It's nearly that time

Lunch time! I'm having a quiet moment at work, day dreaming about food :-/

In about 30 minutes, i'll be tucking into a ham and pickle sandwich, followed by a red apple, and a banana. Sounds pretty healthy, but it hasn't really been a healthy morning. Started the day with a double-shot latte made with one of Jen's gifts she received from me on her birthday, the Aeropress (yum!). I also had another coffee at work, with a cappacino-cream filled biscuit, and 4 other Bourbon biscuits. It sucks that I have such a weakness for chocolate!

Jen's birthday was last Friday, on the 30th of May. I got her something called the Aeropress, which is a coffee making gadget, able to make proper espresso/french press style coffee's encompassing a proper full bodied and smooth taste without any bitterness. It works very cleverly! You can watch the video of it in action here, all I can say is that it works!

I also got her 2 other small gifts, one of which is a Rainbow LED light, which lights up the room at night with the colours of the rainbow. I got this for her because Jen really loves rainbows, whenever we are out, and one is spotted, the camera is out and it has to be snapped up. Now she has rainbows on command in the bedroom! The next gift is a waterproof radio for the bathroom, shaped like a tap. It seems to have a problem sticking the the wall, but for the most part it works alright. For those that don't know, Jen has a wonderful voice, and used to sing a lot. I got her the radio to encourage her singing more, since not only is it missed, but it'll keep her practicing and fill the flat with song :)

We had breakfast at Ikea first thing in the morning (only 95p!) and then set to work travelling about looking for an elliptial machine, something which has been on Jen's list to get since we first moved into the flat. Eventually we found a few to try out in Enfield, but there was no stock, and delivery was problematic. We decided to wait it out til next weekend, and had dinner in TGI Fridays. All in all, it turned out to be a good day, and the weather stayed in check too!

The last couple of weeks, we've been catching up on watching a few films, which have all been impressive bar one that I had really high expectations for.

Forbidden Kingdom: This is a story about an american teenager, obsessed with all things chinese, mainly kung fu and martial arts, finds this ancient stick in a chinese pawn shop. Coincedentally, the stick belongs to an imprisoned Monkey King, and somehow he is transported to ancient china, seen as the 'chosen one' and ventures on a quest to return the stick to the Monkey King, freeing him from imprisonment.

What should have been a potentially epic movie falls flat on its face. The biggest selling point of the movie, is that Jackie Chan and Jet Li are together in a movie for the first time as the headlining stars. Jackie plays an immortal tramp, and Jet Li, a mysterious monk, who join up with the teenager, teaching him to fight and helping him achieve his quest. For starters, the story isn't very cohesive, and jumps around scenes before any kind of development takes place. It rushes the viewer through parts and is seriously condensed. It also plays like a low budget cheesy 80's movie (budget karate kid ripoff), and is just so poorly scripted. Fight seens are minimal, and the movie is short. This might be one of a budget rental sometime!

Iron Man: In the same vein as the Spiderman movies, this deals with the origin of the Marvel character, Iron Man. I really loved this film, great special effects, lots of action, good acting, and humour in all the right places. It had me transfixed wondering what would happen next at each given moment. Robert Downy Jr fits the role really well. If you like comic books, and good entertainment, watch it!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Indy's 4th and last movie in my opinion wraps up the series in terrific form. Like the rest of the series, it pokes fun into the obsessions of the era it's based in, in true B-movie cheesy style, and is done with great panaché! Without giving too much away, it covers the obsessions leading up to the 60's, and feels just like the other movies did.

The humour, lines and action are all top class, and for the fan, this is a must see. It seem's that with a lot of people that have seen this, it has been a mixed bag which is understandable, some people just don't seem to 'get it', don't like the style of the film (extremely cheesy!) or content, which to all extents and purposes is obviously far fetched! I still loved it to bits, and also loved the way it ended, which in turn left me sad, as it's pretty much ended the series, but for the best!

The Little Prince: This is an older (70's) movie that Jen recommended we watch, based on a book of the same name. It deals with the way we think, in our childlike, totally open way, and what happens when people grow up and think in a way predetermined by the affects of the societies we live in. It pokes fun at the politics in life in an enchanting tale of how things are percieved and where the imagination of something may lead someone.

Starting with a boy, who draws an elephant being eaten by a snake, tries to get an opinion on his 'art' Everyone thinks he draws what looks like a hat (you have to see the movie). So he grows up, neglecting this art, and taking to the skies as a pilot to forget about the way 'people are'. Things take a turn when he lands in a desert, and meets a little prince, who can see his drawing as an elephant being eaten by a snake, and how they learn and bond with each other. Gene Wilder is in this movie too!

I absolutely loved this film too, outstanding acting, and clever muscial parts. It made a lot of sense in a very charming, tongue-in-cheek way, with many happy and sad moments. You have to see it :)

O.k folks, its that time, and I need my sammich! I'll catch you later!