6 Months Update

It has been a while since I have last written in here. It has actually been half a year, but who is counting, right? I still published a few posts in the meantime – well a while ago last year -, but those were mostly scheduled texts. I am not sure if this is me getting back into the blogosphere, but for now I am leaving this tiny update of the past half a year.

I would say that the main reason for being away was that I did not have much time to actually fully write something and publish it here. I did have a little free time, but honestly, in a matter of days, I really lost interest in writing for this blog. The thing is, the past two semesters – yeah; perks of not having extended Christmas holidays until February is that we get to finish our lectures at the end of March – were absolutely exhausting, in so many levels but mostly psychologically, so the little free time I had was basically used to catch up with my family and friends back home – yap, still in ‘terras de sua majestade’ (i.e. London) – and to watch tv shows. I have continued to check (the usual) blogs, but the will to write never really came back. Maybe now it is the time, maybe not.

I have always had a problem in judging my academic years until I had every single final result for all my modules, so I am not really sure how well or not this first year of my Masters is going. So far everything has been in the Distinction range, so hopefully it will at least stay there, though the goal is to reach Merit. But apart from that, I think it has been a good first year. The students have not pissed me off – though I cannot say the same about the people I live with, bloody lousy freshers -, the professors have not pissed me off, neither have the modules that I was doing – one final 4000-word-essay and I will be done for this year -, so this is basically the perfect academic experience ever. And finally I did not have my (future) thesis supervisor just throw a bloody random dissertation theme at me. Quite the contrary actually. Not only the professor gave me different options to choose from, he even let me know that other two professors had collections of their own that I could use for my thesis. And oh my, those two collections. Without saying much, they are from two extremely well-known and important sites in the United Kingdom and Tanzania – so, no pressure at all if I end up doing a thesis on one of them. As I still have another academic year ahead of me, nothing is decided yet, but the perspectives for my thesis dissertation are way better than they were for the past two I have written.

One of the best parts of this Masters is that it is mostly practical. Obviously there will always be theory behind it, otherwise it would be a very shitty science what we are doing, but I have never had this much amount of practical modules before – well, except for my year in Geology at FCUL. It was very exciting but at the same time quite stressful because that meant we had a lot of extra work to do. Funny part is that most of us had such a filled first semester, that it seemed we were doing nothing in the second one. The more I see how different universities work, and how different their Archaeology curricula are, the more I sort of do not dislike the idea of an administrative position.

Being doing this Master as a part-time student, us being way far away from the richest periods of this century, and the fact that I am old enough to not depend entirely on my parents, meant it was time to find a part-time job. There are not that many part-time jobs that allow you to only work on specific days, so that whenever you have lectures you will not have to work. This basically means we are confined to work on retail. I am bloody grateful for the job that I have now, despite all the stress it has caused me. More than me being flexible, it is actually the managers that are quite flexible, which is more than great. I am not going to sugar coat it because most times it has been a nightmare to juggle my student and worker responsibilities. Even though I have only been working the minimum hours, most times it still meant I only had one free day during the week, and weekends off were frequently non-existent. This meant that the little free time I had was used to study, write my essays, and so forth. After a while it was easy to not have any will to write in here as I was mostly exhausted by the time I was free after dinner. And having this job meant that from October until now I only had two days of real holidays. Because I am working on retail and stores barely close – like really, we only close two days a year, Sunday Easter and Christmas Day -, and Christmas is our busiest time of the year, it meant no Christmas holidays at all, no New Years holidays at all, no going back home at all. This was bloody difficult to swallow because as students, no matter what, we are always too used to our weekends free, to our extensive holidays, and this was the moment that I basically realised that I am never getting that back again, even if I start working in academia. I guess it was about time to get into real adulthood. I am sorry but until you start working or until you have a family, you really do not have that many responsibilities. The life of a student is a blessing and a great privilege. Do not take it for granted. Adult responsibilities suck!

So basically these have been my last six months in London. It has not been pretty most of the time, but there is not much I can complain about. Or, I mean, I can complain but I cannot forget the privilege stool in which I am standing on top of. As I said, I do not know what this post really means, if I am coming back for real, if it will only be temporary. I guess we will see soon.

