In the past few years somehow we were bombarded by similarly themed young adult novels of exploding popularity that were of course also divoured by Hollywood and made into a whole lot of cheesy movies.

Honestly I'm not very happy about how Lois Lowry's "The Giver" quartet also got shuffled in, as yet another one of these. I read the series a couple of years back, and there are certain aspect of it that I still think about from time to time. I find the quartet especially well written, and the stories deep and meaningful, probably a lot more than they're being given credit for, especially thanks to the rather ridiculous movie.

So if you've just seen the movie and ran the other direction, I do ask you to please give the books a chance. It's possible you'll find something entirely different in there.

Labels: Books, Fiction, Movies, Reading, Sci-Fi

I have no idea how many times I've watched the movie. The Green Mile is one of my all time favourites.. it's one of those movies that I just randomly re-watch every once in a while just because. But up to very recently, it hadn't even come to my attention that there even was a book! Perhaps partially because so far I haven't been such a big fan of Stephen King's writing, and I didn't even know this was one of his.

Last month a friend of mine asked me what I thought of the book, and a couple of hours later I actually started reading it. I was a little worried that the book wouldn't be that good, or that it would be too different. Fortunately as it turned out the usual rule applied here too and the book was in fact better.

Reading the book you get to know the characters much better. Their personalities, thoughts and circumstances of their lives have been much better described. And then there's the mouse. In the movie you do fall in love with the mouse, but in the book you properly get to know the mouse. There is much more to him and his story, and he is perhaps the 2nd main character in the book. And I absolutely love that.

Paul Edgecombe's story is also better told in the book. There is in fact quite a bit about him that doesn't make it to the movie, including a very meaningful last chapter. That last chapter was hard for me to read...so very emotionally intense, and it gives you much to ponder about. Mind you it doesn't really change the story or how it ends, but it does paint a move vivid picture of Paul Edgecombe.

Labels: Authors, Books, Fantasy, Movies, Supernatural

Recently I was asked if it's a good idea to watch the Cloud Atlas movie first, or to read the book. I almost always read the book first, but in this case, I came across the movie before the book. But that's alright, the movie couldn't possibly have spoiled the experience of the book...

I watched Cloud Atlas a couple of years ago, and was thoroughly impressed. I figured this must be an exceptional example of a situation where the movie didn't totally destroy the book. Some months after that I read the book.... Well, as good as the movie is, the rule still applies, the book is infinitely better.

The book is written in quite a unique shape, an amazing structure, with such subtleties that can never be imported into a movie. The relationship between the characters in different timelines are described in such elegant ways. And well, there are major story bits and implied meanings in the book, that make the book much deeper, much more complex and in some parts much darker than the movie.

So yes, the book wins once again.... since you have the choice, read the book first. ;)

Labels: Authors, Books, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Reading, Sci-Fi

So I was just wondering, is there a book? Because if there is then I definitely want it. =P

Good sci-fi is currently quite rare, and I have just been pleasantly surprised by how good this product of the current era turned out to be. Cheers to Christopher Nolan!

P.S: Yes thanks a lot, it turns out that is a novelization. And also a book related to the science of the whole thing. I'll check them out.

Labels: Books, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

It's poetic injustice really. 50 years ago Walt Disney shamelessly hijacked what can easily be considered the most important literary achievement of P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins. Now, some half a century later, Hollywood takes the story of P. L. Travers herself, twists it into something politically correct, soft and sweet and easy to sell, and feeds it to the world. How many times is P. L. Travers going to be betrayed by the entertainment industry?

Admittedly, up to very recently I had not really read the Mary Poppins books. Not that I wouldn't have wanted to, Mary Poppins simply didn't find her way to my shelf which was  usually crowded with Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and the rest of the sci-fi universe, with a touch of Hermann Hesse and W. Somerset Maugham migrating over from my mom's shelf. Point is, I didn't really read much specifically "children's" books.

My first introduction to Mary Poppins was unsurprisingly through the movie, which I watched with googly eyes when I was about 5 or so the first time. And loved it, really really loved it. And have even watched it many more times since then.

Recently, I watched "Saving Mr. Banks", which was supposedly the story of how Walt Disney approached P. L. Travers to get the rights for the movie, and her reactions, and how the movie was eventually made. Nice movie, which at the same time felt full of plot holes for something that was supposed to be based on a true story. I had a feeling that there was more to the story than met the screen.

