Tag: Domhnall Gleeson

30 DAY SONG CHALLENGE

By mumofthreedevils on May 3, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

Over the last month I have been doing the 30 day song challenge.
I have been doing it on Facebook and I thought I’d do a roundup of all 30 songs here.
I honestly can’t believe how quickly the last 30 days has gone!!

DAY 1 – A song you like with a colour in the title.

I chose ‘Purple Haze’ by Jimmy Hendrix.
A song I have always liked that has recently been revived for me because of new and very talented friends.

DAY 2 – A song you like with a number in the title.

I found this one completely by accident when watching Domhnall Gleeson in his ‘Immaturity for Charity’ videos he made back in 2014.
The video stars Domhnall and his brother Brian and the song was sold for the charity.

DAY 3 – A song that reminds you of summertime

I chose ‘Fun, Fun, Fun by Pharrell Williams.
This is just one of those care free happy songs that is just perfect on a warm sunny day when you have nothing to do except enjoy it.

DAY 4 – A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget.

I chose – Hail to the Chief
OK, so I didn’t take this one too seriously!!
Considering the state of the world at the moment, the one person on the planet I would love to see disappear is Donald fucking Trump! and I live in a country run by Boris bloody Johnson!!
Idiot, dickhead, dangerous, clueless, moron, brain dead, orange, selfish, caveman, tosser, fool, laughing stock, incompetent. What more do I need to say.

DAY 5 – A song that needs to be played loud.

I chose ‘Mr Brightside’ by The killers
A song that never fails to get people singing at parties and has to be loud!

DAY 6 – A song that makes you want to dance.

I chose ‘Cut to the Feeling’ by Carly Rae Jepson.
After discovering Mark Kanemura dancing to this on Instagram, his enthusiasm for the song was infectious and now I just can’t resist it.

DAY 7 – A song to drive to.

I chose ‘Giant’ by Rag’n’Bone Man as I often find myself driving home from work to it.

DAY 8 – A song about drugs and alcohol.

I chose ‘High Enough’ by K-Flay
My daughter introduced me to this one and I was lucky enough to hear her sing it live when she supported Imagine Dragons, a concert I went to with her Dad. My Daughter still hasn’t forgiven me!!

DAY 9 – A song that makes you happy.

I chose ‘What Makes You Beautiful’ by One Direction.
My guilty pleasure and one that drives the kids nuts which makes me love it even more!!

DAY 10 – A song that makes you sad.

I chose ‘Visions of Gideon’ by Sufjan Stevens.
A song written for one of my favourite films, ‘Call me by Your name’ and used at the very end of the film where Elio is reminiscing and remembering Oliver. Song starts to play at 1:20

DAY 11 – A song you never get tired of.

I chose ‘Take Me to Church’ by Hozier
An amazing song and one that introduced me to Hozier. I have a very clear memory of waking up at about 2am after falling asleep on the sofa. There was a chat show re-run on and Hozier was the musical guest, singing this song at the end. I woke up to his stunning voice and performance and have loved him ever since!

DAY 12 – A song from your preteen years.

I chose ‘My Sharona’ by The Knack
I don’t know why. It’s just one of those songs that sticks in your head and I’ve always liked it.

DAY 13 – A song you like from the 70’s

I chose ‘Cars’ by Gary Numan
A song that isn’t played nearly enough and I can’t believe it’s from the 70’s!!!… but only just.

DAY 14 – A song you’d love to be played at your wedding.

I chose ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes’ by The Platters.
This song was ACTUALLY played at my wedding.
A song that me and the hubby both liked from a film we saw together before we got married.

DAY 15 – A song you like that’s a cover by another artist.

I chose ‘Lay Me Down’ by Hozier
This song amazes me. Originally a really sad song by Sam Smith, BUT in the hands of Hozier, it has a completely different feel and becomes a quite joyful and happy song. One song, two takes, same words, same tune, two totally different meanings!