A dream eight years in the making

Some people dream of going to Harvard or Yale or Brown or UPenn – and basically any other prestigious Ivy League university in the States -, others dream of going to Sorbonne in France or Oxford and Cambridge in England – or maybe even St Andrews in Scotland due to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. And I have always dreamed of going to UCL – University College London, just to make it even more clear peps. Despite the fact that the department isn’t in great shape right now, I wouldn’t probably say no to UPenn if I had a chance just because some of my favourite researchers work there, but considering you have more chances of dying from a mass shooting in an American university campus than by a shark attack in Australia, I prefer to stay put in Europe, and besides too long flight journeys, like please no. Sorbonne has a big language barrier – I think it’s time for you guys to step down from your patriotic tower ’cause this ain’t the 1780’s anymore -, and besides it never caught my attention. And then Oxbridge was never my thing at all but great research location, like seriously mine-gold location as hell. However, for eight years now that UCL has been my obsession and I guess third time’s a charm ’cause this time I’m definitely gonna study there – or should I say here, since I’m in London already?

Algumas pessoas sonham em ir para Harvard ou Yale ou Brown ou para a UPenn – e basicamente para qualquer outra das prestigiosas universidades americanas da Ivy League -, outros sonhos em ir para a Sorbonne em France ou para Oxford e Cambridge em Inglaterra – ou talvez até mesmo para St Andrews na Escócia devido ao Duque e à Duquesa de Cambridge. E eu sempre sonhei em ir para a UCL – University College London, só para tornar a sigla mais compreensível. Apesar do facto de que o departamento não está num bom estado agora, eu até que não diria que não à UPenn se eu tivesse hipótese, mal que não seja por alguns dos meus investigadores favoritos trabalharem lá, mas considerando que tenho muitas mais hipóteses de morrer vítima de um tiroteiro num campus universitário americano do que vítima de um ataca de tubarão na Austrália, eu prefiro manter-me bem quietinha na Europa, até porque longas viagens de avião não são para mim. A Sorbonne tem uma barreira linguística gigante – não é por mal meus, mas acho que já é tempo de sairem da vossa torre patriótica, que os anos 1780 já acabaram há imenso tempo -, e atém do mais, a universidade nunca captou muito a minha atenção. E depois Oxbridge nunca foi a minha cena, apesar de serem uma óptima localização para investigação, ao ponto daquilo ser quase uma mina de ouro para nós – arqueólogos, obviamente. À parte disto tudo, desde há oito anos para cá que a UCL tem sido a minha obsessão e, penso que à terceira é que é, porque desta vez vou mesmo estudar lá – ou melhor cá, visto que já estou em Londres.

I know I said I would write on the day after my arrival in London, but these first few days have been a bit crazy and quite busy. This is basically my fifth day in London and I feel like it has happened a lot since I arrived here. Even though this isn’t going to be my first time studying a Master degree in a foreign country, this academic year is going to bring a lot of novelties for me. The majority of (taught) Masters in Europe only last for one year – and that was exactly what I did in the Netherlands – but this time I will be doing a Masters in two years, as I will be doing it as a part-time student. This means I will be working part-time at the same time. I won’t lie that this decision was made purely on monetary reasons – I love London but damn this city is hella expensive – but two years does really give you more time and freedom to develop a better thesis and to establish equally good relationships with scholars. It may feel weird for some that I am doing a second Master degree, but to be honest nowadays a Bachelor isn’t enough anymore, probably not even a single Masters is enough. And if we wanna invest in a proper academic career path – i.e. research/scientific research – we gotta have at least a PhD. Call me biased all you want – it won’t be a lie – but this gotta be one of the hardest career paths out there, but absolutely the most fulfilling of them all. And as I am changing my specialisation within the Archaeology field, there’s no better way of doing that by doing a second Master degree.

