Friday 29 October 2010

Alice in Wonderland


Two of my absolute favourite books as a child 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Alice Through the looking glass', this story has delighted children, both boys and girls for over a century. I was a little annoyed when I started watching the film as the title is misleading. As far as I can remember, the story being told in the film was alice through the looking glass. Apart from the fact she does fall down the rabbit hole at the beginning, this is the story of Alice's return to Wonderland.

Now don't get me wrong the film is visually stunning and amazing to look at but as Alice is one of my favourite characters I had hoped they (Hollywood) could just get the story right just this once. For an adult film, one would have thought they wouldn't run the two stories together as they usually do for children. 

Anyway the Jabberwock and Tweedle Dee and Dum are from Looking Glass and it was nice to see these characters nevertheless. But the Queen of hearts (cards) only features in the first book and it is the chess piece the red queen that Alice must defeat in the second book.

I did enjoy the film as a stand alone film and Alice played by Mia Wasikowska was acted quite well. Johnny Depp as per usual did not let us down and it  was nice to see Cripin Glover (Marty Mcfly's Dad) back on screen as the Knave of Hearts. Helena Bonhem Carter was also a treat to watch. However Anne Hathaway's eyebrows and fake delicacy was annoying to watch. What was up with the black eyebrows, they really could have done a better job on her makeup, the white hair didn't suit her darker complexion and the delicacy didn't suit her character. I would much rather have seen her with a sword and shaved eyebrows rather than the helpless queen in the background.

The ending was poor however and truly unbelievable and unrealistic. Alice's character probably would have wanted to embark on an adventure and become and independent and educated woman, but i thought the story line they chose was a little unlikely.

Leilu

Friday 22 October 2010

Angels and Demons - Robert Langdon


First of all let me state that I must be one of the few people on the planet who genuinely enjoyed Angels and Demons far far far more than the DaVinci Code. Frankly there was just too much boring dialog and needless drivel, a bit of a disappointment after reading Dan Browns other books. Angels and Demons kept me engaged and was a joy to read, apart from the more absurd bits of the book... cough cough...Robert Langdon's makeshift parachute.

The film adaptation of Angels and Demons seemed to have left out some of these more farcical attributes. Although this was a really good watch - I now accept Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon for a start- it is slightly slower paced than the film version of the DaVinci Code for which I found the book much slower and much more boring.

The Angels and Demons film is definitely worth the watch if you read the book and if you can get around Tom Hanks mullet in the Da Vinci Code I guess you might as well watch this too. I was a little ... okay alot annoyed that this was billed as the sequel to Da Vinci Code but enjoyed it no the less.

On that same note, I completed The Lost Symbol a few months ago and I think Dan Brown's trend so far has been to go down hill. This book so could have finished 5 chapters from the actual end, as it seemed a little drawn out. I think the producers really have an opportunity to make a really good film out of this by removing some of the more ridiculous aspects as they did with Angels and Demons, so we will see in 2012 as Columbia and Tom Hanks are back with the third instalment of this franchise. Not holding my breath but we'll see it could be worth the wait?

Leilu

Sabriel

Since 2008, there still hasnt been any news on this I am quite disappointed, as this is one of my favs.

Thought I'd let you know that I am still checking up on this

Will keep you posted

Leilu

Logans Run!




Ha,
I beat them to it, 4 days till my thirtieth and I have already had my carousel! I suppose in the Logans Run Universe i would be looking at my last day and my crystal would be flashing now.

In the new film the age of renewal is 21. This does seem a bit strange for the carousel age, the sandmen will really be children.

For my party I opted for a red runner outfit, but couldn't get my hands on a life crystal. Anyway roll on the new film, frankly I can wait, still haven't sourced the book to read which I should before the new film comes out.

Leilu

Saturday 21 November 2009

Death Note Hollywood Remake

Nooo!!
I was not happy to hear that Hollywood are remaking the Japanese (anime/manga/film) 'Desu Noto' or 'Death Note'. What started out as a very popular Japanese manga and escalated into a anime series and finally graduated to no less than 3 live action Japanese films can only be described as amazing.
I definitely jumped on the Death Note bandwagon late, but what a mindf**k. I have only seen two of the three films and frankly they do have some cheesy elements and are lacking quite a lot of the original content of the manga/anime, but kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
However what has really upset me is that Zac Effron has been pegged to play the character Light. Noooo! Why!!!
Not sure what the hell I'm on about read about the Death Note phenomenon here.
Sorry couldn't find a trailer with English subtitles, but the first two films did thankfully show on film four with subtitles
Feel the same post your comments here!
Leilu
We know you want a bolder paper person

Tuesday 17 November 2009

New Moon Rising


I make no secret of the fact that the Twilight Saga books are some of the best books I have ever read. Seriously. They kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and after finishing the first book 'Twilight' nine hours after opening the box from Amazon, I would definitely recommend these.

I am a Sci- Fi/ Fantasy girl, live breathe eat the stuff and of course I love my manga/anime. I paid no attention to the countless trailers and randoms going on about it. Until a friend told me I would definately like the books, I had not even considered it, I mean there is no way I could like it more than 'Underworld'... Perish the thought! Well I had to eat my words as it was better than expected and I devoured New Moon the second book at an equally fast pace.

The movie adaptation of New Moon is premiered this week and I have my tickets booked for next Monday(Nov 23). I have no intention of seeing on Saturday afternoon with the screaming teenage girls. 

That's just not my bag baby!!!

Go Team ... Jacob ?

Leilu


Sunday 1 November 2009

Sabriel


Still No word on the Sabriel movie from author Garth Nix. The adaptation of this book is hotly anticipated amongst fans. This film adaptation has me between two minds. As it is a children's book , how are they going to create the undead creatures that roam the earth? On the other hand I truly loved this trilogy so the adaptation of the first book would make this nearly 30 blogger very happy.