LFF Highlights: Three Phenomenal Adaptations To Look Out For

The London Film Festival always brings great variety, including the weird and wonderful, the provocative and explosive, and the sweet and endearing. This year, LFF has brought audiences some staggeringly good adaptations for both book and film fans to enjoy, with three of these adaptations, in particular, really standing out. 

Firstly, there is the beautifully romantic Carol (The Price of Salt), based on Patricia Highsmith's novel. Cate Blanchett plays Carol opposite Rooney Mara and the production is completely breath-taking in all aspects. The direction is flawless, the script magnificent, the performances all spot-on and mult-faceted, and the gorgeous costumes and styles of the era entirely nostalgic. This is brave story-telling and a film that will stay with the viewer long after they've finished watching it.
(Carol is due for UK cinematic release on 27th November 2015)

If love-stories aren't your thing and you prefer weird and wonderful, then the brilliantly bonkers High-Rise may well be one for you - though this seems to be greatly dividing its audience with many either loving or hating it. Based on the JG Ballard novel from the 70s, the all-star (mostly British) cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Keeley Hawes, Sienna Miller and Elisabeth Moss. The story, about an apartment complex where the rich live at the top and the poor live at the bottom, starts relatively calmly and soon descends into chaos, violence and general debauchery. The soundtrack is something unlike anything you will have heard before and includes a Portishead cover of Abba's SOS, among other delights.
(High-Rise is expected in cinemas in early 2016)

Alternatively, the stand-out adaptation of the festival (and other festivals by all accounts!) has to be the gut-wrenching and magical Room, with a screenplay written by the book's author, Emma Donoghue. Brie Larson plays Ma along with young Jacob Tremblay as Jack and the film - much like the book - manages to capture all the innocence, horror and familial devotion of its characters. Larson's performance is riveting and, if there's any justice, she'll be a hot favourite come award season.
(Room is slated for UK release in January 2016)

ALL HAIL MACBETH! in two exciting new posters

The three witches have arrived in two brilliant new posters for the Macbeth adaptation due to arrive in UK cinemas on 2nd October.

 

MACBETH stars Michael Fassbender (Twelve Years A Slave, Shame, Hunger) and Academy-Award winner Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night, La Vie En Rose) plus Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum), David Thewlis (the Harry Potter series), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did) and Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby).

MACBETH is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire. A thrilling interpretation of the dramatic realities of the times and a reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of literature’s most famous and compelling characters, a story of all-consuming passion and ambition set in war torn Scotland.

Hunger Games: New Mockingjay poster and 'For Prim' trailer fly in

There are now only two months to go before the epic story of Katniss Everdeen and her Hunger Games cohorts comes to an explosive close. It’s no surprise then to see the publicity taking things up a notch.

A new trailer has been released entitled ‘For Prim’. It’s an emotional trailer and not just because of the haunting music by M83 that accompanies it. The trailer is comprised of many of the key scenes we’ve seen so far between heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her younger sister Prim (Willow Shields). It is, of course, Prim’s selection back in the first film that began it all, with Katniss volunteering to be a tribute in her sister’s place. And from then on, we’ve seen the bond between them develop as Prim grows from a scared child to a more confident young woman.

Tissues and three-finger salutes at the ready.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 arrives in cinemas on 19th November. (Tickets will go on sale nationally on Thursday, October 1, 2015).

Two new Macbeth clips released

Two new clips have been released for the new adaptation of Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. With Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the lead roles, this is sure to be an exciting take on the classic story. The film also stars also stars Paddy Considine and David Thewlis and is directed by Justin Kurzel (Snowtown).

Macbeth is set for UK cinema release on 2nd October 2015.

Here are the clips:

Gluten-free vs dairy-free: Marble Limoncello Cupcakes

I'm coming up to a year now since I gave up eating gluten and cow's milk (turns out, they were not my friend!) and it's taken me that long to - I think - finally master the gluten- and dairy-free cupcake.

When I still ate wheat and milk, I made a mean limoncello cupcake. It wasn't all that surprising then that I decided to try and figure out how to make a gluten- and dairy-free alternative when I changed my diet.

But it wasn't nearly as easy as I thought it would be. I looked up recipes and they were all so complicated! No more just throwing things into a bowl, mixing it up and VOILA!

The first thing I discovered - even after finding a gluten-free flour that had all these fancy extras built in - was that gluten-free food is so much drier than gluten-full food. You have to counteract it with a sizeable dash of milk (which, as I no longer used it, had to be almond milk). These cupcakes also require a lot more elbow grease. They had weird little bubbles in them if I didn't whisk the pre-flour mixture into submission.

Then, just when I thought  I had cracked it, I found one more ingredient that really completed the cupcake: Cacao. Chocolate in its purest form and entirely free of dairy.

So, after all this trial and error, here's my recipe for my gluten- and dairy-free marble limoncello cupcakes.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:
150g Doves Farm Gluten-free White self-raising flour blend
150g dairy-free margarine
150g caster sugar
3 eggs
(Approx) 3 tablespoons of almond milk (or a non-dairy alternative if you have a nut allergy!)
A dash of vanilla essence (a teaspoon should be enough)
A sprinkling of Cacao powder

For the decoration:
Icing sugar
Limoncello

1. Mix the margarine and sugar together with a wooden spoon.
2. Whisk the eggs then add slowly to the batter, mixing as you go.
3. Add a dash of vanilla essence and the milk and mix in.
4. Whisk this all together for a minute to make sure that all lumps have gone.
5. Add the flour and fold it in slowly with a metal spoon.
6. Spoon a little of the mixture into cupcake cases, leaving room for more to be added.
7. With the remaining mixture, sprinkle on the Cacao powder - be careful not to add too much as the mixture then becomes too thick. You want just enough to make it turn light brown.
8. Add another dollop of this batter to the cupcakes, causing the marble effect.
9. Bake in the oven at Gas Mark 6 for around 15 minutes, checking to make sure they are not burnt. Do not open the oven before the fifteen minute mark as they are likely to sink!
10. When they are ready, take them out and place them on a plate or chopping board to cool.
11. When they have cooled, stab each of them in the middle with a fork and then, using a spoon, dribble on a little of the limoncello, letting it seep through into the sponge.
12. Add icing. (If you want to make these really boozy then use limoncello, not water, to make up the icing too!)
13. EAT!

So there you have it: a bit of elbow grease, a touch of chocolate and a hint of alcoholic lemons and you have yourself a delicious gluten- and dairy-free cupcake!

Do let me know if you give them a try!

New trailers for Minions, The Intern and She's Funny That Way

As the summer months start to get closer, there are lots of trailers landing to get film fans excited for what we have coming up at cinemas.

Here are three that have just recently arrived:

1. Minions
There might just be a BANANA! shortage soon...!



2. The Intern
If you like your films a little less for the children in your life (or the inner child in yourself!) then there's also a new trailer for The Internship, which stars Robert De Niro (as the intern!) and Anne Hathaway.



3. She's Funny That Way
Alternatively, if you want something adult but a little bit silly then this trailer is the one for you.



Which are you looking forward to out of these three?

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - the verdict

 

Unsurprisingly, I had a fair amount to say about the latest Hunger Games film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. So much so that it was spread over a few sites. So here's my round-up.

For a comparison between the book (well the first half anyway) and the film, check out my book vs film review at The Hollywood News.

For my highlights from the film, check out '6 things to love about The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1' at Metro.

If - like me - you think Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is worthy of so much more than a surfboard (not that there's anything wrong with surfboards!), check out 'Jennifer Lawrence deserves an Oscar for Katniss but why doesn’t The Hunger Games win big awards?'

What did you think of the film?