Inspirational arty videos

I can't quite believe that it's been almost a year since I last posted, but time flies! Just wanted to share a couple of beautiful videos I came across today.

The first is one that I read about in this article on Colossal (great website!).



It makes me want to create my own video portraits/memorials of people. It's just beautiful.

The second video is a song from the film 'The Fault In Our Stars'. I haven't seen the film or read the book, but I want to do both. It looks like the film just generally has a great soundtrack, but this is the first song I came across and I love it. The video is awesome too, it makes me want to decorate my room with inspirational quotes and artwork.



I've been loving Ed Sheeran recently, some of his music really just inspires.

Storytelling music videos

I came across a couple of music videos today to songs that I really like but didn't realise there were proper videos for. So I thought I'd share them.

The first is 'Cups' from Pitch Perfect - I had no idea that they made a proper music video for the Anna Kendrick version. It has its own little story and I love the new background music additions, it sounds great. Visually I think it's really enjoyable and well thought out - very impressed.

The second is 'Everything has Changed' by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. I've got the CD and listened to it a lot, but didn't realise they'd done a music video for the song, or that it was this adorable! Love the video idea - and the casting choices.

The Host

**SPOILER WARNING**

Well, today I had the day off work so decided to go and see 'The Host' which came out this weekend and which I've been looking forward to for some months now. I thought it was fantastic, as soon as it was finished I just wanted to watch it again! That's one DVD I'll definitely be getting.

The film is based on the book by Stephenie Meyer and I really loved the book when I read it a few years ago. Twilight was much more in-your-face when the movie arrived, though The Host does have a huge fanbase, but I have to say I definitely prefer The Host to Twilight. Admittedly this is partly because I'm not a huge Pattinson/Stewart fan (they're fine, but not really Edward/Bella for me).
Anyway, the book and the film were both great in my opinion, this is one film worth watching.

Blurb (from the book):

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

So this post is my comparison between book and film - what I liked/disliked etc.

Characters/Casting

I thought that all of the characters were portrayed really well - very true to the book, generally I think that casting was great - more detailed comments as follows:

• Melanie Stryder/Wanderer - played by Saoirse Ronan (and Emily Browning as Wanda at the end) - I've been aware of Saoirse Ronan for some time as an actress (though oddly, until today when I watched an interview I'd never heard her speak in her real - Irish - accent) and I do think she's rather brilliant, but when I heard that she was going to play Melanie, I wasn't completely convinced, but having now seen the film I think she was a great casting choice. She's not quite how I imagined Melanie to be, but she fits the role very well. I like how she used a slightly different voice for Melanie and for Wanda and how she played the characters quite distinctly from each other. Emily Browning is an actress I like, and was not at all who I was expecting for Wanda at the end. Despite being different from the description, I think she was a nice choice for Wanda.


• Jared Howe - played my Max Irons - I didn't remember seeing Max Irons in any films before, though now I realise he was in Red Riding Hood and in Dorian Grey, both of which I have seen. Clearly those films didn't leave much of an impression on me. However, I think that was probably a good thing as I saw him as a fresh face, again not quite how I imaged Jared but he fits the description well. I think the he pulls off the character quite well, and the character development throughout the film is great.


• Jamie Stryder - played by Chandler Canterbury - Another actor who it turns out I must have seen in other films (Benjamin Button, Repo Men) but clearly didn't leave a lasting memory. Ignoring the fact that they changed Jamie's age, I think that he was a fantastic choice. He was very believable as Jamie and probably my favourite moment with Jamie was near the beginning where he's looking down at Wanda and says something along the lines of 'I'm not a kid anymore' and his expression was really intense - someone who has lived through a lot. Fab choice.


• Ian O'Shea - played by Jake Abel - I clearly do not pay enough attention to these people in films. Another one who it turns out I've seen in multiple films - Luke in Percy Jackson, Mark in I am Number Four both films that I rather like. Anyway, this is my favourite role that I've seen him in. He's rather beautiful which doesn't hurt, but I also think he suited the character really well. He was one of my favourite characters in the film, one of the ones with the biggest conscience I think.


• Uncle Jeb - played by William Hurt - Amazing. I've never had a really fixed picture of Jeb in my head but he just fit perfectly (of course, as with all the characters, a bit of make up and costuming goes a big way, so awesome work to those teams too). The intonation of his speech and the way he interacted with the other characters was just as I imagined it from the book.


• The Seeker/Lacey - played by Diane Kruger - I adore Diane Kruger. She's one of my favourite actresses. She is also looks absolutely nothing like the Seeker I imagined from the book. I can't remember the descriptions of the Seeker but I thought she was smaller, more feline perhaps with dark hair and wearing all black. Despite looking nothing like the character I invisioned, I think she was a good choice for the role. She is great at portraying the little nuances, very subtle facial expressions to reflect her thoughts etc.


