Sadly, on Sunday the 15th of February 2015, I lost two hours of my life. I’ll never get them back and hopefully, I can help some of you avoid doing the same.
Incase you’re wondering, that particular waste of time was watching the movie ‘Fifty Shades Of Grey’. I put a stop to anymore potential time-wasting as I walked out of the cinema and home to get ready for my week.
Before you ask, it wasn’t the un-necessary (but expected) over the top sex scenes or the predictable lip-biting corny moments that tipped me over the edge and out the cinema door. It was the build-up. Having read the book (just the first one, mind), I knew what it was all about however, the way the world went on about it and the hype over the past year inevitably ruined it for me.
It got me thinking about how obviously valuable our time is even when it comes to leisure and entertainment.
Just like everything in our lives, shouldn’t our movie watching add value?
This realisation led me onto better more-valuable movie watching moments as I dragged the lovely ‘Begin Again’ from the archives and onto my TV screen.
The movie which is rumored to be nominated for an Oscar is super-sweet, simple and feel-good. Before I went to see this in the cinema last year, I didn’t know much about it. All I knew was that Mark Ruffalo was in it (looking cute) and, Ciara Knightly sang quite beautifully.
The general synopsis is that both parties are having an extremely rough time of it (life-changing, I can’t believe this is happening kind of thing) and upon meeting by chance, they decide to record an album all over New York City. With her talent, his experience and lots of time, they transform both their lives. The songs are fab, inspiring and the soundtrack is a MUST listen to.
Prepare yourself as you’ll want to visit New York after and probably record some sort of music while you’re there (even if you can’t play or sing or don’t like music very much).
If you watch it (which I really hope you do) and want some more inspiring movies to watch, I highly recommend the ones in the list below.
* The Blind Side. It’s got Sandra Bullock, a cute kid actor whose name I can’t remember and it’s based on a true story. You guessed it, loads of people’s lives are changed in magical ways.
* Pay It Forward. We want to make the world a better place, right? And if we have the chance to perform an act of kindness, let’s do it. This movie has that exact message in a HUGE way. Kevin Spacey certainly shines as per usual.
* Eat, Pray, Love. PLEASE don’t decide to pack up your life and head off around the world after watching this movie… because it will be tempting. Julia Roberts goes to find herself along with a load of pasta, new friends and spirituality. The message is that you can change your life at any age and you can always turn back and go down a more suited path. Fear not.
There are several others which I’m sure I’ll tweet or Insta or chat about over the coming months. If it’s something that inspires me, I’ll share about it. After all, more inspiration can only be a good thing. In the meantime, I’ll be avoiding anything that doesn’t fit into this category.