Tarantula vs The Skin I Live In: Book vs Film

The Skin I Live in was the latest in a long line of Spanish films from master Director Pedro Almodóvar. The film is a difficult one to explain as most of the plot must be kept entirely secret in order for the audience to experience it for themselves.

The plot, for those who don't know, revolves around a doctor called Robert and the mystery woman Eve he keeps locked away in his house.

The book Tarantula, written by Thierry Jonquet, is incredibly different to the film. The big reveal - for those who have seen the film - remains in tact. It is everything else that changes. The book is in France while the film is in Spain, the maid (no relation in the book) is on holiday throughout and therefore has no involvement whatsoever. The ending, powerful in the film, is utterly different and even more shocking in the book.

But the biggest change is what the doctor does to Eve throughout. In the film, she is kept under lock and key, going slowly mad in her own solitute. In the book, however, Robert pimps her out to the nastiest men he can find and watches through the one-sided mirror, revelling in Eve's pain.

To tell you any of the other plot twists would give too much away. But if you were impressed by the film then the book is certainly worth reading. It's also incredibly short. Just beware of reading it in public as the cover might turn a few heads.

Though there are numerous differences, both book and film standalone as brilliantly complex and dark works. The care Almodóvar took with the film forgives him the alterations.

Book: 4 FOBLES
Film: 3.5 FOBLES

For my film review of The Skin I Live In, click here.

New Cover for Black Heart Blue by Louisa Reid

Finding an incredible debut author is like finding a needle in a haystack. Many new authors write great books which are well-received by many. However, there are a select few who come out of nowhere and have one of the most read books of the year. Recently for me this was Rosamund Lupton - whose debut book Sister back in 2010 blew my literary socks off. Her follow up had a lot to live up to but she somehow managed to pull off an incredible second book.

Now it seems that the people at Michael Joseph in Penguin towers may have stumbled across the debut author of 2012 to watch. I haven't had a chance to read this yet but the blurb and cover image are certainly enticing...

'They tried to make me go to my sister's funeral today. In the end I'd had to give in ... I'd been walking in her shadow for sixteen years and I liked its cool darkness. It was a good place to hide.'

How would you feel if your twin sister died suddenly? Particularly if she was the beautiful one and you were horribly disfigured. And how would it feel to be alone now if you and your sister were the only ones to know the truth about what takes place behind closed doors at home?And what would you do if it was your parents who brought danger and terror into your life? Would you dare reveal how your sister died? And would you be brave enough to find an escape of your own?

Black Heart Blue is a powerful novel about the domestic horrors that can unfold within a small community - and one girl's quest to stand up for the truth.

Louisa can be found on Twitter at @Louisareid

Black Heart Blue is out in paperback on 10th May 2012

Cover for Jodi Picoult's New Book: Lone Wolf

I've had the pleasure of reading this book - which is out at the end of the month - and I have just seen the final cover. Now I know the saying suggests you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but wow. I think it's gorgeous and had to share it...

The book is available to pre-order now and my review will be going up at Novelicious soon.

Oscar® Nominations 2012

The nominations are in and here's who I think SHOULD take the crown... whether or not they will remains to be seen. No surprise to see nothing for Tyrannosaur as it didn't reach the American audience. But sad to see no recognition for Andy Serkis's work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes or Michael Fassbender in ... well anything.

Leading the nominations list is Hugo with 11, closely followed by The Artist with 10. Moneyball and War Horse each have 6 and The Descendants has 5. 

Supporting Actress

There are some impressive candidates here but Bejo has to take the crown. Her work in Artist was funny, sensitive, restrained and theatrical. Perfection.

• Bérénice Bejo
• Jessica Chastain
• Melissa McCarthy
• Janet McTeer
• Octavia Spencer  

Supporting Actor 

Branagh as Laurence Olivier was perfect casting. Just brilliant to watch.

• Kenneth Branagh
• Jonah Hill
• Nick Nolte
• Christopher Plummer
• Max von Sydow 

Leading Actress
Well the Americans have clearly favoured their own here but it's an interesting mix and could be anybody's. Meryl Streep seems the most likely winner but Williams was so flawless in her portrayal of the tortured soul Marilyn Monroe, she deserves the recognition.

• Glenn Close
• Viola Davis
• Rooney Mara
• Meryl Streep
• Michelle Williams

Leading Actor

Gary Oldman was easily the best thing in a talented cast when Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy came out but Dujardin just pips him to the post for me with his performance in The Artist at every stage of his character's career from the incredible high to the terrifying lows.

• Demian Bichir
• George Clooney
• Jean Dujardin
• Gary Oldman
• Brad Pitt

Best Picture

I still don't see why Moneyball has made the cut and am yet to see The Descendants or Extremely Loud. The Help was a brilliant film and I just didn't "get" Tree of Life. It has to be The Artist for its originality and emotive style.

• The Artist
• Descendants
• Extremely Loud
• The Help
• Hugo
• Midnight in Paris
• Moneyball
• Tree of Life
• War Horse 

For the full list of nominations go to the official website.

Reviews: The Artist, The Inbetweeners and Carnage

It's been a mixed bag of films for me over the last few days from the classic to the vulgar to the brilliantly clever and utterly hilarious.

