DVD Review: Twilight – Breaking Dawn Part 2

I have just watched the DVD of the film version of “Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2″ (2012). 

I have read the Twilight books many times, even though they have had many mixed reviews, and it took me a while to get around to watching all the films, having disliked the first one on my initial viewing of it. However, i have got into the films  but waited ages to see the finale due to being unable to find anyone equally sad willing enough to go to the cinema to see it with me.

I was curious how the director would make the film now that Bella is a vampire. There are a lot of special effects which show Bella’s new senses and strength as a vampire, and also show the fast growth of her and Edward’s daughter Renesmee. A lot of effects are shown as Renesmee grows from a baby to a child with her face being just bit too Photoshopped! The scene were Bell and Emmett arm-wrestle is another feast of special effects where nothing looks very real!

Away from the special effects, the film stays fairly close to the book, with most of the best scenes being kept, such as Bella’s training, and Charlie being introduced to his changed daughter and his new granddaughter. I liked how extra bits were added in, such as Jacob helping the kids who transform into werewolves because of the amount of vampires appearing in the neighbourhood, and how Jacob transforms in front of Charlie to try to explain that the world isn’t as straightforward as it looks. I also like the flashbacks to the Volturi hunting those who created immortal children, including Tanya’s mother, which makes it more poignant to the feelings shown by the characters.

The obvious thing i was looking forward to is the battle between the Cullens and their friends and the Volturi. In the book it generally involves a lot of standing around and people reading each other’s minds and talking and so on. The film tweaks this part and there is a huge twist that had me shouting at the screen in horror! However, the films still ends as happily as the book does, so it hasn’t ruined it for me, but the outcome is very clever!

So, for anyone who loves Twilight, you will love the film. If you don’t like Twilight, well, never mind! It feels very final and is a good ending to the Saga, and possibly is better than the earlier films because, let’s face it, Bella as a character is better as a vampire! A big thumbs up to this film!

Book Quote of the Day

“You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies. When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?” 
― Stephenie Meyer, Breaking Dawn

A Bookworm’s Confession #1

I freely admit that i am a bookworm. (Nobody seems to use this word anymore, have you noticed?)

I was in fact assigned the official award for being a “bookworm” for my Year 6 class when i was a child.

So it is no surprise that i like books, any books. Well, nearly any books.

I recently started reading Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities”, which i have never read before and decided that i need to cross it off my list of classics never read.

I am about 1% of the way through, according to my Kindle, but i have now been compelled to read something else as well. What wonderful book has turned my head away from a classic Dickens, i hear you wonder.

I picked up a paperback of….. “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer.

Oh yes, i am afraid to say that i do kind of like “Twilight”. My bad.

It’s a guilty pleasure, and i do read it from time to time, usually when it pops into my head and i feel that i HAVE to read it. Ok, so it’s lower in rank than many of the contents of my bookshelves, but everyone has that one book they like to read on the sly!

That is my confession.

Which book is YOUR guilty pleasure?

Book Review: Vampire State of Mind

I have recently finished reading “Vampire State of Mind” by Jane Lovering.

Vampire State of Mind – Jane Lovering (via Amazon)

The blurb reads:

“Jessica Grant knows vampires only too well. She runs the York Council tracker programme making sure that Otherworlders are all where they should be, keeps the filing in order and drinks far too much coffee. 
To Jess, vampires are annoying and arrogant and far too sexy for their own good, particularly her ex-colleague Sil, who’s now in charge of Otherworld York. When a demon turns up and threatens not just Jess but the whole world order, she and Sil are forced to work together.
But then Jess turns out to be the key to saving the world, which puts a very different slant on their relationship. 
The stakes are high. They are also very, very pointy and Jess isn’t afraid to use them – even on the vampire she’s rather afraid she’s falling in love with …”

You might think, oh no, not another vampire novel, another Twilight. Well, you are wrong! This is an awesome book, with the whole new idea of vampires being fully integrated into normal human society and accepted by humans (for the most part). There are also zombies, werewolves, ghouls and other supernatural creatures, all of whom have equal status in the human world. The laws and rights regarding all species are interesting to discover, as humans have never really liked sharing their planet with other dominant species.

The book is set in York, which is great because i used to live there and i can mentally picture all the places it mentions! It brings across a whole new side of the city, besides the tourism side, describing what it is like living there with all these Otherworld creatures. York has plenty of ties with different times in history, from Romans to Vikings and beyond, so why not bring it up to date with these supernatural creatures living there too!?

Humans have created a synthetic blood in order to keep the vampires satisfied and to protect the humans. New laws are enforced in order to keep the peace, as obviously there is always someone who will turn against the others. No-one wants a repeat of the early violence described when the Otherworld creatures were trying to be recognised as equal and so on.

Jessica is a fascinating character, tasked with enforcing the laws and tracking down the creatures to make sure they toeing the line. Her uncanny knack for identifying creatures, which puts her in the 5% of humans who have this ability, hints at a deeper part of her own identity, which comes under conflict after a few home truths come to light, changing her life forever. Her relationship with the vampire Sil is interesting, and she tries to ignore the fact she is falling in love with him, but as the novel progresses it becomes clear that there is something between them, shown in their behaviour towards each other. Jessica is feisty and fiercely independent, and constantly uses “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” as her bible for keeping tabs on the Otherworlders, which is amusing!

