Book to Film Review: The Bourne Legacy

About the film

The Bourne Legacy is an action film that was released in 2012. It is a part of The Bourne series of films which are based on the books by Robert Ludlum. However, while the first book is called The Bourne Legacy, the film does not follow the same plot. The film has a rating of 12A and a run time of 135 minutes.

Plot

The Bourne Legacy runs alongside events from The Bourne Ultimatum, although this film does not follow Jason Bourne. Instead, the film follows Aaron Cross, a member of Operation Outcome. The US Defence Department runs a program where field operatives take a series of pills which enhance their metal and psychical abilities. While Cross is completing as assignment in Alaska, he runs out of pills and begins to worry when he makes his target and isn’t given anymore.

A reporter in England is assassinated due to writing an expose on other operations Treadstone and Blackbriar. As these two operations are publicly exposed, retired US Air Force Colonel, Eric Byer is enlisted to help out – to fix all of the problems. He believes that the only real way out of this mess, with researchers of Outcome and Treadstone being seen at public events together, is to kill every single operative under Operation Outcome. However, Cross does not die and thinking he needs more medication, visits the lab that he usually visits. Dr. Marta Shearing, the sole survivor of a colleague gone mad shooting is the only answer to Cross’ questions and with her in tow, the chase is on to find more meds and manage stay out of the way of the people trying to kill him.

What I thought

I loved the original three Bourne films but was really unsure about whether or not to watch this one. I loved Matt Damon as Jason Bourne and wasn’t sure what the story of this one would be considering that Jeremy Renner had the lead role. I have tried to write the plot synopsis as simply as possibly because quite frankly, this film was quite confusing at times. However, it actually started off quite slow, spending quite a bit of time in Alaska with Aaron Cross, even though there was no idea of why he was there for a long time. I also haven’t seen The Bourne Ultimatum for a long time, with it being released in 2007 so I couldn’t remember any of the plot from that film but you don’t really need to have seen it anyway.

There is a lot to get your head around in this film, which is why I ended up being quite confused. Operation Outcome is all about science and medication which makes field operatives stronger in every way possible. However, instead of just saying this, there is a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo being thrown around all over the place and I didn’t really know the difference between Outcome, Treadstone and Blackbriar. Because of all of this information being thrown at you, you do really need to pay attention. I was doing my hair and make-up while watching this film so no wonder I lost what was going on easily. I think once you get your head around what is going on and why the government want all of the field operatives dead, it is pretty easy going from there.

While Jeremy Renner is nowhere near as good as Matt Damon, he does an impressive job playing Aaron Cross. His character is an interesting one as he is the only one of the field operatives to not die but as well, he really doesn’t want other people running his life and having such a control over everything. While I have seen Renner in films such as The Avengers and Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, I think he was best in this film by far. He plays an action character really well, does a good job in the fight and chase scenes but was also a likeable guy.

In other roles are Rachel Weisz as Dr. Marta Shearing and Edward Norton as Eric Byer. While I normally love Weisz, she was a bit disappointing in this film. As a doctor with such expert knowledge, working in an extremely high security job, she was so weak and annoying for a large amount of the film. I was expecting her to be a much stronger character. However, her time with Cross does toughen her up a lot and make her a better and more likeable character. Edward Norton is someone who can do no wrong in my eyes and he is wonderful as Eric Byer, a no nonsense, get to the point kind of guy. Now he is a strong character willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and Norton does so with great conviction. He isn’t likeable, due to his job, but I could also understand the situation he was in and why he made certain decisions.

The Bourne Legacy is a really exciting and fast paced film. While some of it is extremely clichéd where it could have been more original, it was still enjoyable to watch. I wish it had been a little more simple to follow though.

Dare You To by Kate McGarry

About the book

Dare You To is a companion book in the Pushing The Limits series by Kate McGarry. It was published by Mira Ink on 7^th June and the book is 3014 pages long. I received this for review through Net Galley.

Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads.com)

"I dare you..."

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

What I thought

Kate McGarry’s debut novel, Pushing the Limits was one of my favourites from 2012. When I saw Mira Ink’s tweet about this one being up on Net Galley, I clicked the link and requested as soon as I could! Even though this was up for review in January and the release date not until June, I didn’t care. I had to start reading straight away.

Dare You To tells the story of Beth Risk, a minor character from Pushing The Limits. From what I remembered from the previous book, Beth was an absolute bitch but then I wasn’t about to judge her before reading her story. As Dare You To starts, it quickly becomes clear that Beth actually is a bitch. She swears a hell of a lot, says exactly what she thinks and doesn’t give a damn who she hurts by telling the truth. Strangely, I loved how Beth acted. She was a breath of fresh air and I completely loved her.

