Isn't that supposed to start soon? The last one ever? Thank God, but you realise they will find another way to rehash it and bring it out as something else. Brilliant, just another new reality TV nightmare.
Talking of reality TV, I caught a glimpse of Project Runway today, for the first time ever. It was nowhere near as bad as I imagined. Next Top Model on the other hand...
Anyway, so this week. Not been a big week on the media front, I've been re-watching some old films and so reviews are pretty thin on the ground. Book wise, I'm almost finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Both are novels, I have to admit, I only started because of the fact that they're best sellers, not that that's always a bad thing. But I genuinely barely even read the summaries before borrowing them from the library (Yes, I'm a big borrower. To be honest, when you read as much as I do I'd go bankrupt if I tried to buy everything that even vaguely interested me) and I've been pleasantly surprised. Never Let Me Go is nothing like what I expected (It's a Sci-Fi Novel in Drama clothing) and it reminds me a lot of 1984, Children of Men and, well, basically every dystopia future novel I've read. Also, Repo! The Genetic Opera the film because it some parts it feels actually quite spine-tingling, perhaps because a lot of the novel is looking back at the memories of a child.
We Need To Talk About Kevin is great. I love the letter format, especially when most of the text is focussing hugely on the past because it really makes you feel like the husband; you're the reader, remembering the shared past with the characters. I do feel that since reading Sixteen Minutes by Jodie Picoult (I know, I'm sick of her too now) that the idea of school shooting as the main plot device is extremely overdone. Obviously it's a topic many authors and film makers want to cover as it's hugely important and, unfortunately, is becoming more prevalent in American culture, but it is difficult to find a unique and yet still sensitive perspective on a devastating crime. Shriver has managed to interject something new into the old nature vs. nurture argument however, and this does add to the novel. As Picoult would say, What Would You Do?
DVD wise, It's been a quiet week. I finally bought a copy of Batman: The Dark Knight and watched that for the first time on DVD. I still maintain that film has around three endings and is much too long but the performances are outstanding and I'm hoping that there are plans for another. I did get a little free comic in the DVD as well though, which was nice.
New things I've watched this week...mostly I've been catching up on Survivors Season Two. I loved Season One but managed to miss all of Two on TV and on BBC IPlayer so had to rent it. Not as thrilling as number One but still with some great cliffhangers and once again leaving me yelling "NOOOOO!" at the Computer screen as episode six (the finale) finished. Why, I ask you, can the BBC not make a series longer that about thirteen episodes? Just because it goes on longer than a few weeks doesn't mean we'll all lose interest. American shows goes on for much too long (*cough* 24) yet they still drag in the ratings. Please give us a show we can really get invested in. It takes you at least three episodes to get into a show and then a good while after that to actually begin to care about the characters. I promise that if the BBC produce a decent drama/sci fi show lasting for more than a week, I will stick with it for at least seven episodes, just to prove a point.
So quick little update over. Hopefully, I will have a media filled week and will have much more to say next week. Also, I promise a big old review of In Treatment (I'm on episode 40, we're almost there!) and hopefully, a look at some more recent books.
Until next week.
Sunday 28 March 2010
Sunday 21 March 2010
the best laid schemes of mice and men...
Go often askew. As mine have done.
So with all the best intentions in mind of beginning this blog and updating regularly, I apparently couldn't even get past the first introductory post! Unfortunately, I've begun to really love that 150 character limit on Twitter. All expectations of witty and intellectual comments are null and void, which makes it a lot easier to sit down to write anything.
Even so, I'm going to attempt this. I make no promises and apologise for any extremely short posts. At least they're posts right? Anyway, I'll crack on.