• Kyle O'Shea - played by Boyd Holbrook - seemed less of a main character in the film than in the book. Again, the actor fit the bill rather well.
• Doc - played by Scott Lawrence - I don't know how I pictured Doc, not like this, but he played it perfectly.

Set design/Locations

I thought that generally the set design/location choices were fantastic - great desert coverage, the caverns were as I imagined them. I particularly liked the set up with the crops, the mirrors and how to close up the top to avoid being seen, wasn't sure how they were going to show that but it was done very well. I expected Wanda's 'cell' to be a smaller room with a lower roof, more of small storage hole, can't remember how it was described, but it worked well enough as it was in the film. I don't remember the glow worm cave from the book - probably a new film addition (or it's just been a while since I read the book) but it was a nice addition.

Costumes/Make up

The choice to put the seekers in white was the most noticeable one for me, and I thought that it worked very well. It was perhaps a better way to show the souls as peaceful law abiders/controllers and avoiding mental associations with other black-clad hunter types. The costumes for the seekers were also simpler than I was expecting but I think it worked well. The Seeker was often in simple white trousers and a white t-shirt or tank top, there were some more tailored pieces I think, but generally quite simple and functional. The only distinct thing was her brown high heeled boots which were an interesting addition. The costuming for the humans living in the caverns was good, I barely remember most of it so it must have blended in well for the environment which is how it should be. The make up for Wanda/Mel when she was basically dying in the desert before Jeb found her was done very realistically, nice sunburnt, dying look. Generally great make up etc.

Cinematic choices

Overall, I thought the cinematography was great, the appearance was very much how I imagined it all to be. Beautiful choice. I particularly liked the scene towards the end when Wanda wakes up in her new body, I think that was put together very well.

Notable changes

• Jamie's age - As mentioned, it has been a while since I read the book, but from what I recall, I think the time between Mel getting captured and making it to the caverns is significantly longer than in the film, meaning that Jamie is a teenager by the time Mel gets back, maybe 14? He goes out on raids and is trusted with a loaded gun. In Mel's memories of before Wanda was put into her, Jamie is significantly younger. I think that the continuity of using the same actor for Jamie in the memories and the later happenings of the film is really good. It allows for more of an attachment with the character and for immediate recognition. This change wasn't something that particularly bothered me - Jamie in the book is still vulnerable and younger than the others, someone who is just like a little boy with Mel at moments, and so their relationship didn't seem damaged by the choice to keep him young. I think they did well to maintain the important storyline elements with the changes made to accommodate his age. Namely, he was given a gun but Jeb later shows that it wasn't loaded and he also doesn't go on raids and consequently isn't injured in a raid but instead by his own knife while harvesting the grain.
  
  Edit: I just looked up the actors age and it looks like he was probably 14ish when filming, just thought he looked younger! I also assumed it because they did make the changes (gun/no raids etc.) I still think that they changed the length of time Melanie is away.


• Wanda attacks the Seeker and so is kept in her room, guarded by a seeker, where she is to wait until being put into a new body - at this point in the book I think it is only the suspicion of The Seeker, not yet confirmed fact, that Mel is still present with Wanda. So she is not confined anywhere and is free to go where she likes (though she is watched carefully by the Seeker). Again, not a huge problem to leave out, means they got to add in a little escaping scene which I thought was rather good. A jump from a balcony followed by a moment borrowing a car from a stranger which shows the way of life for the souls - they don't lie to each other, and trust each other.


• Wanda is tricked by Mel to go into the desert after the others - in the book, Wanda decides to go search for Jeb and the others and even stocks up on a few things for desert trekking before going. In the film she is misled by Mel to drive into the desert and when Wanda realises, Mel causes her to crash the car resulting in them walking into the desert on Mel's direction. Again, I can see why they changed this, it allows them to skip over any preparation to go. The only thing I noticed from this is that when Mel/Wanda arrives, she is dressed rather inappropriately for a desert hike.


• The medicine and the souls insertion/removal- in the book there are different types of medicine and different ways of applying them - squares to be dissolved in the mouth, liquids to pour into wounds etc. In the film they are all strange sprays. Doesn't make a huge difference visually. Also, the insertion and removal of souls looks a bit different to how it is described, but works better visually than it would sticking absolutely to the book.
  