Dare You To really explains why Beth acts the way she does though. Her family life is a complete mess and after some really bad things happen, her estranged Uncle Scott comes in to rescue her. However, Beth doesn’t think she needs rescuing though and hates Scott for taking her away, forcing her into a new school and a town she really doesn’t want to be in. I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics of Beth’s family, both immediate and not. The new characters introduced here were all fascinating in some way and they all also had secrets of their own which was interesting.

So, love interests… Well, as you can see from the synopsis, the love interest here is not Isaiah. After reading Pushing The Limits, I was damn sure Beth and Isaiah would be getting together but it seems this is not the case. If like me, you have read the previous book, be read to do some shouting at the pages and to be utterly shocked. However, I did also really like Ryan who is the love interest. Ryan and his friends love dares, which is how he comes to meet Beth in the first place. Ryan is also a jock and his life revolves around baseball (quite a nice change from American Football, I thought). Ryan came across as full of himself and a stereotypical jock but it was so good to see there was a lot more to him than that.

Mixed in with the plot concerning Beth and Ryan was an extremely exciting story! There is a lot going on regarding Beth’s mother and her family life but there is also a lot going on with her old friends from back home. Beth has to learn to live a completely different life while living with her Uncle and she is not comfortable with that at all. Kate McGarry shows no fear when it comes to tackling some really serious issues, which you will already know if you have read Pushing The Limits. The issues written about in Dare You To were really different but just as important and shocking at the same time. It was quite hard reading at times due to how scary the situations were but that also helped make this such a good book.

Unfortunately though, while I did really enjoy this one, I didn’t like it quite as much as Pushing The Limits. I’m not completely sure why either, considering I liked all of the characters and the plot. I think Pushing The Limits got more emotion out of me so maybe that’s why. Still though, Dare You To is fantastic read, full of excitement and a bad ass protagonist. 

Book to Film Review: Fairytale

This is only a sort of book to film review, as the film comes from a fairy tale!

About the film

Fairytale is a horror film that was released on DVD on 14^th January. The film is rated 15 and has a run time of 84 minutes.

Plot

After a recent divorce, Sophia and her daughter Helena move to Latina in the south of Italy. When Helena loses her first baby tooth and Sophia explains all about the tooth fairy leaving her money, she becomes obsessed. Most night she recalls being visited by the tooth fairy, even without having lost any more teeth. Worried about Helena’s strange behaviour, she seeks the advice of a local doctor, only to find out about the sinister past of her new apartment. With Helena’s life in danger, Sophia must find a way to stop the terrible things that are happening.

What I thought

I’m a huge fan of both horror films and fairytales so when I heard about this film, I wanted to watch it immediately. I haven’t seen many films revolving around the idea of the tooth fairy, expect for Del Toro’s ‘Don’t Be Afriad of the Dark’.

Set and filmed in Italy, Fairytale provides a very pretty setting against a dark plot. Main characters Sophia and daughter Helena have just moved to Latina after divorce. The mother and daughter duo appear to be settling in very nicely, having a lovely looking apartment and Sophia appearing to have a good job. It isn’t long before the plot takes a twist though and Helena loses her first tooth only to become obsessed with the idea of the tooth fairy. The plot, unfortunately, was pretty basic. Girl loses tooth, tooth fairy has some wicked intentions. Whereas Del Toro’s idea of the tooth fairy was very dark and twisted, I thought that this film was very unoriginal. The idea of the tooth fairy was basically taken from other horror films and just given a different name.

However, although the plot was basic and not at all unique, it was pretty creepy. Maybe not completely scary but it did make me shudder a couple of times. The effects were pretty basic throughout the film, without any really shocking scenes that could be very scary. While there are one or two scenes which could really freak some people out, Fairytale is a film that relies on the story of the tooth fairy and the idea the story told to you as a child is far from the truth. Here, the thought of the tooth fairy being evil is where the horror comes in. Unfortunately though, the weak plot wasn’t enough to make this truly terrifying.

Not only was the plot weak but acting skills were pretty poor. Playing Sophia is Harriet MacMasters-Green. During the moments where Sophia is just playing a normal Mum, she does ok. She makes it believable that she is Helena’s mother, and that she cares. However, when the plot really kicks in and things begin to get a bit strange, her performance was extremely lacking. Very little concern was shown towards what was happening and she looked pretty bored most of the time. As Sophia finds out about past events in her apartment, I expected utter shock from MacMasters-Green but I didn’t feel this at all. While MacMasters-Green does attempt to be scared, to be worried and to think of a solution to everything, she was just really bland.

