On one of those days which supported flashbacks in a big way, I could unintentionally fall into the wonderful trap of horror which was this movie. In this trap that is a horror movie, there was another world, which had a lot from the former horror movies, thus serving as a tribute along with being a great horror treat. It is a perfect story of five friends who become part of a perfectly executed horror reality in an environment which is more of a cage – they are watched through hidden cameras, and are made to act in the way the people watching them wants them to act. But the fact remains that this not just a horror movie, as it drains energy from the earlier slasher movies and along with paying homage to them, there is a little bit of satire involved in the treatment. There are elements of The Evil Dead, Hellraiser, as well as all the vampire, zombie and werewolf movies, and not even leaving the mythological as well as the natural beasts behind. The movie has combined all of these to create an astonishing effect, a mixture which can be scary and creepy enough as well as funny enough. It leaves the horror movies with lots of nostalgia with all these, and there might surely be pure satisfaction on most of those faces. This is a mixture which leaves a long-lasting impression on one.

Five college students Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly), Jules Louden (Anna Hutchison), Holden McCrea (Jesse Williams), Marty Mikalski (Fran Kranz) and Curt Vaughan (Chris Hemsworth) travells to a remote cabin in the distant woods away from civilization for a vacation. But the abandoned cabin is more of a controlled environment, as a number of people manage whatever happens in that cabin as they view each and every incident in there with hidden cameras. It is seen that they have an influence throughout the area and not just the cabin. They also give drug the students to reduce their awareness and capability to think in a rational manner. A cellar opens automatically which they feel a result of the wind. Inside the cellar, they find many strange items, including a diary of Patience Buckner, a girl who was abused by her sadistic family. Reciting a Latin incantation from the diary, Dana accidentally summons the whole Buckner family in the form of the walking dead, a group of zombies. Jules is the first one to be killed by the zombies outside, and soon the cabin is attacked by the monsters. With a number of people frequently monitoring and guiding the monsters, as well as trying to weaken the possibilities of the remaining four friends in surviving the horror, it will be a perfect hell-ride for each of them, and escaping the living dead might be more difficult than death itself.

The movie keeps giving that feeling of The Evil Dead throughout its first few minutes in the cabin. There is going to be a little bit of a spoiler from now on, and the base of this movie lies on ritual sacrifice. This is about the need to appease the ancient gods, resembling more of giant monsters who live beneath the facility under the cabin and are kept there in satisfaction by these rituals. The sacrifice should have five constituents, the Whore (Jules), the Athlete (Curt), the Scholar (Holden), the Fool (Marty) and the Virgin (Dana), and the Virgin is supposed to die last with the process usually starting with the Whore. All of these begin with the future victims choosing their method of torment and death, in this case the diary of Patience Becker. They are lead to choosing these, and being unaware through the careful tactics of the people in control, who always check the camera for each move, and manipulate the environment so that the victims will fo what they want, including opening a door or window as well as closing it, or drugging them. Another person could have unleashed the Lord of Pain, a vampire, a merman, an anaconda or a werewolf – the list is almost endless as these creatures are all locked away in the facility.

Kristen Connolly as Dana Polk a.k.a the Virgin; the first movie I ever watched starring her, and she is one of the characters who are in control, keeping within the limits, thus surviving much longer. Even as she keeps tp herself, she is still part of the gang, very unlike Amber Heard’s character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. But it is debatable if she is really a virgin from what they talk about in the beginning of the movie. She does seem surprised when the director mentions her as the Virgin, and the facility had to admit that they work with what they have, which should imply that she was clearly the better of the two, consider the character of her only female friend in the gang. Jesse Williams as Holden McCrea a.k.a the Scholar is her lover in a relationship which seems hundred percent platonic for now. He works as the perfect gentleman who doesn’t force her into anything and even decides not to look at Dana’s nudity through a one-way mirror and alerts her of the vision he is having in the other room while she undresses. There he also put a block on the desire of the facility’s employees who are watching the same scene to see something. But he is still proud and very confident about his skills, which doesn’t really serve him that well when affected by the drugs.

