vickyducky

A friend of mine at work, who I lent Twilight the book to, and got her hooked on them, lent me her copy of the DVD and I managed to watch it this afternoon. All in all I enjoyed it. I do wonder how much of it would have made sense if I hadn't already known what was going on. The adaptation was a bit odd - in places it was lingering almost to the point of slow and yet other, actiony bits seemed really rushed and not given the emphasis and time they deserved ( spoiler ).

Robert Pattinson was really excellent. I thought he really got into the skin of Edward. I'd like to know how his accent sounded to Americans because it seemed really good to me - but what do I know? I didn't like Kristen Stewart as Bella nearly so much. She looked right but she just kind of kept twitching and shrugging all the time - very off-putting. It took me a while to realise why she seemed so familiar and it is because she looks so like Sigourney Weaver. Are they related, I wonder? The rest of the Cullens (especially Rose) looked very like I'd imagined them, except Carlisle who reminded me of a character in one of the Star Treks. Jacob was younger than I'd pictured - but then he's supposed to be in book 1. How will they deal with him growing ( spoiler )? I have a vague memory of reading someone on lj being very disparaging about the vampires make-up but I thought it worked well.

And Hip Hip Hooray! I got my first review for Indian Summer on FictionAlley.

It's quite a while since I last saw it and to say it's my least favourite of the books I like the film. It drags quite badly in the middle - way too much DA and Inquisitorial squad trying to find them - but the scenes in the ministry are very well done. Sirius's death has never really affected me. The first time I read the book it kind of passed me by it was so low key and I was two pages on before I realised what had happened and had to go back and reread to be sure. And to be honest it doesn't bother me in the film, in fact I find all that silent screaming of Harry's a bit over done. But every time I see this film the bit that makes me cry (not floods or anything just a bit of a snivel) is when Harry is possessed and they do the montage of clips of the trio. I have no real idea why either, but it always gets to me.

I still really loathe the 'we've got something to fight for' speach at the very end and Oh god how awful is that beige corduroy jacket? I can understand Harry wearing it for the hearing but why on earth would he wear it of his own volition to go home in?

I looked up what the collective noun for magpies is because yesterday I was surrounded by them! Well, not literally but I was beginning to feel a bit like Tippi Hedren. I've always been very superstitious about magpies (one for sorrow etc). Actually I used to think I was superstitious about all sorts of things even to the point of making up new ones but then I realised this was just OCD manifesting itself. Anywho. When I left the house yesterday a.m. there were seven or possibly eight (they wouldn't stay still to be counted) in a tree outside our house. I'd never seen so many together at once. Then on the drive in I saw ones and twos every few yards it seems and then when leaving work (40 miles from home) I saw another whole mob, five or six at least. What's going on?

In other news I saw the new Mummy film last night. Really really crap. The other two were tosh but entertaining tosh. This was just rubbish. And I don't know who the woman was who has Rachel Weisz' part but she can't act to save her life, had no chemistry with the husband and her upper class English accent was so irritating I can't tell you. Also there was a stomach churning father and son bonding scene that almost made me bring back my very expensive ice-cream. Still the Yetis were fun.

I saw on somebody's lj that they'd been to a screening of the new 'Brideshead Revisited' film. So I googled to see when it will be released (Oct 3rd over here apparently) and found a video of a trailer. Oh it's awful. Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain looks spot on and I'm sure her performance will be great but one of the lines in the trailer is her saying "Mr Rider will stay for the rest of the vacation". Also they seem to have completely mucked about with the Charles/Julia and (far worse) the Charles/Sebastian storylines so that Charles and Julia have a relationship while Charles is still at Oxford and Sebastian shouts at Charles "You don't care about me! You only wanted my sister!" during what I think must be the drunk scene which supersedes "Charles is my guest and I was bloody to him".

The tv series when I was 15 is still one of the favourite things of my youth. And I still read the book now and then and I just can't believe that they've mangled it like this. Perhaps the film as a whole will make more sense. I know I shall still do my best to go and see it. Probably by myself on a Monday when D is at school. But oh I am disappointed.