Eu sei que tinha dito que iria escrever no dia a seguir à minha chegada a Londres, mas estes primeiros dias têm sido bastante atarefados, e algo estranhos. Este é basicamente o meu quinto dia em Londres, e eu já sinto que aconteceram mil e uma coisas desde que eu cheguei. Apesar de esta não ser a primeira vez que estou a fazer um Mestrado no estrangeiro, a verdade é que este ano académico vai trazer-me muitas novidades. A maior parte dos Mestrados na Europa só duram um ano – que foi exactamente aquilo que fiz nos Países Baixos -, mas desta vez vou fazer um Mestrado em dois anos, visto que vou fazê-lo a tempo parcial. Isto significa que vou tentar trabalhar ao mesmo tempo que estudo. Não vou mentir que esta decisão não foi puramente financeira – eu adoro Londres mas esta cidade é excessivamente cara -, mas realmente dois anos dão-nos mais tempo e liberdade para desenvolver uma melhor tese, e para estabelecer relações igualmente boas com investigadores. É capaz de ser esquisito para alguns o facto de eu estar a fazer um segundo Mestrado, mas para ser muito sincera, nos dias de hoje uma Licenciatura já não chega, e provavelmente nem um único Mestrado. E se queremos investir num verdade percurso académico – i.e. investigação/investigação científica -, temos de ter pelo menos um Doutoramento. Podem-me chamar tendenciosa à vontade – o que não será mentira nenhuma -, mas esta é um dos percursos profissionais mais difíceis que existem, mas absolutamente o mais gratificante deles todo. E como eu estou a mudar de especialização dentro do ramo de Arqueologia, não há melhor maneira de o fazer que não com um segundo Mestrado.

I’ve only been in my new student residence for a few days, so I haven’t had much time to form a proper opinion on it, but so far it doesn’t seem too bad. This time I am sharing a flat with other five people, but each one of us has her/his own bedroom and bathroom. There weren’t that many pictures of the rooms at this residence online, but from past experiences I wasn’t expecting much. However it turned out to be better than I though. A few changes wouldn’t be a mad idea but so far there isn’t much I can complain. And the kitchen is a lot bigger than I thought it would be, which is also great since it’s gonna be six of us in that space. The fact that is close to my faculty – well a good 20+ minutes walk – is definitely a plus, as I wanna spend as little as possible on public transports here. They do work better – even if some of the tube lines are on strike – but they’re super expensive, especially for a student budget. Finding a part-time job has been a bit tricky as not all kinds of jobs are suitable to perform at the same time we study. Finding something in London to do is not difficult at all – there’s plenty of offer, that I can assure you -, but something to our liking might not be that easy to find. Let’s just see how this new stage of my life develops.

Eu ainda só estive uns poucos dias na minha nova residência universitária, por isso ainda não tive muito tempo para formar uma opinião mais concreta, mas até agora não parece ser má de todo. Desta vez eu estou a partilhar um apartamento com mais cinco pessoas, mas cada um de nós tem os seus próprios quartos e casas-de-banho. Não existem muitas imagens dos quartos desta residência na internet, mas por experiências antigas eu não estava à espera de muito. No entanto até acabou por ser melhor do que eu pensava. Umas quantas mudanças não lhe fariam mal nenhum, mas até agora não me posso queixar muito. E a cozinha é bem maior do que eu pensava que seria, o que é óptimo porque seremos seis a usar aquele espaço. E o facto de a residência ficar ao pé da minha faculdade – ok são mais de uns 20 minutos a pé – é definitivamente um plus, visto que vou tentar gastar o menor possível em transportes públicos aqui. Eles trabalham melhor – até mesmo quando algumas linhas estão em greve – mas eles são super caros, especialmente para os recursos de um estudante. Encontrar um trabalho a tempo parcial tem sido um pouco complicado, visto que nem todos os trabalhos são ajustáveis com os nossos estudos. Encontrar qualquer coisa em Londres não é difícil de todo – há montes de oferta, isso posso-vos assegurar -, mas encontrar algo que nos agrade por completo é que não é assim tão fácil de encontrar. Vamos lá ver como é que esta nova etapa da minha vida se desenvolve.