• When Wanda and Jared go for medicine, no one tries to stop them - this suggests that the other humans trust Wanda more, but I think that the book was more realistic where some (like Maggie) maintained their assertion that Wanda was still the enemy and insisted she should not be allowed to leave (or later - return). It was a little too simple for her to get out with Jared and later return with him without anyone checking they were still human. I can see why this was skipped to save time and I don't think it makes a huge difference, it's just a little niggle.


• Other prominent seekers - in the book I don't remember much about any other seekers, but obviously in a film it is important to show The Seeker and her efforts to locate Mel which of course do involve other seekers she works with. Generally done well.


• Mel and Jamie's dad killed himself - in the book he was taken over and led the seekers back to Mel and Jamie but they got away. I had wondered whether this would be significant in any other books as he could potentially be a returning character, but as he killed himself rather than allow them to discover his children I assume this will not be an important story or Stephenie Meyer would have insisted on it staying true to the book.


• Meeting the other humans at the end in the city not the desert - I think that in the book the other humans had discovered one of their caches and had stayed to find the other humans but in this one they chase down the car and surround them in a road which appears to be close-ish to the city. This seems very unusual to me as surely this sort of behaviour would be too noticeable to the souls for any humans who have been smart enough to survive to partake in. I do like the ending, but I find it a little less convincing than meeting them in the desert. I also don't remember them using the term 'gone native' which I rather liked in the book, so was a bit disappointed by lack thereof.

Things they left out

• The comforter - In the book, Wanderer has a comforter (Kathy) who is basically like a counsellor, talking her through things, helping her to get used to life in a human body and discussing things with her about how it is to live as a human. This was a good way to show how the souls live. I think that in the film they did very well to portray the souls as they did given that the main souls you saw were seekers.


• The other planets they had taken over - the stories in the book about the different planets that Wanderer has been to are really interesting, but I can see that for time reasons they would need to be cut.


• The whole Kyle/Jodi/Sunny thing - I guess this is what made Kyle a slightly more notable character, but I can understand that it wasn't vital and would need to be cut for time. However, I do think that not mentioning that some humans have had souls in them too long and don't wake up when the soul is removed does make the ending (where Wanda is put into one of these bodies) seem like a bit of a deus ex machina, a very convenient thing to allow Wanda to stay on earth. Especially as they say that they've been removing souls for months and this body didn't wake up without saying any others didn't. However, I do like that she was just a body that didn't wake up and that they didn't go and pick her like they did in the book (which I find a bit weird).


• Getting to know other people in the community - I know that it's a film, and there are time constraints, and I do think they did well with the end film, but I do miss some of the little side stories mentioned in the book. The relationship between Lily and Wes, seeing more of how the people worked, lived and played together and how the community survived in this way.


• A quote I liked:
  

  “You know whats really twisted?" - Ian
  “What?” - Jared
  “I feel guilty - guilty as hell - watching her flinch away from us. Seeing the black marks on her neck.” - Ian
  ”You can’t let it get to you like that. It’s not human. Don’t forget that." - Jared
  ”Just because she isn’t human, do you think that she doesn’t feel pain? That she doesn’t feel like a girl who’s been beaten - beaten by us?" - Ian

  I thought this was a great quote, one that showed Ian's changing perspective of Wanda/Mel.
  

Other comments
I was surprised by the fact that I was much more interested in the relationship between Ian and Wanda than the one between Melanie and Jared. In the book, Melanie's love for Jared is such a strong theme and the memories of him are so emotionally driven that I found myself very attached to their relationship, however in the film, despite loving the flashbacks showing their relationship beginning, I think that Ian and Wanda's connection was much more engaging. The overall portrayal of the love triangle/rectangle between Jared, Mel/Wanda and Ian was done very well.

Basically, in short, there was nothing I really disliked about this film, I missed a few things from the books but all of them were understandable cuts. I think that the people involved in making this film did an excellent job and I will be buying it when it comes out on DVD. Also will probably re-read it in the near future.

It has been suggested that this may become a trilogy of books, which I would not be adverse to. I think it makes a nice stand alone book/film but if Stephenie Meyer can make two more books which are just as good as the first then I would certainly be happy to read them! (And potentially watch them, if they are made into films).

Lastly, I love the song from the credits - enjoy!

Pitch Perfect etc.

Well, it's certainly been a long time since my last blog!

I've been rather busy this summer, I graduated from uni, volunteered at Soul Survivor/Momentum festivals, volunteered doing editing for an exhibition at a fab gallery, went to the awesome Alice in Wonderland themed wedding of two lovely friends of mine and started working at my two new jobs.

Anyway, just thought I'd share some of the music I've been listening to recently.

