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

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