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

Bella Learns to Be Human in New Breaking Dawn Clip

What's scarier and altogether more difficult than becoming a vampire? Apparently, pretending to be human once you are one. This new clip from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part Two, as found on YouTube, is pretty funny - as Bella tries to remember to blink, breathe and move slowly enough to pass for a human.

Contact lenses at the ready twi-hards!

The Hunger Games vs Twilight vs Battle Royale

It is so often the case that when a new book or film comes out, it is compared to a similar predecessor. More often than not, it's essential to give people a clue as to what they are letting themselves in for. The Hunger Games has striking similarities with both Twilight and Battle Royale, but is it the new version of either of them? Well, no.

Firstly, the plot of Twilight is completely different to The Hunger Games. Apart from the obvious lack of werewolves and vampires (you can see there whose team I'm on!), the focus is entirely different. Granted, they are both young adult fiction and they both have a pretty complex love triangle. But the similarities end there. While the love triangle in Twilight is the central focus of the plot and other stuff happens around it, The Hunger Games is a dark look at a dystopian future with an incredibly strong female lead in Katniss Everdeen - it just happens to have a love triangle going on at the same time.

The main comparison though is with Battle Royale - a story which brilliantly looked at a Japan that forced a class of students each year to kill each other until only one survived. In this, The Hunger Games is the same - simply put, it is children forced to kill each other or die.

The most notable difference though is the style of each. Battle Royale is a horror film, plain and simple - it is a blood bath of epic proportions that examines the different reactions people would have if put in that scenario. Would you kill yourself, kill everyone else, form alliances or just sit and hide? In The Hunger Games, there is a whole horrific level of reality TV added. The 24 chosen participants are not only forced to kill each other, but many are trained for the eventuality and all of them are forced to put on a show. There are days between the reaping (when the 24 are chosen) and the actual start of the games and in this time, they learn new skills, perfect those they already have and are interviewed on live TV for all of Panem to see. The children in Battle Royale are drugged and wake up with a bomb round their necks.

So if you want a clever horror film with a blood-bath and fantastic lost-in-translation subtitles, check out the film of Battle Royale. If you want the back-story and a more graphic look at each of the class members, then read the book. If, on the other hand, you want an easy to read piece of fantastic young adult literature which is dark and gripping with a phenomenonally strong and brilliantly flawed heroine, check out The Hunger Games.

Roll on March 23rd for the film...

My dream fictitious dinner party

Ever had the discussion about who would be at your dream dinner party - alive or dead? People's lists normally include all sorts of people from Lady Gaga to JFK ... but what if you could have a dinner party with your favourite fictitious characters from book or film? Who would you invite? Here is my selection for a dream dinner party...

My dream list of guests is as follows:

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Ron Burgundy (Anchorman)

Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

Jacob Black (Twilight Saga)



 

The Doctor (in the form of David Tennant please!)

Aragorn (Lord of the Rings)

Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)

Vianne Rocher (Chocolat)

Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (Some Like it Hot)

Princess Leia (Star Wars)

Yvaine (Stardust)

Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)
 










Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)






At the start of the night (in the drinking, pre-eating stage of the evening) Scout would be allowed to stay up with her dad to meet the guests and would have her friend Lisa Simpson to talk to once when had been sent upstairs to bed (wouldn’t they just have the best chats ever!)

Friendships that might begin over the first course: Atticus Finch and Elizabeth Bennett. I imagine, as they are both moral but quietly daring for their times, they would get on really well. I can also see Ron Weasley and Jacob Black getting on… that is, unless Jacob sees Ron as one of the pale faces. Yvaine and Princess Leia could talk out of world experiences with the Doctor and compare notes on which planet is the most interesting – or amusing to watch. Ron Burgundy would probably want to “be on” Sugar, and she might just go for it (fuzzy end of the lollipop in that moustache) – unless Aragorn steps in to be her knight in shining armour.  And the lovely Vianne, who would no doubt get along with everybody, would bring us the most delectable assortment of treats for dessert.