Chris Hemsworth as Curt Vaughan a.k.a the Athlete is the strongest member of the group, and is extremely confident about his power, and this confidence leads to his death. Anna Hutchison as Jules Louden a.k.a the Whore is a character which proves to be closest to the title from the beginning itself, and even solves the employers’ sadness of seeing no nudity. Her death occurs right after she undresses, about to make out with her boyfriend Curt, as she has completed her role as the archetype which is seen in most of the horror movies. She had already done a sexy dance and even kissed a wolf-head on the wall before this, thus reiterating her position as the one stereotype, the immoral one who gets killed first, and at its perfection, when topless – the facility works with what they had, and therefore, considering her abstinence and also her relationship with the lover, Dana had to be the Virgin, and therefore, Jules had to be the Whore. In that case, even Holden is not too less of an athlete and just loses out to Curt. These roles might have been assigned by the facility’s helper at the petrol pump, who already called Jules by the same title. The employees looking to the screen and waiting for her bare bosom or even extended nudity as well as the betting is less a result of their prejudice and more based on what information the man outside had already given them.

Fran Kranz as Marty Mikalski a.k.a the Fool is the most intelligent one among them all, and the only one without a heroine; no Virgin and no Whore. He is more of the lone wolf who still sticks to the gang without any problem. As he is always on drugs, the drugging never really works on him and he remains in control of his full brain. He might be the first person ever to kill a zombie out there, or at least semi-murder or half-murder those undead creatures. He doubts the presence of puppeteers around right from the beginning, which Dana acknowledges only after the death of Curt. He also saves Dana from sure death in the hands of a zombie. His intellect seems to be more based on movies, and not what is taught in the school and the college which might have helped him to guess things that others couldn’t in such an environment of horror. With his limited arsenal, he has humiliated both the Hercules equivalent and the Socrates equivalent in survival, and he still had remaining darts in his quiver. He even fooled the experts who spent most of their lives in front of the camera, and thus even faked his death, something which might have been unintentional, but still, perfect.

Well, other than the facts that the monster details are awesome, and the leading ladies do a great job along with looking stunning, the more interesting thing is the philosophy involved in it. The gods who are kept underground by ritual sacrifice are more like the viewers who need those good doses of movies in a certain pattern, and the breaking of that pattern might destroy the movie by depriving it of the common viewers, but the gods are change, and variety would come in another generation of movies. May be for a change, the Whore survives, or the whole situation might be reversed. In the case of the giant monstrous gods coming out of the ground to destroy humanity, as the Fool would agree at any point of time, there is the need for another species to be given a chance where humanity failed in its treatment of its own species as well as nature. This movie is a surprise, and it leaves so much for its viewers, to find and deconstruct in their own world, as the gods that they are, and not as the voyeurs who look on the screen from darkness with full confidence that nobody is watching them. There are so many possibilities for imagination related to this movie, and the movie audience got the power. It would have surely been a grand success if its had released here, but what to do for people who can’t even release Evil Dead.

Release date: 13th April 2012
Running time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Amy Acker, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford

@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Well, for your information, this professor has saved the Vatican from an anti-matter explosion, unveiled the truth about the Holy Grail, and found the inconceivable secret of Masons. All this while, he’s been on frantic hunts through crypts, dangerous catacombs, and deserted cathedrals, sorting through bizarre riddles, with assassins on his tail. Still sounds lame?

Robert Langdon is the protagonist of the four bestselling novels from the author Dan Brown- an American author of thriller fiction.  Here, have a look at his thrillers:-

1. Angels and Demons

Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist, is asked to investigate a mysterious symbol, seared into the chest of a murdered Swiss physicist. What he discovers is uncalled for- Illuminati, an ancient secret brotherhood, sworn-enemy of the Catholic Church and the Pope, has resurfaced to fulfill its final stage of vendetta against its centuries-old enemy- the Vatican.
Alongwith a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, he sets on to save the Vatican from an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of the Vatican City. A frantic hunt ensues through the sealed crypts, catacombs, cathedrals and to the most secretive vault on Earth- a part of 400-year old trail of ancient symbol that ensnares Rome in the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.
He has only 24-hours to stop the bomb and to save the Vatican, and may be the faith of trillions worldwide!