DAY 16 – A song that’s a classic favourite.

I chose ‘Ain’t That a Kick in the Head’ by Dean Martin.
Can’t get any more classic than that!

DAY 17 – A song you’d sing a duet with someone on Karaoke.

Ok, ‘IF’ I could sing, it would be ‘The Bones’ by Maren Morris Ft Hozier.
A very recent song and absolutely stunning.

DAY 18 – A song from the year you were born.

I chose ‘Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedance Clearwater Revival.
1969 was a good year.

DAY 19 – A song that makes you think about life.

I chose ‘Being Alive’ by Steven Sondhiem, sung by Adam Driver.
This was a recent discovery for me as it was belted out by Adam Driver in his Oscar nominated performance in Marriage Story. He doesn’t do a bad job either!! This really does make you think about life and very relevant for number 19!

DAY 20 – A song that has many meanings to you.

I chose ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ by R Kelly
A song that reminds me of being a mum and a song that used to send my eldest to sleep before we even hit the chorus!! It was a life saver.

DAY 21 – A song you like with a person’s name in the title.

I chose ‘Lydia’ by CC Smugglers.
Gonna miss these guys.

DAY 22 – A song that moves you forward.

I chose ‘Don’t You Forget About Me’ by Simple Minds.
What can I say, a song all about moving on and heading into the future.
Also, theme to one of my favourite films. The Breakfast Club.

DAY 23 – A song you think everybody should listen to.

I chose ‘Nina Cried Power’ by Hozier ft Mavis Staples.
What can I say, this is powerful stuff, wrapped up with a little Gospel.

DAY 24 – A song by a band you wish were still together.

I chose ‘Baker St 205’ by CC Smugglers.
There really was only one choice of band for this one, and Baker St 205 is one of my favourite songs. CC Smugglers disbanded in December 2019 after a string of amazingly bad luck.

DAY 25 – A song you like by an artist no longer living.

I chose ‘Ziggy Stardust’ by David Bowie.
I was lucky enough to see Bowie in concert. Sorely missed.

DAY 26 – A song that makes you want to fall in love.

I chose ‘Would That I’ by Hozier.
What can I say. This man knows how to write some seriously romantic lyrics.

DAY 27 – A song that breaks your heart.

I chose ‘The Show Must Go On’ by Queen
NEVER fails to make me cry. I had to walk out of the cinema when the end credits played when I went to see Bohemian Rhapsody and I still haven’t made it through the end credits, on Bluray.

DAY 28 – A song by an artist whose voice you love.

I chose ‘Movement’ by Hozier.
As if you haven’t already noticed, I do like a bit of Hozier and his voice is so mellow and relaxing.

DAY 29 – A song you remember from your childhood.

I chose ‘Shang-a-Lang’ by the Bay City Rollers.
The first band I really loved and my first album, given to me by my Auntie Kim!

FINALLY
DAY 30 – A song that reminds you of yourself.

I chose ‘I Want to Break Free’ by Queen.
With everything that’s going on at the moment and with what’s been happening personally over the last few weeks, this one seems very appropriate!

That’s it! Hope you enjoyed the choices.
It’s very difficult to choose just 30 songs from 50 years of life. There are loads of other songs I could have used, but on the whole, I think I’m pretty happy with my choices.

IS HUX MEANT TO BE CUTE?

By mumofthreedevils on January 23, 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

I recently discovered someone called ‘BearMix’ selling hand made teddy bears on Etsy.

They have loads of different characters from films, including a lot of marvel, super heroes and villains.
However, one bear just screamed at me to buy him and I couldn’t resist.
He is a little General Hux bear. There’s just so little Hux merch out there that I just had to get him.

When I ordered him I had no idea he was poseable too.
He’s so cute!!!

But wait a minute……

Is Hux meant to be cute?
Ruthless maybe,…. but cute?

