Quick summary of our year, note for ourselves - 2014

Let's sum up:

I have written only 21 posts in my blog this year, still not bad taking into account how busy I have been. For me it's very important to write since I want to remember as many details about my life , as possible. I want to leave behind me some legacy so that my family and friends can always go back and read my good memories. I'm not going to say that 2014 has been the perfect year, it has not been. There are always good and tough times but I only like writing about the good times because I do want to forget about the tough ones . Besides,  I always try to find the positive side out of anything that happens in my life, every event it's  a learning experience for me, which also makes me stronger and wiser.

Let's start with the summary:

How many films we have seen this year in the Cinema:

• 26 (4 less than last year and not many in comparison with 2011 where we saw 42 movies!). My favorite ones: Magic in the Moonlight, Mood Indigo, Gone Girl, Budapest Hotel, The Fault in our Stars, Big Eyes and Wolf of Wall Street.

Musicals and Theater :

•  3  Musicals ( Singing in the Rain, Dirty Dancing &and The Wizard of Oz). My favorite being "Singing in the Rain". I also went with my manager to see " My ideal husband" from Oscar Wilde.

Trips:

7 for me and 4 for Andres. Out of my 6 trips, 3 were due to business and for Andres 1 of them.

Concerts:

One Republic (Loved it! True Artists!), The Coronas ( We see them every year!), Lady Gaga (We went with Juan and Juan Diego).

In general I'd say that has been a very busy year studying the master, my leadership program in my company ( Green House) and working long hours. Overall , it has been a good year.

 
Something I have done for the first time in 2014:

We started our year with our first trip to the Emirates. We have taken the decision of buying a house (big decision !) ; We also waited for hours in a long queue to see our favorite Irish band to have their cd signed ( we realized that we are very old to do this.. but it was worth it! We even have a selfie with them). I also took part for the first time in a mini Marathon ( Flora's Women Marathon). I also went to a shooting ground as a team activity for the first time, I also realized that it is not for me, I'm more than a peaceful person lol. I also organized my first charity event selling doughnuts in the National college of Ireland, dressed as a bunny. It was all a Success! My mum also gave us a present a Thermomix and I have our Xmas party in the Aviva Stadium. Currently I'm leading a team of 20 people with 13 different nationalities and we cover 16 different languages. I also took part in my first Gay parade representing Facebook. We also won the Halloween competition due to our costumes for the " Adam's Family".  Our cat Pepe has already reached 100 fans in his Facebook Page!
 Ah! And my father got a park named after him, he will always be present not only for us but for younger generations that go to play in the park. Unfortunately, I still have very good friends that live in different parts around the world and not here, but thanks to the internet we continue to be connected.

Even my cat Pepe got a cd signed by the Coronas!!! Yes, Andres told them a story about our "sick son" that loved them and could not go with us. Of course, in the end, I had to tell the truth and explain that my "son" is actually a cat.

Loved ones that are not with us anymore:

Our dearest friend Ursula, I still can't believe that I won't see her anymore, we are very grateful for everything she did for us while we were living in Germany and she will always be in our hearts. Best wishes to heaven , if there is one, I'm sure you are there due to your kindness.

My auntie , Berty also passed away this year, I can't believe it either, it's so difficult to assimilate death of your loved ones when you live abroad. I still feel that I'll see her in Madrid in one of our trips.

Mention at least 3 highlights of your year:

• We helped our friends Juan & Juan Diego to have them settled in Dublin, they moved to our place in February 2014 and stayed with us for 6 months until the became fully independent (he,he).

• I took part in a Mini-Marathon for charity (Yeah, o.k. I walked all the way..) and I raised money throughout the year, not only for that but also for other charity causes that my company support.
•  Taking my sister, nieces and brother in law to the theater in Dublin. I was very glad to have them visiting us for the first time. Our Xmas has not been so lonely this time . Thanks for the visit!

Mention at least 2 things that I have stopped doing:

• Cooking. Is it my fault? No, I do not think so.. It's just that food is delicious at Facebook.. so I can't compete with the Urban picnic meals and when I'm not at work , I just don't feel like cooking. 
• I used to go out and travel much more than now. Now I even spend my holidays either studying or resting. Does this mean that I'm growing old? Gee!

Resolutions for 2015:

• Get finally the keys of our place, I can't wait to do the first check-in there.
• Finish our Master Degree and have our social lives back (lol).
• Continue growing professionally.
• Get fitter and not to eat so much sugar ( Will I stop drinking coke? Uhm.. don't think so)
• Go to more music concerts than this year. Music is very important for me.
• Continue learning new things and doing things for the first time.
• Do a trip with my mum since this year I haven't had time and it's something that I like to do every year. 
• Don't be so workaholic.. ( Not so sure about this one..)