2. The Da Vinci Code

While in Paris, Langdon is called upon to study the baffling symbols covering the body of the elderly curator of the Louvre, who has been murdered inside the museum. With help from French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, Robert is set against an ingenious code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
As they sort through the bizarre riddles, they come across Priory of Sion- a secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Victor hugo, Da Vinci and the curator himself who’s guarded a breathtaking historical secret.
A master assassin upon their tail, they race through the cathedrals and castes in Europe to decipher the puzzle, else the ancient truth may be lost forever.

3. The Lost Symbol

Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to the U.S. Capitol building. His planned lecture is cut-short after the discovery of a severed right hand, artfully encoded with five symbols, that is found in the very same building.
That hand belongs to Langdon’s mentor Peter Solomon, a longstanding Mason and beloved philanthropist, who’s kidnapped by an assassin. To save Solomon, he is bound to accept the mystical invitation and delve into a hidden world of Masonic secrets, hidden history and one inconceivable truth- guided by that dangerous person who threatens his mentor.
The Lost Symbol is an intelligently engaging book with a lightning-paced story full of twists and turns.

4. Inferno

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno.
Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.

Set in Banaras, a town that’s famous as a Hindu pilgrimage spot and for it’s Banarasi saris, The Virgins is a story of three friends and their “sexpot” adventures. Guggi, the son of a local politician, is a spoilt rich brat who comes up with crazy ideas for fun and adventure. In one of their first “sexpot” adventures, the three friends stand outside the girls hostel of Banaras Hindu University as Guggi screams “Hey GIRLS, OPEN EVERYTHING….NOW!” As the girls freeze, a beat constable comes rushing onto the scene to apprehend the eve teasers. Guggi escapes on his scooter with Bandhu, while Pinku is left to fend for himself. As he is running away from the university with the cop at his heels, he realizes that being the poorest of the three, he is always the one who is left behind. Even his drunkard father had disappeared one day, leaving his mother alone to fend for her seven children. The 19-year old school dropout has only two dreams left: to open a cassette shop one day and to marry the plump girl who caught him stealing flower pots. As he is running away from the cop, Pinku promises himself that he will take on the job at Cheeni Chacha’s grocery store and walk on the straight and narrow, staying out of Guggi’s crazy plans.

17-year old Bhandu, meanwhile, is on a rebellious streak. His parents have recently divorced and, in a society where such things are still looked down upon, he finds himself conflicted and angry. To make matters worse, the American tourist on whom he has a crush doesn’t even know he exists.

Both the boys seek solace in Guggi’s crazy “sexpot” plans – each adventure weirder than the last. But their seemingly innocuous joyride takes a more sinister turn when Guggi, eager to leave a mark, gets into the school’s notorious protection racket after a rather violent coup. But Barjesh Yadav, the man whose position he usurps, isn’t about to let things lie. Guggi’s plan to leave a mark drags the three friends into a murky world of heartbreak, betrayal and bloody vengeance.

The Virgins is an exceptionally well written book, though I have to admit it took me a while to fall to under its spell. Tripathi brings the streets, sounds and smells of Banaras alive, exposing its darker underbelly of crime and political clout. The mentality of small-town men, though spot-on, is unsettling and is part of the reason why it took me some time to really enjoy the ride.