So I went and started the research. Did my fair share of reading on P. L. Travers, found what seems to be the most accurate and detailed, and the least "interpreted" biography of her out there, titled "Mary Poppins, She Wrote" by Valerie Lawson. After finishing this book and some more articles and shorter books about her, I read the original Mary Poppins books. All 9 of them.

And now, after all the reading, I am… well… angry.

As P. L. Traverse herself had said many times before, the Mary Poppins books are not exactly children's books. They're certainly books that children can enjoy reading, but the way I see it they're somewhat comparable to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's "Little Prince". They're more philosophy books than anything else, and they're nothing like the pink and fluffy image of the Walt Disney movie.

As much as I enjoyed the Disney movie as a child, right now I wish I had never seen it, that it had never been made. From what I understand, what Disney did to Mary Poppins was the source of agony for P. L. Travers for the rest of her days, and it also manage to frustrate just about anyone who had any kind of an actual understanding of the point of the books. Now after having read the books I can understand why. Disney basically took the shell and left the soul behind.

But then, this is not really what "Saving Mr. Banks" shows, is it? The movie is unfortunately yet another bit of fluff, created to please the audience. Everything I've read, everything I've dug out, shows that unfortunately Mr. Disney was not at all the fair and decent character shown in the movie. He basically ambushed P. L. Travers into finally selling him the rights to make a movie [after years of harassing her for it], and then slowly pushed her out of the picture. Despite the fact that he originally promised her that her ideas will be respected, he eventually disregarded all of the very important points that she had made in order for the movie to stay faithful to the books.

The nice and emotional conversations between Disney and P. L. Travers in the movie are all pretty much fictional, and at the end Disney had actually no intention of having P. L. Travers present at the premiere at all. To him, she was only a nuisance. The movie shows a rigid and difficult Pamela, without making any mention of why she was the way she was. Quite unfair.

It's of course even more of a horror reading some of the articles that showed up online after the release of "Saving Mr. Banks". Clueless people writing completely misguided articles about P. L. Travers, her role in the creation of the Poppins movie, and even her personal life and her relationship with the people around her, and with her son. Following the movie, these articles picture P. L. Travers as a despiteful unloving and unloved character, who was responsible for destroying the life of her adopted son. For heaven's sakes, do your research before writing this nonsense. A bit of digging will show you that the horrendous rubbish couldn't possibly be further from the truth.

P. L. Travers was an amazing person with a wonderful mind, and what's being done to her is a crime. This should be stopped.

Labels: Authors, Books, Life, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

I watched the movie a few weeks ago, but I didn't find the time to write anything about it and I constantly get the question of whether I've seen it and what I think of it.

So here it is: I LOVED IT! =D

Yes. you're hearing [well, reading] me right, it's an X-Men movie, and I LOVED it!

I've not been that big of a fan of the X-Men movies [or the X-Men universe in general] in the past. As I've mentioned before, the first 2 X-Men movies were far too shallow for me to even feel entertained. Last stand had something a tad more interesting about it, and then First Class finally thoroughly entertained me. But I must say "Days of Future Past" is really the first X-Men movie that I've enjoyed, really, more than mere entertainment.

For the first time an X-Men movie had a really well constructed, very interesting plot. The movie contained some pretty great sci-fi ideas, and well you have to admit, that cast could have made even complete nonsense look good. ;)

That being said, there were of course some huge logic holes in the plot. I mean I'm pretty sure I saw Charles Xavier get blown to pieces by a very evil Phoenix. And now he seems entirely alive. Of course given the end of Last Stand, the theory is that his consciousness got transferred [somehow?!] to his twin brother's body. Hmmm. So obviously the twin brother was suffering some sort of a physical problem as a result of which he was in a coma. And now Xavier just jumps into that body? And even if I were to accept that, then why is it that he's still in a flying chair? For what reason would the brother's body would have the exact same injury????

And then of course Magneto not only got back his lost powers, but seems to be doing extra-well too. And I could go on… And yet, I prefer to think that the holes in the plot are results of previous movies having problematic plots, not this one. ;)

Oh, and on a side-note, I have to mention that I'm growing quite fond of watching a movie in either Corso or Metropole in Zurich in some obscure hour when there's nobody else, and it's pretty much like private screening. ;)

Labels: Comics, Entertainment, Marvel, Movies, Sci-Fi

Honestly I wasn't in such a hurry to see "Man of Steel". Superman movies and comics have always been mere light entertainment to me, and even though I have occasionally enjoyed watching a movie or reading a comic, I've never been a fan. Through the years I've felt a chronic lack of plot and character development in all things Superman. [Which basically sums up my relationship with 99% of DC's comics.]

