February Favourites

I've decided to write a little bit of a catch up/February favourites because I haven't written in a while.

(Favourite) Television Show(s): Febrauary has been a great month for television. So many shows are back, and I'm loving all the new storylines. However, I can't write about all of them here so I've chosen my top three. Of course the start of Teen Wolf has been the highlight of my life month. Season 3B started off in January quite slowly, but is quickly picking up the pace and every episode is just getting better and better. There is so much mystery and intrigue this season and there is so much potential, I absolutely can't wait to see where it ends up (although I also can because I don't want it to end!). I spent the first couple of days in February watching the 2013 mini-series Top of the Lake with Elizabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men). It's directed and written by Jane Campion, who wrote and directed one of my favourite movies Bright Star. It's a drama/crime series set in New Zealand, and it's pretty similar to ITV's Broadchurch. I very highly recommend both. Moss is brilliant, displaying so much raw emotion in every single episode.

True Detective: Episode 1

The third TV show I have been loving this month has been HBO's new series True Detective. I feel like this show just came out of nowhere. I saw it advertised on a billboard a few days before it started and was intrigued by the fact Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey were in a television series. I loved it from the first episode and somehow every episode manages to make me love it even more. McConaughey is absolute perfection playing Rust Cohle. I honestly think this is his best work to date and I cannot recommend this show highly enough. It's already made it onto my favourite television list.

(Favourite) Film: To be completely honest I haven't watched too many films this month. The absolute stand out that I have watched definitely has to be Dallas Buyers Club. It's really been McConaughey month this February. He was outstanding in Dallas Buyers, so much so I would not mind seeing him beat Leonardo Di Caprio for the Oscar (yes, I said it). Jared Leto will without a doubt win Best Supporting Actor for his role as well, he was phenomenal. The story itself was so heartbreaking, but quite inspiring and I would highly recommend it to everyone.

I'm not going to write a section for my favourite books this month because I (fingers crossed!) will be doing a blog post solely on books I've been loving lately sometime in early March.

Hope you enjoyed that, let me know what you're favourites for this month were in the comments!

When Your Shows Will Return

Today the new official trailer for Teen Wolf Season 3B came out and it just got me so excited for it to come back, and all my favourite shows which will be returning in the new year. So I thought I would make a little list to keep track of things:

• Sherlock Season 3: January 1st 2014. BBC One. 
• Community Season 5: January 2nd 2014. NBC.
• Teen Wolf Season 3B: January 6th 2014. MTV. 
• Girls Season 3: January 12th 2014. HBO.
• Shameless Season 4: January 12th 2014. Showtime. 
• Arrow Season 2, Episode 10: January 15th 2014. CW.
• Reign Season 1, Episode 9: January 23rd 2014. CW.
• The Walking Dead Season 4, Episode 9: February 9th 2014. AMC.
• Suits Season 3, Episode 11: March 6th 2014. USA Network. 
• Orphan Black Season 2: April 19th 2014. BBC America. 
• Hannibal Season 2: American Spring (Australian Autumn) 2014. NBC.

I'll try and keep this updated regularly because right now there are a few shows without determined dates yet.
Let me know what you think of the trailer in the comments!

Arrow

Warning: This post contains small spoilers.

You might remember not so long ago I went through an enormous phase of just talking about Teen Wolf. I'm still not really over it, I've just had to move onto other things, but lately I've been trying to see what other projects the cast have been doing and watching those.
I watched Dylan O'Brien (who plays Stiles Stilinski) in New Girl and I'm going to watch The Internship, which he is also in, later this weekend. The other show I wanted to watch was Arrow. One of my all time favourite characters from Teen Wolf was Jackson, played by Colton Haynes. Now, I say 'was' because he left the show last year to join the cast of Arrow. So although I'm devastated that he's left, I decided the only way to make me feel better was to watch him on his new show.

