Bridget Jones's Diary book vs film

Alcohol units - 0 (it's Monday!), cigarettes - 0, calories - no idea, years it took me to read Helen Fielding's hilarious Bridget Jones's Diary - far too many!

Every now and then I do things backwards and see the film before reading the book. In the case of delving into Bridget Jones's Diary, I watched the film, the sequel and the entire 90s series of Pride and Prejudice over and over long before finally purchasing the book and seeing what all the fuss was about.

From the opening page, Bridget Jones is a brilliantly 'real' character unlike any I had ever read and the result is a book which is easy, fun and adorable to read. Unlike recent first person stories which have infuriating inner monologues, Bridget is so hilarious and so honest that even when she is moping you want to hug not hit her as she dwells on issues with family, work and of course - her love life.
 
What a marvellous creation!

For me, the book is an incredibly witty insight into the pressures of life in your thirties and being single - and I cannot figure out why it took me so many years to read the thing! Except perhaps that I needed to be in my thirties to fully appreciate it. 

The only let down in the book was that her happy ending involved a guy which - after a book so consumed with trying to be happy all on your own - seemed a little ridiculous. Though I hear the sequel deals with that 'happy ending' rather well...

The film, on the other hand, is a great, silly and enjoyable film which places much more emphasis on the comedic battle between Daniel and Mark - who are both vying for her attention - than the book does. It doesn't forget its star, however, and does a brilliant job of portraying an erratic, on-edge and entirely loveable Bridget Jones. 

Played by Renée Zellweger, who famously had to gain weight for the part, the film follows her ups and downs with great fun and sincerity. The mad and totally loyal friends are always on hand, as are the interfering mother and doting father. The mad boss, the embarrasment, the constant attention paid to dieting and alcohol consumption is also relentless.

Though Mark does not appear quite so often in the novel, I don't think anyone could fault the inclusion of Colin Firth and Hugh Grant and that infamous fight sequence. The only part I take issue with is why they altered Bridget's mother storyline which was far more interesting in the novel - unless they had always planned on taking a certain Mark element and plonking it in the middle of the film sequel.

Book - 4/5

Film - 3/5

Austenland: Book vs Film Club

Shannon Hale’s 'Austenland' is about one woman’s obsession with Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and – to be precise – Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr Darcy.

This short and easy-to-read novel is an absolute delight to read (and easy to carry on the commute!). The characters are hilarious, especially Jane herself, and the comedy in throwing a modern day American woman into an Austenesque retreat in the English countryside is non-stop. Jane is endearing, despite her ridiculously outdated ideas of love and romance, and it’s easy to warm to her.

It really is the perfect, enjoyable read for any Austen fan – especially anyone who fell in love with Firth's Mr Darcy. Your face will ache from smiling.

The film adaptation takes a much more slapstick approach to the story and takes the whole setting to more theatrical depths, with the emphasis more on gags than witty banter. 

It does provide plenty of laughs but the Austenland story is very specific in its appeal. If you love Austen and are in the mood for something silly it might just work for you. It is, though, incredibly indulgent and the humour (especially in the film) is very tongue in cheek – so much so that many may find it more patronising and insulting than clever and witty. It is a story designed to be taken as it was intended: silly escapist fun. 

Ultimately, as the subject of the book vs film club, there were mixed – and extreme – reactions to Austenland in both formats but the difference in opinion certainly made for a more fun discussion than Gatsby, which everyone seemed in agreement over.

Film - 3/5
Book - 4/5

Breaking Dawn: Book vs Film

*Warning: contains some spoilers* 

With Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer brought her Twilight series to a close. The book followed Bella Swan as she marries the love of her life, Edward Cullen, and becomes both a vampire and a mother. With this book, the series took a bizarre turn from the teen angst that had riddled the pages of the earlier three and saw Bella mature into an impressive woman thanks to her new vampiric status. It also offered a shift of perspective for a while as Jacob took centre stage with his wolfpack.

For its adaptation, the book was divided into two films - the first following Bella as she prepared to marry Edward, went on her honeymoon and discovered she was pregnant with his child and the second as she had given birth to their half-vampire, half-human baby and was enjoying life as a newborn vampire herself.  Director Bill Condon was on hand for both parts meaning that the feel and flow of the pair worked well together.

Part One was all about the romance. There was a stunning outdoors wedding, a honeymoon on their very own island and the opportunity to consumate their new marriage. Bella then gets protective over her unborn child that is - quite literally - sucking the life out of her forcing Edward to turn her before she dies.

Though Part Two begins with a happy Bella (Kristen Stewart) revelling in her new life, the drama begins when Alice sees that the Volturi vampires think their daughter Renesmee is an immortal and are coming to kill her. The most important law of the vampire world is that biting a child is forbidden and the Volturi believe the Cullens have broken this law and must stop them. In order to prove that Renesmee was born, not bitten, Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Carlisle travel the world and enlist all the friends they can find to stand with them against the Volturi. As a result, a whole host of new vampires arrive in the town of Forks from across the globe and Jacob, who has imprinted on baby Renesmee so is forever with them all, finds himself outnumbered by red eyes. 