Luckily, this film runs at just over an hour and 20 minutes long. I’m not sure that I could have put up with it for much longer than that. As for the ending, it was completely expected from me. While it is clear that this was supposed to be a pretty big twist, I saw it coming a mile off and not find it remotely shocking or different. Again, filmmakers believe they are attempting to do something new and different but really, they’re just using the same tried and tested methods in a different setting. I wish that Fairytale had a much more exciting ending and one that I hadn’t been expecting. This, at least, would have saved the film a little for me.

I absolutely cannot recommend this film and wish I hadn’t wasted my time on it. 

Guest Review: The Dead Ways by Christopher Edge

Today my fiancé talks about The Dead Ways by Christopher Edge.

About the book

The Dead Ways by Christopher Edge is the first in a series of the same name. It is 191 pages long and was published on 1 October 2011.

Synopsis

Ghostly apparitions on abandoned motorways...corpses escaping from hospital morgues...sketons crawling out of their graves...THE DEAD WAYS ARE OPENING. 

The Government has a plan to clean up the environment - closing down motorways and returning the roads to nature. When Scott Williams' Dad is found dead in his government office, Scott resolves to find out the truth behind his death. What he discovers is a far reaching and sinister conspiracy to open ancient lines of power sealing this world from the next.  As the roads close, the dead will wake. Soon Scott is thrust headlong into a deadly race against time. It'll be the end of the world if he loses.

What I thought

Hmmm Zombies...like Vampires and Werewolves...like teenagers with smartphones...they're every bloody where. I therefore wasn't completely convinced when picking up this book that I would enjoy it as I thought it was more of 'that sort of thing' and not really sure if it would be mine.

The good news is that I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The bad news is that I don't think I care enough to bother with reading any more in the series.

I picked this book up from my wonderful fiance's reading shelves because (a) I needed something to read on the train and (b) because the cover looked quite cool.

Scott Williams is the son of a civil servant. His Dad is seemingly involved in a Government Green scheme to help the environment by replacing motorways with efficient high speed trains (this is in England - how far fetched is this?!) to allow nature to reclaim the land that we have built roads on. Of course it's a front for something more sinister...namely the opening of The Dead Ways - ancient lines in the Earth that keep our world apart from the next...queue creepy ghosts, the recently dead rising, skeltons crawling out of their graves...all that good stuff.

The pace is blistering from the first page to the last. The prologue kicks it all off and it is pretty unrelenting all the way through. Some of the creepy scenes are a little creepy but there is no intestine eating going on here - probably because of the target audience - shame.

I enjoyed Scott as a character. He is courageous, rebellious, resourceful. He is likeable and easy to root for as he tries to find out exactly what his Dad was involved in and why he died...often dealing with threats to his own life and hardly anyone to turn to for help. Detective Jason becomes involved, a cynical sort, unwilling to believe the evidence of his own eyes but driven to do the right thing, especially by Scott. They make a good team.

I did enjoy it from start to finish but I'm not sure I care enough about what happens next - at least not enough to actively seek the next one when it comes out. If someone hands it to me and I have a few hours to spare I'd probably read it (and probably enjoy it) but I won't go looking for it otherwise.

The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekle

About the book

The Kissing Booth is a contemporary young adult novel by Beth Reekle. It was published by Corgi Childrens on 22^nd April and the book is 448 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy for review through NetGalley.

Plot Synopsis

Rochelle Evans is pretty and popular but she has never been kissed. Her best friend Lee’s bigger brother has seen to that. Noah is a bad boy and full of himself. He knows he’s hot and all of the girls want him.

When Rochelle and Lee have to come up with a booth for the school’s Spring Carnival, they decide on a kissing booth – something all the other girls are extremely excited about. Unintentionally, Rochelle ends up kissing Noah which sparks something very unexpected between them. She knows having anything with Noah could ruin her lifelong friendship with Lee but is he worth taking a risk on?

What I thought

The Kissing Booth was originally written through wattpad.com and this is the author’s first book to be published. The author is actually only 17 herself and The Kissing Booth became an internet sensation.

The book follows the story of Rochelle, aka Elle and Shelly. She’s one of the popular girls in school but has never had a boyfriend. Her lifelong best friend Lee is like her twin and they are scarily connected to one another. To start with, I have to say that I absolutely loved the fact that Elle had a guy as a best friend and that there were no romantic feelings between either of them. It’s about time a friendship like this wasn’t ruined and turned into a relationship. Ella and Lee are wonderful to read about together as they are so refreshing and different together.

