Bikini's and big booties - that's what it's all about.

Date: Saturday 13th April
Film: Spring Breakers (2013)
Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and James Franco
Running time: 01 hour, 34 minutes
Rating: 2/10

So, it's now mid-July and I'm catching up where I left off. I have various reasons for leaving the blog alone for a bit; moving house, lots of work, family matters, and much more, but the main reason is a lack of inspiration to write.Well, not a lack of inspiration, merely a struggle to write about Spring Breakers without releasing a string of profanities. I want to be objective, I want to be fair, I want to give this film credit in the areas it is due, but overwhelmingly I want to scream from the rooftops 'why did I waste my evening watching this self-indulgent pile of tripe?' which isn't very constructive. For anyone.

Let's talk about the good points in Spring Breakers. Visually, this film was pretty clever. I could see what Korine was trying to achieve, every scene either shone in bright neon colours or had the subtle hue of an image that had been run through a few Instagram filters. I'm not one to judge, I Instagram my pictures all the time and in this instance it was very cleverly used to give you an idea of the target audience for the film. This film was all about the youth at the exact time this film was shot. This film was for the people at the same age as the main characters, the college generation, the young adults who aren't quite sure if they should be acting as adults yet but, at the same time, want a level of independence.

The film was sound tracked brilliantly. As someone who wouldn't know a Skrillex song if it punched me in the face, the mix of EDM, dubstep and other similar music styles (not only am I a rock girl, but I am now proving I know nothing about the youth. I'm only 28, I promise, even if I do sound middle-aged!) worked perfectly to set the scenes.

The issue I had with Spring Breakers was that I didn't find one single character likeable, I couldn't relate to any of their issues. I struggled to understand the decisions they made. This coupled with the constant repetition of scenes, and the insistence of carrying scenes on longer than necessary, made this film feel three times longer than it's running time.

I wanted to enjoy this, I really did, but it was hard work.

I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think I'll be rushing out to see it again.

Challenge day: 199
Challenge time: 12 days, 14 hours, 35 minutes
Challenge Film Total: 155

It's like no place I've ever seen.

Date: Saturday 2nd March
Film: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis
Running Time: 02 hours, 10 minutes
Rating: 9/10

The second this film started, I was entranced. Oz the Great and Powerful has the best opening credits I've seen in a very long time. They might just be the best I've ever seen. Playing on the traditions of Oz stories, the opening is a small black and white world.

The second Oz travels into Oz the screen widens, the colours burst off the screen and you are bombarded with beauty upon beauty.

I don't want to spoil this film for anyone, it is released on March 8 and I think everyone should go and see it, if only to see how stunning a film can really be. This is escapism in it's purest form.

This is one of the times 3D works and works well.

The only thing stopping this from being a straight up 10/10 is the action of the film. I felt Franco was out-acted by the entire cast. I felt the witch reveal was a little ridiculous. I felt the ending was all a bit too much. However, that doesn't stop this being over 2 hours of stunning imagery.

I didn't think it was possible to make an Oz that people would appreciate. I didn't think you could follow the original cinematic Oz. I was wrong. Raimi's Oz is mesmerising.

I think I might be a little in love with the Emerald City. And Michelle Williams (but that's nothing new, that woman is nothing short of phenomenal).

Challenge day: 158
Challenge time: 09 days, 20 hours, 29 minutes
Challenge film total: 122