The problem was, he came into Season One at episode 15 - so I had quite a task ahead of me before I was rewarded with Colton. I had watched the first episode a few months back, and I had liked it but for some reason I had never got around to watching the next episode, just another case of too many shows and too little time. So I started it up again and found what I expected to be a chore actually not quite so terrible. Basically the premise is that billionaire Oliver Queen (played by the gorgeous Stephen Amell) was on a boat with his father when it hit stormy seas and the boat sunk. He and his father survived but his father soon died too. Oliver makes it onto a deserted island and the show starts after he is rescued from the island five years later with a mission that his dying father gave him to save the city.
It's actually based on a comic book, so it's not really expected to be believable or anything like that. He turns into a Batman-esque vigilante who, like Batman, doesn't use a gun to bring down the bad guys.
Although the writing could really do with being a little less over the top, the characters are very likeable and the plot is quite interesting. Each episode has flashbacks to the time he spent on the island, and over the course of the season you see a glimpses of why Oliver is so determined to be a better person.
When Colton Haynes did arrive in episode fifteen as Roy Harper, I was shocked. I had totally forgot he was even meant to be in that episode. However, I did find that the episodes that he is in, I enjoy better.

Arrow Season Two started last week, and there is another new episode out tomorrow. The first episode of the new season was really good and made me really excited to see how the rest of the season goes. I also spotted the stunning Dylan Bruce who plays Paul in Orphan Black.

What do you guys think? Have you given Arrow a go? Is there a show you only started because an actor you loved was in it? Let me know in the comments!

Teen Wolf is Over . . . Now What?

If you're like me and you've been watching Teen Wolf a little bit obsessively lately, then you'll probably have found yourself at a bit of a loss after Monday night's mid-season final. To help you (and myself) out, I've compiled a little list for you to have a look at and hopefully you'll find your next favourite show in the Teen Wolf break. 

You're missing the supernatural - Have a look at Fringe. It's named after an area of science known as "Fringe Science" which is basically all these weird, wacky and non-mainstream experiments. While you won't find any wolves with six packs, what you will find is experiments more like one where Isaac goes into the ice bath to recall his memories in "Chaos Rising". Other things include an alternate reality, shapeshifters and glyph codes. The cast is absolutely amazing too including Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, Seth Gabel, Lance Reddick and Leonard Niomy. Seriously, it's worth watching just for the acting.
Honourable mentions: Vampire Diaries.

source: cyborgias

You're missing the relationships - Yes Game of Thrones could belong in the drama category, and it does have fantasy/supernatural elements to it, but the main reason why I think Game of Thrones is so successful is because of the detailed and amazingly realistic relationships that every single one of the thousands of characters have. For some reason, even though there are so many characters, it just works perfectly. The relationships have me grinning from ear to ear one second to sobbing my eyes out the next. I won't ever stop saying it: you have to watch it.

You're missing the whodunnit - You want the crime solving element of Teen Wolf again? Miss testing out your skills? Try Elementary. As a die hard fan of the BBC's Sherlock (you should definitely watch that too if you haven't seen it) I wasn't even going to give this a try when it came out last year. Only I kept hearing good things about it and so I reluctantly gave the first episode a go. Although I wasn't hooked straight away, the second half of the series really picks up and had me looking forward to watching it each week. Now I have to admit that I cannot decide between the two and that is something I never thought I would say. 

source: targaryen-prince

You're missing the drama - You want drama, here it is: Breaking Bad. If you are missing the on-the-edge-of-your-seat, "what's going to happen next" feeling and you haven't seen this series, then you need to start watching now. The show is currently airing it's last season, which is really a shame, but there are five beautiful, heartbreaking, drama-filled seasons to love. Once you start watching you won't be able to stop, you'll be clicking on the play button episode after episode, and I have to confess that I lost a lot of sleep watching this series, so you've been warned.
Honourable mentions: Orphan Black.

You're missing the comedy - New Girl. It has me laughing out loud every episode without fail. This show makes me want to leave home and live with three guy roomates just in case they turned out to be exactly like Nick, Schmidt and Winston. I would even be happy with just a Nick. He is seriously my dream guy - hilarious, awkward and looks like Jake Johnson. Season Three begins in a few weeks time, so it's a good time to start if you haven't yet. 
Honourable mentions: Misfits. 

source: wenchyfloozymoo

Other suggestions: Teen Wolf (1985) - the film that the television series was based on. There's a Scott (played by Michael J. Fox), a guy named Stiles and a Coach. I've never seen it, so I can't say whether it's worth watching, but obviously the creators of the tv show saw it's potential.
An American Werewolf in London (1981).
Or you could just start again, and begin re-watching Teen Wolf from Season 1. I wouldn't mind doing that myself actually. 