So you can imagine my surprise, watching "Man of Steel" last night, and realizing in the middle of the movie that I was actually really enjoying it! Especially seeing the movie's less than great ratings and the plenty of dissatisfied reviews! [Then again I often seem to like what everyone else hates and vice versa!]

Yes, I really really liked this movie! Many important details were changed, characters were much better developed, and most importantly so much nonsense and absurdity has been eliminated! I mean surprise surprise, for once in my life a Superman movie actually makes rational sense!!!!

For once we actually see a proper, well pictured, back story. Which actually explained why everything happened the way it all happened. I really enjoyed the beginning part of the movie where Krypton has been quite nicely illustrated, and we finally get a better idea of what "the parents" were like and what the circumstances were. Or for that matter why Zod acts the way he does. Also the earthly parents of Clark Kent have been much better developed. Supeman's own character finally has some proper development with much less cheese involved. Oh, and for once, finally, someone has decided that Lois Lane should not be the idiotic, clueless, pointless, shame to all women, constantly in need of rescuing, aka the classical character. Thank you very much for that.

It's been said the movie will have a next instalment in 2015. I do look forward to seeing that.

By the way, come to think of it, it's interesting that the latest Batman movie was also the best I've ever seen, for pretty much all the same reasons! Looks like DC might have finally figured some things out… ;)  Maybe it's time I go back and check the comic books…...

Labels: Comics, DC Comics, Entertainment, Movies, Reviews, Sci-Fi

On Sunday night we went to see the Hobbit [3D]. Yes, the opening week, in fact just after the opening day. =P I was in a pretty big hurry for this one… Couldn't wait! And I'm so not disappointed!

The movie was simply great. As I wrote about the first part, in comparison the LOTR movies, the hobbit movies have the advantage of being truly faithful to the book, which naturally comes with making 3 movies out of the one book. Every important detail is there, with some cute additions, and altogether things just feel right. The visuals are quite stunning, and if you're going to see the movie, make sure to see it in 3D.

I still have a problem with a blonde Orlando Bloom. That really doe NOT work. But I don't think I had enough time to pay attention to that given Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, and Benedict Cumberbatch's voice on Smaug. =P

All in all it's a lovely movie. The only "issue", is the humongous cliff-hanger at the end. Of course when you divide one single book into 3 movies, every conclusion, every important event, everything that you are waiting for, will be at the end, waiting for the last movie. So now I have to wait a year for… well… everything. Meh. =P

Labels: Entertainment, Fun, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

Of all the versions of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" that I have seen so far, old and new, classic and modern, my favourite has to be Joss Whedon's! I watched it  some weeks ago for the first time, and a few nights ago again. I never thought I'd enjoy a version more than the digital theatre one with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, but I liked Joss Whedon's even more than that! It's just too cute! =D

Of course Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon also created their own version of "Sigh No More", the famous soundtrack of Much Ado [with Shakespeare's own lyrics!]. It's quite nice, definitely the nicest version of it I've heard. =)

Labels: Entertainment, Joss Whedon, Literature, Movies, Music

I don't know how it happened that I haven't read the book yet, but now I seriously believe that I should. And I will…. once I'm done with my current Dan Brown reading.

I watched the Cloud Atlas movie last week and it blew my mind to so many little pieces. Had not enjoyed a movie this much in a long while. It lacks in absolutely no category. The plot is unbelievably good, the cast is just brilliant, the humour is priceless… And this movie actually has a message, for a change.

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

So during the weekend in between my notebooks and my tablet I managed to see just everything I cared to see from Comic-Con 2013 [and not really get anything else done! =P]. Aaaaaand it's been exciting.

J.J. Abrams' "Almost Human" series is going to be here in a few months, and I really can't wait to see it. The series is about Androids, and seems to have a very Asimov theme and feel to it. Oh, and Karl Urban is the main guy apparently. Enough said.

Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", created by Joss Whedon, is also right around the corner. It turns out Agent Coulson is alive and kicking, which is an awesome surprise. can't wait for this one either.