In the film, Stewart took to the vampiric Bella superbly, showing just how talented an actress she really is when given the opportunity to (pardon the reference) shine. Pattinson is able to relax a little here too which makes for a much more amusing Edward than audiences have seen previously. He is no longer living in fear of hurting the woman he loves. He now realises that it is her turn not to hurt him (as she is stronger than him!) and relishes watching his wife in action.

Whereas fans of the series had spent all their time thus far observing the world of the vampires from the outside, Breaking Dawn Part Two offers the chance to experience it from the inside. It is a far more adult book than the earlier three, with marriage, pregnancy, parenthood and lots of vampire sex to boot and Condon handles this well, keeping the theme of young love and Bella and Edward's plans of 'forever' at the forefront while allowing his stars to grow up and develop.

While the book of Breaking Dawn went off on such a random tangent that many fans of the series may have found it jarring and peculiar, the final film managed to add the drama and action seriously lacking in the book - and, more importantly, made it credible. It wasn't action for action's sake and in creating a far more spectacular ending to the film franchise, the film managed to surpass the book. What the book lacked in tension, loss and drama, the film more than made up for with some impressive fight sequences and cinematic blood on snow imagery.

After the release of the first Twilight book, I don't think anyone could have guessed that Bella would become a vampire, a mother and a wife - not even Stephenie Meyer herself. Though no doubt many fans did enjoy the 'happy ending' of it all, this twi-hard found it massively anti-climactic and all too neat and tidy. The film, however, clarified the book's ending with all the tense action necessary to give the series a fitting end.

Book - 3 FOBLES
Film (Part One) - 3 FOBLES
Film (Part Two) - 4 FOBLES

DVD Review - Water for Elephants

Based on the book by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is the story of Jacob Jankowski who as an old man is recounting the tale of when he first joined the circus as a young man, during the Great Depression of 1930s America. Only days away from finishing his degree and becoming a certified vet, Jacob learns that his parents have been killed in a car accident. He leaves home and wanders aimlessly, unsure what to do - until he sees a train approaching and decides to jump on board, only to discover he has just boarded a circus train - the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth.

Directed by Francis Lawrence (I am Legend), the film stars Hal Holbrook (Wall Street, The Firm) as old Jacob, Robert Pattinson as young Jacob, Reece Witherspoon as Marlena and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) as Marlena's husband and Circus boss August.

Marlena is the star attraction and when August decides to keep Jacob on as the circus vet, he doesn't like that his wife is getting close to him. A violent man, with people and the animals, people know better than to cross him.

Jacob falls for Marlena and befriends the old drunk Camel (a man not an animal) and dwarf Walter. But he has very little (if any) chemistry with any of them. It is only when the real star arrives that the actors begin to shine. Rosie the elephant (real name Tai) is stunning and the greatest actress of the film. She seems to bring out the best in the cast and when they are with her, they are brilliant. R-Pattz flirting with Rosie is hilarious and so cute and watching Reece Witherspoon bravely climb the ladder up to sit on her shows just how strong a character Marlena is.

The relationship between Marlena and Jacob does not strike me (or many others as I have now discovered) as a passionate love affair but more a crush (on Jacob's part) and a way out (for Marlena). Marlena was found abandoned as a baby and married more for necessity than love. Now stuck in an abusive relationship, she sees Jacob as a chance to escape. Or that's how it appeared.

In spite of this though, there are brilliant touches of the time, from clothing and hairstyles to the secret bars of the prohibition era and the film is visually so beautiful you feel as though you can almost touch it. This, mixed in with the breath-taking Rosie makes for a perfectly watchable film. Plus, Hal Holbrook telling the story is so engrossing you can't help but stick around and hear what he had to say.

I'm afraid I haven't read the book - so can't compare but please do comment away as to whether the adaptation was any good...

3/5 FOBLES

DVD review - The Way Back

My latest DVD rental sees a long line of incredible actors break out of a war prison and walk home... not that great you might think until you realise they will have to walk for weeks before reaching civilisation and through uninhabitable lands of snow, wind and desert. Oh and they're low on food and water. The film, inspired supposedly by a true story, stars Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Mark Strong and Saoirse Ronan and sees them on an epic walk for survival.

Janusz (Sturgess) has just arrived at the Siberian gulag after being falsely accused of being a spy. His wife has been tortured into confessing all and he knows only he can forgive her. So, not long after he arrives he manages to enlist a few people to help him escape and join him on the long walk back.

Cinematically, the film is staggering as they walk through blizzards, forests, lakes, deserts and everything in between. The acting is great, if a little bizarre with all the eastern European accents (except for Ed Harris - who I envisage rather comically just flat-out refusing to do any accent but his own). It's a long arduous film, to reflect their journey as the group gets smaller and smaller.

I imagine this film would have been much more epic on the big screen, as the shots of landscapes are simply breath-taking (akin to those of Lord of the Rings though far more harsh than picturesque).

The real let-down is the final scene which is so overly sentimental it just didn't fit with the rest of the film. Other than that, worth a watch if you like the slightly depressing.