What I am doing is catching up with Breaking Bad, which I am currently up to the third season and finishing Orphan Black. What did you guys decide? 

Trailer Tuesday #5

I don't think I've done a 'Trailer Tuesday' that hasn't been for a movie. So here's a bit of a change for everyone because today's trailer is for a television series!
Some of you may know that all I have been watching for the past two weeks has been Teen Wolf. I got so obsessed that lately I've been dreaming about it. Instead of stopping completely like I normally do, this time I was determined to catch up because the mid-season finale came out today/yesterday in America. You'll be pleased to know that I made it. I'm all caught up on Teen Wolf and after tonights sleep I probably won't be dreaming about it again (or at least until January when the season starts up again!). 
The trailer I've got is a pretty poor quality one, and I promise you I did go in search of a better one but I couldn't seem to find one anywhere. I'll try and update it later when more high quality versions come out. 

Also, I feel I should let you know that Teen Wolf has now been added to 'My Favourites' page, filed under 'Television Series'. It's a pretty huge step because I only put things I absolutely love on there, so I thought it needed a little announcement. 

Teen Wolf Season 3B begins on January 6th 2014. 
Is it just me or does that sound like a lifetime away? 

Week in Review #4

Hei hei guys, 

Once again this week I've just been working and studying. It hasn't been too bad, it's just been really long. Here's what has been getting me through this week:

source: aconits

(Loved) Reading: This week I read this piece by Iona McLaren for the Telegraph which basically sums up all my feelings about Skins in one article. I watched Skins from the moment it came out in the UK because there was a new girl at my school who was from London and she told to watch it. The rest, as they say, is history. I became addicted, I loved all the characters, watched it religiously and I now consider it one of the vital parts of my teenage years. That all changed with Season Five. That wasn't Skins, not the Skins I had known and loved. Hearing that there was to be a Season Seven, the final season, I was curious but also doubtful. This article restored my hope and I downloaded it tonight. Look out for my review later in the week. 

(Loved) Television: So although I only started this on Friday but I have been loving it for the past three days and that is Orphan Black. It is absolutely amazing. I know I wrote about it for my last post so I won't rave on about it too much, but seriously, it's amazing. A must see. 
(I wasn't going to mention Teen Wolf but I can't help it! It's just so addictive, so I've been watching an episode a night as the last thing I watch before I go to bed.)

source: ifallelseperished

(Loved) Film: As a treat to myself for working so much this week I've been buying myself DVD's. I have literally bought eight DVD's this week alone and so I've just been watching some of those. The one I totally loved was Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Of course, I've seen it before but it was nice to have a re-watch, especially because I'm getting more and more excited for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug everyday.

(Loved) Random: I was trying to think about something random that I've been loving this week and all I could think of was this song which I have just been playing literally on repeat all week. It's called Resolution by Matt Corby. He's an Australian guy who actually came really close a few years back to winning Australian Idol. The work he is producing now is absolutely beautiful but I just feel like Resolution is that one step further. I cannot stop listening to it, he just has the most amazing voice.  

Let me know if there is something else I should be reading or watching and as usual let me know what you guys have been loving this week, I would absolutely love some suggestions!

Orphan Black

Tonight I wanted a little bit of a break from Teen Wolf, mostly because I feel like I'm rushing through it and I want to savour it more. So on a whim I decided on a whole new show altogether and that was Orphan Black. 

source: melemneme

I've heard a lot of things about this show and all of them have been good.
Naturally, I decided to check things out for myself just to make sure. 