Here is a rather mellow cover of 'Somebody That I Used To Know'. I'll admit that I've got a bit sick of this song from listening to the original and various covers (particularly the 'Walk Off The Earth' cover) but this is a different take on it, and I really like it.


Also, I've come across some clips from the film 'Perfect Pitch' which isn't out in the UK til December I think, but I really want to see it! This clip has a great acapella remix of 'Just The Way You Are' by Bruno Mars.


The way I found out about 'Pitch Perfect' was actually by coming across this video on YouTube, which is rather good I must say. Fantastic editing, must have taken rather a long time to do!


Enjoy!

'Last Night' - a film by Massy Tadjedin

I've just watched this film - 'Last Night' starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes and Guillaume Canet.
If you have a chance, watch it, it's so good.
I'd seen the trailer a while back and it had intrigued me, but I hadn't been able to get hold of it on DVD to watch, so had pretty much forgotten it until I spotted it at the library earlier today.

---WARNING! THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!---

Storyline

Note - this is a pretty bad summary, ignore it and just go watch the film

The film is basically about temptation. It's focuses on a married couple, Michael and Joanna Reed (Worthington and Knightley). There's a section at the beginning in which there is not a whole lot said, but you get to know the two main characters a little. They go to a work party, where Jo spots Michael with an attractive new colleague, Laura (Mendes), who he's been working with for a while, has gone on a business trip with, and is going on another business trip with the next day. She sees them and believes them to be attracted to each other - when they go home later in the evening, she confronts him about it and he tries to tell her nothing has happened and smooth over this argument. There is a lovely scene where he wakes her up (she was sleeping on the couch as she still wasn't happy with him) and makes her some breakfast, and they talk a little. They later both go to sleep in their bed and seem on good terms when he leaves in the morning. Generally they seem to have a very good committed, married relationship.

Michael goes on his business trip and as the film progresses it cuts back and forth between him and Jo during this day/night that they are apart. Jo goes out for coffee and bumps into Alex (Canet), who she hasn't seen in 2 years, he's on his way to a meeting but they decide to meet later in the evening. It's clear that they both feel strongly about each other just from the expressions and short conversation. The film follows through the day as Michael's meetings wrap up and Jo gets ready to go out. Michael stays around to go for drinks with Laura and they chat about relationships and other things. Jo meets Alex, you can feel how comfortable they are together, how they really enjoy being with each other. Jo ends up going with Alex to a sort of work dinner/dinner with friend and his wife. There is some very interesting conversation between Jo and Patrick (Alex's friend) who is older, and is curious about Jo and the relationship with Alex, and they have a short but honest conversation about Jo, Alex and Michael. Michael spends his evening alone with Laura, first at a bar, then moving on to another place, and they end up going back to her room to grab some drinks from the minibar and head down to the pool where they start swimming in their underwear. They talk about cheating, and how Laura was cheated on and how she felt about it. Meanwhile Jo has gone off with Alex to feed/walk their friend Andy's dog (Andy is on the trip with Laura and Michael). They end up locked out of the apartment and take the dog with them to Patrick's party. After spending some time together they end up snogging in a lift and then heading back to his place. They sit and talk, seeming very much like a normal couple, then start getting close again but Jo says 'I can't ... I can't do any more and look him in the eye'. Alex comments that her husband is away with a woman that she got upset about, but she replies 'Michael isn't doing anything'. Instead, they lie down on the bed and just stay there through the night. Michael ends up sleeping with Laura and after getting up says 'I didn't think that would happen', she glibly replies 'not even the second time?'.

Michael finds the note Jo hid in his shirt for the next day, that says 'It's possible I overreacted. I know that. I know you. And I love you. xxx Jo'. Michael decides to go home to his wife rather than finish the business trip. Arriving back early he sees Jo's been crying. He lies to Jo and says 'we finished up early' when she enquires about the business trip. He apologises for the fight they had (at the beginning of the film), suggest they go out for lunch and a walk. They embrace when she gets up to go get ready and he tells her he loves her. Over her shoulder he spots her discarded high heels from the night before. They move apart and look at each other's faces, she takes a breath as if to say something and-

the film ends.

The effect on the viewer

Obviously by 'the viewer' I mean me, so it won't necessarily be the same for everyone. However, I found this a very captivating film. I felt like I really needed to know more, I needed to understand. There was a certain intriguing quality throughout the film because it wasn't all laid out for you at the beginning - you had to understand it as you went through.

I love the uncertainty of some things in the film. They are frustrating, but that's what makes them work so well!
The lack of closure leaves you feeling sort of unsatisfied but in a good way. I think it definitely had a 'real' sort of feel to it - there is no certain happy ending, life just goes on. I like that you don't get all this backstory in a block, you get to know the characters and understand their relationships with each other through their conversations or reminiscence in some cases; but I never felt like the story behind the relationships was forced in or made to fit because it was necessary for the audience to know it.