His characters are immensely believable. I found myself rooting for Pinku the underdog, wanting to slap Guggi for his impertinence, and shake Bhandu out of his animosity towards his father. The plotting of the novel is excellent too; it doesn’t flag for a moment, hurtling through to its stupendous conclusion, a lot like Guggi’s race on his scooter through the streets of Banaras. Tripathi promises to be a writer to look out for. Overall, I’d recommend this book with a caveat: it might make you slightly uncomfortable at first, but it is one helluva “sexpot” adventure!

http://www.artistpush.com/edipo-la-classe-operaia-va-allinferno.html

Jon Pertwee’s reign as the Third Doctor is filled with suspenseful and terrifyingly beautiful stories.  BBC is releasing two of these stories to DVD in North America on June 11, 2013.  “The Mind of Evil” and “Inferno: Special Edition” are loaded with amazing extras including commentaries, interviews and behind the scenes specials. (continue reading on Examiner.com)

It’s hard to stay on track, though, when you have a sick little niece staying with you. Yup, that’s right. My four year old niece had a cold last week, and it was my week to watch her. So I did a lot of babying last week, along with playing a lot of Minecraft and cooking a lot of toast with no butter, jam, or peanut butter. Just toast. Dry. Blegh. But that was all she would eat. No appetite for anything else. It wasn’t until the middle of the week that I actually got her to eat something fairly substantial. Now she’s back to normal, and everyone else is sick.

I managed to escape this plague, but barely. I did have a fever last Monday, but it only lasted a day and a half. I’m pretty sure my body fought it off, thank goodness. It’s not like I ever want to get sick. But I really can’t get sick now. My boyfriend leaves for work again in a few days, and I would like to be healthy for the rest of the time that he’s here. No colds, flus, or other bugs. Must avoid at all costs. Even as my poor mommy is lying on the couch, coughing and trying to recover. Hand sanitizer for DAYS!

My boyfriend is another reason I haven’t been able to post. We actually went out of town for a day, staying at a nice little hotel in the city to get away from it all. You know… we took a staycation, which is apparently a vacation that happens at home. It was a lot of fun! The hotel we stayed at had a pool and a hot tub, and we had a nice conversation with a woman about England and music and a bunch of other topics. The next morning we woke up and got ready to go to the local theme park. We had lunch, went to the magic show, and rode a couple rides (he rode more than I did, because I’m a big wimp). It was fun, and I went home that night completely sun zapped. Another excuse for not writing.

Also, and I hate to admit this… but I have been really involved in this amazing book. It’s called The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen, and for the last few days I haven’t been able to put it down. I finally finished it last night, and it was every bit as good as I expected. I’ve been a big fan of the Sarah Dessen books since my friend Stephannie (readers of my book might recognize the name) bought me The Truth About Forever a few years ago. Ever since then I have been hooked. My four favorites, not in any particular order, are Just Listen, This Lullaby, Along for the Ride, and Dreamland. Fantastic summer books!

I’m now trying to read Dan Brown’s new book, Inferno. I was working on it earlier today, but I’m kind of struggling to get involved in the plot. This happens a lot with his books, but once I’m involved, there is no stopping me until I finish it. Once I finish with his book, I plan on keeping the promise I made to my best friend and reading the first in Rick Riordan’s trilogy The Kane Chronicles. Not sure what the heck I’m going to read after that. Maybe The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’ve heard that’s a good one, and I enjoyed the movie. Might as well read the book.

So that’s what’s been going on with me. Hopefully I’ll be back on Wednesday with another entry, but if not, please know that I’ll be back soon. A lot of craziness going on, and I’ll explain more soon. So I guess I’ll talk to you all later. Have a good night!
Love,
~Alysun

El autor y su obra.

Saludos estimados lectores. En esta ocasión esta entrada no se realizó a partir de una entrevista, de una nota de periódico, de una plática informal o por observación. Esta vez fue por el contenido del libro más reciente del escritor Dan Brown: “Inferno“.

Para los que piensen que esta publicación será una reseña del libro les comento que no, no será así. Esta entrada gira entorno a dos temas que se toman del libro: la sobrepoblación y las pandemias y epidemias.

Prácticamente lo que dice el libro respecto a la sobrepoblación es mucha gente, recursos insuficientes. Eso tiene mucha coherencia y más si vemos cómo es que la sociedad crece a un paso demasiado acelerado. Ante esto es necesario tomar medidas preventivas que nos lleva a pensar en dos opciones muy “blancas” por así decirlo: control de natalidad o incluso alimentos transgénicos.