Food for Thought | Walk of Shame

Isn’t it wonderful how a guy can have multiple night stands and people won’t say a thing about it, but when it’s a girl we’re automatically called sluts? How wonderful is that, huh? And let’s not forget that a guy who has several partners in several (or few) years is called a stud or a real man, but oh my, if it’s a woman having multiple partners in several years, we’re back again to the slut-shamming call-outs. If you’re a virgin, you’re a freaking prude; but if you’ve had sex before, then you’re a fucking slut. The reasoning behind these statements is just wonderful. No matter how much I know that this is reality, society’s double standards will always amaze me.

But getting back to the walk of shame, why the fuck does something like this exist? What is there of non-natural in having sex with another person? Why have we villainised such a natural behaviour between humans? I know we’re one of the few animals – bonobos are just like us, glad that our cousins understand us perfectly – that does it just for pure pleasure, besides reproduction obviously, but c’mon people, what the fuck is so wrong with having sex with another person? Someone do help me because I’m feeling completely clueless here. Actually, someone do explain me what’s wrong in going to someone’s house late in the evening – or late in the nigh, or even early in the freaking morning, who gives a shit really – and have consensual sex with that person, and then return safe and sound to their homes? Am I missing a detail here? Speaking of consensual activities here, what there is to be ashamed of having had sex? If you – yes, you men – love it so much, why is it so hard to understand that woman can singly enjoy it too? Oh shit, upsss, I totally forgot it, my bad, we can’t have something for ourselves unless it has been given from your highnesses.

Seriously, fuck this society and its misogynistic ideals.

Food for thought | On the wake of the British EU referendum 2.0

Back at it again – sorry not sorry – but there’s too much to say about this shitty situation. At this moment, with all the aftermath thoughts that are getting published on the internet, I don’t know which one is sadder: people saying they regret having voted for Brexit, people saying they thought not that many people would vote for Brexit so their votes wouldn’t matter, people saying they had no idea what they were doing, people saying that they hope having voted for Brexit won’t make it worse… LIKE WHAT THE FUCK PEOPLE. IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING, WHY THE FUCK DID YOU VOTE FOR IT? HOW ABOUT HAVING ASKED FOR MORE DATA BEFORE YOU MADE A DECISION? This reminds me of the French people a few years ago when they elected François Hollande. I mean if you know how a piece of shit he is, why did you vote for him in the first place? If he’s not trustworthy, why did you vote for him anyway? And the same applies here… If you feel like you don’t have all the pieces of a puzzle to make up your mind about something, why don’t you try to find those missing pieces? Why do something reckless, especially when it can have such a devastating result? WHY NOT THINK FIRST AND THEN ACT? IS THIS A CONCEPT SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?

And then to make things worse, we start seeing how ridiculous the Brexit campaign was. LIKE CAN YOU GUYS AT LEAST DO MATH? OR CAN YOU GUYS READ? Like dudes those were not the numbers that were on the EU reports. Obviously they all knew what they were doing. They literally lied to millions of people and for what? To get their Empire back? Like guys c’mon those times are long past all of us. We live in a world too globalised now for that to ever happen again; though clearly not everyone on this Earth has understood that.

After Angela Merkel’s speech about this referendum, I’m just hoping someone will take the hints – c’mon how more obvious could she have been? – and have the balls to stop this stupid motion from going any further. Let’s take the fact that this was just a merely opinion-seeking referendum and make this shit go away. Like guys this ain’t gonna help anybody, so let’s get rid of it.

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Food for thought | On the wake of the British EU referendum*

*I know this is an immigrant perspective but either way I’m definitely not gonna shut up

A couple of unpopular opinions first. Not only David Cameron should be blamed for this shocking outcome, since he was the coward, gritty bastard who had this idea in the first place – the one time it would be right to actually not do what was promised during election campaigns, he just had to be true to his words; fuck you – but Jeremy Corbyn should also be blamed for this outcome, considering this piece of shit only decided to raise his voice in favour of Bremain a couple of days before the voting – why didn’t you fucking say something sooner to help your side? Why did they have to sack Ed Miliband?.