The Artist

When a film has been raved about as much as this one has, it's hard to live up to the hype. I expected greatness - and was not disappointed. Apart from a short stint in the middle where the film started to drag just a little, the film is beautiful, emotional and utterly joyous.
The performances are incredible particularly by the two leads Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, evoking sadness and humour in equal measure and often with surprising subtlety given the style of this throwback to the era of silent films. The score is stunning and compliments each mood perfectly.
An absolute must-see for film buffs and non buffs alike. It's superb.

4.5/5 FOBLES

The Inbetweeners

Ridiculous, shocking, vulgar and ridiculous (OK I said that twice), the film sees the four boys go on holiday. Simon's stalkerish obsession with Carly takes on new heights.
The jokes are more crass, the plot all the more farcical. It's closer to Kevin and Perry than the series but for fans of the show, you will of course be expecting this. It doesn't have the same concise humour as the episodes but it's not an awful way to while away a couple of hours - if you like that sort of thing.

2.5/5 FOBLES

Carnage

When two eleven year old boys have a minor altercation at the park and one hits the other across the face with a stick, the two sets of parents decide to sit down and talk about what to do next - all amicably, all as adults.
What starts out as an adult conversation gradually turns into utter chaos. Loyalties switch, hilarity ensues and all manner of chaos takes place under one roof. And after the introduction of alcohol, the true personalities and frustrations of the four rear their ugly heads.
The script is brilliant as the film is all dialogue and very little action. Each actor is perfectly cast from the neurotic, overbearing Jodie Foster to the workaholic Christoph Waltz.
Based on the play "God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza, this film version all takes place in the one setting - the apartment of the "victim's" parents and not for one second does it ease up.

4.5/5 FOBLES

BAFTA 2012 Nominations Announced

 

This morning's BAFTA press release has now arrived the final nominations have been announced. Unsurprisingly it is The Artist in the lead with 12 nominations, closely followed by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with 11. Martin Scorcese film Hugo has nine nominations, My Week with Marilyn has six and The Help and War Horse each have five.

Sadly Best Actress longlist nominee Olivia Colman has not made the final cut but first-time Director Paddy Considine has been nominated in the OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER category alongside Ralph Fiennes, Joe Cornish and Richard Ayoade. King of the award season so far, George Clooney, has some serious competition in the Best Actor category against Gary Oldman, Jean Dujardin and Michael Fassbender. And who will win the Best Actress category is anyone's guess with the final nominations including Bérénice Bejo, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams, Tilda Swinton and Viola Davis.

Here are the nominations in full:

BEST FILM

THE ARTIST Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn
Slovo, Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno,
Rory Stewart Kinnear

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

ATTACK THE BLOCK Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
BLACK POND Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director), Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
CORIOLANUS Ralph Fiennes (Director)
SUBMARINE Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
TYRANNOSAUR Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

INCENDIES Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

DOCUMENTARY

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA Asif Kapadia

ANIMATED FILM

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS Sarah Smith
RANGO Gore Verbinski

DIRECTOR

THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Nicolas Winding Refn
HUGO Martin Scorsese
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Tomas Alfredson
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN Lynne Ramsay

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

THE ARTIST Michel Hazanavicius
BRIDESMAIDS Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
THE GUARD John Michael McDonagh
THE IRON LADY Abi Morgan
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS Woody Allen

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

THE DESCENDANTS Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
THE HELP Tate Taylor
THE IDES OF MARCH George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
MONEYBALL Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

LEADING ACTOR

BRAD PITT Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER Shame

LEADING ACTRESS

BÉRÉNICE BEJO The Artist
MERYL STREEP The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER Beginners
JIM BROADBENT The Iron Lady
JONAH HILL Moneyball
KENNETH BRANAGH My Week with Marilyn
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

CAREY MULLIGAN Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN The Help
JUDI DENCH My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER The Help

ORIGINAL MUSIC

THE ARTIST Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO Howard Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY

THE ARTIST Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE Janusz Kaminski

EDITING

THE ARTIST Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE Mat Newman
HUGO Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN

THE ARTIST Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN

THE ARTIST Mark Bridges
HUGO Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE Michael O'Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR

THE ARTIST Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN Jenny Shircore

SOUND

THE ARTIST Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

SHORT ANIMATION

ABUELAS Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM

CHALK Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST John Maclean, Gerardine O'Flynn
TWO AND TWO Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
CHRIS O'DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE
TOM HIDDLESTON

To Apostrophe or Not to Apostrophe: The Waterstones Debate

Last week, Waterstone's became Waterstones, apparently to make the name more "practical and versatile" in this technological world. The outcry seems to follow not just from the lack of apostrophe but the fact that it is being lost by a bookstore - a shop that should be taking the written word a little more seriously than others. I strongly doubt that the same reaction would have happened were Sainsbury's to do the same.

According to The Telegraph, Waterstones Managing Director James Daunt said: “Waterstones without an apostrophe is, in a digital world of URLs and email addresses, a more versatile and practical spelling."

In response, John Richards, the chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society said: "It's just plain wrong. It's grammatically incorrect."

So are you a stickler for grammar? Or should we stop worrying so much about apostrophes in a digital age - where people write in text language and cram entire paragraphs into one tweet - and just move with the times.

Let me know wot u think below ;-) x

Source: The Telegraph