From the opening scene in this drama I was hooked. I wanted to know more. I needed to know more.
I went from one episode to the next and had to stop myself from watching the third one, otherwise I was going to end up in the same situation I had just tried to avoid with Teen Wolf. 
Before I wrote this, I just wanted to do a little bit of research on the show, only to find a few reviews that stated that everything really begins in episode three. So this is more of a post to say that if everything does really begin to unfold in the next episode then I'm amazed because I'm not sure how much better this show could get. The suspense from the first two episodes is already killing me, and so is watching the actress Tatiana Maslany. She is absolutely perfect so far and it hasn't really even delved into the whole twin story yet. 

source: melemneme

I can't wait to see where this show goes, I'm both nervous and excited. I know what I'll be watching tomorrow night. 

Have you guys finished Orphan Black already? Should I be pacing this one too or is it just too good to resist? 

Week in Review #3

Hei hei!

This week has been my first week back at university, but it's actually been a pretty nice one and I'm still really in holiday mode because there isn't much uni work to do yet! The next three weeks are going to be so hectic though because I've offered to just take heaps more shifts at work (trying to think of the DVD's I can buy with the extra money!) and I know uni work is just going to pile up like crazy. Anyway, because it's Sunday night, I've written a post to finish off the week about all about the things I've been loving for the past seven days: 

source: awanawell

(Loved) Reading: I've been reading a few more things online lately rather than reading Mortal Instruments and that's because I got a new Macbook Air! I can't stop using it - I've been going to bed so late since I bought it because all I've wanted to do is use it. First off I love this article, which is all about the character Margaery Tyrell (from Game of Thrones) costuming in the series. I feel like it sums up every one of her costumes perfectly and it was such an enlightening read. Secondly I found this website which I have just been trawling through for hours on end. There is just so much information, statistics and graphs about Lord of the Rings I cannot believe it! 

(Loved) Films: I finally saw Man of Steel on Monday. I hadn't been able to see it due to the fact that I'd been traveling when it was released and I finally found the time to go earlier this week. I'm currently writing a full post about it, which should be up sometime in the coming week. Basically I loved it, and I knew I was going to love it. That's a pretty lame review, but seriously, there isn't much more to say than that. Go and see it if you haven't yet!

source: cancelingtheapocalypse

(Loved) Television: This week the only television I have been watching is Teen Wolf. I've just finished the first season and tonight I went straight on to the second one. My best friend is all up to date so I want to catch up as soon as possible so we can talk about it - I feel like there are going to be a lot of late nights this week! Also, last night I started re-watching Season One of Misfits, which had me laughing out loud in the first ten seconds. It's still just as funny as I remember it and it's so good seeing Nathan (Robert Sheehan) in it. I feel like the show started going downhill the minute he left (although I did like his replacement, Rudy, and I do think Season Three is one of my favourites). 

(Loved) Random: I am loving my new Macbook Air this week. I bought it on Wednesday and it is all I've been on since. I have actually wanted to do uni work this week just as an excuse to use my computer (I'm pretty sure that won't last very long!). Also, I'm up to level 41 on Candy Crush which was my Random love from a couple of weeks ago. I feel like it's getting harder and harder, but I'm kind of determined to get to at least Level 100. 

Let me know in the comments what you've been loving this week!

Teen Wolf

source: heavinisfalling

My best friend, Jess, started watching Teen Wolf about a month ago (which was during exam period, a time where we both always seem to find new shows to start . . . weird, huh?) and said that I should check it out. Convinced, I started it a few weeks later, watched a few episodes and thought "yeah, that's alright" but never got around to continuing it. If you've read any of my posts from the last couple of weeks you'll have noticed that I've pretty much solely been watching New Girl and Luther. Tonight I thought I would mix it up a little and try Teen Wolf again. It wasn't that I hadn't enjoyed it, it was just that I felt there were more interesting programs to watch. I had a little bit of uni work to do and thought this was a show that I could put on in the background and get some of my readings for astronomy done. Now I have a whole different view. Around episode four of the first season, this show heats up. The storyline takes a more dramatic turn and there is suddenly a story arch that I'm invested in and want to keep watching to find out the answers. So now I've accomplished absolutely no university work tonight but I am just past half way through season one and so excited for tomorrow night when I get home from work and I can sit down a watch the rest of the season. I can't wait to see where this show goes. 

Am I a little late on the Teen Wolf bandwagon? Do you guys already watch it? Let me know in the comments!