City of Bones by Cassandra Clare - Film Talk

So I figured that considering the film for the first instalment in one of my favourite series of all time, the Mortal Instruments series, is coming out in less than a month I would read the book again whilst on holiday in the beautiful mountainous location of Mijas Pueblo, Spain. There is possibly nothing I love more than lying by the pool listening to music with a good book and oh my I forgot how much I absolutely love this series. I'm going to that place in my mind again when I life and breath a book that I love, it's all I want to talk about and so the fact that I have a FILM to look forward to makes me even more crazily obsessed.

Since I've been back from Spain I've watched all the varying trailers from every country about 20 times... This film will be epic. I realllllly do hope it gets as big as say Harry Potter unlike other book-film adaptations like Percy Jackson which for me didn't really live up to my expectations. 

More than anything, I AM SO GRATEFUL THAT ALEX PETTYFER WAS NOT CAST AS JACE. Hate me all you like but he was the last person I could imagine playing Jace, his acting would ruin everything Jace is about in the books. Jamie Campbell Bower is a strange one, I like him because I haven't seen him play a big big role in anything before and I'm intrigued to see what he can do with Jace. From the trailer he definitely captures the dark, intimidating side of the character I just hope that in the film, we see all the humour and sarcasm which makes up Jace's character.  

Lily Collins is perfect for the role of Clary if you ask me, she looks the right age and apart from the colour of her hair, when I was reading the book the first time, I was picturing someone not far off from Lily Collins when I imagined Clary.

THE CASTING OF SIMON IS JUST OMGAAAAAD SO PERFECT. His description in the book matches Robert Sheehan's personality and appearance exactly, Simon is one of my favourite characters and I'm so glad they found someone to do him justice as well as Robert most definitely will.

I've found out recently that the Shadowhunters are all supposed to be British and the rest of the cast American, in the trailer it's mainly Jamie's voice we hear out of the Shadowhunters and it did sound somewhat out of place amongst all the other accents rocking about but at the same time I'm glad us Brits have a place in the film.

SPOILERS

Okay so lets confront the elephant in the room and talk about the incest thing. When reading the book for the first time I can honestly say I have never been more shocked by a plot twist in my life. I have a feeling that people might watch the film and just think it weird and disgusting but if you read the books you'll understand that it's not like that at all. Some people may be so put off by it that they'll scare other potential viewers away or refuse to watch the next film (lets hope there definitely is a City of Ashes adaptation!). I'm intrigued to go to the cinema and hear the reaction of my friends and people around me who probably don't know its coming.

On a more positive note however, its only 27 days till the film comes out!

I recommend everyone go watch the film and I'll probably write a review of what I thought of it once I've seen it.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Here's a link to the trailer in case anyone wants to check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UHdZMEUOQ8

Shades of Earth (Third Instalment in the Across the Universe Trilogy) by Beth Revis - Book Review

Synopsis

This is the third instalment in the Across the Universe trilogy, which explores the same themes as the other two books; the narrative is similarly split between Amy and Elder and it still follows their lives aboard the space ship Godspeed which embarked on a 300 year mission to the planet Centauri Earth. In this instalment however, Elder has decided that leaving the ship Godspeed for the new planet which actually exists on Godspeed's doorstep is worth the risks that Orion has warned about. Upon arrival, Amy and Elder as well as the Earthborns which have now been unfrozen, including Amy's mother and her father who takes position as leader, find that the monsters Orion feared are very real indeed, they come across strange dinosaur like birds, strange reptilian footprints and flowers which make you pass out amongst other interesting discoveries about their new home. They soon find that they may not be the first humans to step foot on this supposedly undiscovered planet, it soon becomes a race for survival to uncover hidden secrets and fight against an enemy who the members of Earth and Godspeed were very much unprepared for. 

SPOILERS

Review: Okay this book was by far the best in the trilogy, it could have had its own trilogy leading on from this book alone because there was is so much that can still be explored within the Shades of Earth main plot. The 5 stars admittedly are given mainly because the ending of the book was just OMGDFSDFLNRK<GNRELNLARNELFN AMAZINGLY FANTASTICALLY EMOTIONALLY SATISFYING. Basically we are led to believe that Elder has died saving Amy by blowing up the space station which housed the biological bomb which would have killed the rogue hybrids who were keeping Amy hostage and actually converted her into one of them! Revis does this thing with the chapters when instead of having the narrative alternating between Amy and Elder, IT'S JUST AMY AND ELDER HAS NOTHING BUT A BLANK PAGE BUT IT'S NOT BLANK NOW BECAUSE OF MY TEARS. Like seriously I was BAWLING like a baby when Elder had 'died', I was just waiting for Amy to commit because lets be honest she'd lost her home, her parents who she waited 3 months to unfreeze and now the love of her life, how she was less of an emotional wreck than me I have no idea. Then just when you think the trilogy will end and you're getting ready to throw the book across the room, AMY FINDS ELDER IN THE FOREST WITH HIS CRASHED ESCAPE SHUTTLE OMGAAAAAAD! You'd think the tears would stop at this point but no, it was such a beautiful reunion where he was all like "I don't care if you're a hybrid" and she's all like "you came back to me" and he was like "always" and GOD BETH REVIS WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME. This was possibly the best ending of any trilogy (apart from The Hunger Games) that I have ever read and it makes up all the nitty gritty bits that annoyed me about this trilogy.