While I did like the idea of the kissing booth at the carnival, I do think it is a little outdated. Also, the author is British but sets the story in America. This I don’t have a problem with so much but lack of experience in that particular setting shows. Would this kind of thing be done nowadays and would a school even allow it?! There are also problems with British terminology being used and this bugged me quite a bit. I would have much preferred for American words to be used instead of things like jumper or trousers because they just didn’t fit in very well.

The plot is pretty clichéd and predictable. However, I really did like the plot. With a young adult contemporary, I don’t look for complete uniqueness and a tried and tested formula is ok by me. Elle has had a semi-secret crush on Lee’s big brother for some time now but has never done anything about it because of who he is and his reputation. Noah is known as the bad boy who every girl wants to be with. Elle sees him slightly differently though due to knowing him a lot better than the other girls. Her dreams come true when she is asked to step in on the kissing booth and manages to kiss him.

From here, the majority of the plot revolves around secrets and lies. Elle and Noah have chemistry but she doesn’t want to ruin what she has with Lee. She also doesn’t want to think they have something they don’t as Noah has a reputation for sleeping around. I liked the secretive meetings between Elle and Noah as they were exciting and fun.

While I did really like the plot, there were things that I just didn’t understand. Elle’s Dad seemed to be completely ok with her going out to parties without much explanation as to why she doesn’t come home some nights. Noah is a straight A student but constantly gets into fights and trouble without even the smallest detention. Surely these things wouldn’t get passed most parents or schools. If Noah was a bad boy through and through, I could have understood but how on earth did he get away with having the best of everything? That would never happen.

Overall, The Kissing Booth was a bit of a mixed bag for me. While predictable, the story was cute and enjoyable but there were quite a few problems with the writing. 

This Beautiful Thing by Amanda Heath

About the book

This Beautiful Thing is a new adult novel by Amanda Heath. The book was independently published on 9^th February and is 182 pages long. This Beautiful Thing is available in both e-book and paperback formats.

Plot Synopsis

Due to having two controlling and overprotective brothers, Teagan Harper has no experience with guys. The twins, Jaden and Caden make sure that she doesn’t have boyfriends and that guys pretty much stay away from her. At a college party though, Teagan ends up in the arms of a guy after an altercation with his ex-girlfriend. However, she doesn’t even know his name or that he is in fact Jaden’s best friend.

Declan Sage thinks that he has control over absolutely everyone. When his girlfriend of years dumps him, and he meets a mystery girl at a party, his life begins to become more and more out of control. The girl whose name he didn’t even bother to find out before kissing her, is ready to change her own life as well as Declan’s.

What I thought

A while back, I bought quite a random selection of new adult (NA) books on Amazon for my Kindle as they were pretty cheap. I didn’t really know what I was getting but there just isn’t enough NA out there to be picky. Like most of what I bought, I didn’t know the author and didn’t look at whether they were self-published. I didn’t really care.

This Beautiful Thing tells the story of Teagan, a girl with a controlling family who don’t really let her have too much of a wild life. She even goes to college really close to the family so she couldn’t even move states. It is clear from the get go that Teagan is quite the quiet teenager and doesn’t have a whole lot of life experience. Her roommate Grace drags her out to parties for a bit of excitement. At one party in particular, right at the beginning of the book, Teagan gets a bit drunk, breaks a girls nose and ends up in the room of some guy she doesn’t even know the name of. This does not sound at all like the girl described previously does it? Teagan was a character with quite the split personality. One minute she would be all quiet and nice and the next she was doing/ saying things she thinks were shocking unlike herself.

I found it hard to like Teagan too much because of the problems with her personality. The constant changes meant that I never really felt like I knew her properly as a character. The whole thing with the initial party threw me completely. Just when I thought I was getting a nice, sweet female protagonist, she punches someone in the nose and ends up topless with the unknown guy. For someone with no experience, she sure jumped into his bed quickly. I know this sounds a bit judgemental. I wouldn’t have minded her actions at all if she had been described as a character that did such things to begin with.

The plot really begins with the events of the party. After hooking up with the random guy, both he and she are desperate to find out who the other is. It turns out his name is Declan and Teagan’s brother’s best friend. Here lies the ‘problem’ aspect of the book. Teagan and Declan, after realising their attraction goes much further than a quick fumble around at a party, sneak around and begin to date. Teagan is the girl with the temper who gets mad at the smallest thing while Declan wants to be the cool and composed guy who wants something deep and meaningful. Declan was a lovely character compared with Teagan. He had a life goal which was nice to see; he was a caring person and took on a hell of a lot for a guy his age.