And as for me? I would be chatting to Elizabeth Bennett and Yvaine as much as I could, having heated debates over moral issues with Atticus and Aragorn and drooling over David Tennant’s Doctor, wishing he would transport me to somewhere really cool. Sugar and Ron Burgundy would be making me laugh all evening and I could spend hours listening to Vianne talk about chocolate. I would be a little overly friendly with Jacob Black and get him to hug me (shirt optional). I would ask Ron W about how his family are doing and get him to teach me a few spells.

And though I would love to see them in the flesh I opted out of inviting the rugged and oh so sexy Mr Rochester and Mr Darcy because let’s face it – they’d make horrible dinner party guests. Rochester would be snapping at people and making them feel awkward and Darcy would just be brooding off in a corner, staring at Elizabeth.

So who would be at your dream dinner party and why....?

LE xxx

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire: Book vs Film

The Goblet of Fire opens with the Quidditch World Cup - a magically protected event where no muggles are permitted. Harry attends with the Weasley family, meeting fellow schoolmate Cedric Diggory on his travels, and discovers yet more wonders of the magical world from microphone spells to giant TARDIS-like tents. But the fun everyone is having at this event is short lived as the dark mark appears above them and deatheaters start running riot amongst the spectators.

With this dark cloud hanging over the wizarding world, the book sees a change in tradition at Hogwarts. There will be no Quidditch, no clubs - just the Tri-Wizard Tournament and some extra students staying all year. The beautiful French girls from the Beauxbatons Academy arrive along with the boys from Durmstrang. Ron is massively impressed to discover his Quidditch idol Victor Krum is still in school and now attending his and all the boys are impressed with the new girls from France.

The rules are explained that there are challenges which will take place throughout the year and the goblet of fire will select one student from each school to take part. As there is an age restriction, Harry and his friends are relieved to learn that they will not be able to take part and Harry actually believes he might get a year off from the spotlight of being 'the boy who lived'. Wrong! After the three are chosen from each school, a fourth name appears... Harry Potter. He claims not to have done it but nobody believes him, not even Ron who has grown tired of living in his shadow and the two start to bicker. But the goblet has spoken and believe him or not, Harry must take part in the tournament.

The new year at Hogwarts also sees the introduction of yet another new teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts class - Mad Eye Moody. One roving eye can see through invisibility cloaks and through spells and works independently of the other but the man knows his stuff. Within days of his arrival at Hogwarts he has turned Draco into a rodent and taught the class the three unforgivable curses.

As the children are now 14 years old, there are a lot of hormones thrown into the mix here. There is a formal dance and the boys have to find a date. Hermione finds her girly side and everyone must learn to dance.

Ron: Oi, Hermione... you're a girl.
Hermione: Very well spotted.
Ron: Come with one of us! It's one thing for a bloke to show up alone, but for a girl it's just sad.
Hermione: I won't be going alone, because believe it or not, someone's asked me! And I said yes!
Ron: Bloody hell. She's lying, right?
Harry: If you say so.

The challenges continue throughout the book as the teen angst, bickering and relationships continue to develop and they get ever more cryptic and dangerous, culminating in one of the most shocking Harry Potter finales. On first release, this book was in massively high demand as JK Rowling had revealed that one of the characters was going to die.... but who?

The film version saw the rise of another young star. Before he was Edward Cullen, Robert Pattinson was cast as the hot young stud Cedric Diggory. Cedric is chosen to be the Hogwarts student in the Tri-wizard cup (alongside Harry in this case!) and the boy who gets the girl of Harry's dreams - Cho Chang. He is the stud of the school and Pattinson does the role well. Brendan Gleeson is suitably wacky as Mad Eye Moody and even former Dr Who David Tennant joined the cast as Barty Crouch, a deatheater and son of the respectable Barty Crouch Snr, played by Roger Lloyd-Pack of Only Fools and Horses fame.

The effects continue to amaze from the Quidditch tournament at the start and throughout the Tri-Wizard Cup tournament (which includes dragon battles, flying and underwater sequences and the final maze and dramatic finale).

This is the first Harry Potter film that made me really emotional but I realised the second time around that I had seen it dubbed in Spanish the first time and wasn't as moved when I watched it in English. Make of that what you will...

All in all, the conversion from book to film was actually very good. There are little changes throughout but nothing so major that it angered me. An excellent job!

Enjoy x

Book 5: The Order of the Phoenix book to film review