Great Villains Blogathon: Richard Attenborough in BRIGHTON ROCK (1947).

This is my contribution to the Great Villains Blogathon hosted by Silver Screenings, shadowsandsatin and Speakeasy. I have decided to cover Richard Attenborough as Pinkie Brown in John Boulting’s atmospheric Brighton Rock (1947).

My top 10 films of 2016 [10 to 6].

I know it took me long enough to compile this list, but I had to wait until Handmaiden got its UK release before I felt my 2016 list (going by US release dates in order to calibrate my list with all the bloggers I love) was well-researched enough.

Three films which ran Aquarius very close were Hell or High Water, Someone to Talk To and Certain Women. They would take 11-13 places on the list, naturally. 14th would go to Peter Berg's Patriots Day, mind, so you can take my recommendations with a pinch of salt.

10. Aquarius

Are you sure, BBFC?

My Sex and the City season 5 DVD featured one of those old school-style BBFC boxes which I would argue was downright incorrect:

A show called 'Sex and the City' which revolves around the sex lives of four women contains infrequent sex references?? And just sex references, but no sex scenes?

The BBFC examiners for season 5 must have switched off for the entire boxset and just (lazily) churned out a report at the end.

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More BBFC nerdiness here.

10 Fittest Ladies in Film, 2013.

I had a lot of fun screencap-and-gif-searching for this blog post! The top four, of which three women are in joint second place, has the highest calibre of beautiful women since I started posting this list!

10. Marine Vacth,  Jeune et Jolie 

10 Fittest Chaps in Film, 2014.

Happy Hump Day! Previous entry in this series (which contains a link to the preceding entry in the series, and so on). Also, Happy Birthday to my Irish queen and my pick for Best Actress of 2015, Saoirse Ronan!

10. Miles Teller, Whiplash 

OOTD: meeting a mate in Manchester.

Dress: Dorothy Perkins

Earring: TK Maxx

Glasses: Red or Dead

Something that goes together about as well as Cara Delevingne and Dane DeHaan.

The only difference is, unlike Delevingne and DeHaan, I enjoy gin (with a tonic) and cream soda ordinarily.  But sampled together, you get one steaming pile of Bye Felicia. The problem is that the cream soda has quite a mild taste, which does nothing to mask the strength of the gin. And it certainly doesn't complement.

So yes, because these two liquids were an absolute fail working together, I'm going to have to refer to Cream Soda + Gin as 'The Valerian'.

Restaurant review: THE GRILL ON THE MARKET (Smithfields)

Just a stone throw's away from where I'm currently doing my thesis, The Grill on the Market is a classy, upmarket venue. Unlike many of its fellow distinguished places in London, it isn't steeped in its own sense of self-importance.

I had a sirloin steak with béarnaise sauce (doesn't sound like me, does it?), and it was succulent, juicy excellence. Although I must admit, I was won over by the meal before I'd even had a bite, such was the cool presentation and the adorable mini-pan which the sauce was served in:

The restaurant also boasted an impressive cocktail selection - I had the One Long Jerry, which was like nothing I'd ever drunk before.  It's the restaurant's most distinguished drink, and with the blend of Sailor Jerry spiced rum, Lillet Blanc liqueur, Luxardo Cherry, lemon juice, maple syrup and thyme, I'm not surprised.

The decor of The Grill on the Market, a charming blend of rustic sofas (downstairs) and more modern padded stools-type decor upstairs, at the bar, meant you could choose an area to sit that suited your preferences/dining arrangements.

I visited The Grill on the Market during a lunchtime when the restaurant was fairly quiet, so the waiter I had brought my food out promptly, and had time to help with drink choices. His style of pastoral care, to give me his opinions but allow complete autonomy of choice, was a far cry from the pushier waiters, who are so thirsty for a tip, they try to force you into having a good time and ordering more. The hard sell never works for me; this more natural, genuine approach which disarmed me of my concerns that I was out of place at such a sophisticated venue, was far more to my liking.

It's not particularly cheap dining here, with the sirloin at £21.75 and £2.50 for the sauce, so I will reserve any future trips here for special occasions only.  But the good news is, with the eclectic cocktail menu and steaks bursting with intense flavour, a return trip is definitely on the cards.

Grade: A-

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I like reviewing restaurants and bars in London; my reviews are compiled here. If you would like me to give some exposure to your restaurant, do email me at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com.

Brief thoughts on four lipbalms I've finished recently.

I don't much like my eyes (which are far too small, even for a Chinese person. *sadface*), so I often try to direct attention to the lower part of my face, instead. And that's why I absolutely love lipglosses and lipbalms, because they fulfil this role so well! [example of me parading my cheeky pout].

Inevitably, due to my predilection for coating my lips in the stuff, I finished four small tubs of lipbalm recently, so here be brief thoughts and grades for each of them: 

Soap & Glory Smooch Operator

I very much have a love/hate relationship with S&G products. When they strive for excellence, their products are better in their field than any of their competitors. When they phone it in, the outcome is bottom of the barrel. This lipbalm, which I got given last April for my birthday and I love so much I only use on nights out and when I'm seeing friends, falls very much in the former camp.

