you.'

4. Coffee and cake at my beloved Lovecrumbs.

5. My beautiful new organiser from Paperchase - more on this in a future post!

6. One of my most talented friends, Tom, at his Masters degree show.

7. Enjoying some Festival time and saying farewell to my American pal Jordan before she disappeared home.

8. HILARIOUS poses on the Friends couch during the Fringe.

9. An unprofessional (but fun) selfie after interviewing Dan Clark.

10. I randomly met up with fellow blogger Jodie after a bizarre but awesome Fringe show.

11. Hanging out with my new poodle pal Charlie in France.

12. Craig the poodle whisperer.

13. Beaucoup des baguettes en France!

14. Just chilling in my pyjamas and bare feet on the streets of Brittany.

15. A comparison of my oldest friends and me, fifteen years apart.

16. Craig and I in our groomsman and bridesmaid finery.  Aren't we cute?

17. Up bright and early on a Saturday to watch 16 year olds play rugby.  As you do!

18. Celebrating my 24th birthday with prosecco and a viaduct.

19. My stunning and delicious birthday burger cake, made by my best friend Emily.

20. My birthday card from Craig featured a lot of our silly faces...

21. Lovely birthday flowers from my big sister.

Farewell Fringe, 2014:

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This has been the busiest Edinburgh Fringe experience I think I've ever had, but unfortunately (aside from a few tweets and Instagram photos) I haven't been able to share much about the great shows I've seen.  Tomorrow is pretty much the last day to see the majority of shows at the Fringe, so - if you're spending your Sunday in Edinburgh - here are a few brilliant comedians to see before they skip town.  So long, Fringe 2014!  I'll put my sharp elbows away again, until next time.

3pm: #meetandtweet by Declan Dineen (The Mash House, £5)
Declan is a lovely, genuine guy and his story about meeting 150 of his Twitter followers in person is heartwarming and inspiring.  I even met up with fellow blogger Jodie in my very own #meetandtweet after seeing the show.  You can read my full review and interview with Declan here if you need any more persuading.


6:45pm: It's Pronounced Abigoliah Schamaun by Abigoliah Schamaun (Gilded Balloon, £10/£8.50 concessions)
Sassy New Yorker Abigoliah is filthy, fun and absolutely hilarious.  She bares all about her childhood and personal life in this stand up set, which will prompt tears of laughter, sadness and joy all at once.  And she shares some really embarrassing school photos that will make you feel a lot better about your own.  Read my review and interview here.


8:20pm: Me, My Selfie and I by Dan Clark (Pleasance Dome, £12.50/£11.50 concessions)
If you haven't seen Dan Clark's BBC TV series How Not to Live Your Life then stop reading this and start watching it immediately.  Once you've done that, go and see what may well be his last Fringe show ever before he runs away to Hollywood and never returns.  In his show, Dan shares a lot of cringingly brilliant truths, sings a few songs and is generally charming and hilarious.  Check out my interview with Dan (who put up with me for an hour after I promised it would be a twenty minute long chat) here.  After you've finished watching How Not to Live Your Life.

Instagram #25:

1. My lovely pal and helper Nicola taking a break during some documentary filming.

2. Catch of the year!  (If you desperately desire a cushion shaped like a fish, this one is from IKEA.)

3. The face of sheer misery in the library whilst writing my dissertation.

4. Uncle Craig reading stories with his clever niece.

5. A ridiculous gin glass to end a ridiculous day during which my external hard drive broke and I had to pay £25 for a train ticket...

6. At least the night was made better by seeing the amazing Conor Oberst play live in Glasgow.

7. Just hanging with some reprobates in the wild west.  (For any Edinburgh dwellers, cowboy town can be found in Morningside!)

8. James and Craig indulging in some bumps and some grinds.

9. A selfie with David Cameron!  Probably not the one you're thinking of, though.

10. My Dad and his best friend Mike through the ages: not too much has changed in 40 years of friendship!

11. My Dad and his lovely goddaughter at his 60th birthday party.

12. The documentary is finally finished, and it even has a name!

13. Rejoicing earlier today just minutes before handing in my postgrad dissertation.  My Masters is over!