Second unpopular opinion. As I’ve seen a few times on the internet, people over 65 shouldn’t be able to vote. And it makes total sense. It’s not their fucking future that’s on the line. They’re freaking retired, for fuck’s sake. They will definitely be less affected by this than any of their younger generations. And let’s see. If people under 18 aren’t yet mentally ready to vote, people over 65 aren’t mentally capable of doing so anymore. It’s so unfair how millions of young people just got their future ruined because a bunch of elderly people still think we’re in the bloody WWII. THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO REPEAT PAST MISTAKES, FOLKS!

Now to the actual theme of this post… And to think this was all enabled because of an irrational fear of immigrants. LIKE WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF? Them taking your jobs? As if that was actually the reality. In order for that to happen, you would have to want to do those jobs yourselves in the first place. How many balls do politics and other people need to admit – as socially bad as this is – that immigrants (and here I’m referring to those who unfortunately don’t have qualifications, i.e. at least a bachelor degree) do the jobs that the nationals don’t want to? If the nationals themselves aren’t working on those jobs, how are immigrants taking them away from them? And even the jobs where more qualifications are required aren’t being taken away from them either. Also, how hard is it to understand that these jobs are placed within such a global job market that they don’t belong to anyone in particular? They’re basically there for the taking of anyone qualifyied for them. But deep down we all know that the underlining problem is that they’re pissing themselves because of the refugee crisis, and the fact that they don’t want to share the burden – yeah I know it’s not the best word but with the way they’re treating this issue, it’s quite the appropriate word because it ain’t working for any of the sides – with the rest of the Union.

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Desabafo #30

The feeling of being alone surrounded by people gotta be one of the worst feelings ever.

If I could travel… #5

Whenever and wherever I wanted to, right now I would be here: 16th arrondissement, Paris

For many years, this has been my exact thought every month of May. Football has always been a favourite of mine, but there’s no sport that has a more special place in my heart than tennis. I’ve never practiced it – or better said, never practiced it enough to may actually call it practice – but I’ve always loved this sport. However, it has been disappointing me so much this year. It certainly isn’t the sport I feel in love with at first, but still… it will always hold a special place in my heart, no matter what.

This year’s tournament starts tomorrow and I couldn’t be more excited about it because this is by far my favourite tennis tournament. There’s nothing better than actually seeing these matches live but I guess a TV will do for now. I’m not sure if I’ll have much time to actually follow the whole tournament, but a dozen of matches sounds like a good amount of matches to watch. *prayer circle* that this will be Rafael Nadal’s 10th championship title.

Random | Chrysalism*

*n. the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof like an argument upstairs, whose muffled words are unintelligible but whose crackling release of built-up tension you understand perfectly

I don’t know what I like more about this word. How it is spelled and what it represents, or the way it can be described. Honestly that description above is just pure gold. One of my favourite things about Winter it’s its storms, especially thunderstorms. There’s nothing better than being in the comfort of our homes in the company of a book and a mug of tea, whilst the Gods are fighting each other outside with lightning.

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Eu não sei do que é que gosto mais acerca desta palavra. Do modo como ela é escrita e o que ela representa, ou do modo como ela pode ser descrita. Honestamente, a descrição acima é absolutamente perfeita. Uma das minhas coisas preferidas do Inverno são mesmo as suas tempestades, especialmente as trovoadas. Não há nada melhor do que estar no conforto das nossas casas, na companhia de um bom livro e uma chávena de chá, enquanto os Deuses lutam uns com os outros lá fora com relâmpagos.

Life goals #5

I’d be the first person to say I hate rain, no matter whether it’s just a few drops of water, or it’s raining cats and dogs. However there are a few places on earth where I don’t really mind this weather. To be honest, London – or anywhere else in the UK – without rain is not the same; it loses its charm. On another note, if we’re already aware than it’s mostly rainy in a certain country or city, it’s a lot easier to not be bothered by it. And all this rambling to say that this has been my dream city for years, way before this sentence become the cliché that it is today.

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Eu consigo ser a primeira pessoa a dizer que odeio chuva, quer sejam só umas quantas gotas de água, quer esteja a chover a potes. No entanto, há alguns lugares neste mundo nos quais este tipo de tempo não me incomoda nem um bocadinho. Para ser sincera, Londres – ou qualquer outro sítio no Reino Unido – sem chuva não é a mesma coisa; perde assim o seu charme. Por outro lado, se já soubermos que é maioritariamente chuvoso num certo país ou cidade, é muito mais fácil não nos sentirmos incomodados por tal. E toda esta lengalenga para dizer que esta tem sido a minha cidade de sonho há anos, muito antes de esta expressão ser o cliché que é agora.