Hell yes, he’s played by Domhnall Gleeson, so cute he is!

CANON… KIND OF!!

By mumofthreedevils on December 31, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

This will be one of my last warnings for spoilers.
If you haven’t seen Rise of Skywalker yet, don’t go any further.

So, Chris Terrio, who wrote the screenplay for The Rise of Skywalker, recently stated in an interview that…..

‘Adam Driver sprinkled various Harrison Ford elements throughout his own performance in the film, from the way he points in the face of General Hux, to the way he fires a blaster over his shoulder without looking, and finally, the little open-handed shrug he gives the Knights of Ren before their last battle.’

Let’s break that down…..

Adam Driver added all these little nods to Harrison Ford and, in doing so, has made ‘Kylux’ Canon.

Convince me otherwise!!

HALF A CENTURY

By mumofthreedevils on October 26, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

What a week.

I turned 50 this week.
I am now ‘officially’ in mid life crisis mode and it is totally depressing!!
I have reached the pinnacle of my life and everything is downhill from here.
If I’m lucky and take after my Nan, I’ve got another 45 years to go. On the one hand, I’m unfit, over weight and my hips and knees are on the way out. I’m also pre-menopausal, just to rub that half century right into my nose.
On the other hand, I’m finally more relaxed about who I am and I like to go out and enjoy myself occasionally, even though there are people in my life who frown upon it.

Well, they had better get used to it because I’m not stopping now and I intend to enjoy myself for as long as I can. I am going to grow old disgracefully.

I’ve had a quiet week as I had annual leave.
The aim of the week was to let the event go by quietly, but with that said, I did go out for a few drinks with a friend at our local.
Earlier in the day, I went to Milton Keynes to do a little shopping with two of my daughters and one of them treated me to dinner.
I found myself a new Star Wars themed t-shirt in Primark and I couldn’t resist buying myself a new Rise of Skywalker backpack at Disney. (Yeah, I really am 50!!)

Speaking of Star Wars, this week saw the release of the final trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, the last in the current trilogy and the end of the Skywalker saga.

So we are now heading into the final weeks. 54 days to be precise, before the Skywalker saga ends. A saga I’ve been watching since I was almost 8 years old. I’ve grown up with it and loved every minute of it. It has been a big part of my half century.

The original 3 movies were amazing and I never dreamt that we’d get any more, so when the prequels came along, I was excited, just like everyone else. The prequels were OK but a little disappointing. They simply tried a little too hard, especially with the special effects. The current 3 have been amazing but have split the fandom. I have personally LOVED the current movies. They have given me Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson and this in turn, sent me down a rat hole of fan fiction known as Kylux and I’ve even written a few short stories myself for this fandom.

Anyway, back to the current trilogy.

Looking through all the merchandise that’s gone on sale, there is a lot of Kylo Ren based stuff. This gives me the hope that Kylo gets his redemption and we see Ben Solo return. Whether or not he survives that redemption is another matter!

However, there is no sign of General Hux in the trailer! There’s a lot of First Order ships however. A LOT! We’ve also been lacking in any official photo’s of Hux. Apart from a new cardboard standee, I believe this picture of Hux with Allegiant General Pryde is the one and only official photo released so far.

Richard E. Grant and Domhnall Gleeson in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Now, he’s either going to be glossed over in The Rise of Skywalker, which will make me very upset, or, they are going to give him one last hurrah and hopefully give him his dignity back after he was made the laughing stock in the last film. That said, I have absolutely no doubt that Hux is going to die in this one. I just want it to be glorious and worthy of his character. For anyone who reads the books, Hux has a history. Like Kylo, he even killed his own father….ok he got Phasma to do it, but he did it none the less. He’s ruthless, and I want to see that in this film.

The press tour will be starting soon and how much of it Adam will attend is anyone’s guess. This will mean lots of interviews and new photos to collect.

