Insurgent Film Review: A Case of Action over Substance

The Insurgent film release really snuck up on me, with life keeping me busy and university work in full swing, I probably would have completely missed out on seeing it in the cinema if it weren’t for a good friend of mine who reminded me! In a way, I kind of liked going without having been sucked into any of the hype, it meant that I could sit back, relax and enjoy without any preconceived ideas of how good it would be or how it would compare with the novel. I’m just a tad late with this review, but better late than never, eh?!

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Film Review

It’s the end of an era. *Sniff, sniff.*
I can’t believe that The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be the last new Middle Earth film I’ll ever see. Sure, I’ll rewatch them (probably numerous times) on DVD, but I’ll never feel that same rush of awe as I did seeing them the first time, nor the nervous anticipation. I felt collected when I first entered the cinema and found my seat, but half an hour in I felt a sudden, overwhelming panic about how NOT READY I was for shizz to go down, and for this to be the final part… and for all the feels about to descend…!
As the film ended and the credits began to roll to the beautiful melancholy song The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd (mirroring his previous haunting song Edge of Night from Return of the King) my friend and I, as well as the other people in the cinema, all sat in complete silence for a good 3 minutes as if suspended in the moment, awed, with our hearts just a tad broken, not quite ready to let go of the hobbits dwarves and elves that had been our companions and friends for so many years.

The Maze Runner Film Review

Having recently read and enjoyed the fast paced dystopian adventure that was The Maze Runner, I was looking forward to the release of it’s film adaptation with impatient enthusiasm (and secretly scowling jealously at the American bloggers who were able to see it earlier than the UK). So a couple of weeks ago I snoozed through my early lectures, met my friend and we raced for the train, just managing to catch it in time to allow us to make the midday showing with an overflowing bucket of popcorn. So, did The Maze Runner live up to my expectations? Hmm….well… *puffs out cheeks with air* yes, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.
Side Note: I’ve tried to write this so it will make sense to people who both have and haven’t read the book but I will, inevitably be making a few comparisons. 🙂

Mini Film Reviews: Divergent, Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Hello peeps. 🙂 This blog post is wayyyyy overdue, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to write it! Divergent, Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug were all films I was insanely excited to see when they first came out. I counted down the months, weeks and then days until their release and ran into the cinema flailing my arms with the enthusiasm only a true fangirl could muster. Afterwards, I had so many thoughts that I wanted to write about but it never happened because the films were all released during semesters when I was struggling to find blogging time. However, I don’t want to let the films pass by completely without acknowledging their existence because I was SO excited to see them, yet I don’t really feel they warrant individual blogs. So instead (taking inspiration from Emma’s lovely posts) I thought I would write some mini-reviews as a way of summarising my thoughts. 🙂

Day 4: Book Turned Into a Movie & Completely Desecrated.

When I saw this on the challenge I didn’t even have to think about the answer. One book to film adaption specifically popped straight into the forefront of my mind. When I think back on all the adaptations I’ve nervously committed to seeing over the years, this is the one I was most disappointed by; a book they totally wrecked. I remembered bobbing up and down at the young age of 12 along with several of my relatives also of a similar age. We had all read and loved the book and were so excited to see it transferred to the big screen.

So, does anyone remember this atrocity?

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Film Review

Ohhh my freaking god. What did I just witness? *cue crazy eyed look*
As a person with a love hate relationship with The Twilight Saga, I was pleasantly surprised by how good Breaking Dawn Part 1 was. Unfortunately this time I was pleasantly horrified, and well….a little bored to be honest.
Still, it’s weird to think that this was REALLY the last film in the series. As one of my friends put it ‘Wow, when we walk out of this cinema Twilight is over, our teenage fangirling years are over’.
There are a lot of great memories I have in relation to Twilight. Friendships formed, endless laughs and inside jokes, and a lot of traditions, but I am definitely ready to move on from it.

