Recommended Musical: Chicago (2012) by Belén Delgado

What better way that celebrate my husband's birthday than going to the modern Board Gas Energy theatre in Docklands to see a very vibrant award-winning musical : Chicago. This was one of my birthday presents for him. I have seen many other musicals before  but none with this cabaret style mixed with humour and acting. It doesn't have complicated changes of the stage or clothing, it's just their erotic dances and songs , the women in their corsets and tight black dresses. Gee ! After the show you realize how unfit you are! They are able to dance and sing at the same time, act and be funny with short dialogues and songs. To me, the 2 female protagonists, British actresses Ali Bastian  playing Roxie and Tupele Dorgu playing Velma Kelly, were the best ones they were not only talented singers and dancers but also very good actress. Of course, previous "blue" singer , Duncan James, who played the role of the cheeky lawyer Billy Flynn, only for Dublin shows was another of my favorite ones. I have always been a fan of Blue and he did not disappointed me live in the theatre either. Duncan plays an excellent role and sings beautifully and he still has the looks! I did not find attractive, though , the male dancers, their moves and clothes were very gay in their black-net t-shirts and exaggerated black-fitted trousers. On the contrary , the male audience was very happy with the sexy and feminine moves of the hot dancers. Believe me, I was trying to find some faults but I couldn't, they were good-looking and talented. My husband was very excited using his binoculars for the first time (this was my second birthday present) checking the girls out. Some moments of the show reminded me a bit of the show we went to see in Lido in Paris. It was beautiful to see the choreographies they had with the feathers , the dancers and chairs. Last but not least, another highlight for me was the live music of the band on the stage, they were even part of the musical, I loved that, they have such positive energy, we were all clapping along at the end.By the way, I loved the exaggerated American accent, they really looked American to me! I don't want to tell you much to encourage you to go and see it!! They are still in Dublin until the first of September !! Jaaaaazzzzzz.

Beautiful film for romantics: Take this Waltz (2012)

I didn't feel like watching an action movie, then I saw that they were showing this film which I didn't know anything about it, only that it was a romantic film. I'm actually very glad that we decided to see it.

I have to say that it was a bit cheesy at times but also very different from any typical American romantic movie, it reminded me of some realistic scenes that you typically see in Spanish Almodovar movies such as nudity of regular people and scenes of day-to/day like a woman peeing in a toilet and even using the toilet paper. A very simple thing to do but it's not usually seen in all movies. This one really stood out for me, Canadian writer and director Sarah Polley did a good job. The plot of this fim is not complicated at all, it's just about the evolution of a longterm relationship and the impact it can have to meet an attractive stranger. What the movie tried to show was that even if you end up having a relationship with the attractive and mysterious stranger that you have chemistry with, in the end the relationship will turn into the same thing that the other relationship was. We loved the colors and photography of this film, it's really aesthetic to watch, it's like a sequence of images sometimes you feel like watching a photo-album of beautiful colorful memories. Some of the highlights for me: The scene when it's revealed the longterm joke of throwing cold water at her in the shower ; when Daniel (played by attractive Canadian actor Luke Kirby) leaves the lighthouse postcard with the message to meet again in 20 or 40 years at the lighthouse when they will kiss for the first time; the scene of swimming without touching each other and in general the performance of the actress Michelle Williams. The moral of the story, if you love someone you need to take care of this person so that the relationship doesn't get monotonous. Not an easy thing to do, you need to get creative! And above all, don't get comfortable and think that the other person will never leave you.  Last question you will be thinking of, "Shall I go and see it?" Well the answer is yes, only if you are into romantic films if not , then you will hate it!

Laughter Lounge - Live Comedy in Dublin (2012)

We got free tickets to go to the Laughter Lounge in Dublin (Thanx Elynor!) . What a best therapy against stress than laughing in the best venue to see live comedy in Dublin?!. Have to say that every time you go to see comedy, it really depends on the acts on the night. It's hard that you like all of them, it's not an easy thing to do comedy. This time out of 4 comedians, we loved 2, the other 2 were not our "cup of tea" but actually, specially with John Colleary the audience laughed a lot. The presenter of the comedians Gar Murray was one of the highlights of the night for us, I had alerady seen him before in the Laughter Lounge and I knew he was good, to me he was the best one of the night! Just check out the parody he made of the eortic novel "50 Shades", it was hilarious! Even if we didn't know the erotic novel, he explained it and it was hilarious!

The other suprise of the night was the Dubliner comedian Rory O'hanlon, he was great! We couldn't stop laughing at his parodies about Dublin life style. He's good!!

There was another comedian, the second one , can't remember his name, I think it was Paddy, we did not find him funny at all, a bit racist.., he sang a song about a beautiful Polish DNA improver working in a spa in Dublin so that you get the hint.., he started by saying that Irish people were ugly and all look like potatoes and that due to recession potential DNA-improvers from Eastern-Europe left. Ouch!

If you happen to go to the Laughter Lounge remember that you always have to book the tickets in advanced, it's usually full and they don't let you in on the night if you don't have a ticket. Ah! Don't leave the place without going into the photobooth where they take 4 photos of you for free to remember the night! They will be posted in their facebook page for free the day after!

The Page to get tickets:

http://www.laughterlounge.com/

Ah! Forgot to say that they have cocktails and drinks for a very good price!