Basically this book brought up SO MANY MORE QUESTIONS in every single Chapter like how has Phydus got onto the planet? What's Orion's last clue? Who are the aliens? I raced to the end of this book just to get some answers! Everything was revealed all at once in just a few chapters which I found a lot to take in and it all became very confusing at points that I think I missed some bits. Firstly, what actually happened to the first colony? So they weren't killed off they were injected with Phydus and the gen mods right? Or were they killed off by the FRX?! Also, how did Dr. Gupta and Emma etc get Phydus into their system? Is that how the rogue hybrids killed them off? I'm still a bit confused here but the rest all clicks into place nicely.

There were so many surprises in this book, I was NOT expecting Chris to be a rogue hybrid at all, I was so shocked and actually refused to believe it for a while hoping he was being blackmailed by them or something! To be honest though, I find it a bit odd that Colonel Martin just welcomed him into the colony like surely if he was from the first colony, Amy's Dad could hold him hostage and get information out of him or something?! But instead he trusted this COMPLETE STRANGER from ANOTHER PLANET who he's known for FIVE MINUTES to look after his wife and daughter, rookie mistake Colonel. 

I also think Amy was waaaaay too forgiving with the rogue hybrids, they had killed a third of her colony and both of her parents but she didn't have any real desire for revenge or justice which I thought was slightly unrealistic. 

Beth Revis deserves a round of applause for the setting development in this book though, she created a whole new world from her imagination and managed to squeeze enough detail about this new world as well as an actual substantial story all in one book which takes some trilogy's a couple of books to do. The story was so original, from the pteros to the solar energy cubes. What I really like about this whole trilogy is that it's very dystopian but still very relatable, developments such as the grav tubes and the cubes are things which our current generation may not be too far away from, I know this story is set centuries in the future but still, hopefully when I'm an old lady I'll be able to press a button and get my dinner delivered to me through a hole in my wall.

Also, the development of Amy and Elder's relationship was so perfect. I'm actually glad that Chris was in the picture to mix things up between the couple and actually make Amy realise how much she loves Elder. Whats more, their sex scene was approached so well, the way that Elder didn't want to pressure Amy into anything and they were both so honest with each other about what they wanted. They didn't actually say 'I love you' to each other which would have been nice, but it was implied that they both loved each other though so I'm still happy! Their relationship seemed so difficult, they both had different responsibilities but they still made every effort to stay in each others lives and in the end Elder puts Amy's life before any of his other responsibilities.

Ahhhhh well done Beth Revis, you have absolutely outdone yourself with this last instalment! 

A Million Suns by Beth Revis - Book Review

So I promised I'd blog my book reviews as soon as possible and I finally put this book down about 10 seconds ago so there's no denying my efficiency!

Synopsis: This is the second instalment in the Across the Universe trilogy. This book will throw plot twists and cliffhangers at you, it will make you fall in love and may even make you want to become an astronaut, I know I'm reconsidering my future job now! This book continues from the first instalment in following the narrative of the two protagonists. Whilst Elder struggles to lead in the face of a population who are seeing things for how they really are now that they're off Phydus, Amy pieces together the clues Orion has left her which will eventually lead her to make a decision which will change the fate of the whole ship. This book has everything; romance, action, rebellion, suspense and a flexing load of stars;)

SPOILERS

Review:  I must say, I gave this book the same number of stars as it's predecessor (see Across the Universe review below) but I do think this second book was better than the first though it takes a lot for me to give a book 5 stars so 4 was what it's got I'm afraid. 

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK. Damn you Beth Revis for writing a book which literally took up 99.9% of my thoughts whilst I was at work, I haven't had much of a social life in the past few days because all I want to do is come home, lay in the sunshine with a glass of Pimms (very British) and read this book! It is such a page turner, the tension was insane... every single chapter revealed a little bit more about Orion's big secret and I found myself trying to decode his clues and getting nowhere, I would suck as a detective.

I am so glad that Elder and Amy's relationship deepened in this instalment, their affection for one another was so much clearer and there were more kissing scenes, an almost sex scene (I proper sound like a creep now) but Revis made explicit that the romance between the two wasn't the whole focus of the trilogy and so much else happened in this book which the romance could just develop alongside and it didn't overshadow this. Elder and Amy did argue, what couple doesn't? But it wasn't repetitive and the repercussions of these disagreements weren't dragged out like some writers tend to do, they were resolved and the plot could move on!

