Reading And Watching Joyously

 I've seen bits and pieces of Hamilton over the past few years but today was the first time I actually sat down to watch the entire show. 90 seconds in I was blown away by the rhyme and perfection of the first song, and I was mesmerised the whole way through. There were bits of history that I knew and recognised, and a heap of stuff that I didn't know before. I loved the realness of the story, that it didn't try to hide anyone's faults. And the songs, music, lighting, costuming and choreography were incredible. I loved every minute of it. I've been fascinated by Lin-Manuel Miranda lately and this just adds to my esteem of and interest in him.

 I have never seen The Bodyguard - I didn't like Kevin Costner when I was younger and had little interest in watching his movies. I felt like watching it tonight, after hearing 'I will Always Love You' a few times recently, and knowing that I often do like things now that I didn't in the past. I really enjoyed it. Kevin Costner was actually really good (I don't mind him now), and Whitney Houston was as well. I liked the music, the storyline flowed well, the characters all seemed quite believable. It was quite scary in parts, I hadn't expected that, and although it didn't make me cry like I thought it would, I liked the ending.

 I'd been wanting to watch this for a while - the cast looked good and I love anything set in the Northen Territory. Caitlin was browsing Netflix looking for something to watch while she crocheted, and when she flicked past this one I said I was keen to watch it, she said she was as well, so it was an easy choice for our evening. I really liked it. The characters were cast perfectly, they were all believable. They were funny and cute and likable and their decisions made sense. I loved all the Northern Territory footage - Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine Gorge and the Katherine River, and the Tiwi Islands - I haven't been there but would really love to (I've been to all the other places shown). There was a little bit of dramatic licence - they drove on dirt roads to get to Kakadu from Darwin, which isn't necessary - but it all added to the feel of the movie. The soundtrack was great - the songs were all appropriate and there was a heap of beautiful Tiwi music. Predictable but n...