3/5 FOBLES

PS I Love You: Book vs Film

I saw the film a while ago and was aware of one massive thing that had been altered in the book to film conversion - the location. I was told that the book is set in Ireland and yet the film has been relocated over the ocean to New York. What I didn't realise is that this is not the only thing that has been altered.

PS I Love You was Cecelia Ahern's debut book and became a bestseller pretty quickly. The plot revolves around Holly, who has been widowed at the tender age of 30 and without husband Gerry is lost and doesn't know how to move on. Then she learns that while Gerry lay dying, he thought to write her notes - one for every month for the rest of the year - and each note is going to guide her forward.

This concept is what was taken over to the film and all the incidentals around that seem to have been lost. Holly and Gerry remain the same. Gerry, played by Scotsman Gerard Butler, is Irish (terrible accent though sorry Gez!) and Holly, played by Hilary Swank, has two best friends called Sharon (Gina Gershon) and Denise (Lisa Kudrow). Her cooky younger sister Ciara and mum are in it too and there is a barman called Daniel... and that's it.

For the film adaption, characters were cut or merged into new people and large chunks of the plot are completely altered or created from scratch. Holly's poor dad and THREE brothers are all ditched, possibly in an attempt to make the film more girly. They play a massive part in the book as Holly is a family girl and has them around her often, even against her wishes! In the film, she sees her mum more out of obligation than anything.

The little nuances of the book are still there - the bedside lamp that forces them to get out of bed on a cold night and walk back in pitch black, the passionate rows, the new job tradition that only they know about and the idea that this is a relationship so tightly wound that he has been her reason for existing for so long and now she doesn't know how to be without him.

The book examines Holly's constant battle with depression, loneliness and the uphill battle to keep up appearances and not be a total downer with her friends as their lives just seem to get better and better. The film deals with a more external battle and the moments where Holly gets really overwhelmed and emotional are much fewer and far between, meaning that they have more effect than in the book where she seems to be forever crying or worrying or over-thinking something.

This is one of the rare book to film conversions where I would say the two have very little to do with each other and should not be looked at as a comparison. Instead they should be viewed as two completely different mediums that took an original concept and went with it. The original concept remains in tact - the letters from a lost love guiding you through the haze of the aftermath of their death - but the incidentals, the concurrent storylines, even the characters are largely altered and are so far in many cases from the original they don't even warrant a comparison. The supporting cast in the film are a mixed bag but all interesting enough with the likes of Kudrow, Gershon, Kathy Bates, Harry Connick Jnr, James Marsters and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Much like One Day, the book was well written and interesting - but dragged on for too long. The film was trimmed and the result was a punchier, easier to digest, more compact version of the same topic. The idea is a brilliant one but even brilliant ideas can be laboured.

So, bizarrely - even though the film made a God-awful attempt at converting the book onto the big screen, I preferred it to the book. It lacked the longevity which made the book drag and achieved more of a balance between heartbreak and laughter.

Book - 3/5 FOBLES
Film - 3.5/5 FOBLES

One Day: Book vs. Film

One Day is the story of Emma and Dexter (Em and Dex), who meet on their final night at university. The book spans their interwoven lives for the next twenty years showing the highs and lows, loves and heartbreaks. The basic concept is that we see a day every year over twenty years to see how their lives develop.

I have made no secret of how underwhelmed I was by the book version of One Day. The characters are not very likeable and I found the plot overly depressing. But there is no question that it was written by a highly skilled author and I can see why so many people loved it. For the full review see Novelicious.

Directed by An Education Director Lone Scherfig, the film version of One Day has received lots of criticism, largely for two reasons. Firstly, the book has a massive legion of devoted fans who dubbed the book life-changing and were never going to be happy with it because it could never do it justice. Secondly, Anne Hathaway.

I must say, normally I am a massive fan of Anne Hathaway. She does silly and cute very well (Princess Diaries), she can sing (check her out with Hugh Jackman on the Oscars!), and is actually very funny and seems nice when interviewed. The funny thing is, her accent is actually quite good. The weirdness of it seems to be why she only has a Yorkshire accent every one in five sentences. She switches between London and Yorkshire like Ross switches between American and British in THAT episode of Friends. She's insisted that the accent was meant to soften when she lived in London but it doesn't. It jumps between the two regardless of what year we're in. She also is just too damn hot to play Emma. Emma is not meant to be ugly - she is meant to be plain. For the love of all that is filmic - please realise film-makers that putting frizzy hair and glasses on a lady does not a minger make! (I take this quite personally as a glasses wearer myself!) There are many many female leads that could have done Emma with more subtlety and in casting her, they have made their biggest error. Though perhaps they will still make so much money from it, the film-makers won't really mind.

Jim Sturgess, on the other hand, was INCREDIBLE! His portrayal of Dexter as he goes through fame, popularity, lots and lots of women and the almost inevitable descent into darkness is gripping. Unlike the book version of Dexter, I actually felt invested in him as a character. When he was sad, I wanted to hug him and when he was being a tool, I wanted to smack him. When I read the book I just wanted Emma to wise up and leave him be.

There was also some great casting in the form of Patricia Clarkson as Dexter's mother Alison, who pulls off all the elements to the character beautifully, Rafe Spall as the horrifically adorable Ian and a great team of supporting cast in the form or Jodie Whittaker, Romola Garai and Georgia King.

