Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (2444)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Frankenstein (1931) in Movies

Jan 20, 2021  
Frankenstein (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
1931 | Horror
8
7.7 (33 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Iconic version of the novel by (it says here) 'Mrs Percy Shelley'; might even be definitive if the story was anything like the one in the book. The nature of the piece and its brief running time mean that characterisation and motivation take second place to atmosphere and incident: Henry Frankenstein wants to learn the secrets of life and death, and builds his own creature in the hope of bringing it to life. All does not go well.

Some parts of this film stand up remarkably well 90 years on: the sets, the direction, some of the performances (Karloff is obviously excellent, Colin Clive perhaps doesn't get the props he deserves); it's quite atmospheric. On the other hand, making the Creature mute removes any possibility of discourse between him and Frankenstein (which is really the heart of the novel) - this is a cautionary gothic melodrama without much interest in exploring the ideas that underpin Mary Shelley's work. Still, obviously, a massively influential movie, and well-done for what it is.
  
40x40

Kayleigh (12 KP) rated The Fault in Our Stars in Books

Jan 2, 2019  
The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green | 2012 | Children
10
8.2 (185 Ratings)
Book Rating
If you don’t want to read a long review, here’s my summary: Read. This. Book. It is perfect.

In my last review (of <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/beautiful-creatures/">Beautiful Creatures</a>), I was a little harsh about the portrayal of love stories in teenage/young adult fiction. The backbone of this book is that slowly but surely, the two main characters, Hazel and Augustus, fall in love. It’s not some pre-determined, intense force that sweeps the characters off their feet. It’s slow and steady, with a few set-backs, much like Hazel’s breathing at times, if you like. As Hazel puts it, perfectly:

<blockquote>“I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”</blockquote>

There’s nothing glamorous – life goes up and down, it’s sad and it’s funny, it’s not fair. It’s real.

In The Fault in Our Stars, John Green introduces us to two extremely philosophical teenagers that have been through a lot more than most people, with the knowledge that there is only more hardship to come. He humanises something I know I have never really thought about – the feelings, and more specifically, the sense of humour cancer sufferers/survivors have throughout it all. I talk about the humour later, but something that really got the message across was Hazel finally admitting her biggest fear to her parents. Hazel, the girl who decided to become a vegetarian so as to “minimise the number of deaths I’m responsible for.”

<blockquote>“‘I’m like. Like. I’m a grenade, Mom. I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimise the casualties, okay?’”</blockquote>

It was the realness of the characters that got me so attached. For the last third of the story, I was unabashedly sobbing (luckily, alone. The first time I finished this, I was on a bus). To be blunt (and a little bit gross), the best way I can describe the end of this book is like this. When I was a child, I’d be crying my eyes out over something or other, and my mum would be comforting me. When the worst was over, she’d joke that I’d better not have got snot on her jumper, which would make me laugh through the tears. I’m trying not to put spoilers in here, but the next quote, for example, happens just after one of the most poignant parts of the book. It lightens the mood without altering the seriousness, and at the same time reminding us that they are, after all, only teenagers.

<blockquote>“He smiled. Gallows humour. ‘I’m on a roller coaster that only goes up,’ he said.

‘And it is my privilege and my responsibility to ride all the way up with you,’ I said.

‘Would it be absolutely ludicrous to try to make out?’

‘There is no try,’ I said. ‘There is only do.’”</blockquote>

John Green managed to blend humour and tragedy perfectly. If you’ve read the book already, he wrote a blog post answering questions about the book – I’d recommend a read. I don’t want to waffle, so I’ll leave it there, but I’d wholeheartedly recommend The Fault in Our Stars - it’s an instant favourite and already has a place in my heart. Don’t forget the tissues!

Oh, and about the film that’s apparently in the works – did anyone else picture Hazel as looking a little like Ellen Page in Juno? Maybe it’s a similar attitude to life, but I could only see her as this!

PS – Sorry for anglicising the quotes – habit!

This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>; - if you liked it, please check it out!