As for panels and such, I think I'm now officially a much bigger fan of the Nerd HQ panels than the official Comic-Con ones. Nerd HQ panels are very very different, they're a lot less formal, a lot less directed and formatted and just a lot more fun to watch. This year's Nerd HQ panels were again awesome, and my favourite one was most likely the one with Tom Hiddleston, a.k.a. Loki. =) Here's that:

The Nerd HQ Doctor Who panel was also awesome. Honestly Steven Moffat [now known as Steven Fat] is absolutely hilarious:

And on the same channel you can find the panels with Joss Whedon, Richard Madden, 2 panels with Nathan Fillion and a whole bunch of other really cool one.

Thanks to some good friends I was also able to have a look at several of the official Con panels. I absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOVED Loki's appearance on the Marvel panel, that was just bloody awesome! =D  I also really enjoyed the X-Men panel, and of course the Doctor Who panel hosted by Greg Ferguson was quite entertaining. ;)

But of course I have to do a bit of ranting too. =P For one thing I don't know who gave permission to these people to produce another idiotic 300 movie. Unbelievably disappointing.

But the real disappointment is of course how Marvel seems to have picked up an axe to go after their own Cosmic story arcs altogether. I have been waiting for a "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie to happen for many many years. Now that it's finally going to happen, they have taken the writing from Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and handed it to Brian Michael Bendis, who really, really is NOT the writer for this. And of course James Gunn is directing…. right. And basically the same thing has happened to Nova… So now I wonder if this is really the end of Marvel Cosmic, or at least anything that was good about Marvel Cosmic… or will it somehow be rescued, I guess we just have to wait and see.

Labels: Books, Comic-Con, Comics, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Science, TV

"Star Trek: Into Darkness" : I LUUUUUUUUUUUUUV IT! =D I mean, I really really really love it. We went to watch it on Monday evening, and it's still running in the background of my mind. Fantastic plot, awesome visuals, perfect cast…. This is definitely one of the very best Star Trek movies I've ever seen, and I already have the feeling that unfortunately it is, and it is going to be, underrated.

[Warning, from here on there could be spoilers.]

"Wrath of Khan", and "The Search for Spock", were actually the first 2 Star Trek movies I watched as a child [very little =)], and basically the first time I watched anything Star Trek. Somehow the two movies left quite an impression on me… perhaps the reason why I've always been such a huge fan of the franchise. The scene of Spock's death in "Wrath of Khan" was something that really affected me… the idea, the feelings, the message… So you can imagine, for me it was quite amazing to watch the same scene in the new movie, except with the positions reversed. In fact all the "mirrors" in "Into Darkness" were very exciting for me.

I also think that the choice of Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, was basically as good as it could possibly get. =D He was completely perfect for the role. The character of Khan was always interesting, but I feel that Benedict Cumberbatch's performance somehow managed to make something new out of the character. A much deeper, much more twisted, and terribly impressive new Khan. I'm also a huge fan of the "old Spock" cameos, and Simon Pegg as Scotty is also a completely brilliant choice.

I really cannot understand all the criticism that the movie is receiving. I just hope that J.J. Abrams keeps doing what he's doing, and I look forward, impatiently, to the next one. =D

Labels: Entertainment, J.J. Abrams, Motion Picture, Movies, Nerdism, Sci-Fi, Star Trek

Few days ago I watched "Robot & Frank". One of the better Robot movies I've seen. I guess I mostly liked the fact that this movie, unlike many sci-fi/futuristic movies I've seen, is not trying to decide or state whether this kind of technological advancement has positive implications or negative ones. Instead, it's simply showing that it can have  pretty serious effects on the most private aspects of our lives, and our relationships, with others and even with ourselves.

Oh, and I loved the soundtrack! =)

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Robotics, Sci-Fi, Technology

About a year after all the buzz, and everyone [and most likely their dogs] having already watched "The Dark Knight Rises", Saturday night I finally managed to watch the movie. =D I had simply not found the time before, especially given that I've [please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me….] never really been that big of a fan of the Batman movies. Don't get me wrong, I've always had fun with the movies and the comics and heck, even the old TV series. =) I've just not really been a _fan_. At least, not till now.