David Nicholls, the author of the book, also wrote the screenplay and it’s a true testament to him that he has managed to do a pretty good job. Book to film conversions are always going to be difficult but he has managed to keep the really important parts as they should be and just crop and tighten the rest. Little bits are changed but largely it is the setting that is altered. They are on a roof when they should be in a maze or in France when it should be Italy. But the conversations remain the same, the important facts are not altered. There are also little hints of a book storyline for book fans like when Dex walks out for his live show with a bottle of water. Quite a few story lines are dropped entirely so hardcore book fans will, no doubt, be upset by this. You will be relieved to hear, though, that they do not do a My Sister's Keeper and DESTROY the ending. *Phew!*

http://jimsturgessonline.com/?p=4693

All in all, I really enjoyed it! In trimming the fat - so to speak - of the plot, the characters become much more likeable. I found myself actually caring what happened to them both. You can't get too bogged down in the more depressing times because it jumps to the next year so soon that you aren't given the opportunity to really wallow.
If you loved the book, I’d wait a while and watch it on DVD. Nothing major has been altered but there are little things that will bug you. I think the dates have been messed about with a little, one year is completely ignored and the accent – oh that accent – will drive you mad.

If though, like me, you don’t really think the book was all that impressive then check out the film. It's a suitably dark look at the realities of romance and might just be the perfect date film. It's got the grittiness and honesty of a Mike Leigh film but with a hint of Hollywood glamour.

3/5 FOBLES

DVD Review: Burlesque

Some films give you exactly what you expect and you can't fault them for doing just what they set out to do. Burlesque is not about the acting - luckily, because bless Christina for trying - and try she does - she can't act. (One scene, where she is meant to be crying and invoking a teary reaction just left me blank). She isn't awful though, it's totally watchable and she gave it a good bash. Luckily for her, her supporting cast can. McSteamy is on top sleazy form, Cher is brilliant as always, Stanley Tucci plays camp so well you just want to squish his cheeks and Cam Gigandet plays a human with great conviction :) There's even a little cameo from Glee star Dianna Agron.

The plot is weak - young girl moves to LA to make it big - but so were so many films before it. The soundtrack is what you watch for. The belting numbers where Christina gets to do what she does best, the women is skimpy outfits miming along to the greats and a selection of Cher numbers to show the youngens just how it should be done.

It's silly and fun and good for a laugh when you want something that isn't too taxing.

3/5 FOBLES xx

Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses is the story of three guys who are so unhappy with their bosses, and don't feel like they can quit their jobs, that they decide to off them. What they don't realise is that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans and as they try to come up with the best way to achieve their goal, their plans go slightly awry. 

The three guys are not the important part of this film though - it is the bosses who steal the show. Jennifer Aniston plays Julia, the sex crazed man-eater, Kevin Spacey plays Dave Harken, the psycho and Colin Farrell (not remotely attractive thanks to some hair and make-up magic!) plays Bobby, the coke-head "tool". Harken clearly is slightly unhinged, Julia will get her man even if she has to resort to blackmail and when Bobby tells his guy to "trim the fat" he literally means fire the fat people.


With brilliant and all-too-minor cameos from Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx, the men's attempts to rid themselves of these evil bosses go from bad to worse in what is a surprising and hilarious plot. I had absolutely no clue what was going to happen in the next scene, let alone the end of the film.  The whole cinema was laughing out loud (often embarrassingly so).

Sadly, it's a little too like The Hangover which makes it look like its not as cool cousin but still very worth a watch.

Enjoy xxx

3/5 FOBLES

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

The plot makes absolutely no sense, the film goes on for 3 hours, Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley (AKA Megan Fox Part Deux) cannot act (but damn can she pout and strut). Yes you've guessed it folks - I loved it! Well come on I wasn't exactly expecting witty dialogue and Oscar winning performances. The only times I got even close to emotional was when Bumblebee was in danger coz let's face it - he's the best character in the whole Transformers saga.

I'd try to explain the plot but believe me there's very little point. Some of our favourite humans and transformers are back (basically everyone BUT Megan Fox) for more action but this time they are joined by some new faces... the always brilliant Frances McDormand is on top form as always and McDreamy himself Patrick Dempsey playing, well let's face it - a bit of a doosh! Who knew? (Please ladies, you still would!)

Oh and if Sam's mum and dad and their crazy, massive beast of an RV aren't comedy value enough for you then at least you have RHW's perfectly clean white jacket that seems to repel dirt throughout the battle sequences. Come on guys, even Megan Fox got dirty. Yeah, so dirty is Megan that friends of mine came up with a dirtier version to the classic "That's what she said" game to "That's what Megan Fox said". I doubt RHW has even heard of it. Not only does the jacket remain perfectly white and crisp - even after she's thrown around a collapsing building like a barbie doll -  but her face and hair and that perfectly glossed mouth remain ready for a poolside photoshoot at a moment's notice. Though many have dubbed her as being a Megan Fox clone, after a while we thought perhaps it was Zoolander she modelled her facial expressions on...