No obstante, hay otra opción que es muy drástica e inquietante, misma que se maneja en el libro: un virus. Una enfermedad que se contagie entre la población mundial y que reduzca la cantidad de habitantes. Si bien es cierto que habría una menor cantidad de gente también es un gran precio que se debe tomar en cuenta.

Debido a lo extremo que parece esa última opción nos hace remitirnos a las historias religiosas como las de el gran diluvio e incluso el incendio de Sodoma y Gomorra. En otras palabras, una historia o incluso un thriller.

Sea como sea hay un mensaje claro y ése es que se debe hacer algo ya pues cada vez somos más personas las que habitamos este mundo que parece se agota más y más rápido. El calentamiento global, la extinción de especias y contaminación de los mantos acuíferos son muestra de ello.

Fin del mundo versión 2013

En ocasiones se piensa que el fin del mundo será un final de Hollywood: meteoritos cayendo en la Tierra, zombies, grandes terremotos e incluso la llegada de seres de otro planeta (sin mencionar a los famosos cuatro jinetes del apocalípsis); sin embargo, no se piensa en que el fin del mundo es todos los días con las cosas que hacemos que dañan tanto a nuestro cuerpo como al de quienes están cerca de nosotros y al mundo donde habitamos.

Tienen razón en que Dan Brown tenga ciertos errores dentro de sus libros; sin embargo, hay que ver el otro lado, lo expuesto dentro de las obras, mismo que debe ser lo que tenga una mayor importancia.

I’ve been quiet for a while because a) I’ve been working very hard, and b) I’ve been reading the latest Dan Brown book, Inferno.

What, you’re surprised that I read. You shouldn’t be, if you read my book Debbie you would know that ferrets lead a double life.

When humans are around, ferrets act like ferrets: they sleep, they eat and they play. But when they’re alone, ferrets do all sorts of stuff that humans know nothing about.

What do they do? Well, they watch television, listen to the radio, read the newspaper and books and anything else they can get their little paws on.

Now I don’t know if other ferrets write, but I do. I write this blog and as I mentioned earlier, I wrote a book called Debbie.

I also became a member of a small animal forum. Other than cats and dogs, the forum has a section for rabbits, rats, mice, ferrets (of course) and even snakes and spiders.

I looked at all sorts of sections, except the spider section. Spiders give me the creeps.

While I was there, someone mentioned that she has an angora ferret. Now that was news to me, I’d never heard of an angora ferret, much less seen one.

So I went on Google to look for pictures of angora ferrets and OMG they’re so cute and fluffy.  Here see for yourself …

If you ask me, this one looks a bit like a Poodle.

This one looks like a regular ferret with a bad hair day.

This one, come on, this one looks like a mop.

 And this one, cute as she is, looks more like a baby chicken than a ferret.

If you’re curious about me and my book, here it is

Available from Rocking Horse Publishing, Amazon and other book sites.

Dan Brown is always kind of fun to read. Like a cross between James Patterson and   a *Blank* -for-Dummies book. Short chapters that give you a Cliff Notes version course in the topic of the day.

I mean he always takes some (relatively) obscure cult and crosses it a fairly well-known Painter/Author/Whatever and 104 chapters later there you have it.

Inferno is no exception.  Take a little bit of Durante degli Alighieri, more commonly known as “Dante” ( of the high school AP English or College 101 lit staple Dante’s Inferno )  ,  add a bizarre ideology called the Transhumanist Movement, throw in a cross-Europe chase and possible case of amnesia for Brown’s antagonist/hero Robert Langdon, and you have a book that very rarely let’s up in the narrative. That is  until the last 3 or 4 chapters which are just the literary equivalent of the Scooby Gang’s ” Now we’ll tell you why Old Man Smithers did what ever he did”.

I did enjoy this outing much more than his last,  The Lost Symbol, and I’ll most likely pick up whatever book he puts out next. Who knows maybe a combo of Botticelli and fake moon landing conspiracy  …. ?

Genre:  Thriller

(History, Symbolism, Action)

Robert Langdon wakes up in the hospital.  He thinks he is close to Harvard University, but, when he looks out the window he realizes he is in Florence, Italy!