Most importantly, Andres and I continue to love and respect each other, no matter the obstacles that we can find in our way. As I always say, marriage is about teamwork and we are a great team!

Last movies I have seen in 2014 and the last Musical " The Wizard of Oz"

I have not had a lot of time this year to write about the movies we have seen and most likely I may have missed a few behind:

The Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) : 

I usually enjoy superheroes movies but this was not the movie of my life. I have already forgotten the details of it.. , which means that it's a forgettable movie..

Horrible Bosses (2):

I really enjoyed Horrible Bosses (1), but the second part was not very good. Not even sure if I would give it a pass mark. Not worth spending your time watching it.

Big Eyes (2014):

This is the last movie we have seen this year and what a great way of ending it. Beautiful but sad true story about the female painter Megan Keane. Her husband took credit for her work for 10 years. I love her paintings of kids with big eyes where he wanted to portrayed their soul through the eyes. I'm very glad that we went to see it since i have discovered a new artist that I like. Excellent actor Christoph Walz, plays very well the role of Megan's husband.

I truly recommend this film if you have the chance to see it.

Looking forward to what 2015 has to offer!

The Wizard of Oz, the musical ( National Concert Hall, Dublin, 27.12.2014):

Very lively performance that brought me back to my childhood. The main actors played very well and sang  beautifully. I was singing along "Over the Rainbow"with Dorothy all the time while the band played.  It was a great experience that I could share with my niece , nephew, my sister, Eva , my husband and my brother-in-law. They even had a real dog on the stage, so cute!! And the bad witch was even scary for us!! At the very end we were lucky enough to take a selfie with the actors.

One of those memories that will last for me, even though my husband fall asleep lol.

Recent movies I have seen, 2 recommended and one to avoid: "Dracula; Gone Girl and She is the one"

(2104) "Dracula , the Untold"

We really liked this film, it was a combination between the historic facts of Vlad the Impaler and Bram Stoker fiction novel of Dracula. This is what I really liked, the combination of the 2 and the effects and aesthetic scenes such as when Mina is falling from the cliffs and Dracula is trying to catch her. I also found very beautiful when the vamps were flying all together making different shapes. The movie portrays a powerful Dracula who becomes a vampire to defend his territory and his people. This is one of the films that you have to see in the big screen , main actor Luke Evans was a discovery for me, he plays very well his part.

" Gone Girl"(2014)

I'm not a big fan of Ben Affleck and I did not know what to expect of this film that is breaking records in the American box office. Well, we actually liked it a lot, I did not expect how it turns out to be in the end. I don't want to write much about it since i'll spoil the film for you but one thing i can say is that after seeing this film, you won't believe that much in the perfect marriage portrayed by Rich & famous American people. In a way, i think it's a criticism of what people want others to know about their lives and what are they really like behind doors. British actress Rosamund Pike plays an stellar role, it's one of those characters in a movie that you do not forget. The film reminded me a bit of how old movies used to be with a slow plot making you think of what could happen next. I'm a bit intrigued about how truthful the movie is to the original thriller novel by Gillian Flynn. A must see!

" The Best of Me"

Yes i know based on the title and on the trailer, it was not very promising. But I had one of those days where I wanted to see a romantic movie and we went to see this one. It's so predictable and cheesy that the aromatic side of things vanishes.., do avoid going and seeing this one. I regret not having gone to see a good movie instead! The only good thing is to see the male protagonist topless lol. A forgettable film ..

The Riots Club (2014)

The Riots Club (2014)

To be honest I did not know much about this film and I did not expect how it turned out to be.. it made me feel very bad when they showed the posh spoilt members of the Riot Club inside the town's pub and what happened in there.. I felt so sorry for the owner of the pub that I could not even looked at times. The audience has scored it with a 91% in rotten tomatoes. I have to admit that actor Sam Claflin plays an excellent role, he is so rotten.. Unfortunately Rich spoilt guys like that do exist.. they believe that money can buy everything and get them out of any situation and in a way they are right. After this film ended, both of us felt like crap. If you ask me if I recommend it, well no. I just want to forget I have watched it just because of what it made it me feel. The only good thing for me was actor Max Irons, he is a hottie!