Picture Courtesy of Collider

"Why do the decepticons always get the good shit" Tyrese Gibson yells as a hole digging mammoth of a Decepticon is tunneling its way through their building - well they dont have the washing detergent RHW uses so they dont have everything!
  
While the effects used to create the transforming Autobots and Decepticons were as amazing as always, bizarrely the opening section of the film fell flat as it used fancy effects to have fictional conversations with now deceased presidents. Come on now - if Forrest Gump can do it, it shouldn't be that hard!

Definitely one to add to the so bad they're actually quite good pile...

3/5 FOBLES it may be bad but it does what it sets out to do so damn well :)

Enjoy! xxx (if you like that sort of thing)

X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class had all the makings of another brilliant Marvel film. It had the effects, it had the actors and it had the backstories to many well-known X-men veterans (not just Magneto and Professor X but also Hank McCoy and Mystique). And yet somehow it managed to fall flat. I didn't dislike it but I didn't love it. It wasted what it had bizarrely with too much plot. If it was the back story it might have worked but it played the leads against a wartime backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Holocaust, expanding on Erik (Magneto's) discovery of his skills just as his parents are taken away from him at a concentration camp.

Some amazing actors end up looking really strange. Kevin Bacon, who plays the evil Shaw, doctor at the concentration camps turned destroyer of the world, speaks so many languages it sounds odd and he just didn't work as a comic book bad guy. His right hand woman, Emma Frost (played by January Jones) looked like an extra from the Avengers in her all white leather get up and just didn't have the charisma that Mystique manages to pull off in the trilogy films in a similar role.

The saving grace though is the two leads. James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr are mindblowing. They play the roles with depth and subtlety which many actors would have struggled with and their developing friendship is fascinating to watch. It's also lots of fun for X-Men fans to see a young Charles Xavier chatting up young college students with his knowledge of evolution and being rather protective over his luscious locks. It's compelling viewing seeing a young Erik battle with the completely understandable rage that has been festering in him since Shaw killed his parents and tortured him into developing his 'gift'. It explores the two characters opposite approaches to the humans, with one trying to appease and play nice and wait for them to come around and the other sick of waiting and already convinced they are the enemy.

For fans of the other films, there is a brilliant cameo that had me laughing and lots of in-jokes (namely about Charles' hair) but it does still make sense to those who haven't see any so don't worry if you're not all clued up.

The action sequences are impressive but for this film buff there was just too much plot, too much politics and not enough action. Still worth a watch.

3 out of 5 FOBLES.

LE xx

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

After the success of the fantastically original and oh so dark and moving Time Travellers Wife, excited readers everywhere awaited the follow up book from author Audrey Niffenegger. Her Fearful Symmetry promised to be a very different sort of book but with the writing style of an incredibly talented author.

The plot centres around Highgate Cemetery, which incidentally becomes a character in itself, and the lives of people nearby. Elspeth leaves her flat to the twin nieces, 21 year old Americans who she has never met since she hasn't spoken to their mother, her own twin sister, for years. Their arrival brings surprises and new relationships and causes friction between the twins as one struggles to break free of the other.

I had been told to keep reading which got me through the first few chapters which are slow and dull even though they detail the death of Elspeth and the immediate effects on her lover Robert, her friends and her sister Edie miles away in the US. Once the twins arrive, well into the first part of the book, the pace really picks up and the characters develop a depth they hadn't yet managed. I found the upstairs neighbour with OCD completely fascinating as he struggles to function, unable to leave the security of his own four walls and unable to deal with the solitude after his wife leaves him. Robert is also fascinating as he avoids meeting the twins for weeks, unable to face them and deal with the loss of his love.

But there is a reason why Elspeth and her sister haven't spoken in years and the twins are keen to find out more about their aunt and what happened all those years ago. They soon meet and then the book really gets going. The relationship between the twins Julia and Valentina is subtle and clever. One is clearly the more dominating of the two and reluctant to do anything without her sister by her side while the quieter more subdued, more sickly Valentina is struggling to find her own way in the world. And then things start happening in the flat and they realise they are not the only two living there. As the reader you are also exposed to the afterlife of Elspeth as she learns to adapt to her new ghostly form and attempts to leave the flat and communicate with her nieces.

Then, the book gets really weird. I can't really explain how without giving the plot away but it takes a little gentle supernatural tenderness and sensitivity and goes on a total tangent that surpasses belief. And the tangent didn't strike me as new and unique, more weird and baffling. The ending just left me wondering what the hell just happened.

Bizarrely I don't feel like I've been cheated in reading this, no matter how wrong I found the end section. It is so beautifully written you forgive Niffenegger for the strangeness of it all. Though it is written in "parts" and therefore shifts quite abruptly between sections, it feels a little like three totally different books chopped out and moulded together as one. It isn't nearly as intoxicating as Time Travellers Wife but worth a read if you can do so without over-analysing it.  If you can detach a little more from it and just read it for reading's sake then you might enjoy it. If, on the other hand, you are analytical by nature, this book will drive you crazy so probably best to leave it alone.