I know it won’t be the end of Star Wars. I know there are plans for a new trilogy and stand alone movies, but this is the last of the Skywalker saga.
Han Solo is gone, Princess/General Leia will be gone after this film, Luke Skywalker is gone (although no-one’s ever really gone!). The Franchise just won’t quite be the same and I’m really going to miss it.

I have my ticket for the first of the showings here in the UK at midnight on the 18th December.
I have no doubt it’s going to be an emotional roller coaster and the next few weeks are going to be exciting as we see more and more of the press tour and all the speculation that will be flying around the internet.

Right, one more day before I’m back at work.
Might just have a Star Wars binge!

MORNING THOUGHT

By mumofthreedevils on May 25, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

So, this is where my brain is at in the mornings at the moment.
Pondering over a cup of milky coffee I have images and ideas popping into my head. All backed up with people on social media having similar ideas or fuelling new ones.

Since the release of the beautiful Vanity Fair official images for Star Wars Ep IX, I am now, even more convinced that the guy being slammed into the deck by Kylo in the first trailer……..

Is actually one of these guys……

One of his own Knights of Ren!

I am all kinds of giddy trying to figure out exactly what would make Kylo turn against his own Knights OR have his Knights turned against HIM!?

And then there was this image.

Specifically a very stern looking General Hux and Allegiant General Pryde.
That incredibly sexy Allegiant General uniform, filled out quite nicely by Richard E. Grant, and now that his character has a name, Tumblr has gone crazy!
Fan fiction is already being written that is definitely NSFW and taking the opportunity to create stories before we find out exactly who, exactly, this character is, or what he’s going to be like.
I just keep thinking about Richard’s perfect English accent and it gives me goose bumps! I cannot wait to see him brought to life in the film.

From my own perspective and particular interest in the Kylux (Kylo and Hux) fandom, General Pryde has put a bit of a spanner in the Kylo and Hux relationship! It’s all rather interesting and more than a little bit naughty!

Right, suppose I had better stop drooling and go and do some work.

LET THE DROOLING COMMENCE!

By mumofthreedevils on May 22, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

Vanity fair and Annie Liebowitz, have just released the first images and some more behind the scenes photos for Star Wars Episode IX, in an article titled ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Ultimate Preview’.
The full article can be read HERE

A few of the images really caught my attention and I just needed to get this off my chest…….

OMG!!! Adam is smoking!

The article goes on to reveal… FINALLY… our first good look at the Knights of Ren, on set with Director JJ Abrams. Mentioned and seen fleetingly in The Force Awakens, and then completely glossed over in The Last Jedi, these guys finally see the big screen proper in The Rise of Skywalker.

But there was one image that REALLY caught my attention.
I have always loved the look and uniforms of the Imperials in the original movies and the subsequent First Order look and uniforms in the current trilogy.

The bonus in the current trilogy is General Hux.
Not only is the uniform hot, he is played by one of my favourite actors, Domhnall Gleeson.

And then today, just when I thought that uniform couldn’t get any hotter, Vanity Fair go and release an image of General Hux and new character, Allegiant General Pryde, played by Richard E. Grant, and OMG!! The First Order uniform went from smoking hot to completely on fire.

Then I saw this and I really can’t wait to see this showdown.

7 months to go.
Absolute torture!

Go and give the article a read. Obviously there’s no real information about the film itself, but there are quite a few more images to look at.

QUIET DAY

By mumofthreedevils on May 12, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

It has, so far, been a quiet day and I intend to keep it that way.

The morning has been spent messing around on the computer and the afternoon is being spent with some of my boys.

I have just started my fifth run of Versailles.
Any excuse to watch my favourite power couple.

Later, and to celebrate Domhnall’s 36th birthday, I am thinking about watching Ex-Machina…. or possibly Peter Rabbit. How’s that for opposite ends of the spectrum!!

After a few more glasses of wine, it will probably be Ex-Machina. I just love Domhnall’s look in that film. Oscar Isaac is just a bonus.
Happy birthday Domhnall.