Its ingredients of wild mango butter, vitamin E oil and sweet almond and shea butters make for a lipbalm that is quite sturdy in consistency in the pot, but rubs easily across your lips, and moisturises them very fulfillingly. The feeling of moisture sustains longer than most other lipbalms, and it has an ace smell to go with it. A.

Body Shop Born Lippy - passionberry and strawberry flavours

These lipbalms are softer in texture than the Smooch Operator, and moisturise your lips for slightly less time, so you have to apply it on more frequently. Whereas the Smooch Operator was used purely for social occasions, the two Body Shop ones, had more day-to-day applications.

My feelings about this vary by the two flavours; the strawberry one tasted and smelt too artificial, whereas the passionberry one smelt lush, so much so that it's a nice item to have in your bag just to smell now and then, even if you aren't going to use it.

Pasisionberry: A

Strawberry: C

Vaseline rosy lips: Rose and Almond Oil

Due to its slightly more oily texture and clear(ish) colour, the Vaseline Petroleum jelly is a more versatile product than the other three, which due to their sturdiness (Smooch Operator), or their bright colour (the Body Shop items) can only be used for lipbalms and lipbalms only. The Petroleum jelly can also be used for hand cream, or general moisturiser for parts of the face that are dry.

My only quibble is the smell; whilst not as sickly as the strawberry Body Shop lipbalm, too much of the rose smell gave me a faint headache. I'm currently using the Vaseline Aloe Vera product, which has a more natural smell, and I much favour. B+.

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For the rest of my thoughts on fashion/make-up products, click here. If you would like me to review one of your products, or to place a sponsored post on my blog, drop me an email at lemon_and_lime7@hotmail.com

Bit rich of Scarlett Johansson.

I won one month's access to an app that allows me to read various magazines on my phone from McDonald's Monopoly, which has provided a satisfactory companion for my commutes.

I was browsing one of the magazines when I saw this quote from ScarJo:

Saying we need to support other women sounds very nice in principle but I didn't see her doing as much when she stole a role from an east Asian for Ghost in the Shell. GitS underperforming at the US Box Office is apt karma for such brazen whitewashing, if you ask me.

I am so sick of:

a) Hollywood actresses stealing roles from east Asian actresses who struggle with visibility in film enough as it is (ScarJo, Emma Stone, Tilda Swinton), and 

b) white feminists who purport to care about equal rights for women, when all they care about is equal rights for themselves (Jennifer Lawrence, ScarJo, Emma Stone, Emma Watson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, the list is endless). 

These women would trample over women of colour in a heartbeat if it meant progressing their own (already thriving) careers, yet still want the crown of being ~all inclusive~.

Fuck that.

10 Fittest Ladies in Film, 2014.

Happy Hump Day! Here be a previous post in the series. I post male and female lists alternately, every Wednesday.

10. Nina Dobrev, Let’s Be Cops

Restaurant review: THE GRILL at AMBA HOTEL (Marble Arch)

The Groupon deal with which my friend and I were dining with was £35 for two steaks (with a side each) and a bottle of wine to share, which, as keen carnivores, we were eager to take advantage of.

Like the LivingSocial deal at Truc Vert, the Amba Hotel was located on one of the sidestreets of Oxford Circus and encouragingly, like the Truc Vert meal, proved to be another online restaurant buy that actually proved to be good value for money.

Get (that misplaced full stop) Out.

I watched Get Out this evening. Partly because critics and my friends alike have been raving about it,  but mainly because I'm a massive BBFC nerd and I was curious if this typo (a full stop where there should be a comma) would show up on the big screen, before the movie.

Spoiler alert: it did.

Tut tut, BBFC! Not been doing too well recently with all those typos, are we?!

Good movie was good, by the way. Brit Daniel Kaluuya was an ace leading man and Jordan Peele, the comedian, had a surprisingly tight control of the story and plot. Get Out was a horror movie that did not go places I expected it to go.  8/10.

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In case you hadn't realised, I nerd out over the BBFC in a major way. The rest of my studious investigation of them here.

A strong frontrunner for the worst film of 2017.

I saw this on the Greatest Actress Ever (ahem)'s Instagram:

A sci-fi featuring Dane DeYawn (so called because of those prominent bags under his eyes and his yawn-inducing acting performances) and Upstart Delevingne, to me, just screams Razzie. I can't think of a more sexless couple than DeHaan and Delevingne (other than Dane DeHaan and Felicia Vikander, or Cara Delevingne and Joel Kinnaman).

I can't wait to hate-watch it and tear it to pieces on my blog. 🎬

In the theme of throwing shade at films I've not yet seen, I believe The Big Short is about to have its title stripped as the Most Smug Film of All-Time:

The trailer for Ben Wheatley (director of my pick for the worst film of last year, High-Rise)'s insufferable-looking crime caper was the most wannabe Tarantino thing ever. Just a lot of shooting in a warehouse, Sharlto Copley being incomprehensible and lame banter between caricatures.

Hard pass.

Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump: the most inauspicious matrimony in film since Zack and Deborah Snyder (I went there).

From the BBFC's extended information for Raw. What's a woman's 'public hair', just wondering?

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