Movie Review

Never Let Me Go [Book vs Movie]

Michelle7 Comments

Wow. I just finished watching Never Let Me Go. And wow. You might remember that I didn’t LOVE the book as much as everyone else. I don’t know what it was about the movie – the actors, the scenery, the score – that triggered what I think most people feel upon reading the book but I am SOLD. Kazuo Ishiguro, I take back any doubts I had about your storytelling ability. I want to read all of your books right now.

Carey Mulligan was wonderful. I was a little afraid Keira Knightly would outshine her but Keira Knightly did a surprisingly good job staying within her supporting character role. And Andrew Garfield was a perfect Tommy. The younger actors were just as good as their older counterparts. The music and the setting were both beautiful and haunting.

The movie followed the book very closely. I am glad that I read the book but I am even more glad that I watched the movie so that I could finally experience the Never Let Me Go that everyone told me about. This is a rare instance where I want to say the movie was better than the book. But  I really think the movie just enhanced the book for me.

Has anyone else seen Never Let Me Go? Thoughts?

Stardust [Book v. Movie]

Michelle6 Comments

Time to reprise this feature. I actually listened to the audio of this one so perhaps it doesn’t quite fit the Book v. Movie feature but it’s my blog and I can make the rules.

Book: Absolutely adored it. I figured I would like it because it’s Neil Gaiman and he is basically a genius but I did not expect to fall in love with it like I did. Stardust is a fairy tale for adults, full of witches, faeries, kings, love, and magic. Tristran Thorne, half-faerie, goes in search of a fallen star to bring back to the girl he wants to marry. When he reaches the star, he encounters an unexpected surprise and the journey back to his village is full of adventure, passion, and deceit. This was the fantasy novel I was hoping The Eye of the World would be (plus it’s significantly shorter). The writing was beautiful and the language flowed. I was absolutely enchanted.

Movie: I really enjoyed the movie as well. There were some changes, as there usually are, but I think they worked. I loved the addition of the Captain Shakespeare storyline. I thought the casting was great and I loved being back in the land of Faerie. The book was definitely better, but I’d certainly recommend the movie as well.

Book: 5/5
Movie: 4/5

Everything Austen #2: Mansfield Park

Michelle7 Comments

Back in July, I joined the Everything Austen Challenge hosted by Stephanie’s Written Word.  You can read about my challenge list here.  So far I have not done a good job convincing myself that I will actually finish the challenge as originally planned (or at all).  It is the middle of October and I’ve only completed two items.  I’m having a hard time getting through Pride and Prejudice and don’t want to push it because I love the book too much.  There is no way I’m going to be able to read both the original and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by the end of the year.  But, I will keep doing what I can and maybe swap out a few books for movies in the end (I feel like a high school student).

I did watch Mansfield Park recently.  I really didn’t care for the book when I read it last year, so I wanted to give the story another chance to gain my good opinion.  I can say that I enjoyed the movie more than the book, but I’m still not in love with it and it is still by far my least favorite Austen novel.

In order to make the movie likeable at all, they had to make Fanny Price likeable.  She drove me crazy in the book and they changed her in the movie.  But by making her stronger, I think they failed to show how much she loved Edmund all her life.

Speaking of, the whole cousins-raised-as-siblings love story didn’t make me feel as uncomfortable as reading the book did.  I actually found myself cheering for them.  And the scene when they are driving back to Mansfield Park and they hold hands and Edmund falls asleep on her shoulder – it gave me butterflies.

A few of the things that I liked best about the book were changed.  Her relationship with her brother – that was changed to her sister.  Sir Thomas’ interest in her when he returns from Antigua was there but not really.  And some of the character quirks in Mrs. Norris’ awful ways and Mr. Rushworth’s self-love.  Also, I don’t remember the slave-trade playing a large role in the book but perhaps I overlooked it.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should say that I watched this movie over a period of three days and was getting ready for work or ironing throughout the whole thing, so I may not have gotten the full movie experience.  But I’m glad I saw it and got a chance to reevaluate Mansfield Park.  Perhaps I don’t dislike it quite as much as I used to.