DISH OF THE WEEK #77 – ADAM DRIVER AND DOMHNALL GLEESON

By mumofthreedevils on January 4, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

Right, let’s start the year how I mean to go on.
Lots of random blogging that probably doesn’t mean a lot to anyone other than me!!
This is my diary in a way. Ranting, reviewing, gushing over actors (and actresses) and sometimes just venting. I find it therapeutic.

As I haven’t had the time for much of this over the last two years, I am determined to make up for it this year and what better way to start than by catching up with my ‘Dish of the Week’ posts that I haven’t updated since May last year!

I’m sorry, I know this is going to bore you, but I have decided that the first ‘Dish of the Week’ 2019, is going to be a joint venture, and two people who have already made the list several times in the past.

Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson.

My two favourite actors (with Adam just edging his way into the number one spot)

I do this for a reason.
This is a big year in my calendar as December will see the final instalment of the current Star Wars Trilogy and both of these guys are in it.
For anyone that knows me, you’ll know just how a big a Star Wars fan I am!

I have to admit that Adam was discovered purely because of Star Wars and this lead on to the discovery of his entire career from the TV series Girls, through to masterpieces like ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’, ‘Hungry Hearts’, ‘This Is Where I Leave You’, ‘Paterson’, ‘Silence’, ‘BlacKkKlansman’, and much more in between!!

The past year has been a frustrating one as I eagerly awaited the general release of ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’.

One of Adam’s films that is still in legal wranglings over rights ownership that has meant that it has only had a limited release at film festivals and may never see a general release. I just hope that it at least makes it onto DVD!!

Domhnall is another matter. He came to my attention long before Star Wars in films such as Harry Potter when he played Bill Weasley, and when he played poor little Clan Techie in Dredd, and About Time is one of my absolute favourite chick flicks! Then of course there’s the amazing ‘Frank’ and the incredible ‘Ex Machina’, but it was again Star Wars that catapulted my interest in his career.

And he’s gone on to be in some of my favourite movies since Star Wars with ‘The Revenant’, ‘American Made’, ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’, ‘Crash Pad’, and ‘Peter Rabbit’.!

And I’m still missing beautiful films like ‘Unbroken’, ‘Brooklyn’ and ‘A Futile and Stupid Gesture’.

The build up to Star Wars in December is going to be fun!
This is when we start to get a lot of speculation, snatched set photos and fan theories before we are finally treated to a teaser trailer and the actual title of the film.

What do I expect from the film?
Well, I’m hoping that Kylo survives. Not necessarily redeemed, but at peace with the force and his life.
Hux on the other hand, is going to die! There is no doubt in my mind that I will in fact be losing my General in the last film. Either in battle or more likely by Kylo’s hand.
I just hope he gets to seriously ‘bite back’ after the way he was treated in ‘The Last Jedi’.

The pair of them have other films on the horizon too, and I will blog about these as I get to see them, and of course, awards season wouldn’t be much without at least one of Adam’s film in the spotlight with that honour falling to ‘BlacKkKlansman’ this year. Watch out!

AND SO IT BEGINS….

By mumofthreedevils on July 29, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away……

Well, actually not that far away.
55 miles or just over an hour in the car at Pinewood Studios in London and some of it, right on my doorstep at the Cardington Airship Sheds just 3 miles away!!
Star Wars episode nine will start filming on Wednesday this week!!

Redemption for Kylo?
Balance for Kylo and Rey?
Dare I say the word ‘grey’?
NOT A CLUE!
Only 16 months to go to find out.