I love the fact that it is very much up to the viewer to decide what they're rooting for. I think different people would maybe want the characters to do different things. I found that I was rooting for them to stay faithful to each other, and not get involved with extra-marital relationships/affairs, but I also found myself torn with Knightley's character. She really shone in this role and you really feel the emotion and the connection between her and Canet's character. You find yourself wanting them to be together, but also feeling like it's wrong.

I thought that one of the most amazing things, which I suppose I find unusual in today's sort of culture, is that that the idea of the relationship/temptation was a lot more than just a physical thing. This was especially clear in the case of Jo and Alex. They clearly had this relationship that they just fell back into despite not seeing each other for 2 years. For them it was so much more than something physical, and when they parted, him going back to Paris, you really felt the emotion in their separation. It was so abundantly clear than their feelings for each other were deeply rooted, not something that would go away easily but instead something likely to hang around for the rest of their lives in one way or another.

In Michael's case it was more of a physical thing. I thought that the relationship between him and Laura was such a contrast to Jo and Alexs'. They confronted it clearly, aware that he was married, that he didn't want to have an affair but admitted feelings for Laura. He said clearly to her that he thought that he'd regret having an affair more than he would regret not having one. He clearly didn't make boundaries for himself in a way that would have helped him to stay faithful. Instead he mentally tried not to have an affair, while allowing himself to get closer and closer to it until it happened. I thought that some of the conversation between the two of them was very interesting - Laura's confession of being cheated on, and her feeling about it all etc. I liked that there was minimal screen time of them actually sleeping together - this film was a great contrast to the many others where it seems to be a bit of plot chucked in for the sake of a bunch of 'getting physical' or sex scenes.
I thought that how the 'morning after' sort of situation was shown was so brilliant. It felt very real and there was no closure. You could sort of see how Michael was feeling, but you could also see that he was a bit mixed up, but knew he had to leave it behind and go back to his wife. I think one of the best things was when Andy (the other guy on the business trip with them) told Laura that Michael had gone back to New York and she tried to sound normal about it but you could see the expression on her face. I described Michael as 'mixed up' but I think perhaps a better way of describing their expressions is 'empty'. I've never been in a situation like that so I can't imagine exactly what it would feel like, but I think that them feeling empty is perhaps one way to describe it. I don't think that 'guilty' would really describe Michael at that point, perhaps he was feeling it but it wasn't quite what was portrayed. It just seemed really genuine, I'm failing a bit at describing it - just watch the scenes, you'll get what I mean!

One of the things I found most interesting as a viewer of the film as a whole is that throughout the film I wasn't sure if either of them would cheat, and if one of them did who it would be. It also made me think about boundaries - what would 'count' as cheating? Is it kissing? Is it sex? Is it something else? Is emotional cheating less, more or the same as physical cheating?
I think the idea of secrets is very important. If it's something you wouldn't want to tell your husband/wife then you probably need to consider the idea that it's cheating.

My comments on how it has been made

Something I would definitely say of this film is that it is a film of few words. So much is said through the moments where no one is speaking. I find that so amazing. The film is simply beautiful.

One thing I found very interesting about how it has been edited is that it's not always 100% chronological. At the beginning it switches between the evening events (them getting ready, being at the party) and shots of them each in their taxi on the way home. It's been cut so well that it doesn't feel disjointed at all - it just adds the emotion and understanding of the characters and the film. Also the same technique was used throughout the film in shorter time span moments - e.g. when Michael and Laura are in the pool and talking, towards the end it swaps between a shot of her getting out of the pool, back to them talking in the pool, and then back to them after getting out.

Also, sometimes a tiny clip is used repeated, or there is a purposeful lack of continuity - for example a couple with their heads close together, move apart, then switch to a clip where they're together again and move apart. Somehow it really fits.

The decision to cut the end like they did, at a moment where you really wanted to know what she would say, and you didn't quite expect it to be cut like that - was perfect.

I don't really remember the background music, when I actually try to think about it I can't come up with anything. Perhaps that proves that the background music was good! It didn't distract, it just worked. I'm sure I would have noticed if there actually wasn't any, so it must have just been very well suited and blended into the film.
*goes to flick through and listen again*
Yeah, it's very minimal. There are large chunks that seem to be just dialogue or silence, no background music - that definitely adds to the 'real' feel of the film. The music that is there is mainly quite simple, but beautiful piano music, and in some sections there's a bit more of a beat and some other instruments thrown in. It definitely works amazingly with the film - perfect.