2 movies to cry in the cinema: "The Fault in our Stars " (2014) & " If I stay" (2014)

" The Fault in our Stars"

I do not know about you but for me sometimes I just want to see a film to cry with a dramatic film. From the moment I saw the trailer of this film, i knew I wanted to see it, it's based on a best seller from John Green. The audience has given a 88% in the rotten tomatoes cinema page. Even though the protagonists are very young, they have a lot of chemistry together and they play very well. 2 teenagers, Gus & Hazel, fall in love in a cancer support group. The male protagonist, Gus (played by American actor, Ansel Elgort) has a prosthetic leg , is personally my favourite one, his positive attitude spite of his illness make Hazel , who has cancer, fall in love with him. Their love story is short but they enjoy every moment together, I personally did not expect how the movie ends. I think i haven't cried so much in the cinema for a long time... Of course, this film is not for everyone, it's for sensible people,  like me, that want to see a dramatic romance in the big screen.

If I stay (2014)

Yes, more dram of another teen couple that has a difficult romance.I did not cry so much with this film as with the Fault in our Stars, maybe because I could not see the chemistry between the 2 protagonist and their love story. The beautiful and talent Mia has a future ahead of her as a Cello player who would tell her that a car accident with her parents and brother changed her life forever. Int the film you see her struggle between life and death after she falls into a comma. I liked the film but it was not as good as The Fault in our Stars, in this one i could predict the end but not in The Fault in our Stars. The moral of the story is that life can change in seconds and it's always worth fighting for your life, for those who love you.

Recommended movie: Last Woody Allen movie "Magic in the Moonlight"

Last movie from Woody Allen " Magic in the Moonlight" (2014)

Thank you very much Woody for having shared with us this witty romantic comedy with one of my favourite actors, Colin Firth. We were smiling throughout the film and enjoying every dialogue, it really surprised me. I also love the lovely settings, the costumes and surroundings. Some of the highlights for me are when Colin playing Stanley realised that the medium could potentially not be a fraud and start to shout out of joy. The morale of the film is that love is not always rational and sometimes people are even happier if they live in their own world of what they believe to be true rather than trying to always find a logical reasoning behind everything. I remember to have had a very good feeling after this film ended. A very simple story but with elaborated dialogues that reminded me of the old good movies, where dialogues had a true meaning and special effects did not exist and the storyline was much more important than anything else.

Recent movies I have seen: "Begin Again" & "Dawn of the planet of the Apes" by Belén Delgado

Begin Again

You can tell from the beginning that the director and write is the same one of the movie "Once",John Carrey, the plot has a lot of similarities: A set in a city (this time New York); A guy and a girl that meet and music helps them to cope with their problems and get carried away. Also in both movies they want to record an album so they look for other musicians to be able to fulfil their dream. If you like Music and New York , it's a very enjoyable movie. We loved the music and the setting but it lacked originality; in my opinion it should have had a different twist.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes:

I loved the first movie , Rise of the plant of the Apes and I also liked this one, although not so much as the first one. In this film you see a mature ape " Caesar" , who still feel a connection with the human but all will turn out nasty when Koba's lack of trust, would make a war start between the Apes and humans. In-between, Caesar shows his compassion and also humans Malcom and Ellie start to develop a special relationship with him and they will help each other. There is a lot of interaction between humans and apes and fast scenes of the Apes fighting. Definitely recommended to see it in the big screen so that you can get more involved in the fast scenes of the Apes and humans.

A couple of the typical American comedies: 22 Jump Street ( Had a laugh!) and Bad Neighbours ( Funny!)

2 comedies that you can see at some point that will make you laugh if you are into this type of simple and cheap American humour like me:

22 Jump Street

I love the first movie and this one made us laugh a lot , too. I like the chemistry between the 2 protagonists (and of course, I'm a big fan of Channing Tatum). This movie is great to relax and have a laugh, they are hilarious. The way they make fun of the usual American tough looking cop is fab. One of the highlights for me is when their boss find out that one of them had slept his his daughter and all the scenes after that ha ha. I'm not going to tell you anything else  so  that you can see it and laugh, as we did.

Bad Neighbours

Cute couple with a baby that have to find ways to have their noisy college neighbours under control. Same as with Jump Street , it's a great movie to have a laugh and not to think much. Nothing really stood out for me , I just remember that we were entertained , which was the main purpose. Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen were my favourite, they are fab, I think Andres and myself would have probably behaved in the same way lol. No need to say that although I'm much older than Zac Efron , I can't deny that he looks hot!