3 out of 5 FOBLES

LE xxx

The Last Juror by John Grisham

I may be a little late to the game but this is the first Grisham I have read and I'm in two minds about it. On the one hand, for me personally it just isn't dramatic enough. I like my thrillers to be action packed, gripping and thrilling rides that leave you exhausted when you're done. And this isn't that. It is, however, a brilliantly written account of what happens when a horrific murder happens in a small town.

The young Willy Traynor ends up getting more than he bargained for when he buys a county newspaper not long before the brutal rape and murder of one of its citizens. His job as editor/reporter then takes on a whole new level of involvement as he dares to report the crime in all its horrifying detail. And this is no ordinary murder - as the culprit is part of an untouchable family who have owned government and police officials for generations. So in a time where nobody will stand against the family, Traynor must. And when the jury find him guilty, he threatens in open court to get each of them.

So when years later he manages to get paroled and is back on the streets, the jury members start to fear for their lives... and with just cause.

Grisham writes brilliantly, there is no denying it. His style is so polished and eloquent that it feels as though each word is cleverly placed within each sentence. The characters are all flawed and interesting in their own way and the way he uses legalities and race/culture clashes to spice up the relationships is done with simple elegance. He doesn't need to be in your face because his approach is much more subtle than that.

The inclusion of Miss Callie and her entire family is a stroke of genius that gives the book, and its protagonist, the depth that it needed. The white Traynor decides to do an in depth piece on Miss Callie and her entire family of PHD children - a rarety as Miss Callie and her children are black and this book is set in 1970s America where black children were not allowed to go to the better schools.  As his relationship with her and her family deepens over the years, you see the way each grows by knowing the other and it's endearing while being very brave and crossing colour lines when nobody else did so.

Personally, I prefer a bit more action than this in my thriller books - there are just too many lulls for my taste. Though when he does write them, they blew me away (and some of the characters too!) The way Americans just walk around with a gun is still unsettling for this Brit but obviously standard to them. This is not lost in translation as our main character is an out-of-towner with no experience with a firearm (something which his new friends find bizarre and feel the need to remedy).

All in all, Grisham is a talented writer and I can clearly see why he has published so many books, and why so many (The Firm, The Pelican Brief) have been made into films.  They are the perfect combination of character, drama and small town America to keep the reader interested all the way to the end - which in this case went in a direction I had not seen coming!

3 out of 5 FOBLES

Enjoy!

LE xxx

Let Me In (American remake)

Guy falls for the new girl next door only to discover that she is a vampire. Just like Twilight right? WRONG! This is so creepy with a very clever plot and brilliant young actors. Though some vampire clichés are kept (sunlight kills them, they need to be invited in to enter a home - hence the title, they need blood to live) new ground is covered in this original twist on a vampiric love story.
I say original but of course this is the American remake so that's not technically true!

Like Battle Royale, it's the young stars who steal the show because they act with such subtlety and childlike innocence and simplicity. Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen and Chloe Moretz as Abby are intoxicating in their transitions from cute and adorable into just plain terrifying and seeing Owen suffer at the hands of the brutal school bullies is horrifying as his fall from innocence. Abby is not the moral vampire we have seen in so many books and films of late thanks to the Twilight effect but her fondness for Owen is done so sweetly, you cannot doubt its sincerety. This polar opposite makes for fascinating viewing and the ending is clever and surprising. 

3 out of 5 FOBLES - an adorable and unlikely blood bath of a love story

Enjoy!

LE xx

April DVDs: Jumper, The Lovely Bones

Jumper
If you can get over Hayden Christensen's Keanu Reeves school of acting, then this is a totally watchable film. The landscape shots are incredible from the top of the Sphinx to the bottom of the Colloseum and the effects when they jump are really impressive. Jamie Bell is really good, though I still can't figure out where he was meant to be from (accents may vary) and the lost little neglected boy that Haydn does so well actually works quite well. The jumping drive through Japan is on a par with other really impressive car chases. Samuel L Jackson's hair is just terrifying and the normally brilliant Diane Lane is just as deadpan as the rest.

Round the world in an hour and a half with a freaky looking Sam Jackson, Anakin Skywalker, Summer and Billy Elliott :) Silly, impressive and a great piece of mindless film making.

3 out of 5 FOBLES

The Lovely Bones

This is the story of Susie Salmon (like the fish) who is murdered at the age of 14 and then watches over her family as they try to cope with their loss.

Now this is not quite as bad as the Time Travellers Wife conversion from book to film, which conveniently removed all the brilliant but dark moments which made the book so compelling, and it at least didn't pull a My Sister's Keeper and change the ending - but it doesn't do the book justice, mainly due to its 12A rating. I happily (and unhappily) watched it though so wouldn't say it was a bad film at all. The plot of the book is a dark one and in making it 12A, it lost a lot of its darkness (Susie's murder is entirely cut and left to your imagination while the book graphically details it). There is also no explanation of how much time actually passes which confuses matters somewhat when characters suddenly have new hair cuts or new lives.

However, what the film manages to do well is the dreamlike land Susie finds herself in and the sweet, naive way she sees the world. The large dollops of cinematic cheese are forgiven because that is how she sees the world. The way the family crumbles is honest and watching Mark Wahlberg crumble under his love for his daughter is heartbreaking. The fantastic character of Grandma Lyn is done justice by the only woman who could - Susan Sarandon.