Plot
So we left the last film with Bella (Kristen Stewart) giving birth and being turned in to a vampire. Shock! Horror! What a cliffhanger! (Actually sarcasm aside I have to give it to them, it was good.)
We begin part 2 with Bella reveling in her pale immortal awesomeness and fake eyelashes. Edward (Robert Pattinson) gets super excited that they’re the same temperature now, and they head out for Bella’s first hunt. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Film Review

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! It’s here! It’s here! EVERYBODY CELEBRATE. The Hobbit is finally out in cinemas!!
Ahem. I’m calm, I’m calm.
BUT SERIOUSLY!!! 😀
Sorry.

I have been waiting impatiently for this film… well, pretty much since I first watched The Lord of the Rings trilogy and fell hopelessly in love with it, but I thought it would never happen. Then, when I heard the news that The Hobbit was going to be made I could barely contain my excitement. After, as if fate was somehow in my favour, my dream film suddenly turned into three films! Curse or blessing? I wasn’t sure, but since seeing the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I am almost certain that Peter Jackson made the right decision.

I’m utterly horrified by the idea that some people out there might not know the plot, but just in case…

The Plot
‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…’
Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is a Baggins, and Baggins’ are respectable Hobbits; they never do anything unexpected or go on any adventures. That is, until one fine day Gandalf the wizard (Ian McKellen) shows up with an unusual proposal. To Bilbo’s dismay a party of 13 dwarves ransack his home, getting mud on the carpet, eating everything in his parlour and drinking all his mead. They talk of dragons, stolen treasure and a kingdom lost; Lonely Mountain.
It just so happens that they need a burglar, one agile and small enough to sneak past the dragon Smaug to reclaim their home.
Three guesses who.
Bilbo, Gandalf and the thirteen dwarves must embark on the journey of a lifetime across Middle-earth, but will they ever return?

The Verdict

The Hobbit News: Film to be Split into Three not Two!!!

This is just a quick post, but an important one nonetheless. I have been keeping a close eye on all things Hobbit for some time. So I got extremely excited a couple of days ago when I received a Tweet through my phone.

I held my breath. No! Could it really be?! I followed the link (which you can read here if you wish) but to summarize it in short; Peter Jackson and several others got the chance to watch back a lot of the footage and realized that they potentially had enough material to extend it into three films instead of the expected two fans have been looking forward to. By doing this they might also be able to include extra’s from the Lord of the Rings appendixes padding out our favourite world into even more rich detail. However, they still needed the go ahead from actors, studio’s etc.

Well, today I got this through my phone:

And this statement was released on the film’s Facebook page:

Peter Jackson:
“It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made.

Upcoming Book to Film Adaptions – Who’s excited? I am!

There has never been a more exciting time to be a bookworm.

Films and books have always had a close relationship, and in the last decade they have grown even closer. I’m sure the popularity of films like Harry Potter and Twilight have contributed to this. It seems as if the film industry has finally cottoned on to the fact that book adaptions are gold dust.

Popular books have enormous fan bases from various ages, and if there’s one thing us bookworms are known for, it’s our dedication.

While book to film adaptions for some can be cause for great excitement and celebration, for others it can be looked on with terror as we contemplate all the horrible ways in which they could ruin our favourite book. I’m personally one of those people who gets excited about adaptions, even though I know sometimes they can desecrate something I love dearly, I choose to remain optimistic. 🙂

Over the pass couple of months I have been noticing so many upcoming book to film adaptions that I decided I needed to post about them. A bibliophile cannot ignore these things! Below I’ve listed all the adaptions I have found so far, accompanied by a trailer, poster, or a bit of information if none of the former are available.