My 2015 in Movies #4

I guess this turned out to be some kind of tradition around here lately. This is my last compilation of films watched in 2015. I must say this was a pretty fantastic cinematographic year for me. I don’t think I’ve ever since these many films in a year alone. I guess it helped having multiple movie sessions with friends while I was living away, for my Masters. And I must admit that I watched more than half of the films in this list in a month – Summer break was great for it actually. 2015 brought me a total of 80 films (plus half of other ones but those don’t really count here). I won’t be this lucky this year, mostly due to lack of time and opportunity. But yeah let’s see how many films I can watch in 2016.

Blackhat – I didn’t have high expectations about this film, or any expectations at all for that matter, but in the end I did expect more from it. It’s an entertaining film for sure but it could have been better. The plot is interesting and it has a couple of good characters, but it looses a lot of points in what concerns one of the female characters. She had a lot of potential but she’s just another example of how female characters are only used as the sexual partner of the main male character. This female character ended up by being quite annoying actually.

Black Sea – having Jude Law as part of a film’s cast is already a good reason for me to like that certain film, but this is definitely a great film by its own merit. It is absolutely brilliant. I think thriller is becoming more and more one of my favourite genres of all time. I love the plot of this film and even though the ending may have been a tiny bit predictable, I really did like it. Also, I believe that the actors’ performances were fantastic. I really really recommend this film.

Woman in Gold – I absolutely loved this film. It is really amazing and great. And really emotional too, even though I cannot relate to it at all. I think the film is brilliant and that it was well produced. The soundtrack is just amazing and I believe they have just the right actors for each one of the characters. I think Helen Mirren was perfect for the main role, and I’m more and more in love with Daniel Brühl; I think he’s a great actor. This is definitely a film that I recommend.

Jupiter Ascending – this film is far more entertaining than what I was expecting. And I can say the same about its interest and quality, even though it is nothing extraordinary or particularly brilliant. However, it is indeed a really good science fiction film, with what I can say it the usual cliché relationship between the “prince” and the “dame in distress”. I think the visual effects are good, as well as the soundtrack. But what I though was absolutely the best about this film was Eddie Redmayne‘s performance – this man is a brilliant and amazing actor for sure.

Mortdecai – I wasn’t expecting much from this film considering its reviews but it still disappointed me. It has a really great cast and all but it didn’t make much of a different. I suppose all the idiotic lines and scenes were meant to deliver a funny film but it wasn’t that funny. It is a bit entertaining though.

The Normal Heart – this is a very good film; more than I was expecting to be honest, not that it had really bad reviews though. The film has some really good performances and a pretty god damn cast. It really is worth it of your time.

While We’re Young – this is a really interesting but I don’t see its categorisation as a comedic drama. Drama fits it perfectly but not necessarily the comedy; it is funny but only sometimes to be honest. I was expecting it to be more funny and not as serious as it is. However, the seriousness of the film is really interesting.

The Judge – this is really a great film. I loved it. It has a very interesting and well-developed plot and really good performances from its main actors. Robert Downey Jr. did a wonderful performance in this film. However, the visual effects area needed more attention: we can notice the use of a green screen in some of the outdoor scenes.

Fury – I didn’t have specifically high expectations about this film, even though I knew it had good reviews, but the truth is that it is better than what I was expecting. War films exist by the dozens but this is somewhat an exception. I like the way it portrayed the WWII and the whole fighting aspect, and the morals and ethics surrounding it. It’s definitely a really good film. And I also liked Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman‘s performances. Well the cast in general was well-chosen actually. The visual and audio effects are particularly amazing. That’s definitely a plus. So despite the fact that this film was obviously romanticised (as they usually are), it is really good and I definitely recommend it.