There's only one moment I particularly remember there being dialogue where it wasn't the characters on screen that were talking - it's Jo talking about Michael, and there are some shots of Michael (I think this might happen a couple of times - when she's talking to Patrick, and later to Alex - about being faithful). I think that it works really well, it's odd how you notice little changes like that so much more when the film is quite minimal in it's approach.

The acting is, of course, vital to the whole thing. Acted amazingly by a fantastic cast. Keira Knightley shone out above the rest but all of them were really good, so wonderful at subtle acting that portrayed things without complication. Sam Worthington is one that I can't necessarily recall a lot of different expressions on his face, but he definitely managed to portray the subtle changes in mood/feelings very well. I think that Eva Mendes plays Laura so well, with sort of mixed feelings, unsure how things are going to go but pursuing what she wants.

Conclusion
I didn't really go into watching the film with particularly high expectations, I just thought it looked interesting, but it certainly majorly exceeded my expectations. It's very thought-provoking, beautifully shot and put together, so much more minimal and natural than most films I watch. I'm so glad I watched it, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes films :).

Depressing but Powerful

I was just going to write about a few films I've seen recently but realised there were a few things that had a bit of a 'depressing but powerful' theme running through them so thought I'd go with that instead. I haven't particularly said what the films are about, just my opinions, so I'm assuming you either know the basic plot, or can quickly look it up if you're curious - at some point I may update this post so you get a basic idea but don't have time at the moment. I've been watching a whole lot of films recently, and one that is definitely a new favourite for me is 'Never Let Me Go'. I had read the book previously and finally reserved and borrowed the film from the library. I thought the film would be able to capture the emotion of the film but I wasn't sure if it would be able to have a fully formed plot that didn't miss out anything vital. I needn't have worried, this was one occasion when I really felt like the book and film were both excellent. The bits missed out of the film that were in the book felt only like a little bit background information, filling out the world of the book, but with the visual information of the film it didn't matter that these little pieces were omitted.

I would definitely recommend both book and film, though they are very sad and emotional. I love the final scene of the film where Kathy says:

'We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.'

Also related, Carey Mulligan who plays Kathy is such a wonderful actress, I've loved her work ever since I saw her as Sally Sparrow in Doctor Who - 'Blink' is still one of my favourite Doctor Who episodes. I think that the main trio of Never Let Me Go was perfectly cast, both as adults and children. I hadn't seen Andrew Garfield in much before, I think I'd only seen him in 'The Social Network', and that was as a very different character so I was interested to see whether he would do this well and he definitely did.

Again, on the vein of depressing films, I watched 'Changeling' the other day. I hadn't previously realised it was a true story, so when it showed that at the beginning of the film, it made it all the more powerful. You could really feel the frustration of the main character and how she was being blocked at every turn and she did come across as a very strong character though had her very emotional moments too. It's probably not one I would watch again, but I did find it most interesting the first time round. It would have been interesting to see a bit more of the police conspiracy etc. come to light but I think they tried to stick as much as possible to the true story and just hint a little with artistic license - e.g. the part where the boy who is being taken away says that it was the police that told him to say he was Walter. It wasn't really a role I would have previously thought of Angeline Jolie in but she played it very well, I think she is very good at portraying emotion through her eyes and that comes through very well in this film.

Lastly, one of my friends has become addicted to Ed Sheeran. She played this song, 'Little Lady', the other day for me and another friend to listen to and I wanted to post it on here. Note: This song includes swearing.

Camelot

I've recently watched the series 'Camelot' starring Jamie Campbell Bower and Eva Green (among the many wonderful cast members).
I very much like dramas from that sort of era so was quite interested to see how they had approached it. I didn't really know much about the series before watching it, so it was quite interesting to see.
I felt like it would be something quite good to blog about right now so I'm seizing the moment (even if the moment is at 2:18 in the morning when I should be going to bed - I'm sitting in bed, that counts, right?).