It also sticks to the ending, which many would have tried to change I'm sure. Well done to Peter Jackson for that!

Worth a watch - but if you read the book, give it a few months before daring to see the film - otherwise it might anger you.

3 out of 5 FOBLES

Limitless: A Guys Film for Girls

Every once in a while a guy film comes along with such a clever plot and such a hot male lead that swarms of females go to see what all the guys are talking about. Limitless is such a film. Fundamentally its a guy's film about a guy who wants to have it all and might just pull it off...

Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a loser. There's no sugar coating it -the guy is a Writer with Writer's block, is hideously unattractive (yeah right!), is broke and living in squalor and has just been ditched by his long suffering and totally adorable, more successful girlfriend.

Then, when he bumps into his ex-brother in law, he is offered a new FDA approved drug which unlocks the 80% of your brain you don't normally use and this one's a freeby - for old times sake. The effect is so powerful that from just one pill, Eddie has cleared his entire flat, bedded the landlords wife and written a large chunk of his book. So, of course, he wants more... and that's when the fun really starts. Oh and yeah it's not FDA approved but you didn't really believe that did you...?

Apart from one scene which was so gross it had the entire audience gagging into their popcorn, the film is very clever and action packed. There are so many bad guys it's sometimes hard to keep track of who comes where on the food chain. Oh and what does our hero do with this new found power? Well he is a writer to start with, so surely he uses this new knowledge to write the new War and Peace, perhaps a modern classic, a Wuthering Heights or Oliver Twist of the new world.  Hell no, he becomes a stock broker. (Like I said, it's a boys film!)

Eddie soon starts to realise there may be some side-effects to this miracle pill. But surely, when you can use all 100% of your brain, you can think your way out of anything - or can you?

There's some parts of the plot that are conveniently forgotten which is its only real downside but overall its just silly and easy to watch.

Enjoy! I know I did :)

3/5 FOBLES
LE x

"Taken" and Top 5 Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson plays an ex spy who has given up his old life to reconnect with his 17-year old daughter. He reluctantly agrees to let her travel to Europe with her friend alone only to then discover that she and her friend have been taken and he doesn't have long to find her before she falls off the radar completely.

Firstly Liam Neeson is AMAZING! I was so impressed with his bad-boy John McLane/Jason Bourne/James Bond attempt - it really works for him! The fight scenes are very impressive (if a little one-sided! - John McLane always won but he got beaten to a pulp in the process). Also, the scene where the girls are taken still gives me chills. It's a terrifying sight to see and on his hunt to find his daughter, Liam encounters all sorts of sordid characters and the many females along the way that have been duped and dragged along against their will, drugged and sold to the highest bidder. It's nasty stuff.

The phrase "good luck" will also never be the same to me again. *shudder*

Now here's the downsides... the premise would have been far more believable had the two girls not been such complete ****s at the start. I am by no stretch of the imagination saying they deserved it but it infuriated me when they met a guy at the airport, shared a cab and showed him where the flat they're staying in was - oh and then the friend says "Our cousins are away in Madrid, yeah come over later". The sex traffic industry is not something to be laughed at but have some common sense ladies! The ending is also a bit of an anti-climax but doesn't ruin the rest of the film at least.

Other than that though, its definitely watcheable and quite amusing to see a cameo from Holly Valance. If you wait for TV it wouldn't be the end of the world. Just watch it at some point - no rush! :)

Top 5 Liam Neeson (in no particular order!):

1. Nell (beautiful and bizarre film about a woman, played by Jodie Foster, who has grown up without human interaction)
2. A-Team (silly, funny, action-packed, brill - I love it when a plan comes together)
3. Schindler's List (Phenomenal cast act out the life of Oscar Schindler who saved many Jews in the Holocaust by paying to have them work for him)
4. Love Actually (Richard Curtis film about the lives and loves of a large group of people with Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant - among others!)
5. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (voice only I know but Aslan is brill and the first film is hands down the best of the bunch - magical, will take you back to your youth)

Enjoy

3/5

LE xx

Jane Austen Addict books by Laurie Viera Rigler

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

What would you do if you fell asleep reading Pride and Prejudice and woke up in 1812 in someone else's body? This is what happens to Courtney Stone, a 30-something modern day inhabitant of LA, unlucky in love and life. Her only solace is the world of her favourite author Jane Austen. But then she wakes up in the body of Jane Mansfield. Her new mother is pushing her to marry Mr Edgeworth or else be sent to an insane asylum .. and after a recent riding accent which has left her disoriented, she is about to be bled.

This is the story of Courtney and Jane as their lives blur together. Courtney soon learns that all the romanticism of the era is not exactly as she imagined it. She is now in a world where women's only career option was to marry well and one kiss could ruin their reputation forever. Class boundaries are rigid and her modern day morals are quickly called into question.

This is a funny and dramatic account of what Courtney learns along the way and that, even if she can figure out how to return back home, she has Jane's life in her care and must respect the responsibility that brings. The humour lies in the subtle cultural differences, in her incorrect use of modern day language and the normalities of 1812 England which she must learn to adapt to if she is to survive a world without daily baths, mobile phones and TV.

