Today's Review: Haribo Watermelon Slices

There's a limited edition pack of Tangfastics out at the moment, and much like the rhubarb and custard splat before it, the special new sweetie available this time around is the watermelon slice. It's fizzy like the rest of its tangy brethren, but shaped and coloured like a watermelon slice, unsurprisingly.

It does taste very nice though. I was certainly a fan of the rhubarb and custard splats, as were others apparently, since they got their own bag. The watermelon slice is even better, in my opinion. It has that bold, candy watermelon taste that you'll find in true American sweets like Jolly Rancher, and the fuzziness really gives it a kick, ensuring intense flavour all the way through. It's an excellent addition to the Tangfastics range, let's just hope it gets its own bag someday.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Warm Bodies

Nine years after Shaun Of The Dead, and rom-zom-com is still a genre apparently. But this one has a somewhat interesting angle. Nicholas Hoult plays R, a zombie who has grown tired of his zombie life. On a routine food shuffle with his zombie comrades, he comes across a survivor named Julie (Teresa Palmer), and begins to feel things for her that isn't hunger. As he starts to warm up to her (in more ways than one), he must keep her safe from roaming hordes of zombies, defensive survivors, and a more sinister flesh eating evil.

This is a zombie story from the point of view of the zombie. Thankfully, although undead, Hoult steals the show as the shuffling, monologuing corpse. Grunting, groaning, limping, is all done with great delivery, it's just a shame that the other characters aren't as entertaining or fleshed out. Teresa Palmer and Rob Corddry are good enough, but John Malkovich makes an appearance that is quite uninspiring.

The same goes with the plot really. The premise is a good one, and progresses nicely over the first half of the movie. But once that's put of the way, the final scenes seem rather rushed and unimaginative. Overall it's not a hilarious movie, but it does have its humorous moments. However, a strong, imaginative first half soon gives way to something quite mediocre. It's certainly a watchable movie, I just wish that they did something more with the story and the cast.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Paperclips

A simple. bent piece of metal. A stationery revolution. Paperclips are, in essence, clips that hold paper together, and that in itself is remarkable. For anyone who wants to keep papers together, but without the long term commitment and painful separation that a staple promises, the paperclip is the ultimate choice. It is malleable in order to accommodate any number of papers, but can easily be bent back into shape to provide security. But paperclips don't just hold paper to paper, in fact any two items that fit neatly inside its grasp can be held together. It should just be called a clip, calling it a paperclip severely undermines its potential.

In fact, a paperclip doesn't need to be used as a clip at all. The fact that it's made from a bendable rod of sturdy metal makes it useful for a plethora of other things. The sharp ends can poke holes in various things, you can fashion a couple of paperclips into lock picks, you could use one as a rudimentary backscratcher? I don't know, the possibilities are probably not endless, but are many and varied. Forget your pencils, erasers, protractors and other single use stationery items, the paperclip is where it's at.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Gorgonzola

I have attempted to broaden my cheesy horizons lately, and this week I picked up a packet of this creamy gorgonzola. I've never had it before, and have only really heard references from Monty Python, but hey, that's enough to try anything.

Gorgonzola is a veined blue cheese, and while the actual cheesy part is very smooth and creamy, the blue parts certainly give it a nice kick, but really throw off the texture. It's odd going back and forth from melt-in-the-mouth creamy to slightly chewy several times while eating, but thankfully the bold flavours mix quite well together. It's not the best blue cheese I've tasted, but it's certainly edible.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Mirrors

I can't imagine what it was like when man first saw himself in a mirror-like surface. I imagine the reaction was something like the hostile reaction of a lesser animal, but with more club wielding and "ug"s. But I guess he figured out that club was his own, and how messy his hair looked, because we have harnessed the power of reflective materials to create mirrors.

Mirrors are great. They come in avail ty of shapes and sizes, you can even carry them around in your pocket. The applications of mirrors are plentiful too. You can go for the obvious like checking there are no bits of good stuck in your teeth and doing your hair, but you could also use them in fun houses to make people look bendy, or to deflect laser beams. Without mirrors we would all look extremely dishevelled a lot of the time, and there'd be a load of straight laser beams hanging around, and that's boring.

Mirrors are very useful, and although I may have broken a few in my time, I can safely say that it was always entirely my fault. If you want to see why people keep staring at your face, or just check out your make up, you would be lost without a mirror.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Fruit Burst: Sherbet Lemon Orange & Lime Juice

I've avoided juice while I've been dieting, too many sugars for my liking. But a quick glance at the back of this carton informed me that this was certainly worth a dabble, probably because all the fruits it contains are sour. But wait, it promises to be sherbety as well, surely it must be sweet? Well, no, the sherbet part is a big lie.

The juice is actually just sour, and quite dry. I don't know what more you'd expect from lemon, orange and lime juice, but if the sherbet part invokes thoughts of sweetness you may be disappointed. The flavours are quite bold, but all in all it was a little too dry for me. Even a little something to sweeten it up would improve it for me. But if you like your juices sour, this will probably work out for you.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Getting A Tax Refund

I got a nice big cheque from the government this morning, and it sure was satisfying. The taxman is usually regarded as taking all of our money away, so there's something special about when they can admit they took too much and give it back to you.

I can't say it was at the end of a long and arduous process of fighting delays, but it did start when I changed jobs last July. Since I was working two jobs for a few weeks, I was of course taxed an unfair amount, not enough to ruin me, but quite a bit. But I wasn't going to stress about it, it was July, and the financial year starts in April for some reason, so it was up to me to remain patient and wait several months. Once I had my P60 in hand, I called up, told them I think I paid too much tax, and they agreed and sent the cheque my way. Simple as that. I've heard of people having all kinds of trouble getting what they're owed back, but I don't know what kind of employments and such they're caught up in. In my experience tax refunds are simple to request, and can be promptly delivered if you call at the right time. Plus the conclusion is a satisfying amount topping up your bank balance. Wins all round.

My rating: 5/5