Question: If you could read a book for the “first time” again, which book would it be? Why?
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
I
still vividly remember my experience when I first read Jane Eyre. Since
then, I've reread this book a lot of times. This is one of those books
that made me fall in love with reading.
When
I first read Jane Eyre, I experienced a lot of emotions: satisfaction,
sorrow, fear. I felt extremely emotional when Helen Burns died. I felt
scared during the scary scenes (the mystery of the screams from the
attic). I felt extremely satisfied when the protagonist, Jane finally
found happiness. The love story of Jane and Mr Rochester has always
touched me, and always will. This novel is a perfect combination of
romance, mystery, and suspense.
But
I'm extrellmely nostalgic for the days when I first read this book.
Though reading this book still is a wonderful experience, it's obvious
that I'm already aware of the twists and incidences. When you reread the book, you're already aware of the whole story.
Though I still become emotional while reading Jane Eyre, I wish I could
read this book for the first time again, I wish I could newly discover
the story again, feel thrilled during those suspenseful scenes, become
emotional by the beautiful love story of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester,
and keep guessing how the story would conclude.
Nevertheless, I will always love Jane Eyre.
Though I'll never get the opportunity of reading this book for the
first time again, I'll reread this book again and again, because I love
the characters, I love the storyline, I love the atmosphere, I love the
variety of feelings that I get while reading this book.
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Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Released: 2001
Country: United States
Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Genre: Drama
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review
Watching ''Requiem for a Dream'' was perhaps quite an unforgettable experience. After watching it, it kept me thinking about it, pondering about it- it's one of the most depressing, one of the most unsettling, disturbing and intense films I have ever watched. This was not an easy film to watch- I had to look away several times because it was really graphic at times- and after watching it, I felt really depressed.
What will I say about this film? Did I ''like'' it? This is certainly one of the most intense and depressing films I have ever watched, and it is actually a great film. Unsettling, disturbing and depressing, it's a very powerful film.
The story is about four people. An elderly woman, Sara, who, as described by her son, is a ''TV junkie''. She has always wanted to be on TV. The character is played by Ellen Burstyn, who delivers an extremely powerful performance. Sara's son is Harry (played by Jared Leto). Hary's girlfriend is Marion (played by Jennifer Connelly of ''A Beautiful Mind''), the daughter of rich parents, and the other character in this film is Tyrone, Harry's friend, played by Marlon Wayans.
Sara gets a phone call informing her that she has been chosen as a contestant in a game show. Sara wants to get her youthful appearance back. She starts to follow a certain diet plan- but the thought of ''No sugar'' ''No dressing'' disappoints her. So she starts taking some pills to lose weight and to get a youthful appearance, and soon she starts increasing the dose of the pills she takes.
On the other hand, Harry, Marion and Tyrone start an illegal drug business, and they themselves are addicted...
The film tells the story how the dreams--- and the lives--- of these four people are completely shattered because of addiction.
Ellen Burstyn gives a powerful performance. Her character, Sara, is perhaps the most powerful character of this film. Her hallucinations, loneliness, and shattered dreams--- everything was presented so bleakly, so powerfully and painfully. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans are good as well. The cinematography and the background music were beautiful, and the editing was wonderful.
As I mentioned before, this is certainly among the most disturbing films I have ever watched. The horror of drug addiction is powerfully explored in this movie. As the four characters start getting drastically affected by the drugs, the film takes an intense turn, starting a disturbing journey that ends in a painful, depressing, powerful ending. There are several graphic scenes--- some scenes so disturbing that I couldn't bear looking--- and the overall film was so beautiful and powerful and intense and sad... it kept haunting me for a long time after I had finished watching it.
4.5 out of 5
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Released: 2013
Country: United States, United Kingdom, Australia
Genre: Historical comedy-drama
Cast: Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, B. J. Novak
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
''Saving Mr. Banks'' tells the story of P. L. Travers, the author of ''Mary Poppins'', and her problematic relations and disagreements with the filmmaker while the book was being adapted to film.
Travers, played by Emma Thompson, has been having financial problems, and the only way she can now get rid of the problem is by letting Walt Disney adapt her book, ''Mary Poppins''. She travels to Los Angeles, and meets Walt Disney (played by Tom Hanks). She is shocked by many of the things that Disney wants to include in the film, such as the fact that the film is intended to be a musical. She, however, reluctantly agrees to the film being musical, but however, she has more disagreements with Disney and the screenplay.
While these happen, there are flashbacks of Travers's childhood, showing her childhood and relation with her father, who was a loving father yet alcoholic and depressed, and the incidents that had inspired Travers to create the character of Mary Poppins.