I give this book 8/10 because it breathes new life into the sub-genre which has been taken over by sappy vampires brought about by Twilight and brings the Otherworld creatures firmly onto the world stage as equals to humans. The book is witty and clever, with a great paranormal romance story but with enough sci-fi elements and real issues to make it a really great read. The setting of the book and the characters themselves make up a great plot, and the climax is really good. Totally worth a read if you want real vampires!

Note: I read this on Kindle.

Book Quote of the Day

“Isn’t it supposed to be like this? The glory of first love, and all that. It’s incredible, isn’t it, the difference between reading about something, seeing it in the pictures, and experiencing it?”

- Edward Cullen, Twilight,

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

I have just finished reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L.James. I bought it because everyone has been talking about it so i thought i would see what the fuss is about!

Fifty Shades of Grey – E.L. James (via Amazon)

It is funny because, as i knew it was full of sex, i started it and just waited for the sex to start! At first it seems kind of sexy but then it becomes a bit more mundane and less exciting. I got annoyed with all the literary references: it seemed like the author was trying to make it seem a bit less trashy.

I wasn’t sure i liked Ana that much because she seems so pathetic through most of the novel. I can see now why its been classed as Twilight but without the paranormal and with more sex! I thought Bella in Twilight was bad but Ana is a whole lot worse! I found myself getting annoyed with her being unable to exercise any willpower, and her little alter egos get on my nerves too: i don’t see why we need to have them in there. She is a bit weird to be a 21 year old virgin and to seriously consider having a such a messed up relationship for her first attempt at a lovelife. I just felt she was being taken advantage of, and she just happily laid down and let Christian take advantage. She is a poor specimen of a woman, and certainly not a heroine. Ok, so her insecurity is real enough but for someone who is intelligent she comes across as being a bit dim. Also, her constant exclamations of “Oh my!” and so on are way to frequent and frankly get on my nerves!

Christian is seriously screwed up, and i can’t understand why Ana wants to be with someone like him when he likes sadomasochism and doesn’t do normal lust and love. Deranged is a good word to describe him, but the reader feels a bit sorry for him because of his difficult past. He also seems to have more money than sense: money can buy you many things but love isn’t one of them, and money doesn’t make up for being messed up.

There are some parts of the book which i found uncomfortable reading (the graphic descriptions of their sexual relationship), and a few which made me sad, but despite the fact i was glued to the book for about 3 days i still found myself wondering why i was bothering to read it, and i very nearly gave up halfway through.

I was determined to finish the book though, and i didn’t think i would want to read the next books in the trilogy, but then the ending made me want to know what happens next to the characters, which is the mark of well thought out plot! I’m not sure i will be reading the next one just yet though! However, me and my friends have had a giggle over reading it and keep quoting bits of it because it is more funny than sexy actually.

I give this book a 6/1- because despite keeping me gripped throughout and unable to stop thinking about the story (can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing!) when i wasn’t reading it, it really shares too much of a similarity to Twilight, and the erotic fiction genre isn’t something i’d usually choose. The emails they send to each other are probably the best bits! Read it if you want to see what the fuss is about, but it’s not the best book i’ve ever read! Rant over!

Note: I read this book on my Kindle, mainly because the print copies had sold out in most places!

Book quote of the day

“It was ridiculous, and egotistical, to think that I could affect anyone that strongly. It was impossible. And yet I couldn’t stop worrying that it was true.”

- Bella Swan, Twilight

An afternoon spent in a bookshop

Me and a friend spent yesterday wandering around every shop selling books we could find in town!

We discussed many books that we’d read, yet to read, or were curious about. We basically went around Waterstones from A-Z looking at everything! We were glad to see a section on translated fiction, although it was tiny and only had about 8 books on display, and i had read a few of them already.

I was also very pleased to find “Z for Zachariah” by Robert C. O’Brien on display, as i have been wanting to get a copy of it for a while, but had previously only found secondhand copies on Amazon, and i wanted a new copy. So i got a brand new print copy for £6.99! I read it at school and found it very interesting and have been wanting to re-read it for a while! It’s a great apocalyptic tale! So that brings my total up to 9 books acquired in the last week or so! (See March Madness – Buying Books for the other 8).

Z for Zachariah (Puffine Teenage Fiction) - Robert C. O'Brien (via Amazon)

Me and my friend raved about how much we love The Hunger Games, and wonder how on Earth we didn’t know about the trilogy even though it’s been out for years! She has only read the first book, so i had to bite my tongue and try not to spoil the other two books for her in my passion for them! The books are just brilliant though! We both can’t wait for the film to come out, hoping that it won’t ruin the books for us! Still annoyed that people keep comparing The Hunger Games to Twilight though – they’re nothing alike! Twilight is paranormal romance and (let’s face it) Bella is a pretty substandard heroine, while The Hunger Games is an epic dystopian tale with Katniss being a fascinating and compelling heroine! But i won’t rant any more about that now…

We also discussed how the last few popular genres have fared and wondered what would come next. We came up with the following list:

Witches and Wizards (Harry Potter) → Vampires (Twilight and so on) → Werewolves (briefly) → Apocalyptic → Dystopian (The Hunger Games and so on) →

What would come next? Some kind of rebirth series? Phoenixes? More undead? Or something completely different?