Watched, Read Loved and what I’ve been up to in 2018

Hello everybody! I’ve been rather inconspicuous the last few months, and I’ve really missed blogging and interacting with everyone in the blogging world. I’ve posted a few times, and thanks to everyone that still popped in – you are appreciated! I’m almost ready in having a normalized life again, so I plan to be a bit more active with reading and posting about how I’ve managed to entertain myself since December 2017.

Firstly, I started my new position in the company I work for. It’s been quite a change, and I’ve been struggling to adapt to this new life of crazy deadlines and people with serious lack of work ethic. I’m almost motivated again, and I’m not blind to how extraordinarily lucky I’ve been to get to a point where my qualification and my job are actually aligned.

I’ve also graduated, and the event was… anticlimactic? I’ve worked my butt off to get here, and yet the day felt rushed and the moment passed too quick. However, my BSc is now in the bag and I can continue with this crazy career path of mine.

I am also finally in my own apartment. I hope someday soon it will actually feel like I live here, but for now I am just enjoying the experience and getting used to having my own place.

So yes. This year has been really big so far. We are only at the end of August now and I have been all over the place. It is good, right? To be honest it is all just a bit overwhelming.

This post has basically said nothing that I originally thought to write on it, but here’s a rundown of the films (it’s probably not all, because it has been so long), books and series I’ve explored.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies – One movie night and three really dedicated people lead to all three Hobbit movies being watched, with a variety of sarcastic comments (mostly from me) about the length and things that happen that is entirely unrelated to the actual Hobbit book. I haven’t  had a look at the reviews about these films up here for ages, and it is probably time to revisit them. They aren’t bad, but compared to The Lord of The Rings trilogy (incidentally never reviewed on here because I don’t know how to review perfection like that), they are a bit uninspiring.

Edward Scissorhands (1990): A pretty cool film and very deserving of its reputation, I enjoyed seeing Johnny Depp in something pre-Jack Sparrow. This is some of Tim Burton’s best work and really great to watch.

The Duff (2015): Yes, again. It’s great to watch and such a nice laugh, I can’t understand why this film received such a negative backlash at the time. It’s certainly better than it’s hormonal book counterpart! This reminds me of a 2015 version of Mean Girls (although Mean Girls is certainly better), and on that note, I probably watched Mean Girls sometime this year too, as well as Easy A, a simply hilarious staple for chick flicks.

Pride and Prejudice (2005): Yes, also again. I can watch this all the time, and this rerun was triggered by reading the book again.

Vampire Academy (2015) Okay this one does deserve the hate that gets thrown its way, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Jane Eyre (2011): I loooooovvveeeedddd this. It is a wonderfully accurate adaption to the book, and another film I’ll probably end up watching ten million times.

Ant-Man (2015): I somehow kept postponing this film, and it is so stupid because you all know how much I like watching Marvel superheroes do their thing. Eventually Ant-Man turned out really fun and is a great film, and I will actually manage to see the second one before the turn of the century.

Nacho Libre (2006) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004). I can at least claimed to have heard about Napoleon Dynamite prior to my watching it. The spectacularly ginger teenager Napoleon is really a staple image in everyone’s recollection of the internet, occupying his own, very unique space. It was really quite a weird film and I am not sure what else to say about it. Nacho Libre is also… really weird. Jack Black has some strange titles under his belt, and this might bee the strangest yet.

Jumanji (2017) – Jumanji deserves an actual review, not necessarily because of it’s cinematic prowess but because of my eternal love for Dwayne Johnson. This film was surprisingly good, and included another viewing of Jack Black, who was actually quite fantastic in this film.

Fallen (2016) – Got in my YA dose with this, and I am not sorry for a second. Is it bad? yes. Do I care? No. I had fun.

About a Boy (2002) – one of the better random films I picked up to watch the last couple of months. Review coming soon

Tomorrowland (2014), Freaky Friday (2003) and Did you hear about the Morgans? (2009) – neither of these deserves posters on this post. Tomorrowland is getting a thrashing in it’s review (when I end up writing it), because what a load of turd. Freaky Friday is fun, but it also serves as a really sad reminder of how someone can screw themselves up so badly. The last, Did you hear about the Morgans, is neither inspirational, funny or adventurous, and is some of the poorest films in it’s genre.