Exodus: Gods and Kings – this is a good film. Even though I cannot comment on the historic aspect of this film, which I personally think is difficult to prove every single detail (but that’s another matter of discussion), this is actually a good film. Entertaining and well acted. It is somewhat romanticised though, and some scenes seem a bit far-fetched  too. Also, the film could use better visual effects in some scenes. But in general it is a good film.

Nightcrawler – this film is absolutely great and amazing. One of the best I’ve seen so far this year. It has an absolutely perfect plot that is super interesting. I think that the best feature of it is how much it makes us think about how the media as journalism actually work. Jake Gyllenhaal was absolutely perfect in his performance – such an amazing choice for that character. I highly recommend this film.

Paddington – this is such a cute, adorable, funny and great film. And also quite perfect for a flight, which was the situation in which I watched this film. The story is somewhat cliché and predictable but it didn’t really bother me as it does in other films. I think the funny parts kinda attenuated the fact that it was a bit predictable. This is obviously a great film for children but also a good option for a family movie night.

Fantastic Four – I don’t get why were the critics so harsh on this film because I genuinely liked it. It is less action-packed than the other superhero films made by the MARVEL studios and maybe that’s something that people were looking for in it but I don’t think this absence qualifies as something negative. From what the critics said this film turned out to be much better than I was expecting. I liked the plot, the actors’ performances, the visual and sound effects. I genuinely think this is a really good film.

What’s Your Number – this film is super cliché and predictable as pretty much any other romantic comedy, but quite nice actually. However this film is funny, cute and entertaining. It’s not a film that I’d watch a second time but Chris Evans definitely makes this choice much easier.

The Age of Adaline – this is such a good film. It’s a bit cliché and predictable in some scenes but it is indeed a really good film. Even though it has received good critics, I wasn’t actually expecting to like this film so much. It is a great romantic fantasy. And I also loved Blake Lively‘s performance; I think it was really good.

Django Unchained – this is a really good film, well within the cinematic style that Tarantino has presented us in the last few years. You can expect fight scenes, lots and lots of shots fired and an even bigger amount of blood. For those of us who like his genre of films, this one will not disappoint you. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson and Christoph Waltz were amazing in this film. One of the details that I really liked about this film was its soundtrack – absolutely well done.

Spectre – I’m an avid fan of action films, especially the 007 film series, which means I’m pretty biased about any of these films. However, I think this is a really good film. It is the classic 007 films: lots of action, destruction, expensive cars and homes and clothes, and lots of women-action for James Bond. Even though some lines of action are a bit of a cliché, I really enjoyed watching this film. I think Andrew Scott and Christoph Waltz were really well-chosen for their roles. I’m probably being really biased again but I think they’re really good actors, especially Christoph Waltz. He always does an amazing job with his characters.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 – generally-speaking, this was a good adaptation of the books. I must admit that I’m really glad that they changed the director after the first film because the current one has been doing a really good job: something must have been done because these films are better adapted than the first one. Even though I can’t remember half of the last book, I still can say that this film was a good adaptation; obviously not perfect because there isn’t a really perfect adaptation, but this is one of the best I’ve seen. There were some really amazing performances in this film, especially from Jennifer Lawrence – that’s what I call crying – and Josh Hutcherson. In regard to the more technical parts, I don’t think there’s much to say ’cause it was as good as it has always been: really good visual and sons effects, and an equally good soundtrack. Something negative not but not related with the film: 3D is completely useless – the more films I watch in it, the less I like it: there’s always a very short amount of scenes especially produced for 3D; and even though this looks good on them, 3D sort of makes the other scenes look blurry.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – it’s Harry Potter what else can be said? It’s an obviously good film. I like the fact that it is quite light sometimes, especially when compared with the next two films. I’m sure it has flaws compared with the book but since I never read, I will not go down that road. I think it was a well done film.

Snoopy and Charlie Brown: the Peanuts Movie – no matter if we’re children or adults, I believe this is a film for all ages. It is adorable, sweet and funny, all that we could expect from of a film of this genre. I really liked this film and I would see it countless times. And this film has a great plus, considering that behind the whole plot there’s a moral to it: we should believe in ourselves and our capabilities.

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think about it?