My thoughts on the characters:

• Jamie Campbell Bower makes an excellent Arthur, he is not someone I would have imagined in the role but they have reinvented it in a great way. I think he plays it very well and I like that his character seems quite transparent in a lot of ways. There's a certain naive quality to it all which really draws you to be interested in his character.
• Guinevere is one that surprised me. In many ways the character is what I would expect from this type of drama, but I had only seen Tamsin Egerton in St Trinians so came into it with this completely different character stuck in my head that I couldn't quite shake to begin with. However as the series went on I found that her acting when it came to emotional scenes was spot on and you really felt for her character despite her flaws.
• Eva Green is amazing as Morgan Pendragon. I'd seen her in a couple of films and this really showed another level to her acting. The depth of her character was very layered and in some moments it was hard to second guess her. She has a certain bewitching quality and the accent she has really adds to this mystique. I loved how she really had clear motive for what she did and how she showed strength and malicious power alongside a certain vulnerability in certain moments where you see a childlike quality in her.
• Leontes is amazing, Phillip Winchester play the part brilliantly. I don't know why Guinevere would ever cheat on him, he's fantastic. 'nuff said. Though I would like to mention that I enjoy how his character does have a little more depth than just being there to create a love triangle. He's great.
• Igraine is played by the wonderful Claire Forlani, who I had only seen previously in Meet Joe Black (a film that I very much like). She is another actress who I felt performed amazingly in this series. I love how the character is strong and determined and really cares for others. I think she was particularly good in the episode where she played Igraine locked up in Castle Pendragon and Morgan posing as Igraine at Camelot.
• I loved this new reimagining of Merlin, I was only sad to see that you didn't really get to know his character that much, you just saw him as this mysterious guy with a mysterious past. Joseph Fiennes is bewitching in this part, which gives him a sort of link with Morgan - the characters both have this quality which is a little otherworldy - which I suppose stems from the magical forces that both have a connection with. I was interested in the idea that he had been around for thousands of years and was sad that this wasn't really explored.
• The character of Kay is also fantastic, I love that Arthur has a brother, someone he can really connect with from their joint past - someone who really knows him. I like how this grounded the Arthur character to some extent.
• Can't really be bothered to name any of the other characters, but I like the women in this as they very strong and in many ways quite modern (ooh, and Vivien looks awesome). And I like how the other warriors who fight with Arthur have a bit of their own stories as well (even if I just did refer to them as 'other warriors').

A few notable positives about the series:

• As previously mentioned, the strong female characters are a great addition, I love the modernity that strengthens this.
• Arthur's fickleness is great, I love how flawed the character is - I think that the writers really managed to capture a humanity in all of the characters, allowing for flaws and attempted retribution for some of these.
• The fact that magic took it's toll in a very clear physical way was a great take on the idea. The scenes where Morgan is kind of dying are very powerful, and the scene in the last episode with Merlin wanting and trying to save Igraine is really emotional.
• The sets and costumes are completely outstanding! 10/10 for that!

A few less great things:

• There seemed to be quite a lot of unnecessary nudity which slightly annoyed me. Why put it in where it's not needed? The plot was quite happy without it! Some of it I suppose was needed (or at least needed to be implied), but some of it really did seem to have no purpose.
• Why start to explore the idea of magic with Merlin and Morgan and then just cut it off without any real depth put in? I felt like they considered going down the dark road to weird evil magic stuff and then after starting decided that it wasn't the way to go and moved on.
• Looking back over the whole thing I think the first half of the series was really promising, the second half was ok but started to go a little downhill towards the end and was completely ruined by the dodgy incest scene at the end. Fair enough, they were trying to have something to feed into the next series (which was then cancelled) but it was a little disturbing and I would have much more happily accepted a few more deaths and the promise of something better to come.

So I guess overall I quite enjoyed the series, I like that this allowed for a certain amount of darkness in the script, but I would probably prefer the family friendly programme 'Merlin'. I only cringe at the really weird looking little gremlin type evil things they throw in occasionally. Apart from that I'm a big fan.

Avalon High Film *SPOILERS*

Today I discovered that there was a TV movie version of 'Avalon High' by Meg Cabot, which happens to be pretty much my favourite Meg Cabot book, so I was quite interested at the prospect of a filmed version. I managed to find it on YouTube and proceeded to watch it. Starting off under the impression that they stayed true to the book, I was quite enjoying it, though noticing some changes which made little sense to me, so I decided to look up what differences there were between book and film (while still watching). I came across the Wikipedia page for it, and expecting to see that there were a few minor changes written there, I was extremely surprised to note that they'd basically completely changed the book. From that point, I was already disappointed but trying to think of it as something completely separate from the book and still enjoy it as a separate piece...

Here's where the major spoilers come in - as copied from Wikipedia:

In the movie, Ellie (Allie in the film) rather than Will is King Arthur. Rather than Marco, Mr. Morton (Mr. Moore in the film) is Mordred, whereas Miles is Merlin as opposed to Mr. Morton. Marco is a member of the Order of the Bear determined to protect Will. The climax battle scene occurs in the ravine in the book, but occurs in the school theater (which magically becomes a beach) in the movie. Presumably, this is to make the film more unpredictable. Also the students are the reincarnations of the actual characters as oppose to merely corresponding to them. "Allie" is an only child, her brother is no longer a character. Will's father is not trying to make him join the navy. Will does not sail and does not have a dog, therefore there are no connections to the names of Arthur's dog and boat. (Will is not Arthur, hence the elimination.) Avalon High's team name is the Knights, not Excalibur. Many scenes were cut out and scene settings were changed to make the movie more appropriate for younger children because the book has violent and some threatening scenes.