 

Blindspots: I’m behind (which is a shocking surprise, I know)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Ghostbusters (1984), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  (2005), Die Hard (1988)

2018 releases:

Avengers: Infinity War , Tomb Raider , Black Panther, The Maze Runner: Death Cure, The Greatest Showman, Jurassic World (Fallen Kingdom), Deadpool 2

The Obsession (Nora Roberts), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Harry Potter (series), The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), How To Hang A Witch (Adriana Mather), Shelter in Place (Nora Roberts, ongoing), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

I am really bad at finishing series. I will start off with great enthusiasm, but I never have the patience to get through the lull that inevitably strikes every show about halfway through when the original cast wants to leave and the writers are tired of finding something interesting to keep the watchers entertained. I was recommended to watch Call The Midwife Seasons 1&2 because of my love for Downton Abbey. It’s good, and I enjoy the show. I should continue into Season 3 soon and continue with my knowledge of female reproductive health when women had even less rights than we do now.

Friends Season 1-7: A series I actually finished! I loved this show. It is hilarious, and even though there are some lulls it stays funny, sweet and relatable.

Brooklyn Nine Nine Season 1 – this is a hilarious comedy and I will definitely watch some more. I was a bit crushed when they announced the series was coming to an end, but I see that there will be a final season of Jack Peralta and his fellow officers. Yay!

Riverdale Season 1&2 – I have a review coming in shortly for season 2, and I really like this show despite the lack of quality the last part of season 2 had.

Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 1 – 7: As I am finalizing this post I come to you from a space where I have now banned myself watching this show during the week. There are a couple of reasons why – the lack of will to live if I am not watching it, the extreme emotional attachment to the characters and the stern talking to I had with myself that they are not real and that I can’t stop watching at night and then I am exhausted the following day (really, I need a boyfriend or a life at this stage). I couldn’t have expected this show would be so good. I mean, at seven seasons I am only halfway through the series, because the show remains super popular and it is now at it’s fifteenth (?!) season. It is heartbreaking and intense and happy and sad, and I.AM.ADDICTED.

Pride and Prejudice (1995): I am telling all of you, I know I have an unhealthy attachment to this story. The series is by far the most accurate to the book, and it is a lovely adaption that makes me really happy to watch.

So, there you have it. I have been writing on and off on this post for ages, so it is so good to have it finally out there! Let me know what you’ve seen, whether or not it has correlated with my watches. Adios!

August 24, 2018 by Natasha Categories: 2018, Avengers, Blindspot, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, SeriesTags: About A Boy, Addison Timlin, Adriana Mather, Andy Samberg, Ant-Man, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Cassandra Clare, Charlotte Bronte, City of Bones, Cole Sprouse, Deadpool, Death Cure, Did You Hear About The Morgans, Die Hard, Douglas Adams, Dwayne Johnson, Edward Scissorhands, Fallen, Freaky Friday, friends, Ghostbustters, Grey's Anatomy, Harrison Gilbertson, Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, Hugh Grant, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Jeremy Irvine, Johnny Depp, JRR Tolkien, Jumanji, Jurassic World, Lily Reinhart, Martin Freeman, marvel, Meredith Grey, Mortal Instruments, Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite, Nora Roberts, Pride and Prejudice, Riverdale, The DUFF, The Greatest Showman, The Hobbit, The Maze Runner, The Silence of The Lambs, Tim Burton, Tomb Raider, Tomorrowland, Vampire Academy 9 Comments

Movie Review: Jane Eyre (2011)

Plot: A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret

I haven’t seen a worse plot description in my life on IMDb. “A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he’s hiding a terrible secret” – really? That is all they have to say about one of classical literature’s finest novels? Okay then. My review of the novel Jane Eyre should have alerted you already that I’d been lit up with fervor for this story, and I obsessively searched for a copy of the movie to see if it would hold up with my hopes. In fairness, the movie is now seven years old, so procuring a copy was no easy task. I eventually ordered one online and had to wait two whole weeks for delivery.

The 2011 version of Jane Eyre is fantastic, and very much what I wanted the movie to be. Mia Wasikowska is a fantastic Jane Eyre – she nails the passion of Jane so well. At first glance, Jane appears to be a mousy, plain girl who was lucky to receive an education. The viewer is naturally privy to more information – she was mishandled by her only relatives and her school was a strict and harsh environment. Yet Jane has an amazing capacity to care, noted when she takes care of her charge in Mr. Rochester’s home. Adele (Romy Settbon) is a French oddity in the prudish British countryside, and while the movie briefly references that she might be Mr. Rochester’s illegitimate child, the book illustrates better the responsibility Mr. Rochester unwillingly feels for her.

