I spend nearly all of my time watching some sort of media, be it YouTube, films or tv shows. One I have been loving recently and mentioned on my weekly roundup a few weeks ago was Daredevil, a Netflix original that I have fallen in love with in a big way. 

As an actor, the acting is one of the first things I notice in anything I watch. I want it to be believable, I want the subtle idiosyncrasies that real people have and the continuity of real life, and this delivered. Big time. The show stealer for me was Charlie Cox in the role of Matt Murdock. He really stepped up to the part and showed a complex character full of internal conflict and a want to do the right thing, but not knowing how to get there. He also really played with the Catholicism of the character and how it would influence his actions, and we as an audience can see this. 

We also see the strengths of the other actors, with the likes of Elden Henson as Foggy and Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, the main antagonist. Henson shows a complexity to the character of Foggy that I believe someone else may have missed. This really helps add to the friendship between Foggy and Matt and makes it incredibly believable. D'Onofrio also shines in this, with the audience ending up almost sympathising with the character we should hate. A highlight from the entire series is the "ill intent" monologue, as it truly shows his capabilities. There are many other scenes that come to mind, but in order to avoid spoilers, I will not mention them.

Another thing I really liked about the show was the continuity and style. Each episode started off exactly where the last one had finished, and so as a result felt like an extremely long film.  There was also a huge amount of detail .e.g. a healing bruise over a few episodes. This just helped add to the realism. Things such as lighting and cinematography also impressed me massively as despite it being a  TV show, they were incredibly thought out and clever, helping to set the scenes nicely. 

All in all, the only real fault I can find with it is that Season 2 isn't out sooner! Definitely recommend to anyone who is looking for a new TV show to watch.

Shannon

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Dear 2014,

Thank you. I can't quite grasp the fact that you're actually almost over, but you deserve the biggest thank you out of all my years so far. I have learnt so much, varying from the happiest I've ever been, to the lowest, where I thought I wasn't even going to manage to see 2015. I have made new, very close friends, I loved and lost, I travelled to places I always wanted to go and saw things I'd always wanted to see. I started writing my first book, which admittedly is going to take a lot of editing and time, but it has been a dream of mine since I first learned how to write. I found a new love for beauty and fashion, but also expanded loves for other things, for example acting and films. I am a completely different person to who I was this time last year, and for that I have never felt so strong and so capable. 2014, you have been both kind and cruel to me, and for that I thank you. 

Goodbye,
Shannon 

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