Recent movies I have seen: Mood Indigo (Recommended!); The Purge , the Anarchy ( Recommended!), Boyhood (not sure..) by Belen Delgado

Mood Indigo

Yesterday we went to see a French surrealistic movie, we wanted something different after having seen so many American movies and that's what we got! An original story full of symbolism and fantasy. We could not stop smiling throughout , we had no idea what was going to come next, it was as if we were watching an art performance some times, so aesthetic and beautifully done. A few people left in the middle of the film and I was actually surprised because we wanted to see more and more of it. One more time Audrey Tautou has acted in a different film that captivates a very selected audience. It mades us dream of a different world, a movie set in Paris. Yes , a 10 from me and totally recommended. I personally loved the little mouse showing up all the time and the scene when he takes the drawings of their love story with him and of course the scenes with the dancing and lively food plates (Instagram should have an app like this one day..) . Also the wedding scenes are full of fantasy.. loved them..

The Purge, The Anarchy

I loved the first movie, The Purge and I knew that this one was not going to be great , however, it was much better than I expected. The concept was the same and they only elaborated it a little bit criticising the rich American society but it was full of action and it kept us entertained. I do not think it's so far from the reality that this may happen one day.. a world without criminality and only once a year, everything is allowed and if you do not have the means to protect yourself, you will end up dead in the hands of the rich people. Maybe because I'm a member of the cinema, I went and see this one, if you ask me if I would pay 11 euros to go, no, you can always see it when it's released on a dvd or online later on, you do not miss much but as I stated above, we enjoyed it.

Boyhood

I heard a lot about this movie so I had high expectations of it, which I think was the main problem for me. Agree that it's something different because it has been shot with the same actors intermittently over 12 years and it shows a regular life of 2 kids and how they grow up. As it was just about a regular story about life, it could be any of us, for me there was lack of excitement and action. When I go to the cinema I like getting something different. I was not sure where the movie was going as it was about the kids life and it was a bit too long for me. On the other hand, as it's about life, it brought back some memories from my childhood, too, when I used to go with my grandpa to the river and throw stones (like the protagonist does) and also it reminded me of my teens times when I looked horrible just like the female kid protagonist lol. This film has excellent reviews, so I'm no-one to tell you if you should go or not, go and judge for yourself. My husband liked it more than me, I personally found it a bit boring..

"Dirty Dancing", The Musical by Belen Delgado

Dirty Dancing is a movie that I have seen an uncountable number of times , it does not have a memorable plot, photography or excellent acting but it had something that was appealing to me when I was a teen and it was very exciting to see it live as a Musical at the Board Gais theatre in Dublin. Theatre was packed with group of mid and late thirties women with a few boyfriends and husbands. The performers looked very alike from the ones from the original movie. If you ask me if I recommend it..  well, not so sure. It was a bit disappointing that they didn't sing all the songs live but when they did it was good. There was no connection between the 2 main protagonists, however, the last scene that most of us was looking forward to: " The Time of my life", brought tears to my eyes . Two additional singes sang it live on the stage, while they danced, this was the highlight of the whole show for me. At times it was funny when the ,al protagonist took his t-shirt off and showed off his fit body and the female audience (including me lol), started cheering very loud. Their representation was an exact "copy" of the movie, there was no innovation (I guess i was expecting a bit of it..) and no "wow" factor for me. As we have seen so many musicals at this stage, we have become very demanding. And how come they didn't sing live "she is like the wind", one of my favourite songs from the movie.. :-( . A pity that a musical with so much potential did not blow us away.

Recent movies I have seen: Maleficent & Transcendece (2014) by Belén Delgado

" Maleficent" 2014 - I have to admit that I was a bit reluctant to watch it. I'm not a big fan of Angeline Jolie.. and I thought that what could be added to the story of the Sleeping beauty?. Well, I actually loved this film from the beginning to the end and I was totally wrong about it. It's one of these movies that you have to see in the big screen due to the special effects to get more involved in the story. It's definitely a very original version of one of the fairy tales classics: The Sleeping beauty. Angeline plays a superb role. The only piece of criticism that I have is that the king could have been a bit more handsome (lol) but apart from that: Class! Top class! In a scale from 1 to 10, definitely a 10!!! I would watch it again!! Watching this film reminded me when I was a kid and I always wanted to be able to fly like a bird!

 " Transcendence" 2014 - A futuristic movie about the power of intelligent minds to be integrated into computers to create automats without feelings who could be able to take over the world. In a way it reminded me a bit of the movie "Her". It started well and i could relate to the plot and its originality but then at some point I started to find it a bit too long and I stopped enjoying it that much. There is no doubt however about the excellent role played by Johnny Depp, he never plays an conventional role, so no surprises there.  In a scale from 1 to 10 I give it a 6.5.