So basically, they switched around all of the main characters. I was quite disappointed by this, but I think it could have been pulled off if they had added more threads into the story. The most annoying thing was that since Will wasn't Arthur, all of the little things which made you think he was Arthur seemed pointless, and no extra interesting things were put in to point towards Allie being Arthur so it made everything seem very random instead of destined as was intended.

Thoughts on the characters:

• I liked the portrayal of Allie by Britt Robertson, I thought she held the movie really well. She's actually the reason I came across the movie as I had searched her on imbd after watching some episodes of 'Life Unexpected' (really enjoying it :D). She didn't really have the right look for the character if you're thinking about the book, but with the decision that she was to be King Arthur, I think that her appearance was quite appropriate.
• I loved the character of Miles, despite the fact he wasn't in the book, I really enjoyed the performance and he's quite a loveable character, perhaps the only character aside from Allie that the writers had decided to try and give any depth.
• What can I say about Will... I thought he was ok. The look was fine, I think, but the way the character was played really lacked depth. This was probably mainly down to the writers, and with the decision that he wasn't Arthur - they must have decided not to really focus on his character... To me, he came across as perhaps a little slow and naively happy - kind of reminiscent of James Marsden's portrayal of Prince Edward in 'Enchanted' (which I love btw). He's supposed to be some deep thinker, but I really wasn't seeing it.
• Lance and Jen barely got any screen-time apart from their secret looks and meetings which meant their characters didn't really get a chance to have any depth, and they were clearly there just to provide the love triangle (which didn't really have any significance since Will wasn't Arthur).
• I liked the casting for both Marco and Mr Moore - they would have still fitted the characters if the script stuck to the book. Marco had an unfortunate, very cheesy line towards the end - something like "I was only doing it to keep you safe. Treating you guys like that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
• I quite liked Allie's parents - they fitted the roles quite well, and fitted well enough with my ideas from the book.

Thoughts on other things:

• The 'flashbacks' were quite interesting, they were a useful way of showing the connections between people, and they fit well with the idea of Allie as Arthur.
• Really disappointed with the destruction of any meaning or depth in the circumstances in comparison to the story of Arthur. E.g. Lance and Jen losing their significance with 'Arthur', all the little things there were about Will in the book that pointed towards him being Arthur (names of boat, dog, etc.), the relationship of 'Arthur' to 'Mordred', well, you get the picture.
• There were some very cheesy lines in there - but hey, it was a Disney film.
• The special effects were interesting, very Disney-ish, e.g. the theatre transforming into a beach with fully armoured knights, the sword becoming Excalibur, Mr Moore becoming Mordred - Arthurian style.
• The removal of the whole 'Lady of the lake' thing was disappointing - I suppose they had a different surprise instead, but I don't think it was half as good...

Anywho, on the whole, I think that as a Disney film, it's quite a fun one to watch, a little cheesy, some entertaining special effects and a completely unrealistic appearance, all pretty good. However, in comparison to the book I thought it was quite a disappointment. As long as you don't start watching it with the impression that it's actually going to be the fantastic story you've read with interesting detail and back-story links, then I think it's still quite an enjoyable movie.

Secrets - OneRepublic

This is the most amazing song, I absolutely love it. So thought I'd share it on here :). I have also posted my favourite scene from the excellent film 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' where I first heard it (lots of other good music on the soundtrack too).
It's fantastic :).

Inception

I went to see this at the cinema last night with my housemate Matt, and it was utterly amazing!
Definitely worth seeing at the cinema, I'll definitely get it on DVD but I really don't think it'll be the same!

The ideas behind it were fantastic and I love the slight ambiguity at the end. It's one of the first films in a long time to actually make me jump, lol, only once, but it did... It's true I don't watch a lot of thrillers, but I thought this was really excellent. The phrase 'on the edge of your seat' was certainly relevant for a large section of this movie.
I love how you get into it so much that you forget which dream is which and how many levels there are...
Also, you do come to care for the characters pretty quickly, and they have depth (this is particularly explored in the case of Cobb).

I've wanted to see this ever since I saw the trailer, I knew it'd be excellent (plus, I love almost anything with Ellen Page...)

I just thought I'd put this up here and encourage people to go see it at the cinema before it stops showing! So worth it :).