Just this week, I finally got round to reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I wasn't holding out a lot of hope, especially when I realised it's a travel memoir. I will say I love Bill Bryson but I've never been compelled to read any other travel writing. A term at University of Travel Writing only convinced me of the fact that it was very difficult to write interesting and exciting travel books. You may have had the most wonderful time away in Singapore or Australia but it doesn't mean it will necessarily translate back in dreary old England. Thing is, Gilbert managed, for me, to make her writing feel much more personal than most travel writing. I have no desire to live in an ashram or study with a medicine man but she made both those experiences sound exquisite and profound. Italy I have visited and perhaps because my experience was vastly different to hers it made it very enjoyable to read. Gilbert has definitely made me see how visiting a country for a holiday and staying for as long as she did are very different and give you often completely conflicting views of a country or city. I've never really been interested in travelling before and although I haven't felt a huge peak in my interest since reading the book, it has made me understand the desire to see a country from that angle.
As always, I'm watching more films and T.V. than I really should. This week it was Driving Aphrodite, Adam, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the BBC version of The Other Boleyn Girl. Also, I'm attempting to catch up with In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne.
Driving Aphrodite was (another!) Nia Vardalos number. Not saying she's not entertaining but I do feel sorry for her that is never cast in a film that at some point doesn't refer to Greece. In this one, she is an American teacher, living in Greece who has ended up working as a tour guide. Of course, she is hapless, without a clue and hilarity ensues. Complete with a host of racial stereotypes, it ticks every box if you want to switch off your brain for an hour and a half.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a manga creation and it was only when the teenage characters referred to 'jerking off' did I realise it wasn't a Ghibli film. Apart from that, it has all the characteristics of a regulation Miyazaki masterpiece. Perhaps the animation is slightly under-par but otherwise it lived up to my expectations. I do have to admit, I watched it dubbed. I'm fine with subtitles in live action but I can't stand them in animation. And, as in the case of Spirited Away, the drawing is so beautiful I don't want to have to look at the ugly text at the bottom.
Adam, with Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, was a film I found really interesting when I first heard about it. A man living with Aspergers Syndrome (a condition I have witnessed) meets a woman who opens up the world to him and introduces him to things he has never even considered. Although not quite as good as I had imagined (to be honest, I probably expected something way too sensitive for Hollywood), it was interesting, if only to have a look at a syndrome that I've only observed in children. Hugh Dancy plays the title character very well and Adam's discomfort in social situations is brilliantly illustrated. I recommend it, especially if it's a condition you're unfamiliar with, as around 1 in 100 people in the UK have it.
BBC's version of The Other Boleyn Girl is a film I watched quite a few years ago and only recently bought. It still shocks me every time as it's really low budget for a BBC production and I hate the way the characters talk to the screen as if it's a confessional. However, it is more true to the novel than the recent Hollywood remake and that does endear me to it. It is truly disturbing in parts and although Mary Boleyn is portrayed as much more shrewd in it than in the novel, Anne's insecurities and humanity are allowed more of a forum. If you enjoyed the novel, it's an interesting adaptation to watch.
In Treatment is Gabriel Byrne's relatively new T.V. show about a psychiatrist and the relationships he builds with the patients he sees every week. A brilliant format, each episode focussing on one session and one day a week, we experience the shocks and the reveals as the character would. It is infuriating having to wait five episodes to get back to a storyline you find particularly interesting but as the series progresses, the story lines tend to merge. I'm about half way through the series at the moment but I will keep you updated! It's definitely worth a watch but make sure you've got the patience, it's 43 episodes long!
Well, that's all from me for today. What I'll try is a post like this once a week and we'll see how we go. Until next time.
So with all the best intentions in mind of beginning this blog and updating regularly, I apparently couldn't even get past the first introductory post! Unfortunately, I've begun to really love that 150 character limit on Twitter. All expectations of witty and intellectual comments are null and void, which makes it a lot easier to sit down to write anything.
Even so, I'm going to attempt this. I make no promises and apologise for any extremely short posts. At least they're posts right? Anyway, I'll crack on.