How in the world did he get there?  He has no memory of the past 48 hours, and to top it off, he has a bullet wound on the top of his head.  He had been shot!

Suddenly, the person who shot him, crashes into the hospital room.  She kills a Doctor and barely misses Langdon and another Doctor (Sienna Brooks) as they flee.

Sometime later Langdon finds a small chemically driven (he shakes it) projector hidden in his jacket.  The image  is that of a painting depicting Dante’s “The Inferno” although somewhat altered.  WTF.

Simultaneously, Dr. Bertrand Zobrist, a world famous geneticist, jumped to his death just a few blocks away from the hospital.  Zobrist had just spent the past year in hiding (thanks to the concealment efforts of “The Consortium” who he hired to do just that…keep everyone away while he worked).

We come to find out that Zobrist will release a plague….tomorrow.  The race is on to find the source of the plague and stop it.

“Inferno” is the next in the Robert Langdon series, taking us to Florence and Venice Italy and then to the climax in Istanbul, Turkey.  The source of the story is Dante’s Divine Comedy and epic poem “The Inferno” (Zobrist was a big fan…).

Excellent, fast, read with unexpected twists and turns that will literally leave you wondering how the human race can survive.

To find out what happens…you need to read the book, or wait a few years for the movie.  :-)

Looking at more of four to five outlines than 8 or 9 outlines.

I’m also looking up information on  the island of Bali. Still researching…

I’m thinking of making a Lucifer a woman in this story. The story is still is inspired from Dante’s Inferno. I’m also still writing a story in the present.

I’m still debating whether or not to post the idea online. The whole point for this blog was to write about writing. So, for now, I will continue on the updates on writing, not necessarily writing about what I am writing; however, I will write about other things on this blog.

What will those things be? Wait and find out.

Some say ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if I had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.”  (1920)

Okay, why the poetry again?  Well, it seems relevant to my latest strip abstract.  When I googled the poem so I could get the wording right, I discovered that there is a link between this poem and Dante’s Inferno, where the worse sinners of all (those who hate) are found at the bottom of the circles of hell, frozen in ice, while the rest of passionate hell blazes above them.

Anyway, I’ll let you see if you can figure out why this poem kept swimming in my head while I worked on this abstract:

“Fire and Ice” (Robert Frost), 16″x33″

Maybe I made that cool (temperature-wise) abstract to counterbalance my “Olvera Street Fiesta” series, which is loosely based on photos I took of paper flowers for sale on Olvera Street in LA:

Olvera Street Fiesta 1

Olvera Street Fiesta 2

Olvera Street Fiesta 3

Una asombrosa ruta turística y artística por Florencia, incluye una visita relámpago a Venecia y un último destino sorpresa.

Esa podría ser una de las definiciones del ultimo libro de Dan Brown titulado “Inferno”, en clara alusión al celebre poema de Dante Alighieri incluido en la Divina Comedia.

El norteamericano líder del bestseller mundial repite la fórmula que tanto éxito le ha propiciado: misterios ideados por megalómanos villanos con pretensiones oscuras y trascendentes, cuyas claves se hallan agazapadas tras la historia del arte y simboligias, listas para ser desveladas por Robert Langdon, el célebre profesor de iconología y simbología religiosa en la Universidad de Harvard.
Toda esta arquitectura parece muy sencilla, casi simplona, pero lo cierto es que nadie como este americano que estudió Historia del Arte, ha dado con la clave para combinar estos elementos una y otra vez con sorprendente éxito.

Monday 10 June, 2013

Watched on Monday 10 June, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve posted or engaged with anything Dickens, but I finally managed to find the time to watch the 1935 adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities. Of the Dickens novels I’ve read so far, A Tale of Two Cities definitely lends itself to adaptation more easily due to its shorter length and film-like pacing, and this particular adaptation was very well done.

