Tag Archives: movies

Les Miserables: An Awesomely French Adaptation

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Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome! Today’s topic is an awesomely French adaptation.

I had three different movies in the running for the theme of a French adaptation, but since my husband just got the Les Mis movie soundtrack for his birthday and we’ve been listening to the music since, It seemed like the most appropriate choice. And though the movie is not French, it’s hard to find a movie that looks more French, at least in volume of French flags featured in the film…

les-miserables-revolutionI have yet to read this brick of a book yet, but it’s clear the musical and movie adaptations are quite condensed. But the gist of the story is: Jean Valjean steals bread, does time, breaks parole, receives a blessing from a bishop, dedicates himself to a better life, takes a young girl as his own daughter after he watches her mother die, and tries to stay out of the grasp of Javert.

My favorite part of the story, or at least of the 2012 adaptation, is when Cosette is grown. I wish I knew more about what drove these young men to fight, though I certainly feel their emotions through their songs (“Red and Black,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,”Drink With Me”) . I also wish I could have seen more of Eponine and Marius’ friendship, and Cosette and Marius’ relationship (because from my understanding, in the book they actually had one, not quite just flat out insta-love), because I really love all their songs as well (“In My Life,” “A Heart Full Of Love,” “On My Own,” “A Little Fall of Rain”).

Les Misérables les-miserables-m&cUltimately, it’s a story of grace and redemption, a story I feel we as people often need to be told.

les-mis-fantineles_miserables-cosette&valjean What do you think of Les Miserables? Or what’s your favorite “awesomely French” adaptation? 

Review: The Wolverine

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the-wolverineAmong all the comic book flicks I watch, I have to confess that the X-Men saga has never been my favorite. A few months ago I watched about twenty minutes of the first X-Men movie while it was on TV and it reminded me that I just don’t really care for it. I’ve watched it several times with my friends and my husband, and I don’t think the movies are awful and beyond watching, but I have never connected with them and there are definitely some really dumb parts (especially whatever comes out of Storm’s mouth… shudder). That was until X-Men: First Class, which I really loved the first time I saw it. I don’t love it as much now, but it’s still definitely my favorite of the franchise and I feel it’s heads and shoulders above the rest. I went into The Wolverine with lowish expectations… I thought I would probably like it decently, since most people seemed to like it better than Wolverine: Origins. I can say that The Wolverine pretty much met those expectations of me liking it well enough.

The movie takes place after X-Men: The Last Stand, and Logan is trying to hide out so he won’t bring harm to anyone. He still has nightmares about past instances in his life, and the one that we see at the open of the film is from WWII, when he saved a Japanese soldier from the blast of the nuclear bomb that is dropped nearby. Back in present day, we see Logan followed by an Asian girl with bright red hair, who eventually introduces herself to Logan and explains that the man he saved that day is dying and wanted to see him one last time to say goodbye. Logan reluctantly agrees to go to Japan with the girl, Yoshi Yosemite Yukio, who my husband and I like to refer to as Red.

Logan goes to Japan to find that the old man does not just want to say goodbye, but offers Logan to relieve him of his immortality by taking his healing ability so that he himself can live and Logan can die in peace. Even though Logan does not think he has much to live for, he basically says that’s a rotten deal, thanks but  no thanks, and walks out. Meanwhile, he observes the reaction of the old man’s family members around him: the man’s son and granddaughter. The granddaughter, Marco Monaco Marigold Mariko, is clearly distraught, and we find out that her life has been threatened.

The old man dies and at the funeral, Logan carefully observes the activity of everyone around him, aware that trouble may be stirring. Sure enough, it turns out  that there are a large number of men out Mariko, and after fighting off several baddies, Logan gets her away safely.

Predictably, the two end up falling for each other, even though it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. And of course, Mariko is captured again and Logan and Red have to track her down and save the day. Instead of giving away any more of the story, however, I will leave it at that.

I liked both Yukio and Mariko pretty well and thought they were fairly well-developed characters. Yukio seemed to have an interesting personality and Mariko I think proved at the end that she was more than just a pretty faced love interest (though Logan’s nickname of her, “Princess,” is quite fitting). I never fully understood the motives of the villains though (just greed?), and especially did not care for Viper, who they might as wall have cast Uma Thurman for and called her Poison Ivy because they were crazy similar.

But to be fair to the writers of the movie, she is a character from the comics.
But to be fair to the writers of the movie, she is a character from the comics.

I had other likes and dislikes but overall, this is a fairly fun action flick that adds maybe a little bit more to the franchise and to the character, but not a lot. The part of the movie that stirred my curiosity the most actually turned out to be the stinger, the scene within the credits, which sets up the forthcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was sort of interesting how almost the entire movie takes place in Japan, completely out of Logan’s environment, but I suppose that helps us realize that mutants are worldwide. For its decent entertainment value with nothing earth-shattering in the plot, I give The Wolverine three out of five stars.

3stars2

Have you seen The Wolverine? What were your thoughts? How do you feel about the X-Men franchise as a whole? 

