Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa – Film Review December 22, 2008

5/5*s

This film is hilarious – I really loved it. The King Julien had me in tears (laughing tears!) from start to finish, as did David Schwimmer’s character, Melman. Obviously this is, strictly speaking, a kid’s film, but if you liked the first one, this is just as good, and it’s great to see all the fantastically funny characters again The sound track is very entertaining, as well.

 

My only criticism would be that it was too short, but I suppose the bloody kids would get impatient otherwise! But seriously, a great family film, I recommend it and will be buying it when it comes out on DVD.

Persuasion by Jane Austen – Book Review October 7, 2008

One of the shorter of Austen books, and I believe the last, I was shocked by how much this love story moved me. Anne Elliot, who, at a young age, was persuaded by her friends and family to give up on her love of the “unsuitable” Captain Wentworth, has never loved anyone else since. When he returns, her feelings for him show themselves to be as strong as ever. His anger at her rejection of him hides his true feelings for her, and they come so close to being apart forever, that in places my heart was pounding.

 

I loved the element of humour in the characters of Anne’s vain and selfish father and elder sister, her petulant younger sister, and her scheming cousin, but it was mainly the romance of the story that won me over. As Anne and Captain Wentworth come closer to being reunited, their delicate conversations, the subtlety of their meetings, the way expressions and emotions are described, are nothing short of beautiful. My only regret is that the book ends when it does – I was hungry to read more about Anne and Captain Wentworth’s lives together – but this was just me being greedy, the ending is in fact perfect.

 

I strongly recommend this book to any romantic. Anyone who hasn’t read any Austen but is curious would probably love it – I certainly do!

 

The Girls by Lori Lansens, Book Review September 15, 2008

3.5*s

This book is written in the style of an autobiography of two sisters, who take it in turns to add their own entries to the book. The sisters happen to be conjoined craniopagus twins – joined at the head – which is an issue I’ve never really thought about before. Having said that, I loved this insight into the obviously close relationship between “The Girls”. The story was in places very sad, as the sisters faced the prejudices of everyone around them while doing the best they could to live normal teenage lives.

During the first half of the book I found it quite hard to like the character Rose, and much preferred the “pretty” sister Ruby – perhaps this is an indicator of my own prejudices – but throughout the book I warmed to the thoughtul side of Rose’s character. I find it incredible how Lori Lansens is able to put herself so realistically in the shoes of people whose struggles through life must be so different to her own. I found myself wondering what kind of research she had done, or whether it was purely her imagination. This is possible, as parts of Ruby and Rose’s relationship certainly reflects that of me and my own sister.

Definately worth a look, and even if I can’t say that this story was one of my favourites, I will definately remember it.

Down Under by Bill Bryson – Book Review September 1, 2008

Never judge a book by it’s cover – I gave it a brief glimpse and thought the book might be about ice cream. In fact this book is a sort of travel diary of Bryson’s trip around Australia. I am a lover of all things Aussie and immensely enjoyed the time I spent there, so a lot of this book was nostalgic for me. The other attraction the book holds is the amount of pure information! I am a bit of a trivia addict and loved learning the highlights of Bryson’s thorough homework on the subject of all things Australian! Bryson is hilarious – he relates the eccentricities of the Aussies in a hilariously endearing way, and I found myself laughing out loud frequently. He clearly felt the same affinity to them that I did, and a lot of the book rang true to me.

Some of it didn’t, though. He pays a lot of attention to the dangers of Australia, and quite frankly seems to be a total wimp! I’m terrified of anything creepy-crawly, but don’t remember being particularly spooked by Australia – he REALLY is! But I expect he did more research prior to his visit than I did and was therefore better informed.

Definately worth a read for anyone with an interest in Australia – I have actually dreamt about Australia a lot since reading the book – it will make you want to go there and probably teach you things you didn’t know! Remote Australia isn’t in the news a lot, you know!

Moab is my Washpot – Stephen Fry – Book Review August 18, 2008

Moab Is My Washpot is the autobiography of Stephen Fry’s first twentyish years, and boy does he tell it well. Surprisingly, this remarkable man’s early years were relatively unremarkable (for the time, place and class of course - I found the whole narrative pretty astonishing!). What makes his story so different, and intriguing, are the insights into this genius’s troubled teenage years.

 

Haunted by his homosexuality, plagued by unrequited love, disturbed by the extent of the distances between himself and his peers and his desperation to join in, Stephen’s descent into depression really captivated me. At times the story is so cringeworthy I wanted to look away, but the tragedy of the story is beautifully balanced by frankly told humourous and hilariously vivid anecdotes.