I was so happy when Luthor was killed, although we didn't exactly find out who killed him, I guessed it was Doc with his med patches. He could have gone on to become a villain type character in the last book but as the plot went on I realised that there will probably be enough villains in the next book anyway especially now that Orion is becoming unfrozen and Doc is on the loose still. I'm glad that Revis didn't try to make Luthor's character seek redemption or something like that because some writers tend to turn their villains into heroes but there was no way I would ever warm to Luthor!

We got to learn a lot more about the other inhabitants of the ship seeing as everyone is now off Phydus, such as Bartie and Victria which I liked because it meant we saw outside the bubble of the main characters. 

If I had one little criticism it would be that Revis sacrificed logic in her plot development in exchange for the creation of tension and suspense... Orion was leaving Amy clues and some sort of puzzle which would eventually lead her to his secret but at the same time he kept stressing how 'time is running out'... he could have just told her all at once! Why make her find out bit by bit when the clock is ticking and food is running out? It made me race to the end of the book and I love it when I get this endorsed in a book but in retrospect it was all a bit contradictory. 

Now You See Me - Film Review

Okay so I know I promised I would review books on this blog, but I've literally 5 minutes ago come out of the cinema and I NEED to talk about this film so I thought I'd simply write about it...

Synopsis: In short, the plot follows four street magicians, Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) and mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) who have been assigned a mysterious 'mission' by a supposed fifth horseman in their clique. An impressive act sees the four horseman steal 3 million euros from a Parisian bank using an audience member as their pawn in the operation. The case is taken on by an FBI agent played by Mark Ruffalo and his French accomplice. As the film plays out, the audience is left to question who is truly that one step ahead, the horsemen, the FBI or the ex, bitter magician Morgan Freeman and his rival turned partner Michael Caine. Without giving anything away, this film will have you questioning everything you have ever thought about magic and you'll leave the cinema feeling monumentally mind blown. 

SPOILERS

The thing that drew me to this film was the originality of its premise, I've never seen anything like it myself even though I know there are similar films such as The Illusionist. I follow acts like Derren Brown and Dynamo religiously and was so intrigued by this movie I felt I had to see it on its opening night. It stayed true to my expectations and had me sitting on the edge of my feet, I felt as drawn into the act as the audience members inside the screen did. At the start when Isla Fisher was supposedly trapped inside the tank getting eaten alive by fish, I thought it was game over for her, failing to remember that she is a main character and would not be killed off in the first 5 mins. I could not predict the tricks or the mind games, throughout the film, we were manipulated to believe that Mark Ruffalo was getting closer and closer to finding out the truth behind these four horsemen. We followed his story for the majority of the film and just when we thought he was that one step ahead, after the 'death' of Dave Franco... we could not have been more wrong, the magicians had quite a bit up their sleeves.

The casting was perfect, the four magicians worked so well together. Eisenberg portrayed perfect characterisation for his character, he had that typical egotistic persona that I would imagine that character would certainly possess. Harrelson had me laughing and amazed by his character and Fisher was certainly not sidelined in the way women usually are when it comes to 'magic' shows. I do wish we saw more of Dave Franco, I feel he drew the short straw and didn't have an overly important role but this isn't new, (WARM BODIES SPOILERS) his character in Warm Bodies was killed off pretty swiftly, hopefully we'll see him in a leading role some time soon.

THE PLOT TWISTED IN SO MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS I COULDN'T PREDICT THE ENDING! I'm usually quite good at predicting who the suspect is but at no point did I consider that Mark Ruffalo was the one behind the whole thing, I'm still questionable as to why the hell he went to such lengths and what he actually gained from it all. There were a few bits and bobs that weren't really explained, or maybe I just missed an important line or something. I still don't know who died in the crash if it wasn't Dave Franco and I would love to understand more about the Eye and what it actually is, was it an organisation? Another universe? A new set of magical powers? I JUST DON'T KNOW!

I haven't heard overly good things about this film, even just walking out of the cinema I heard people commenting about its complexity and difficulty to comprehend but one thing is for sure, no matter how much I was bursting, I would not dare leave my seat for a toilet break I was so drawn in... I would recommend everyone watches this film but it may take a couple more viewings for me to fill in some bits I'm still confused about.

I would have given this film 5 stars if not for the fact that I believe some bits were unecessary. There was a small, undeveloped romance between the duo of Mark Ruffalo and French actress Mélanie Laurent, I saw this union happening right from the very start and thought it was slightly predictable and detached from the originality of the plot as a whole. There were also, as I explained previously, some bits which I don't really understand and some bits should have been explained in more depth and not just bypassed by the odd comment which could have easily been missed.