''Saving Mr Banks'' is such a film that may leave you moist-eyed yet with a happy film. It's a charming film filled with excellent performances from the two leads, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, and also wonderful performances from the supporting cast, especially Colin Farrell, who plays Travers's father.
There are many memorable, sweet, emotional scenes, like several scenes from Travers's childhood. Another very memorable scene was the one where Travers and the other dance, singing ''Let's Go Fly a Kite''.
Overall, ''Saving Mr Banks'' is a sweet little film, a charming and gentle film.
4 out of 5
Author: Wilkie Collins
Published: 1868
Genres: Novel, Mystery, Crime
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review
''The Moonstone'' is my first Wilkie Collins novel, and I really adored it. I loved the storytelling, wit, narration, character development, and the way in which different characters narrate the story in their own style. I really liked this novel.
''The Moonstone'' tells the story of a valuable Indian diamond. Colonel James Herncastle, a corrupt soldier, had acquired this diamond in India as a result of war. He brings the diamond, known as the Moonstone, to England, and leaves it to his niece, Rachel Verinder.
Rachel Verinder lives with her mother, Lady Verinder. After the death of Colonel Herncastle, Franklin Blake (a cousin of Rachel Verinder), is given the task of taking the diamond to Rachel, and present it to her on her 18th birthday. On her birthday party, Rachel wears the diamond, and before going to bed, she keeps it in her cabinet.
However, that very night, the diamond is stolen...
Things get mysterious... who could have stolen the diamond? Apparently, the house was perfectly locked and secure, and no outsider could get into the house...
The renowned detective Sergeant Cuff is called. Everything centering the case seems puzzling, mysterious...
The book is divided into two parts: the first part is narrated by Gabriel Betteredge, the trusted elderly steward of the Verinders, and the second part is narrated by different characters.
I really liked the narration style. The style of each of the characters is reflected through their narrations. For example, Gabriel Betteredge's narrative, which, I think, is the longest narrative in the book (he narrates the whole first part), is a little slow-paced and sometimes witty. Gabriel Betteredge is the trusted old steward of the family, and Lady Verinder likes him a lot. He has quirks, which are reflected in his narrative. The first narrative of the second part is by Miss Clack, a relative of the Verinders. Miss Clack's narrative was amusing and also irritating! The narratives by Franklin Blake and Mr Bruff (and others) are more serious-sounding.
This is a long book, and a lot of things happen in the course of the novel, it takes several unexpected turns, making the mystery really enjoyable. Not only this, there are several characters that remain memorable, for whom we feel sympathy. Though the main subject of the book is the mystery, the characters also form a major part of the book, and over the course of the story, a lot of things happen to the characters, changing the lives of several of them. As mentioned a lot of times in the book, after the night of the birthday party, nothing remained same in the carefree, happy lives of the central characters; rather, they were being haunted by mysteries and suspicions.
I really liked this novel; I liked the narrative style, character development, and the development of the mystery. It's an amazing book, and I'm looking forward to read more Wilkie Collins novels.
4 out of 5
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1931
Genres: Novel, Mystery, Crime, Thriller
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
Agatha Christie's ''The Sittaford Mystery'' is set in a snowy village, Sittaford. A woman named Mrs Willett, and her daughter Violet, have recently rented The Sittaford Cottage, owned by Captain Trevelyan. Captain Trevelyan lives in the neighboring town of Exhampton. Mrs Willett and her daughter are very sociable people. They regularly invite their neighbors for tea. The story begins with a tea party at the Sittaford Cottage. The guests are: Major Burnaby (who is a neighbor of the Willetts and also the best friend of Trevelyan), Mr Rycroft (a neighbor interested in criminology and ornithology), Mr Duke (a mysterious man), and Ronald Garfield (a young man who is visiting his elderly aunt in Sittaford). They play table-turning, when suddenly, through table-turning, a message comes to them: that Captain Trevelyan has been murdered.
Though everybody feels uneasy because of the message, they try to think that it was just an unpleasant joke. However, Major Burnaby feels uneasy, and goes to Exhampton on foot, in the snowy night, to see if Trevelyan's alright. However, he discovers that Trevelyan has indeed been murdered.
Inspector Narcott starts investigating the case, and the police arrest James Pearson, nephew of Trevelyan, who was in Exhampton the evening his uncle had died. However, James's fiance, Emily Trefusis, doesn't believe that James can murder anyone. She is sure that James is innocent. So she starts investigation the matter on her own.
Another pleasant mystery by Agatha Christie! The setting of this novel is really good. The isolated, snowy village Sittaford.
The most unforgettable thing about this book was the character of Emily Trefusis! It was such an amazing character! The way she takes the responsibility of personally investigating the case finding out who the actual criminal is... she was absolutely a very strong character! I found the character sweet, strong and unforgettable. The firm determination of the character is extremely noteworthy.