The recent Batman movies [Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale] have been quite different from the older versions. There's now actually a plot, a real story, some fantastic character development. And now, with this latest movie, I'm actually a fan! For the first time in my life I've actually watched a Batman movie that I've really truly enjoyed enough to even feel like watching more than once. =D

Of course it also appears [at least so far] that this is going to be the last Nolan/Bale Batman movie, which is quite a shame. This has definitely been the best version of Batman so far, and I really would have liked to see more of it….

Labels: Comics, Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

This made me laugh, then cry, then laugh, then cry again…. One of "those" movies.

Labels: Entertainment, Fantasy, Motion Picture, Movies

On Saturday night I watched "Donovan's Echo", thanks to the recommendation from a good friend. =) And totally loved it. Here's yet another movie that somehow never became popular, and no one seems to ever have heard of.

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi

Ok I am officially excited about this! As it turns out, not only Mr. Abrams is directing "Star Trek : Into Darkness", he's actually going to be directing "Star Wars VII" also!! Wow wow wow! Full article here.

Labels: Entertainment, J.J. Abrams, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Star Wars

I read the book "Life of Pi" a few years back, due to the suggestion of one of my profs. I enjoyed reading the book quite immensely, and felt quite moved by it. Somehow I felt a lot of connections between the life of Pi and the life of myself. The book is definitely one of the best I've ever read.

When I heard that "Life of Pi" was made into a movie, and especially after reading up on the crew and the cast, I figured this is probably not yet another case of a really good book being mutilated into a movie. The book, as deep and wonderful as it is, it also tells a very simple story which I didn't imagine would be too hard to make into motion picture. And then I saw the trailer, and I knew that I absolutely had to see the movie.

As it turns out, the movie is indeed a very good adaptation of the book. Aside from remaining completely faithful to the book, the visual aspects of the movie are quite marvellous, and the music is breathtaking. And I'm also very happy to see that they didn't try to somehow hollywoodize the whole thing. =)

So for anyone who is a fan of the book, as well as anyone who's never heard of it before, "Life of Pi" is totally recommended. Best if you actually go to a movie theatre and see the 3D version, as there are some truly spectacular scenes in there. I enjoyed it very very much. =)

Labels: Books, Entertainment, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

It's a pretty long list of reasons why I've always been a huge fan of Tolkien's books, one of the main ones being the way there is a million and one story lines happening parallel to each other. There's a lot of important information, as well as major and minor characters in each of these streams, contributing to the depth and the complexity of the story as a whole, and making the whole Tolkien universe a lot more of an intriguing place.

That is why, when the 3 Lord of the Rings movies officially took over the world, I was one of the very few people not to be that big of a fan of them. I did of course enjoy watching the spectacular visuals of the movies and many other great aspects of them. But my problem was with the amount of information, story pieces and even some very significant characters [Tom Bombadil being the best example] that were removed, in order to fit books of that magnitude into 3.5 hour movies. In my opinion, these modifications have altered the story line, and have caused irreparable damage to much of what Tolkien was trying to communicate through his stories.

When last year I read that for the single "The Hobbit" book, three movies were in production, I had to smile. I've been very much looking forward to seeing the movies, and last week I finally got to watch the first part, "An Unexpected Journey". As I suspected, having considerably more time means that the movie is a lot closer to the book than the LOTR movies. The important parts are all there, and the story hasn't really been altered in any way. And then there's of course all the visual gorgeousness and the lovely scenery, and the truly awesome collection of actors and actresses. On that note I must say I'm really happy with the choice of Martin Freeman as Bilbo, him being one of my favourite actors and completely perfect for the role too. Oh, and was anyone else excited to see "Being Human"s Aiden Turner as Kili? =D

So all in all finally there's a Tolkien book made into movie that I'm happy with. Now waiting impatiently for the 2 remaining parts....

Labels: Entertainment, Fantasy, Literature, Motion Picture, Movies

Very often I end up watching a movie long after the rest of the world has seen it, simply due to not finding the time. Also the more I want to see a movie, the more I avoid reading other people's reviews and spoilers and sometimes I don't even watch the trailer, regardless of how much noise it may have made. So a few days ago I sat down to watch "The Fourth Kind", knowing absolutely nothing about it. And by the time the movie ended, I was sticking to the couch, hugging the cushions, my jaw was laying on the ground and I had plums for eyes.

And then I started Googling..... and you can imagine the rest. =P

Labels: Entertainment, Motion Picture, Movies, Sci-Fi