Night At The Movies: Behind The Candelabra review

Who doesn't like going to the movies? Meeting up with friends to gorge on chocolate and popcorn while getting lost in a different world. I personally love going to the cinema, if I was brave enough I would even go on my own. I'm just not quite confident enough yet.
I usually try to go to see a new movie at least once a month but, as always, life usually gets in the way so it has been a long, long time since I last went. Seeing as I'm off for two weeks and free as a bird I texted a couple of friends and arranged to go see Great Gatsby.
We showed up at Movie House on the Dublin Road with about fifteen minutes to spare and were greeted by a huge queue. On Tuesday nights Movie House have their Crazy Tuesday promotion where all tickets are £3. It's always been popular but I've never seen it as busy as this. As we ended up being too late to see Great Gatsby we just got tickets for the  next show that was available, Behind the Candelabra.

The story, based on the book by Scott Thorsen, tells the tale of Thorsen's relationship with the legendary pianist and performer Liberace. Directed by Steven Sodehiem this movie  follows their tempetuous relationship over six years, charting the highs and lows and it's eventual demise.
Before viewing this movie I knew nothing about Liberace. I vaguely knew he was a flamboyant performer who revelled in gaudy and OTT glamour but had no clue about any of his personal life or what he was actually famous for.

In fairness if I were as rich as he was I'd probably blow all my money on diamond rings and golden bath tubs too

I think this may have had impact on my feelings about the film, I found the main characters extremely unlikable! Usually the point of films is for the audience to really root for the protagonist but with Behind The Candelabra I couldn't help feeling that the two main characters seemed extremely selfish and manipulative. Whether this is what Liberace was like in real life I do not know but it's how it came across in the movie.

I do feel that the two lead actors, Micheal Douglas and Matt Damon, gave amazing performaces. Seeing as I  don't know what the real Liberace was actually like I can't comment on whether Douglas was able to accurately depict him. A special mention also has to go to Rob Lowe, with his turn as plastic surgeon to the star Dr Startz, who provided some real moments of comedy.

All in all a grand movie. Quite long and I wouldn't be rushing out to buy the DVD so I give it 3 stars! Also I highly recommend you do not see this movie with your parents, there are some scenes that would make for awkward viewing.

Jeez movie reviews are hard, I don't know if I'll make this a regular occurrence!

Let me know if you've seen any great (or not so great) movies recently

Love

S x

Meat feasts and Belfast punks

When  I first started this blog I originally intended to write about fashion, beauty and things to do in Belfast. But as I have still not been paid I haven't bought any new clothes or beauty products to blog about, and since starting the new job I have been so tired all the time I've turned in a bit of a hermit. Hence this blog has turned into a bit of random, free for all in terms of content.

But yesterday me and my good friend Siobhan decided to have a little date day. We really wanted to try a new restaurant in Belfast city centre called Bubbacue. It has been open for about six months and I have heard nothing but good reports so we thought we should suss it out for ourselves to see what all the fuss is about.

Well oh my God, it was amazing. Even thinking about it now I am drooling. The idea of Bubbacue is to serve slow roasted meats with traditional Deep South sides. It is definitely working, Siobhan and I arrived at about 2.30 and there was a queue out the door already. Bubbacue do not take table bookings so you just have to show up and hope for a seat. Luckily the queue moved pretty quickly and within about ten minutes we had ordered and were sitting waiting not too patiently.

Homemade lemonade and amazing sauces

I intended to ordered the BBQ chicken platter but the waitress informed me they had run out of chicken and it would be half an hour before anymore would be ready. My starving belly protested having to wait so I decided to go with the side of ribs with cornbread, coleslaw, mac and cheese and fries. I think my stomach may have be ruling my mind because it was obscene amount of food. 

Siobhan ordered the pulled pork platter with the same sides as me. After a short wait our food arrived and I'll let the picture speak for it's self.

Pretty sure that's an entire cow on my plate

It was absolutely beautiful. All the flavours really complemented each other and the meat was cooked to absolute perfection. Bubbacue have three homemade sauces to choose from. My favourite was the Memphis, a slightly sweet BBQ sauce that went really well with the ribs.

We stuffed our faces, Siobhan had to pop a button on her jeans and I had to take off my belt. After eating we had to go back to Siobhan's house so she could collect her glasses. We had cinema tickets for 7 o'clock so decided to chill out for a couple of hours at her house. We settled down to watch a couple of episodes of Community and both promptly feel asleep. I tell you this there nothing better than an afternoon nap after a big meal.

That evening we went to the cinema to see Good Vibrations a semi autobiographical movie based on the life of  'Belfast's Godfather or Punk' Mr Terri Hooley. Terri Hooley is the man who discovered the Undertones and was a tour de force in Belfast's underground punk scene during the Troubles.

I loved this movie, a lot of it was filmed in Belfast so I recognised some of the places. I was born slightly after the worst of the Troubles so it was very interesting to see how it was back then and how dangerous Belfast really was. I am happy to say we have definitely moved on quite a bit since then.

I highly, highly recommend this movie to everyone. A must see!

On that note I shall leave you all with sublime Undertone's classic Teenage Kicks

Ciao
S x