The film.

Somehow, it wasn't what I had expected it to be. But now that I'm done watching it (and it took me a while), I don't quite remember what I've been expecting.

I loved it. For the first part, I hated it, probably because of my expectations. But the second part really grew on me. So, I loved the film. Even though I do believe that it's a bit overrated.

Perhaps.

Labels: movie

The film.

I've seen this about a month ago, and I've no idea why I haven't written about it yet, because I absolutely loved it. It's hard to say, though, why I loved it exactly. It's not an easy film to watch (and, I assume, an easy book to read), but it's quite enjoyable. There were moments that kept me on the edge of my seat, moments that were funny, moments that nearly made me cry. Sometimes I wanted to slap people involved, sometimes I cheered for them. As I was watching it, time passed really fast, but somehow the film seemed longer than it was. It's a contradicting feeling, yes, but that's the way it is.

I want the book now.

Labels: aj, movie

The 2007 film.

• I haven't actually read Beowulf, so I'm not going to talk about 'historical accuracy' and all such things -- and not like I talk about them, ever. Cinematography is a separate form of entertainment. (Though, I do bitch about some book-to-film transitions. Of course. But I digress.)
• I think one of the reasons I enjoyed this film so much was the heavily accented English. I love English accents of various origins.
• (I feel like doing this in a bulleted list, bear with me.)
• Beowulf is part of my "watch all films featuring your favourite actors & actresses" campaign, this one featuring Angelina Jolie & Hopkins.
• Oh, how computer graphics (this term seems so archaic... it probably is) have progressed over the years! During some scenes I kept forgetting it's been rendered in any shape or form, so realistic it all was.
• However, 3D stuff has a way to go. It doesn't quite move like we humans do, yet. It's either too fast or too slow. You know what I mean? And the eyes, obviously. Shadows, lights, midtones, all the good stuff -- but no life.
• Um, a slightly spoilerish point below, but it's also the last one, so feel free to skip the rest of the post. (Though, I do ponder how I'm supposed to spoil Beowulf, the 1010 CE manuscript.)
• When Beowulf fights his son in son's dragon form, and they both submerge, I caught myself thinking, "Hm, how can he stay under the water so long without as much as catching his breath once he'd emerged?" The thought of realism of fighting a dragon did not, however, cross my mind.

Labels: aj, hopkins, movie

(Note: If you haven't yet watched the show and are considering it, please refrain from reading the post below, since I throw in a spoiler or three for S1-S3 of Charmed.)

I'm up to Season 3 in Charmed, and haven't really talked about the series much, have I?

Truth is, I find it hard to talk about TV series unless I really, really like it, and while I find Charmed quite enjoyable, I probably wouldn't rec it to most people.

Season One came and went for me -- aside from various demon backgrounds and BoS design, nothing has really captured my attention. I did not enjoy the romance storyline much, and what I was really interested in -- inter-relationships between the three sisters -- was not developed enough for me. I was very sad when Andy had died, though. He was far from being my favourite character, and his relationship with Prue hardly interested me, but it's always sad to see a character die. I did find it a bit anti-climatic, though; but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Season Two, now that I think of it, I can't quite recall, with an exception of a couple of episodes -- like 2.05 (She's a Man, Baby, a Man!), wherein Prue turns into a guy, and 2.09 (Ms. Hellfire), where she assumes the identity of a hitwoman. It's been quite amusing. 2.14 (Pardon My Past) has been quite nice also. Overall, I loved it that S2 paid much more attention to relationships between sisters.

I'll talk about Season Three later, once I actually finish it (I've a couple more episodes left to go).

As far as characters go, I'm constantly turned between love for Prue and Phoebe. Prue (visually) reminds me very much of my Mother when she was younger. I even told Mum about that, and she's agreed. My very loved person from the series is Darryl Morris. I don't know, I'm constantly charmed (uh, bad unintentional pun) by the guy. I figure he's like a breath of fresh air in the middle of all the magical demon hunting and constant romance underlines and sisterly womanly schemes. Leo can't quite grow on me the way I want him to grow on me -- and I think it's got something to do with the fact that he's a Whitelighter and is therefore too 2-D good for my tastes. I love me some spark of evil.

Which leads me to Cole, with whom I was instantly enamoured, very much like Phoebe. I find it hard to watch the last remaining episodes of S3, both because of the impending doom of Prue being killed, and because Cole is caught and is in trouble. I get very affected by characters' well-being, I have to take breaks.

Thassit for now, I'll talk about S3 later.

Labels: charmed, tv

Satanic Rituals, by Anton Szandor LaVey;
Hm. I've read the 'abridged' version, meaning it had no descriptions of rituals themselves. On top of it, I've read it in translation. And whereas the SB made a lot of sense to me, I didn't quite grasp most of the material presented in this book. I am not sure why. I'll read it again once I can get it in English w/o any cut-outs, and perhaps then I'll form a more precise opinion on this work of LaVey.

Magical Household, by Scott Cunningham & David Harrington;
I am obsessed with making my home as cosy, clean, and protected as humanly possible, so I've enjoyed this book quite much. There's hardly any religious talk, it's all pretty much kitchen witchery. Practical advices on how to purify your home, with lots of lore, ancestral habits & traditions, and superstitions thrown in for a magical twist. I love it, I still return to it for ideas, and will continue to.

Labels: satanism, wicca

The film.

I don't know, I really like it. I've watched it at a slow pace (how I always do it, unless I'm at the theatre or with evil speedy friends), and I enjoyed every minute. I loved the gloomy scenery, loved the photos taken by Ryan (the main character), adored Ryan's sorta goofy grin (seriously, it's amazing). The humour is not in-your-face obvious, and I really enjoyed its subtlety. It's not so much humourous, as it is witty, and I greatly enjoy it in a film.

There are some scenes that I've particularly enjoyed, but they're quite spoileriffic, and are of a 'you should've been there' variety, so I won't be describing them here.

Either way, I highly recommend this.

Labels: movie

Slaughterhouse Five; by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The problem with Mr Vonnegut's books, for me, is that I can never really describe what's going on to anyone, yet I always want to wholeheartedly recommend them. I remember somebody describing his books to me as being boring, and all I really wanted to do was scream my head off at them. They're not boring. They're anything but. Sure, non-linear narrative could wear one out. It's not for everyone. But me, I end up loving every word, every twist & turn, or, should I say, jump.

I constantly want to illustrate them. Draw characters, scratch sceneries, take photos of settings that I deem appropriate for this or that book of this author.

I wish I were a faster reader. I want to have as many of his inspirational writing in my mind, as possible.

Labels: books, vonnegut

The one w/ Keira Knightley as Elizabeth. (I'm so descriptive.)

• It took a while for KK to grow on me as an actress. Now that it's happened, she's here to stay on my list of preferences.
• I've been subscribed to P&P over DailyLit for 28 days now, but I've yet to start reading it. I'm slow when it comes to classics.
• I really enjoyed this film. I sat down with my Mum to watch it, and frankly, had a list of convenient excuses I could use to sneak out for the bigger part of the showing. I didn't need any, since I liked every moment of what I've seen. Some scenes were particularly beautiful; I might make some selected screenshots later to stick them into my ever-growing inspiration directory.
• Soundtrack is enjoyable as well. Will be getting.

Labels: movie