Little Women: An Awesome Coming of Age Adaptation

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Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome! Today’s topic is an awesome coming-of-age adaptation.
book-movie-littleI think Little Women is all about coming of age. It focuses mostly on Jo, but also on her three sisters, from their youth to their early adult years as they go through separation from their father, simple Christmases, sickness, suitors, adventures, and tragedy. Through it all, I think Louisa May Alcott really captured the spirit of growing up quite well. I love that in the end, Jo writes her and her sisters’ story after a tragedy stirs her heart of Professor Bhaer’s words to write from her heart. I think it’s important advice for all writers to heed.

Here’s a scene from the movie that breaks my heart every time I watch it or read it in the book, but I think is a critical turning point for Jo in the story:

What scene from Little Women (book or movie) stands out to you? Or what do you think is an awesome coming-of-age adaptation? 

Names in Fiction vs. Real Life

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I mentioned recently that my husband and I have been watching the TV show Fringe on DVD. I have noticed that in the last couple of weeks, I have found myself growing more fond of the names Peter and Olivia, both of which are names of main characters on the show. I never really disliked these names before, but I didn’t particularly love them either. They were just fine for me. But now I find myself liking them more as I come to like the characters.

But I think I have to be predisposed to like the name somewhat first in order for this phenomena to happen. When I read The Hunger Games, I found myself liking the name Peeta as I liked the character. I have never known a Peeta in my life, but of course it does resemble Peter. But on the other hand, I didn’t find myself growing to like the name Katniss. I think it’s the right fit for Katniss and I went from thinking it was a stupid name at first to an appropriate name for a character, but let’s just say it didn’t hold quite the same charm for me. And it wasn’t like I was going to name a baby Peeta but…  let’s just say there was a period of time where if someone else decided to do it, I wouldn’t have judged them too harshly for it.

peeta-katniss

It’s interesting to me how our perceptions of names can change due to fictional characters with these names. There are some names that seem type-casted to fit a certain kind of character. I remember my senior year of high school when my yearbook/journalism teacher, whose first name was Chip, lamented that characters named Chip are always some lame sidekick. I have found with my name, Amy, the character is generally pretty self-centered and weak-willed, which makes me sad.

amy-littlewomen
I’m going to throw your writing in the fire and then steal the guy you should have ended up with… (OK, I don’t actually hate Amy in Little Women, but she’s no Jo.)

As someone who is constantly creating new characters in my head, I think about names fairly frequently. Sometimes the idea of a story hits me first, and then I seek out the characters and the names of the characters that seem to fit best. But sometimes, seemingly out of nowhere, a character name just pops into my head that won’t go away and I know I have to write out that character. Their name is sometimes something I might have considered strange just yesterday, but today it is perfect for my character. Sometimes I think of traditional names (Catherine), trendier names (Harper), and sometimes names that I just have no idea where they came from (Noa, for a girl, like Noah without a H… this one happened recently). When I think of the name of a character first, it always feels like a perfect fit when I base everything else around that, even if it’s something I would never name a real-life baby. But I also can’t help but wonder how people reading the story will respond to it. I know I have read books where I felt the character never fit their name. But I suppose we all look at names differently… there’s no way to really control how someone feels about a name.

All this to say… what’s in a name? Does your perception of a name change if you read/watch about a fictional character with that name? Has a fictional character made you like a name more or less than you did before? 

Emma: An Awesome Adaptation Featuring A Love Triangle

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Awesome Adaptations is hosted by Picture Me Reading, and is a focus on book-to-movie adaptations that we think are awesome!

How appropriate that the same month that A Novel Idea is hosting their Love Triangles 101 event, that this topic would come up! Instead of focusing on a modern-day story, however, I thought I ought to pay homage to The Original Queen of Love Triangles (this is not official, but I thought it sounded good) Jane Austen, and of her most convoluted triangley stories, Emma.

bool-movie-emmaI have mentioned many times before how much I really love the 2009 BBC mini-series of Emma (it’s over three hours long and filled with so much goodness!). Though I have not read the book yet, every actor/actress in this adaptation just seem to hit their character so spot-on. They feel like real people and I really come to care for several of them (the ones you’re supposed to care for… Mr. Elton… not so much).

Just so you can see just how much love triangleness is going on Emma, I stole a chart from Diana Peterfreund’s website (apparently she thinks about Jane Austen’s stories even more than I do) and doctored it up with pictures:

emmadiagram-editI have to imagine if you have never seen the movie or read the book, this must be seriously hard to follow. But basically, everyone gets crushed on at some point and everyone crushes on someone at one point; sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s confusing, sometimes it’s a rumor, and sometimes they change their mind! It honestly feels like real life though (sometimes uncomfortably so), but it is so much more fun to watch it happen to these people in old timey England than it is for it to happen to you.

If you haven’t checked out this version of Emma and enjoyed Jane Austen’s stories, I would HIGHLY recommend it! The fact that it was able to push the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie from the top spot of my favorite Jane Austen movie adaptations is a seriously huge deal and just shows how awesome it is. (Side note: I loved the 2005 P&P so much I used one of the tracks from the movie as the song I walked down the aisle to in my wedding, so yeah, I seriously love it.)

What do you think is an awesome adaptation that features love triangles? (I’ll give you a hint, the answer isn’t Twilight.) 

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