Book vs Movie: The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

When Henry is twenty-eight, he meets Claire, who is twenty. Claire is excited to see Henry, whom she has known since she was six, but Henry has never met Claire before. Henry doesn't meet the younger Claire until he is much older. This is because Henry is a Chrono-Displaced Person which causes him to bounce back and forth in time.

The Book:

This book was fantastic. I could hardly put it down. It has been a long time since I've read a book that made me want to do nothing but read all day. There were some confusing parts in the book because it was past and present and future all at the same time, but it really made for an interesting story. The book made me laugh, made me cry, and, mostly, it just fascinated me.

The book is over 500 pages but I zipped through it in no time and was disappointed to see it end.

The Movie:

Cast: Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams

The movie focused primarily on Henry and Claire's relationship and their times together, past, present and future. There wasn't as much bouncing back and forth through time in the movie as there was in the book.

I think the cast was perfect for this story. They did a good job portraying the characters, and bringing them to life. They brought forth emotion that was very real and I believe that audiences will identify with them because of this realness.

Conclusion:

Again, the book was better than the movie. I highly recommend the book. I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it as well but the book, the book , the book! It is definitely high on my list of all-time favorite books. Go read it today!

*Warning* Bereaved parents may find parts of the book/movie upsetting *Warning*

Movie Review: Once

Once
starring Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

This is a story of a Guy and a Girl. Guy is a struggling musician who sings on the street corner for money. During the day, he sings songs that people know, but at night, when the crowd is scarce, he sings songs that he has written himself. Girl is an immigrant from the Czech Republic who sells flowers for a living but has an aptitude for playing the piano. She sees Guy every day and enjoys his music, but one night she happens to see him singing his own song and realizes how talented he really is.

After Guy finishes singing, Girl strikes up a conversation with him, and they soon develop an unique friendship that revolves around music.

The characters in this movie do not have names because the story of Guy and Girl is secondary to the music they sing. The songs are beautiful and that alone makes the movie worth watching. Sure, you can get the soundtrack CD but I think the back story compliments the songs.

Conclusion: I highly recommend watching this movie, particularly if you are a fan of music. And if my review doesn't convince you, here is a video of one of the songs they sing in the movie:

Go Rent It.

Book vs Movie: My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Anna has spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. Not because she is sick, but because she was a test tube baby conceived to be a perfect bone marrow donor for her older sister, Kate, who is plagued with Leukemia.

Anna has decided she has had enough and convinces a lawyer to help her get legal control of her own body, a decision that may cause her family to be torn apart, and may have fatal consequences.

The Book:

The book is written from multiple viewpoints, including Anna, her parents, her siblings, her lawyer and social worker. It also goes back and forth from past to present day. This sometimes caused confusion if the reader forgets who's name was at the top of the chapter. But over all, the book was well written and kept my interest through to the end.

The ending, however, was so shocking to me, that I literally yelled out my surprise! But I won't tell you what happened... You'll have to read the book....

The Movie:

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, and Sofia Vassilieva

On the whole, the movie was good. They made some changes to fit the story into a movie version without having to explain everything. For the most part this did not affect the storyline.

The actors did a good job at portraying the characters, although it is my opinion that despite Alec Baldwin's ability to be goofy, he didn't quite capture his character as I imagined him.

The biggest disappointment was that the ending in the movie is entirely different than the ending in the book - far too predictable. You can read the author's reaction to the ending here.

Conclusion:

Once again, it is proven that the book is always better than the movie. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author.

Movie Review: Earth

Earth is one of the most beautiful documentaries I have ever seen. The film starts in the Arctic and makes its way around the world, showing various animals and plant life in different climates. I highly recommend watching it.

In my opinion, it is tame enough to allow your children to watch. While it does cover some sad moments pertaining to the "cycle of life", it is not graphic and will not scare your children. Some parts are even humorous in a way only true nature can make you laugh. I found many parts to be extremely fascinating, and I learned a lot too!

You can see a trailer of the movie here. It is beautiful, beautiful. They certainly put a lot of work into it. During the end credits, they show some shots of how the movie was made, it is really neat!

Can you guess which animal I loved the most? (hint, he's in the poster above!)

Movie Review: Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory - Starring Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds plays Frank Allen, a list-making efficiency expert who gives lectures on time management. His entire life revolves around lists and schedules. Then one day, his wife asks him to return some movies on his way to work. This causes him to be 10 minutes late and, as a result, his entire life changes.

The bulk of the movie focuses on Frank's transition and acceptance that his life is not entirely in his own control.

In my opinion, this movie was somewhat slow moving despite the story line being decent. In the beginning of the movie, I found myself being a bit emotional because I knew that his life was going to change and it was entirely out of his control. I felt empathy towards Frank because every time he tried to explain something, the other person would not listen. This only made things worse, and further changed Frank's life.

There were some parts of the movie where I found myself laughing out loud, but mostly I felt sorry for Frank. I also couldn't quite grasp Ryan Reynolds as a geeky kind of guy.

All in all, the movie was ok. I am not disappointed for watching it, but I wouldn't necessarily put it top of the list either.

(note: this review was taken from the drafts on my original blog.)