Best of 2013 Lists

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

The last day of the year is a good day to look back and an opportunity to remember a lot of the wonderful things that we did, saw, read, heard and enjoyed in the last year. Have a great night tonight and I wish you a wonderful 2014!

My top 5 movies I saw in 2013

1. Blackfish

2. Sonny Boy

3. Skyfall

4. Hysteria

5. The Great Gatsby

In my entire movie challenge (to see a 120 movies in 2013) there were just 2 movies that I gave 5 stars. Blackfish is a documentary about Tilikum, an orca that was captured as an infant. Tilikum is the most famous orca in Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Due to his very tragic life, he has killed 3 people while he was in captivity. The documentary shows Tilikum's life from the point he is captured by Sea World. Killer whales are very social animals (they are more socially developed then humans can even really comprehend) and he was ripped apart from his family as a child. After that he was trained a highly violent way (by not feeding the grown orca's in his pool when Tilikum did something wrong, the trainers let the grown orca's punish Tilikum). I found Blackfish one of the most impressive documentaries I have every seen and was (once again) really shocked of what people are capable of. 

Sonny Boy is a Dutch film from a few years back. It is a dramatization of a family history that really took place. In the 30s, Rika decides to leave her husband because she caught him cheating on her with a maid. She takes her children with her to the city, where she lives in a house that her brother pays for.
Waldemar came from Suriname to The Netherlands to study. Looking for a place to stay, he knocks on Rika's door. At this point, both lead characters have already encountered a lot of unfairness and prejudice. But this is nothing compared to what is ahead of them, when they fall in love. As one of the first interracial couples in The Netherlands not everything comes easy. But when the Nazi's invade Holland and Rika wants to help people hiding from the Nazi's, things become even worse. 

My theatre top 5 of 2013

1. Merrily We Roll Along - Menier Chocolate Factory 

(which you can still watch through Digital Theatre)

2. Once - Phoenix Theatre

3. Warhorse - National Theatre
(also coming to the Netherlands this summer)

4. Kiss Me Kate - M-lab

5. Dolhuys Kermis - Opera2Day

My book top 3 of 2013

1. Rode sneeuw in december - Simone van der Vlugt

2. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy - Helen Fielding

3. Stages of Decay - Julia Solis

Rode sneeuw in december (Red Snow in December) is a historic novel with a substantial part about William of Orange struggling to concur The Netherlands from the Spanish troops. Just like Jacoba, dochter van Holland (Jacoba, Daughter of Holland) I loved this novel. Not only because of good storytelling but because of the massive heaps of historical knowledge that you learn about. 

I have always loved Bridget Jones so when I heard about a new Helen Fielding novel about this heroine I ran to the virtual (I don't like real-life running) shop.
Stages of Decay is a photography book with photos of neglected American and European theatres. As a lover of anything theatre, empty buildings and photography I couldn't ignore the existence of this beautiful book.

My top 10 of series of 2013

1. Scandal

2. Suits

3. Miranda

4. Call the Midwife

5. The Paradise

6. Mr. Selfridge

7. Reign

8. Elementary

9. The Americans

10. Breathless

This Christmas the TV comedy Gangsta Granny was broadcast by the BBC. Julia McKenzie (Miss Marple in the latest Agatha Christie series), Miranda Hart (who you might know from Miranda) and David Walliams (who you might know from Little Britain) star and Robbie Williams plays the role of a celebrity taking part in Strictly Come Dancing. Miranda and David play a couple of parents who are obsessed with Strictly. I absolutely love the comedy series Miranda (which sadly won't start a 4th season any time soon) and I can't wait to see this new TV movie. It is based on a children's novel that David Walliams wrote.
Breathless is een new series by ITV. It is set in the 1960s and Jack Davenport (Smash, Coupling, Pirates of the Caribbean) plays the main character. He plays a doctor who also carries out abortions (which was illegal at the time) besides his work as the head of his department.  

My top 5 albums of 2013

1. Momentum - Jamie Cullum 

2. Swings Both Ways - Robbie Williams

3. The Great Gatsby - Original Soundtrack

4. Janne Schra - Janne Schra

5. The Shocking Miss Emerald - Caro Emerald

My top 3 of day trips I did in 2013

1. SeaCity Museum [Southampton's Titanic Story]
2. See a show at the Minack Theatre [Cornwall]
3. The Making of Harry Potter [Leavesden, near London]

Most of the crew on board the Titanic were Southampton citizens. Opening a museum in Southampton about the Titanic and it's tragic end makes a lot of sense. Rarely have I been to an exhibition that left as much of an impression as this one. It is very respectful towards the victims but is very immersive nonetheless. Apart from one watch, there are no objects from the Titanic in the exhibition. The exhibit tells a story of 6 crew members who boarded the Titanic. You come to know the situation they leave behind, you learn what they did on board the ship, whether they survived. For children it is a nice museum because there are a lot of things that are meant to be touched. For example you can race each other to find out who would be the better stoker amongst you. For me there were three components of the exhibit that made a big impression. In one room, the only item shown is a watch, from one of the victims, that stands still at the time the Titanic sunk. In this room you can listen to the witness report of people that were on board the Titanic as children. They tell about the grandeur of the ship, how they didn't seem to be shocked by the crash with the iceberg, how they were boarding onto the lifeboats and how they saw their father for the last time. In the room after this one, a big map of Southampton covers the floor. It is covered with red dots. Each red dot stands for a house that used to be the house of a victim. The SeaCity Museum is situated in a former court building (build in the 30s). The room that talks about the court case after the sinking of the Titanic, is the original court room that for a big part remained the same after the court building turning into a museum.

Top 3 most read blogposts on witblog.nl in 2013

1. Het Stenen Bruidsbed

2. Review: een georganiseerd weekend met Opportunity Travel aka Ycare

3. Best of British: Historische series