Farm Story (also Bakery Story and Fashion Story) - App created by TeamLavaGames

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The most addictive game ever. Just like Farmville on Facebook this is another basic farm set out where you have to plant different plants and they grow over a period of a few hours then you repeat the process.

Unlike Farmville as you progress through the levels the actual farming doesn't get easier, I remember that on Farmville you could get machines that would harvest lots of crops at once, this does not happen. Instead you get a larger variety of foods, animals or decorative items. This means that the game isn't as good as Farmville because the lazy ones among us (me being one) will get annoyed with having to press on hundreds of squares of land several times to harvest, plough and plant.

The true evil genius behind this game is the use of offering extras. You can get gems or coins if you play some of their other (free) games and as you progress through them. Because of this tactic I now have 3 of their games and am constantly checking them with no valid reason.

I would recommend these apps to anyone who likes to waste their lives on their phones. They use clever tactics to pull you into their apps and everything so far has been free so I don't begrudge them clever marketing. They have a large variety, Farm Story was just the first that I came across and therefore the one I know the best, because of this a lot of people can have at least one of the apps and enjoy it while others can have a collection of them.

Meet the Robinsons (2007) - Film directed by Stephen J. Anderson

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A very light and fluffy animation which is lovely because now-a-days everything is becoming grittier however this is slightly too sweet for anyone over the age of about 5. Lewis is an orphan inventor who is looking for his real family but when a mysterious time-traveller called Wilbur adventures happens.

It is very heart-warming because Lewis finds what he is looking for in an unexpected way. I always welcome a happy ending and this one definitely fits the bill. To juxtapose a happy ending however it is fairly necessary for there to be periods of unhappiness and there wasn't really any of that. Moments of sadness, such as a failed adoption interview, were punctuated with humour, in one case a malfunctioning peanut butter and jam sandwich filling machine. Taking a leaf out of Pixar's book the creators could have brought the film into much darker territory and still make it happy in the end.

There is a quirky cast of characters as with essentially every animated film or comedy ever. Most are fairly boring despite their eccentricity and there are far too many so the audience cannot focus on someone long enough to really care about them. My personal favourite characters were Goob, who is Lewis's fellow orphan room-mate, and a dinosaur who acts very much like a dog.

The film is good and definitely made for children. It is colourful and loud and showy and doesn't have a huge amount of substance other than the strong concept of family love. I wouldn't recommend it over other films but if someone wanted to watch it I wouldn't say that they shouldn't either.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (2013) - Play by William Shakespeare performed at the Noel Coward Theatre

* * * * 1/2

A stunning take on the Shakespearean comedy which allows a modern audience to easily grasp the language and enjoy the story fully. The setting had been modernised slightly, with hippy fairies and some cast members suited, this made the characters more recognisable than corseted and tight-wearing performers. The play is a disaster for love with four people all in love with the wrong person, with a little help from mischievous magic, and several bumbling actors who are terrorised by more fairy magic.

The cast were magnificent. David Walliams played Bottom and was ridiculously funny but also incredibly adept with the Shakespearean language because every line of his was completely understandable either through a well considered gesture or clever inclination. Sheridan Smith played Titania and she was amazing as a free-love hippy fairy queen. The supporting cast, less well known because they are not TV stars, were also very good, not a single person stuck out as a weak link. Shakespearean acting and London obviously go hand-in-hand and this show and cast did not disappoint.

The costumes and set design were really creative and suited the show. A lot of members in the audience would be very pleased because there are an awful lot of male torsos on show as well as women with cleavage out. Aside from the lack of clothing, the clothing that was there enhanced the characters. Titania had an eye-catching dress to set her apart from the ramshackle fairies, while the actors were dressed in shirts and waistcoats to promote a sense of dignity among them. The set was quite gothic and beautiful and caught my attention instantly. It was minimal and there was only one change but the space was decorated and used well.

The tiniest of gripes that I have with the production is the random moments of modern music and dance routines. I do not mind modern touches in old plays but these seemed quite forced and instead of moving along the plot were used as time fillers or distractions while cast members were changing. Obviously I understand the necessity for moments like these but I found them slightly too numerous and I think a better was of filling time could have been found.

Overall it was spectacular and strong in all areas. The crowd were laughing and applauding throughout and it was a great interpretation of Shakespeare. Not only did they modernise the setting but they brought the acting into the 21st century and made everything completely compatible with modern characters and ideas.

Pitch Perfect (2012) - Film directed by Jason Moore

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After the Glee craze it was only a matter of time before glee club inspired films would start cropping up. The problem with Glee and with this film is that often the comedy is based off of bizarre characters and the audience often ends up laughing at them.The film follows a generic bored-by-the-world character who is coerced into joining a dysfunctional glee club and 'hilarity' ensues. 

One of the most important things about anything with music is the music and unfortunately only some of the songs are good. They had an odd mixture of music of the moment songs, which were the type of songs that will be forgotten in a few years so it makes the film seem forgettable too, and classic songs which are not very popular even now. Surprisingly the stand-out song is The Cup Song which was the original one.