I leave you with a vide of one of the best moments of the night for me:

Best pizza I have eaten in Dublin: Steps of Rome (restaurant)

I'm lucky enough to work with Italians and they recommend me this small but charming Italian restaurant in dublin 2 called" Steps of Rome". We had very good red house wine,  Carpaccio di Bresaola (14.50), large salad Formaggio (10.90), pizza capricciosa (12.65 euros) and a delicious Italian capuccino all for 49 euros (not bad for such a great quality meal). What a pity that I couldn't eat more because I would have loved to have had a dessert! Arg!! A good excuse to go back!! We loved it!!! A bit pricy but we didn't care because we had an excellent lunch! My Italian colleagues were not wrong at all!! Thanx Irene for giving me the exact address to find this place, I would not have not found it otherwise! They also sell food to go, if you are in a hurry. We felt like in Italy, it remind me of a pizza we had with my friend Matteo in Verona! Delicious!!

Below you can see their web page with the exact address, it's very close to grafton street, it's actually the paralel street just after HMV shop. Just to let you know that it's a very popular place and quite small so avoid busy times since they only have one waitress, so don't be in a rush and be patient! It'll be worth the wait!

http://www.stepsofrome.ie/

Much better than I expected : Step up, Miami Heat (2012)

Yes, I have to confess, we went to see "Step up, Miami Heat". For those who know us, you will know that we love dancing, so no surprises there if we went to see a movie about dance moves. We did not have any high expectations, I even thought it was going to be a cheap repetition of the other step-ups movies, well I was wrong. I actually liked this one more than the first one of the STEP up's movies. The choreography of the dance performances is very original , it's dance combined with art and also delivering a message. The photography of the movie was a bit exaggerated at times, probably because it's a 3D movie and we saw it in 2D. Of course all the dancers and extras are hot in their bath suits and bikinis and it looks like there are no regular people with their bellies on the beach in Miami. Good to know , not to go there lol you already feel tiny and unfit watching the bodies that come up in the film. The plot is simple, a dance crew called "The Mob" that plan performances in the most unexpected places without being invited.  To me, the film was very entertaining to watch, i was not tired to see their performances because each single one of them was original and vibrant. They danced with passion and with original moves. Of course, Andrés loved the protagonist female dancer, I was also happy with the protagonist male dancer lol but I have to say that Channing is still my favorite . It's a pity that he does not take part in the Step up movies anymore. Highlights of the movie for me, the final dance, vibrant!! Of course the end is cheesy and predictable but the dance really got me !! I also liked the dance in the art exhibition , when they were pretending to be sculptures! I have to say that at times, the female protagonist dancer was a bit exaggerated and I had to laugh when I saw Andrés face, I think he wanted to jump into the screen .  This film even has a good message to the world: If you want to protest about something you don't agree with, to get your message across you have to do something different, going out to the streets with signs or creating disturbance ,does not catch the attention anymore. They way they protest in the film is through original performances. Now the question is, Do I recommend this film? Well, if you love dancing and watching a group of young talented dancers in the big screen, go and see it!! It's a very aesthetic film in all senses. When it finished , we were dancing in the street! Of course, watch this film in the big screen, not on a computer, it won't be the same.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - Uhm still not very convinced.. sorry

I actually saw this movie one weekend ago, I have been thinking about it since then to see what I actually think of it but no, I still don't feel like writing much about it. I found it too long, the story didn't get me, the only thing that I enjoyed was seeing Christian Bale in the batman suit in action because I'm a big fan of him. I was nicely surprised to see "500 days of Summer" actor: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Cane, I'm a big fan of both of them which was a definite plus for me. The effects were good, can't deny that, I can't say that I didn't like the film either, the only sentence that comes to my mind is that, it was too long and that the bad guy "Bane" played by Tom Hardy,was very hard to understand when he talked, we actually found it funny sometimes because we could not understand what he was saying lol. If I recommend it? Yeah, it's a film you have to see, specially if you are a batman fan (otherwise, don't bother..),.I must be weird because I did not love it like most of the people I know but this is my opinion.  My review, not very deep either but I don't feel like writing more about this film.. maybe i had too high expectations... , don't know

Movie recommended: "Ted" (2012), the toy every man would love to have lol by Belén Delgado

Since i saw the trailer of this film "Ted" I knew I had to see it, a film about an adult living with a talking  nasty teddy-bear that many men would love to have as a friend, this was promising! IT had to be funny and hell, yeah it was hilarious!! He is: Funny, nasty, womanizer, loves to drink and get high, playing nintendo games, farts etc  I haven't heard a cinema audience laughing so loud at the same time for a long time. Hottie  American actor Mark Walhberg plays an excellent role, an adult that does not want to grow up and who is attached to his very special teddy bear which was his only friend since childhood. His beautiful girlfriend in the film, actress from Ukraine, Mila Kunis (who you may remember from "Black Swan") has to put up with Ted being in the middle of her relationship all the time. Presenter of the "E" program "The Soup" plays also a small role as Mila's boss, it was great to see him in the film, he is so funny when I watch him on t.v. I don't want to tell you some of the funny jokes,you have to go and see it, I'll only tell you some of  the highlights for me: When John Benett (Mark Wahlberg) meets Flash Gordon at the party and they hang-out with Ted (LOL great!!), the scene about Ted getting hired and at the counter conquering the cashier (LOL great!!), the fight of John and Ted (Something you have never seen before a teddy bear fighting with its owner lol) and I could go on and on!! It went so fast!! And it even made me remember "Flash Gordon" I used to watch it when I was a kid myself! To me I give it a 100%!!! And no, don't take any kid to see this film, as I was saying before it's not a sweet little teddy bear but just the opposite! By the way, Andrés has asked me for a TED for his birthday!! noooooooo