The cast has FINALLY been confirmed.
Adam and Daisy will obviously be reprising their roles of Kylo and Rey.
John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Kelly Marie Tran will be back as Finn, Poe and Rose.
Mark Hamill is back as Luke, even though he died in the last film so it’s likely that force ghosts will be back. Will Uncle Luke be tormenting Kylo?
Carrie Fisher is returning as Leia!! and they are staying true to their word about not using CGI to create Leia by using existing unreleased footage that was filmed during the first two movies.
A welcome return to the SW universe is Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.
And yes… my General is back to HOPEFULLY kick some ass before he ultimately dies as Domhnall Gleeson reprises his role of General Hux.

And there you have it.
I don’t have much in the way of expectations.
I’ve learnt over the last few years that most of the fun of these films is the speculation about story lines and the build up to each release and then ultimately having everything knocked on the head and going in completely the opposite direction.

I know that I would love to see redemption for Kylo. He may not survive but I want him redeemed. I also want to see at least one scene where he confronts his Mother. I’m just hoping that a scene like that has been filmed previously and never used.

I want more information about Rey. There is something very different and powerful about her. It needs explanation. How and why is she still linked to Kylo through the force. Snoke said that he’d created the link but they were still linked at the end of Last Jedi AFTER Snoke had been killed.

What I want most of all from the last film is to finally see General Hux in all his glory.
Kicking Kylo’s ass and biting back after everything he went through in the Last Jedi.
In the final shot of him in the Last Jedi, he looks like a man with a burning desire for revenge and is just biding his time until he gets his chance.
He’s going to die doing it, I have no doubt about that, but give him a chance to get his dignity back, please!! Domhnall may be a funny guy and General Hux was the comic relief for the Last Jedi but (if you read the books) Hux has a past and he’s pretty ruthless. Give him chance to show it. (Beyond blowing up a few planets of course)
He even shares something in common with Kylo in the fact that he killed his own father!
Technically he got someone else to do the killing, but that’s just semantics.

And so it begins. A 16 month wait for a conclusion.
16 months of reading what people are speculating.
16 months of taking in any snippet of information we are given or photo that is released.

And now I have to get back to the mundane task of housework and uni work.
Oh the joy.

PETER RABBIT

By mumofthreedevils on March 22, 2018 • ( Leave a comment )

OK, here is my quick review of Peter Rabbit.
I won’t deny that it’s a very biased review as one of my favourite actors is Domhnall Gleeson who plays Thomas McGregor.
The man can do no wrong in my eyes.
He’s beautiful, hilarious, can be totally serious when needed, does the doe eyes and panicked expressions perfectly.
Just look at this expression!!

After the start of the all out war with the rabbits, Thomas is officially introduced to Peter by Bea and has to fain a begrudging smile and interest in the rabbits because he likes Bea and Bea likes the rabbits.

Anyway, back to Peter Rabbit (or General Hux gets a garden!!)

I have to admit, Peter Rabbit was a lot more enjoyable than I expected it to be.
I think that what made it more enjoyable was the fact that the audience consisted of lots of kids who absolutely adored the film and their giggles and laughter were infectious!
Although I was a little distraught at how many of the malicious little rug rats absolutely wet themselves when Thomas McGregor got electrocuted or hurt by the bunnies!!

When we first meet Thomas, he absolutely IS General Hux!!
Suited and not a hair out of place and is even said to be at his happiest when ‘rallying his troops’ as a manager at Harrods.

Throughout the film, he is slowly reformed into a much more relaxed person who falls completely in love with the heroine of the movie, Bea and overcomes his hatred of rabbits.

Ah, the rabbits, beautifully animated.

James Corden is absolutely perfect as Peter. Just the right side of confident and cocky, although Daisy Ridley’s crazy Cottontail is hilarious!!
That said, I think the rooster steals the show.
Waking every morning and shrieking his surprise at the return of the sun.

He even gets his own little story arc with each morning becoming increasingly hilarious and concluding with a scene in the end titles that every parent can relate to.

I would have to conclude by saying that this film benefits from an audience of kids and that’s usually a real hate of mine.
Thoroughly enjoyable and worth a watch. Probably even better at a Saturday morning kids club showing!!