This film managed to be both a brilliant adaptation of a classic novel, as well as an outstanding piece of cinematic history. The storming of the Bastille scene was a magnificent example of early filming techniques, and despite Dickens being quintessentially English, the old Hollywood feel that permeated from this film was sublime. As a film made in 1935, based on a book written in 1859, that was itself set between 1775-1793, this adaptation is successfully timeless and translates into 2013 effortlessly.

There were only a few minor changes to the plot in this adaptation. When Charles goes to ask Dr Manette for permission to marry Lucy he reveals his true identity as a member of the aristocratic Evremonde family, which is consistent with the novel, but in this adaptation, Charles is already aware that it was his family who were responsible for Dr Manette’s incarceration in the Bastille, which spoils the big reveal at the end of novel when Madame Defarge reads Dr Manette’s letter at Charles’ second trial.

Another change in this adaptation directly relates to this, i.e. Charles’ two trials at the end of the novel. In this adaptation they were morphed into one, which wasn’t too great a change, and considering the fact that the spoiler of who Dr Manette’s incarcerators were, was revealed prior to the trial, there was less information that needed to be revealed in the trial. Unfortunately however, the complete and full history of Madame Defarge’s family’s mistreatment at the hands of the Evremonde family wasn’t  fully discussed so the audience had little to no understanding of why she was so insane.

The casting was great. Sydney Carlton was perfect and particular standouts were Jarvis Lorry and Miss Pross, who was played by the same actress who played Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the classic 1940 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.

This really was a great film, and I’m looking forward to the next adaptation – the 1958 version.

UPDATE

I am currently reading A Dance with Dragons which I will hopefully finish in the next few weeks. What a wild ride A Song of Ice and Fire has been. I have really tried to drag out getting through this series for as long as possible because who knows when book six – The Winds of Winter will be released. When I finish A Dance with Dragons I’m going to read the Caster Chronicles series. It’s been a while since I’ve read some supernatural teen romance, and between Dickens and A Song of Ice and Fire, it’ll be good to read something a little less heavy.

After the Caster Chronicles I’m going to read Dan Brown’s new novel Inferno, which will be a quick easy read. I was really enthralled with Dan Brown’s books in high school, but once you get his style of story telling and writing, you can see the twists coming a mile away. It’ll be good fun though.

My trip to the UK has been lengthened and revamped, and I am now doing my dream trip – one that will be even better than my originally planned trip. I leave on 11 September for not quite 7 weeks. I’ll be spending 16 nights in London, followed by 6 days on the road doing a Bronte-Austen-Dickens self-guided tour. Then to finish off, I’m doing a 3 week tour of the UK and Ireland. It’s going to be brilliant, and I couldn’t be more excited. On my first day I’m visiting Highclere Castle, home of Downton Abbey, so in preparation I’m going to read Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey. In addition to these, I have two more books that I have to read for my bookclub before I go – Am I Black Enough For You? by Anita Heiss, and Ina’s Story by Catherine Titasey.

If I finish all of these before I go (which is the plan) I have chosen a few books to read whilst I’m away – The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Help, Mao’s Last Dancer and Gone With the Wind. Once I’m back, other books on my “TO READ” list include Nicholas Nickleby, The Inheritance Cycle, Les Miserables and Anna Karenina as well as any books for my bookclub. After I’ve read all of these it will be full steam ahead with more Dickens.

I will of course, watch and review all the adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities before I go away. That’s all for now, next review coming soon.

Bye…

While I am not starting out June really strong with reading or posting – I committed to finishing Dan Brown’s Inferno - and did, but not until after midnight last night (or should I say this morning). I have lots of books I could read, I am putting A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki aside for now and will either read Daphne Kalotay’s Sight Reading (which I received as an ARC) or The Lullaby of Polish Girls by Dagmara Dominczyk (which I also got as an ARC). I will also be reading something new on my Kindle, maybe Alison Sweeney’s The Star Attraction.  And I need to review and read some of the marathon books I just got – I bought one and then my wonderful friend who is a runner brought me a stack this weekend. So I have lots on my reading agenda this week.

Here’s my last week in review:

Books Finished:
Inferno by Dan Brown

Reviews Posted:
None

How about you? How was your week last week and what are you going to be reading this week?