Michael Fassbender might be a bit too handsome for Mr. Rochester – in the book he is described as distinctly un-handsome (i.e. ugly) – but for intensity he is a fantastic choice for Mr. Rochester. The levels of the man – his harshness and anger towards the world and the façade he can give his more elite guests make him a really intriguing man. I would have liked it had they included his scene as the beggar woman, because it adds another level to his character – a shrewdness to not be deceived.

Judi Dench gives an – unsurprisingly – good performance as Mrs. Fairfax – her nervousness in keeping her master happy and the protectiveness she feels towards the inhabitants of the manor.

Jamie Bell is very convincing as St. John Rivers, and he makes the character more likeable than I found him in the book. St. John Rivers remains a really interesting character to consider, because he is on first glance the male replica of Jane – stern, middle class, quite plain, but further inspection reveals he has nothing of Jane’s passion and determination.

Jane Eyre is as dreary as its literary counterpart – incessant fog and rain makes the watcher feel as closed in as Jane must feel. I’ll definitely re-watch – it’s really good and made me miss the novel again. Again, I felt the movie could have included at least Mr. Rochester reclaiming sight in his one eye – the movie reunites the characters but with very little hope due to his poor condition.

Jane Eyre remains one of my favorite classical literatures. It is feminism at its finest origin – Jane’s determination to be an equal to Mr. Rochester. I have to delve deeper into this world – there is so much more to discover!

Rating: 8.5/10

April 17, 2018April 17, 2018 by Natasha Categories: Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, Romance, UncategorizedTags: Charlotte Bronte, classic, English Literature, Jamie Bell, Jane Eyre, Judi Dench, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Movies, Reviews, Romy Settbon 9 Comments

Book Review: Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)

Plot: Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?

-Contains minor spoilers-

I have finally read and finished Jane Eyre. I had to mature, this I can now tell you with utmost certainty. I attempted a couple of years ago, and halfway through the book became overwhelming – the English is elaborate and for lack of a better word – floral – and the twists and turns of the novel was too much at that stage.

I enjoyed it very much this time around. The book has a dark tone, with intimacy I would not expect published back in the 1800’s (it wasn’t all Fifty Shades of Grey back then). The romantic suspense between Jane and her master builds and builds, until you want to smash them together.

There are some shocking moments in this book too – Jane’s treatment as a child is nothing sort of horrific. Her school years is a vast improvement over her aunt’s behavior towards her, but I felt the same helpless sympathy I felt when Harry was locked under a staircase in Privet Drive. Jane takes school and turns it into a life for her, and it is soon evident that she has overtaken all her relatives in integrity and ambition. Leaving the school, she starts working for the mysterious Mr. Rochester, and her love for him is pure, idolizing and intense, and nearly fatal when she flees him after hearing his dark secret.

The writing is incredibly elaborate and winding, and the dialogue is sharp and drawn out. There were a few times where I generally wondered the need for ten pages dedicated to one scene, the fact that it could have either been eliminated or just shortened was evident.

I was ready to burn this book to the ground nearing the end. I feared and feared Jane would end up marrying the extremely boring St. John, who, despite what Jane believes, struck me as a priggish, self righteous fanatic that would have murdered her spirit. Had this happened, I promise you now, I would have hunted every single copy of Jane Eyre and burned them all into crisps. Luckily, the novel avoided it’s untimely end by giving me exactly what I wanted. The book ends with sadness – Mr. Rochester injured and suffered a great loss, but their love is enough to carry them through.

This book made me sigh with happiness more than once. It appealed to me because Jane is firstly, a feminist. They did not coin that term so easily back then, but she is a smart, educated woman who takes her affairs into her own hands. She has no need to marry until she falls deeply in love with a complex man. Mr. Rochester’s love for Jane does not spring from her beauty or her charm, rather her smartness and capability and that they are so excellently suited for one another. In the end Jane meets him as his equal, and not some inferior caste who is dependent on him. For over two hundred years this is a love story that is more realistic than the garbage produced today.

My next step is to watch the latest adaption – I need to watch it NOW.

Rating: 8/10

February 22, 2018 by Natasha Categories: 2018, Books, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Charlotte Bronte, Classic Literature, Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre, Mrs. Reed, novel, Reading, Thronfield Hall 5 Comments