Confessions has all you would expect from an Austen - misunderstandings, rogues, innocents, meddling mothers and cool fathers - but with a modern day twist which makes it even more enjoyable.

Clever, funny, romantic and silly all at once. Rigler lovingly takes all the best of Austen and treats it with the care and devotion only a true Austen fan could do. Look out for Austen's very own 'cameo' as our leading lady meets her idol face to face...

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict

Book 2 by Rigler is the story in reverse - as Jane Mansfield, a gentleman's daughter from 1812 wakes up in modern day LA in all its terrifying glory. Unlike Courtney, Jane knows nothing of the world she is now in and must learn to speak like her friends and not to jump out of her skin every time she sees light without candles, tiny people acting out plays in the box in her apartment and giant machines fly over her head. Oh and how on earth will she ever figure out how a car works?

This book is just as funny as the first but for very different reasons. The dialogue is brilliant and seeing modern day living through the eyes of Jane is absolute class - especially when she encounters cocktails and hamburgers for the first time. She must learn to adapt to the new morals of this society where divorce can be a good thing and having sex doesn't make you a ruined woman. It's lovely to see her make the most of her new life as she tries to balance work, bills, friends and love - all while continuing to read the new Jane Austen books she hasn't seen written yet.

Enjoy!

3/5 FOBLES

LE xx

The Ugly Truth

Katherine Heigl basically plays the same role in all her films but she does it so well evidently nobody has seen the need to change her - and why bother? Her acting skills were put to the test much more during her time on Grey's Anatomy but her paypacket is probably much more appealing now she has becoming the leading lady in RomComs, so she is quite cleverly riding that gravy train all the way to her Hollywood bank account.

And good for her.

The Ugly Truth sees her reprise her role of the tightly wound, neurotic control freak looking for love and shocked that she can't seem to find it. Because surely all men want to have a background check and conversation points on their first date. No? (Yikes!) But she is hot. There's no denying it. So as soon as she meets the abrasive and brutally honest Gerard Butler, sparks were bound to fly. She has the idea of the perfect man in her mind and a carefully thought out check list for her prospective men to adhere to and he insists men are simple and want nothing but good looks and a tight butt.

Humour and the obvious trials and tribulations follow as the two are forced to work together and he is enlisted to get her a date based on his unconventional tips on male manipulation. She then proceeds to completely alter who she is after being told by him how to dress and what to say "don't criticise him, laugh at every joke he tells, even if it isn't funny".  I won't ruin the ending (as if you didn't already see it coming) but it is worth a look if you like that sort of thing. It's more current than the overly cheesy RomComs with plenty of rudeness (cue vibrating panties) and swearing and the two leads are actually quite good.

So if you're a fan of the tongue-in-cheek RomCom or just fancy the pants of either of the leads, then check this one out. It's a well done bit of silly and has enough hotness in it to appeal. For the women, Gerard is gorgeous and funny and men, it might even be tolerable as a date movie if your lady is a chick-flick kinda gal.

One thing's for sure - I could handle the ugly truth if it came from someone as delicious as Gerard Butler. I really could.

LE xx

3/5

Foursome by Jane Fallon - Women's fiction at it's finest!

For me there is a sure-fire way of judging how good a book is and I call it the tube test. When I'm reading, do I (a) get so engrossed that I miss my stop on the tube or (b) get so engrossed that, while I'm aware that my stop is approaching, I give serious thought to not getting off because I cannot bring myself to stop reading? If the answer is yes to either of these scenarios then my book has passed the tube test. And this book did with flying colours. I actually got up from my seat, picked up my bags and walked to the door while continuing to read to the end of the chapter (miraculously I didn't fall over or bump into anyone).

The basic plot revolves around four people (comprised of two couples) who have been best friends for twenty years until Alex decides to leave his wife and confess his undying love to Rebecca. Rebecca flat out refuses him but this does not go down well with Alex and, feeling bitter and rejected, he decides to lash out. But Rebecca's husband is Alex's best friend and Rebecca's best friend is still married to Alex. So who can she tell? And more to the point… should she tell? As the lies spiral out of control, Rebecca tries to adapt to her fast changing world where she can no longer rely on the security of her safe little foursome.

Jane Fallon writes such brilliantly real characters that their everyday battles, dramas and laughs become your everyday battles, dramas and laughs and as they leap off the page (sometimes kicking and screaming) you find yourself utterly engrossed in their lives. To put the book down mid chapter (or sometimes even between chapters) would be to stop your best friend halfway through them telling you the best, juiciest gossip you have heard in years.  

Their struggles are relatable no matter what your situation. In Foursome, our main protagonist, Rebecca, is in her forties, married with two children. I have no children and am in my late twenties but I could relate. I could relate to her passive aggressive work colleague and how infuriating she is, to her desire to have more passion in an otherwise stable relationship and her internal struggles over when to meddle and when to leave well alone. She is human and though she tries to be loyal and good, she succumbs to gossip and nasty rants as do the best of us.

All in all, a very easy read and great fun. I am now a total Fallon convert and am looking forward to reading another of hers very soon - Getting Rid of Matthew.

LE xx

3/5