After 5 years of silence, Dan Brown re-appears on the shelves of every book store. If you’ve been an avid fan of Robert Langdon’s impossible adventures, hold tight, because this new novel features our beloved American professor. And yeah, he finds himself in another pickle. But this time it is different. The title ‘Inferno’ is closely linked with Dante’s epic creation – ‘The Divine Comedy’. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to read the mandatory literature from school. Well, better late than never.

Not reading Dante’s Inferno is not a problem. There are little hints that may be overlooked but the most of the book, Dan Brown explains all of the connections between his story and the decent in hell of the Italian poet. After all it is the antagonist who is a passionately obsessed with ‘The Divine Comedy’ and its supposed message to the world. But let’s start from the beginning of Robert Langdon’s problems.

The Harvard professor wakes up in a hospital with a near fatal head wound with no memories of the past two days. There he is thrown in a hex in which a hit man – or in this case hit woman – is desperately trying to kill him. Thanks to the quickly thinking Sienna Brooks, a doctor who happens to be around Langdon when all hell breaks loose, he manages to escape, for now. But the most shocking discovery the professor makes is that he has miraculously teleported in Florence. Not only is he in the wrong time, but he is also in the wrong place. He has no recollection of leaving America but then again his brain draws a blank of the last two days. And if you think he can sit back and relax and think about the mess he has found himself in, think again.

A madman who believes that Dante’s work is a near future prophecy is set out to release a plague that in his head will cure the biggest problem humanity has – overpopulation. And it is up to Robert Langdon to save the day. But it’s not that easy. Even though the professor has his brain filled with knowledge of history, art and symbols he is confronted with a series of problems he can not overlook: the loss of his memories and a whole group of very influential and powerful enemies who seem to do everything to get their hand on Robert and his unusual possession. And help doesn’t seem to come from nowhere. Trust becomes a serious issue and the lost American doesn’t know who he can believe. Will he manage to be on time to save the world? Only one way of finding out – read the book.

Dan Brown has a very respectful look on the surroundings. As our heroes run and hide in the heart of Italy, the author never fails to attract attention to the historical and art monuments the intense action passes by. And when your protagonist is a writer of books on symbols and their different meanings, the reader receives all the information needed without looking up things on Wikipedia. It’s all part of the story and that makes the novel even more breathtakingly interesting.

’Inferno’ not only makes you want to travel the whole of Florence and retrace the steps of Langdon and Sienna but it also puts forward a lot of controversial questions. The problem with overpopulation is very real and it makes you re-think the values of humanity. Because, let’s face it, when a crisis in this degree appears it is human nature to hide behind denial. But as Dante said it is the darkest places in hell that are reserved for people who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.

But don’t be scared. Even if the book is serious it only adds to its value as good literature. Dan Brown gives you an action-packed, sit-tight-and-hold-your-breath, makes-you-want-to-scream novel that will leave you pondering after you’ve turned the last page. And as always there is a plot twist which is just like a lightning bolt from a clear sky. So don’t try to guess what’s going on – you have no chance. So don’t waste any more time and grab ‘Inferno’. Also if you haven’t read Dante’s classic, it is high time to do it.

Sophie

Blackheath is mentioned in Dan Brown's new book – I feel pretty famous! #verifymeup—
Neil Short (@neilshort21387) June 09, 2013

Here’s the passage:

“The bio was a gushing account of a child theater prodigy—Sienna Brooks—with an off- the-chart IQ, who had, in a single night, memorized every character’s lines and, during initial rehearsals, often cued her fellow cast members. Among this five-year-old’s hobbies were viol- in, chess, biology, and chemistry. The child of a wealthy couple in the London suburb of Blackheath, the girl was already a celebrity in scientific circles; at the age of four, she had beat a chess grand master at his own game and was reading in three languages.
My God, Langdon thought. Sienna. That explains a few things.”

Gripping eh? Who would have thought such an accomplished author would resort to using Blackheath as shorthand for wealth and privilege…