Snow White and the Huntsman Film Review 5/5

One of my favourite aspects of going to the cinema is seeing the adverts. Many people find this strange; but I love the build up, the anticipation. As you sit there shuffling in your seat, you begin to wonder with a twinge of nervousness if the film will be any good. I’m always the one saying ‘hurry up we’ll miss the start’ people reply ‘it’s alright, we’ll only miss the adverts’ to which I whine ‘but I LIKE the adverts!’
When I went to see The Hunger Games with my friends we got there early so we saw every advert. And amongst the mix of Orange Network, Haribo and War Horse was a theatrical trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman which immediately caught my attention. Well that advert stuck with me, and here we are three months later. See; cinema adverts RULE 😉

The Plot
Once upon a time, in the middle of winter there was a Queen walking in the castle gardens. While admiring a rose she pricked her finger and three drops of blood fell on the snow. The red looked so beautiful on the white that she thought to herself:
If only I had a child with skin as white as snow.
Lips red as blood.
And hair black as ebony.
– The Brothers Grimm
When Snow White’s (Kristen Stewart) mother passes away the kingdom mourns in sorrow. But when King Magnus saves a beautiful woman named Ravenna (Charlize Theron) from a dark army he falls in love once again, and decides to marry. The kingdom rejoices in celebration of his happiness. However all is not well,

The Hunger Games Film Review 4/5

Yesterday I painstakingly counted down the hours, the minutes and then excitedly, the seconds, until entering the cinema for the advanced screening of The Hunger Games. You could feel the excitement, the tangible buzz of everyone in the cinema. Friends whispered enthusiastically to one another, others shuffled impatiently in their seats, and when the lights finally dimmed clapping and cheering ensued, but when the first set of words were flashed up on the screen, everyone became entirely silent, utterly focused.

This was the moment we had all been waiting for.

A glimpse of the girl on fire.

Calling all Edgar Allan Poe fans: The Raven adapted for the Big Screen!

Like most new film releases I mention, I’m never sure whether I somehow missed the original wave of knowledge, or if I’m about to bestow some amazing kick ass info on you guys that will have you squealing in excitement, or sighing in exasperation. But either way, it was only yesterday I discovered that there was a film to be released called The Raven based on Edgar Allan Poe’s work starring John Cusack.

My first reaction was huh? How can they possibly come up with a two hour film based on a poem? I was immediately inspired to do some digging and discovered that

Stephenie Meyer’s The Host to be adapted for the big screen?!?

Is anyone else internally cringing?

I don’t really know if this is common knowledge. Maybe I’m just out of the loop but I hadn’t heard anything about this until 2 minutes ago browsing the Culture section on in The Guardian newspaper. For those of you who don’t know Stephenie Meyer’s The Host was released early 2008. A science fiction romance novel about parasites, I guess you would call them, that invade the body and take over the human race.
Feel free to take a look at the blurb:

A Quick Update: Reviews, Life, and Release of The Hobbit Trailer!

Hi guys, as some of you may have noticed, there’re been a distinct lack of book reviews on my blog of late, and I feel the need to explain why. I have exams and also two coursework deadlines this January, all of which will go towards my final grades and determine whether I get into University. Stressful stuff! Therefore I have to spend the majority of my time left of December, and also January, with my head down studying. The direct result of this unfortunately, is that I’ve had to restrict my reading habits.

Season of the Witch Film Review

Every year when the winter rolls around, my family branches out and adds Sky Movies  to our TV package. Guess what that means? More movie reviews! (Hopefully that’s a good thing?) One of the premier films this week is Season of the Witch, therefore this will be the film I’m reviewing for you lovely people. 🙂

The Plot
This film is set in the 14th century. It starts off by following two soldiers fighting in the crusades in ‘the name of God’. However during one of the battles Behmen (Nicholas Cage) accidentally kills an innocent woman and sees many other innocent people massacred. This makes him and his fellow soldier Felson (Ron Perlmen) think that the battles there engaging in are wrong, and that surely God can’t want the slaughter of so many people. On realizing this, they desert the army and return to Germany. However when they reach their destination they are given the task of transporting a girl who has been declared a witch, and is being blamed for causing the plague spreading across the land.