 

I adored reading this book, and lapped up the delectable English language used by Fry in its purest and proper form. I wholeheartedly recommend this to any fan of Stephen Fry and follower of his career, and I can guarantee you, it explains a lot! You may well wish to ensure you have a dictionary handy when reading this

WALL-E – Film Review August 7, 2008

5*’s

Having been told that the first half contained no dialogue at all, I was sort of expecting a film aimed at toddlers and maybe a bit of a laugh. I was pleasantly surprised!

The storyline – while put in a very imaginative setting – is a classic one, lonely boy meets lonely girl, overcome hurdle and fall in love. However, boy and girl are both robots, and neither the earth or the human race are as we know them. Fat human beings, our descendants, live on a space ship with robots catering for their every needs, because they have covered the earth in “trash” and set WALL-E and other robots like him the task of cleaning it up. After 700 years, WALL-E is the last remaining clean-up robot, and is cutely lonely and sad. But when plant life is discovered on earth by Eve, the robot girlfriend of WALL-E, the heroic ship’s captain remembers his morals before it’s too late and battles robots on autodrive to restore our faith in the human race

A very touching film that had me giggling throughout, with a lovely message – respect our planet or lose it!

The Wheel of Time: The Great Hunt, by Robert Jordan – Book Review August 5, 2008

 

 Robert Jordan has truely become the master of his genre. This is the second book in a series of 11 (I believe), and follows on from the first in the series, The Eye of the World. I left a big gap in between reading the two books, simply because they are so long and take me such a long time to read that I had a lot of other books that I wanted to read in between. However, half way into the first chapter I found myself well back into the swing of the adventure.

I love the way that Jordan writes – incredibly descriptively and fantastically – and the man has imagination enough to create an entire detached world, Tolkein style. The characters are created lovingly, chapters skipping between their individual adventures, and I have come to love and respect all of them. Rand al’Thor, the unwilling Dragon Reborn, is I suppose strictly the protagonist, but we are given insights into the thoughts and fears of all his companions. My favourites are Egwene al’Vere, village girl turned novice Aes Sedai, and Naeneve, village Wisdom turned accepted Aes Sedai, both of whom show such bravery and spirit on their inevitable journies. Jordan creates a real sense of danger and fate throughout.

I absolutely recommend this book, but make sure you read the first book first, as Jordan has dispensed with the usual “catch up” information that most series of books include at the beginning of each episode. Definately a must read for any fantasy or science fiction fans, of which I am not usually one, but I think most people (with a bit of reading stamina) will enjoy this story.

RIP Robert Jordan!

Stardust – Film review June 19, 2008

5*s

How on earth can I describe Stardust!? A star studded film, Ian Mckellen narrates, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller and Charlie Cox star. I have to admit I do like most films, but this one stands out a million miles. I absolutely adored the magical story line, and the characters were all wonderful. It tells the story of ”shop boy” Tristan (Charlie Cox) from english town “Wall”, who is discovered to be the heir to the throne of the magical land behind “the wall”. He finds a fallen star, the beautiful Yvaine (Claire Danes) and they fall in love on their journey fleeing from witch Lamia (Michelle Pfeiffer) who wants to kill Yvaine and eat her heart to achieve ever lasting youth for herself and her sisters. I wish I had read the book first, but all the same this absolutely divine film is now one of my all time favourites, and I will definately buy it on DVD. You must watch it yourself, I’m having trouble finding the words! Enjoy!

Louis De Bernieres – A Partisan’s Daughter – Book Review June 12, 2008

I was really excited about this book, the newest addition to the section of my bookcase dedicated to one of my all time favourite authors, Louis de Bernieres. Needless to say my expectations were high, which is probably why I was slightly disappointed by A Partisan’s Daughter. It is a love story between two rather odd characters, which is usually my sort of thing. Unfortunately I found it hard to like either of the protagonists, and while I enjoyed the informative side of it (lots of accounts of Russian history), the story is quite short (I got through it in an afternoon) and I was left wondering if I might have missed something. There are definately good bits, some of it is pretty funny and some of the stories told within the story are quite touching (some in a shocking way!). Basically, it hasn’t nearly over taken Captain Corelli’s Mandolin or Birds Without Wings in my esteem, but if you’re looking for something short and different, go for it.

Alas I cannot swim – Laura Marling March 16, 2008

5 *s!

Nothing has got to me quite so much as this album has for quite a long time. I am totally addicted to Laura’s folky songs, the words are all so sweet and the melodies and harmonies are littered with goose bump givers! At first my favourite song was Ghosts, but having listened to it a few times now I can’t decide! They’re all so delicious. I really wanted to dislike this album as I’m incredibly jealous of the talents of this 18 year old from Reading. But I’ve embraced it now and am proud she’s from my home town