Just this week, I finally got round to reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I wasn't holding out a lot of hope, especially when I realised it's a travel memoir. I will say I love Bill Bryson but I've never been compelled to read any other travel writing. A term at University of Travel Writing only convinced me of the fact that it was very difficult to write interesting and exciting travel books. You may have had the most wonderful time away in Singapore or Australia but it doesn't mean it will necessarily translate back in dreary old England. Thing is, Gilbert managed, for me, to make her writing feel much more personal than most travel writing. I have no desire to live in an ashram or study with a medicine man but she made both those experiences sound exquisite and profound. Italy I have visited and perhaps because my experience was vastly different to hers it made it very enjoyable to read. Gilbert has definitely made me see how visiting a country for a holiday and staying for as long as she did are very different and give you often completely conflicting views of a country or city. I've never really been interested in travelling before and although I haven't felt a huge peak in my interest since reading the book, it has made me understand the desire to see a country from that angle.
As always, I'm watching more films and T.V. than I really should. This week it was Driving Aphrodite, Adam, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and the BBC version of The Other Boleyn Girl. Also, I'm attempting to catch up with In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne.
Driving Aphrodite was (another!) Nia Vardalos number. Not saying she's not entertaining but I do feel sorry for her that is never cast in a film that at some point doesn't refer to Greece. In this one, she is an American teacher, living in Greece who has ended up working as a tour guide. Of course, she is hapless, without a clue and hilarity ensues. Complete with a host of racial stereotypes, it ticks every box if you want to switch off your brain for an hour and a half.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a manga creation and it was only when the teenage characters referred to 'jerking off' did I realise it wasn't a Ghibli film. Apart from that, it has all the characteristics of a regulation Miyazaki masterpiece. Perhaps the animation is slightly under-par but otherwise it lived up to my expectations. I do have to admit, I watched it dubbed. I'm fine with subtitles in live action but I can't stand them in animation. And, as in the case of Spirited Away, the drawing is so beautiful I don't want to have to look at the ugly text at the bottom.
Adam, with Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne, was a film I found really interesting when I first heard about it. A man living with Aspergers Syndrome (a condition I have witnessed) meets a woman who opens up the world to him and introduces him to things he has never even considered. Although not quite as good as I had imagined (to be honest, I probably expected something way too sensitive for Hollywood), it was interesting, if only to have a look at a syndrome that I've only observed in children. Hugh Dancy plays the title character very well and Adam's discomfort in social situations is brilliantly illustrated. I recommend it, especially if it's a condition you're unfamiliar with, as around 1 in 100 people in the UK have it.
BBC's version of The Other Boleyn Girl is a film I watched quite a few years ago and only recently bought. It still shocks me every time as it's really low budget for a BBC production and I hate the way the characters talk to the screen as if it's a confessional. However, it is more true to the novel than the recent Hollywood remake and that does endear me to it. It is truly disturbing in parts and although Mary Boleyn is portrayed as much more shrewd in it than in the novel, Anne's insecurities and humanity are allowed more of a forum. If you enjoyed the novel, it's an interesting adaptation to watch.
In Treatment is Gabriel Byrne's relatively new T.V. show about a psychiatrist and the relationships he builds with the patients he sees every week. A brilliant format, each episode focussing on one session and one day a week, we experience the shocks and the reveals as the character would. It is infuriating having to wait five episodes to get back to a storyline you find particularly interesting but as the series progresses, the story lines tend to merge. I'm about half way through the series at the moment but I will keep you updated! It's definitely worth a watch but make sure you've got the patience, it's 43 episodes long!
Well, that's all from me for today. What I'll try is a post like this once a week and we'll see how we go. Until next time.
Monday 8 March 2010
an introduction...
I'm not the biggest blogger. I've dabbled before but it petered out after a while. There was no particular purpose to my writing before so I think this will be more focussed. I'm going to try and keep a sort of media journal, review the books I read and films I watch, and the internet sites which bring something interesting to my day. I'd like to be a small resource for anyone who finds the vast amount of stuff we can experience a little bit daunting, just as I do. With so many new books and films out every week, it becomes a challenge to decipher the appalling from the outstanding and I would quite like to be, if not a road map, at least a small signpost by which others can measure their way.
So, onwards and upwards.
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