There are many characters in this novel: the family of Captain Trevelyan, the residents of Sittaford, and several residents of Exhampton. This cast of characters was quite strong and very remarkable.
This is a novel full of twists and turns! The solution comes quite unexpected (though I did have a faint--- very faint--- idea of who it might be, though I didn't have any idea of why), and the ways in which Emily solves the puzzle were really good!
This is not among my favorite Agatha Christie novels, but it was certainly a very, very pleasant, extremely satisfying, puzzling read that I would recommend! It is very cleverly written, engrossing, and has a very strong cast of characters.
3.5 out of 5
Directed by: William Wyler
Released: 1946
Country: United States
Cast: Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Harold Russell, Virginia Mayo, Cathy O'Donnell
Genre: War drama, Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
''The Best Years of Our Lives'' is a beautiful, amazing film! It's a post-World War II story about three men who have returned from war, and find many things changed in their lives. It deals with the emotional journey of these three men, their moments of joys, sorrows, disappointments, difficulties to deal with the changes.
The three men are Fred Drerry (Dana Andrews), a young man who had been married for less than a month when he had to enlist, Al Stephenson (Frederic March), a successful banker with a happy little family, and Homer (Harold Russell), who had lost his hands in the war and now has to use hooks for hands.
After returning home, Fred discovers that his wife, Marie (Virginia Mayo), took a job at a nightclub while he was away. Fred persuades Marie to quit her job. However, their relationship soon start to deteriorate as Fred can earn much less than the amount he used to earn before his war. On the other, Al finds that his children, though still as loving and caring as they were before, have grown up. They have changed much, and many of their habits have changed. Homer is given a very warm welcome at his house, but he is heartbroken to find that everybody treats him in a very caring way because he has lost his hands...
Fred and his wife's relation start to deteriorate, and Fred falls in love with Peggy (Teresa Wright), Al's daughter. This gives rise to a difficult situation. Peggy also loves Fred, and can sense that his marriage is difficult, but her parents don't quite approve of Peggy's feelings for Fred...
The film tells the story of these three characters; it's the story of their life after they return from the war. It's sometimes sad and sometimes uplifting; sometimes it's depressing, and sometimes it's very feel-good.
This is a film where you love the characters. I really liked the characters, especially Fred, Homer, Peggy, Milly, and Al. The performances were splendid, and I especially found Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Harold Russell very remarkable. Teresa Wright as Peggy is perfectly adorable. Harold Russell won two Academy Awards for his role as Homer: one for Best Supporting Actor and an Honorary Oscar.
The screenplay is excellent, the cinematography is noteworthy, the story is wonderful, the cast and characters were wonderful, and overall, it's a wonderful film, an emotional, really touching film.
5 out of 5
Directed by: James Wan
Released: 2013
Country: United States
Genres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, Ron Livingston
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review
Having heard a lot about ''The Conjuring'', I had been anticipating to watch it. When I finally watched it a few days ago, I didn't think it was one of the scariest films I have watched. It was scary, yes, but not that terrifying either. But yet, the sudden shocks are worth mentioning, and the film itself is extremely well-made, with atmosphere and strong performance, especially from Vera Farmiga and Lili Taylor.
Roger and Carolyn Perron, along with their five daughters, move to a house. As soon as they arrive, strange incidences start happening... some strange, scary, unexplainable incidences that makes them convinced that there is indeed a supernatural presence in this house. They ask Ed and Lorraine Warren, well-known paranormal investigators, to investigate. The Warrens come across shocking things about the house's past.
Except the few shocking scenes, including the jump scares (which were very, very scary), I didn't really think that the film was that terrifying. However, it is a really well-made film. It has a great atmosphere and the characters are really well-developed. The film delves into the emotions of the characters, especially those of Carolyn and Lorraine, played by Taylor and Farmiga respectively. Carolyn is worried about her family, about the safety of her daughters, about the strange happenings in her house, and Lorraine is touched by Carolyn's big family. She wants to help her, wants to keep the beautiful family safe. There is also a sweet chemistry between Ed (played by Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine, as Ed wants to protect Lorraine. Every paranormal activity that they investigate leave a bad impact on Lorraine, and Ed wants to protect Lorraine from this.
Another amazing thing about the film is that it doesn't take a LONG time to develop the atmosphere, rather there is an atmosphere from the beginning of the film.
Some people may find ''The Conjuring'' more scary; I don't know why I didn't feel it was that scary! There were some scenes that were extremely terrifying. The jump scares and some of the images kept haunting me for some time (the ghost on the wardrobe and a few other scenes terrified me). As a movie, ''The Conjuring'' is really good; the background, cinematography, script and performances were really good.
3.5 out of 5