The humour was limited despite the cast which was actually very promising. They went for very easy laughs, even Rebel Wilson which was disappointing. The cast of kooky characters with one normal person is such an overdone method of creating comedy that it wasn't interesting. It's annoying that a lot of people are promoting these heavily female dominated films as being just like male dominated comedies when they could actually  be cleverer and funnier by being different. 

An disappointing film, especially after it being promoted so highly by people on tumblr. It was too cliqued and over the top and seemed to have very little effort put into it.

The Fault in Our Stars (2012) - Book by John Green

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After hearing so much about this book I have finally managed to read it. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as everyone has been saying because, although I love the Vlogbrothers channel, I am not a fan of John Green's writing. I was very pleasantly surprised because not only was the book enjoyable but I was quickly drawn in and had a strong desire to keep reading even at 3am. In case you have only just acquired the internet, it is a story about a young girl, Hazel Grace, who is dying from cancer and her encounter with the metaphor loving Augustus Walters.

The story is very hard-hitting because it is about such a terrible topic and anyone would well-up during reading. Sadly I was not overly interesting in Augustus, I dislike pretension and he was quite self-admittedly a pretentious character. The moments that affected me the most were the points where the parents were speaking to Hazel and dealing with losing their daughter. These sections were written very well, possibly because John is a father, and made me feel very emotional. The reader can sympathise with all those affected by the cancer, those physically suffering and the others who are close to them.

The characters were good. Teenage girls written by men are normally awful but Hazel Grace was quite normal, believable and likeable. The adults were quite perfect and very parent-like, familiar to all who were reading. The friends, however, were slightly mixed. Isaac, a fellow cancer patient was funny and likeable whereas Kaitlyn, a school friend of Hazel's, is quite clichéd as an over-dramatic secondary friend.

After finishing the book didn't resonate with me the way it has seemed to with so many other people but it really isn't the genre that I enjoy. It was well written and enjoyable and I hope that the film does it justice. I'm glad that John Green has written a book that I enjoy because I feel like a better Nerd Fighter but I worry that the other Nerd Fighters promoting it so strongly has diminished my enjoyment of the book because nothing was a surprise.

Phineas and Ferb (2007 - ) - TV series on the Disney Channel

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I was introduced to this series by a friend who knows that I also like programmes such as Adventure Time. I've only watched a few episodes but I adore the show. Phineas and Ferb are step brothers and best friends who are incredibly adept at and building anything from an observatory to giant spinning tops. This is another of the TV programmes for children that has also been adopted by many young adults because of its humour but also the effort that has been put into it.

Firstly the characters are wonderful. They are mostly friends or family and despite the sister having a vendetta against her brothers, who always avoid any trouble, all the characters work together and love each other. Ferb doesn't talk a lot, in fact in several episodes he has no lines at all, but everyone just accepts this in him and Phineas treats him with such respect. It is difficult to explain fully because they are cartoon characters but they all work so well together and I like anything where there is no major conflict.

Having only watched a few of the episodes I was worried that it would be a repetitive but it isn't. They involve various characters, locations and storylines. There is a basic formula that it adheres to but after watching a few episodes it doesn't stagnate but rather the viewer becomes more aware of inside jokes. There is also a lot of referential humour, for instance the latest episode I watched was about a Lake Nose Monster and there were a few Citizen Kane references which shows that the programme isn't entirely created for children.

The very minor problem that I have with the programme is Perry the Platypus. He is Phineas and Ferb's pet who is also an agent that stops Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz 'evil' plans. I find Perry slightly obsolete as a character because he doesn't do a lot and instead Dr. Doofenshmirtz is there for comedy and Perry's presence is just for him to have someone to talk to and be funny with.

Overall the programme is really good and I suppose it inspires children to do a little more with their friends and family, even if it's not inventing giant ant farms and enlargement rays. It's enjoyable for a range of ages and I have heard parents in their 40s saying that they actually enjoy watching it with their children which is really important. I would recommend it to anyone who likes Adventure Time, Spongebob Squarepants, etc.

Amadeus (1984) - Film directed by Milo Forman

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A funny period film about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rival Antonio Salieri. I have a major problem with films of this kind because I have no idea how to separate the fact from the fiction. I don't know if the people were real, the circumstances, the events, the story. I don't know and that is irksome because in the back of my mind a lot of the stuff that happens in the film will be associated with Mozart and a lot of it may have nothing to do with him.

I knew nothing about this film because I had never heard of it before and the day I watched it it came highly recommended. It very quickly turned into a humorous look at an interesting man in an interesting time period. The humour is light and it doesn't take over the film but adds to the story and the characters who are often very over-the-top.

There is a lot of music, obviously, in this film and if you are a fan of Mozart or classical music then this will be very good. It seems a lot like musicals or the like which take moments out of the film to play music to the audience. While this is nice, because you hear some of Mozart's work, it makes the film ridiculously long. Horribly long. By the end I was bored and this is not the way anything should end (always leave them wanting more). I don't think that the musical sequences should be cut out but I think there is a lot of superfluous footage that could just go away and make the whole film more manageable and enjoyable to watch.

If you love the opulence and style of the late 18th century then you will enjoy looking at the film and the odd touches of humour are much appreciated. There are quite major flaws in the film which can be so easily rectified and that is frustrating. If you can watch a biographical film and not constantly question the accuracy then maybe you will enjoy the film more than I did.