While I didn’t really understand Teagan as a character, I did sort of like her relationship with Declan, even though she annoyed the hell out of me sometimes. This Beautiful Thing shows how much meeting one person can change so much in your life and that relationships are never straight forward or simple. I liked the obstacles that were thrown in their way and the reactions to certain events. I do think some readers could really grow to hate Teagan for some reasons but I could completely understand where she was coming from during one big part of the book.

Although the plot centres on Teagan and Declan’s relationship for the most part but secondary characters also make a big difference in this book. Teagan’s large family and her best friend Grace were wonderful to read about. Each had different personalities and all brought something different and fresh to the book. Also, Heath took the time to add in smaller plots regarding certain characters and weaved these in to the main plot. For me, the secondary characters by far outshined the protagonists, which isn’t really the way it is supposed to be.  

Unfortunately, the plot is extremely relationship focused and there isn’t too much else there. There are plenty of steamy sex scenes but too much repetition and the use of my most hated pet name, ‘baby’. At one point, Teagan states that she likes Declan because he makes her feel special because he calls her baby. Surely not the strongest reason to like someone? Heath’s writing isn’t the best, honestly and the editing of the book could have done with a hell of a lot more attention. There are spelling and grammar mistakes galore which were very off putting whilst reading this book. I can easily overlook a tiny mistake but there were a lot, all the way through.

While I did like some aspects of this book, there was quite a lot wrong with it. I struggled to finish the book due to mistakes and the terrible dialogue at times. 

Book to Film Review: The Princess Bride

About the film

The Princess Bride is a romantic comedy/ adventure film that was released in 1987. The film is based on the book of the same name by William Goldman, which was released in 1973. The Princess Bride has a run time of 98 minutes and is rated PG

Plot

A young schoolboy is off sick for the day and his Grandpa visits and begins to read him the story of Westley the farm boy and his one true love, Buttercup. Westley doesn’t think that he’s good enough for Buttercup and as they cannot get married, he sets off in order to find his fortune. However, while on a ship, he is declared dead after pirates attack. With Westley gone, Buttercup is forced to become engaged to the evil Prince Humperdinck even though she pines for Westley every day.

Westley is far from dead though and comes back, wanting Buttercup back and to know that she really does love him. On his way to rescue his one true love, and to get her back, he meets a strange band of travellers whom he must first defeat. There are many trials that stand in the way of Westley and Buttercup’s happiness but unlikely characters are there along the way to help out.

What I thought

The Princess Bride is one of those films that I must have watched a million times as a child – it was my sister’s absolute favourite film. However, until recently, I hadn’t watched it for ages and could barely remember what actually happened in the film.

Cary Elwes stars as Westley. I can remember watching this film for the first time and thinking that he was beautiful, probably my first crush from a film. To begin with, Westley is a wonderfully sweet character, showing nothing but love for Buttercup who is played by Robin Wright. He wants to do what is best for them both and wants to be able to provide for them and their future which is why he leaves in order to make something better of his life. There were so many sighs coming from me while watching this film again as I remembered what a sweetheart Westley is. Buttercup on the other hand, is a character who I never really liked. Wright is good enough in the role but the film was all about Westley for me at this point.

I loved Westley even more when he returned, dressed all in black and looking very much like Zorro. The change in appearance makes Westley incredibly sexy and the sighs quite possibly changed to drool. When the man in black appears, it is not known that this is actually Westley but the costume is not so good that you cannot tell who it is. From here, the The Princess Bride really becomes a fantastic film. Westley meets a trio of adventurers, Inigo Montoya, Fezzik and Vizzini the giant. All three of these characters are extremely unique and wonderful to watch. Fezzik is probably better known for his famous line; ‘inconceivable!’ which is said many, many times throughout the film. Inigo Montoya is my favourite of the three though, with his ideas of revenge and his mission to avenge his father’s murderer. While Fezzik has his own repeated line, so does Montoya. With his mission in hand, he prepares a speech for when he finally meets the man he wants to kill – “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” I love this line every single time it is said.

The Princess Bride is an absolutely magical adventure film and I don’t think my childhood would have been quite the same without it. The plot is exciting without being too over the top (well, not for the ‘80s anyway) and it manages to be funny at the same time. However, this is a film now quite dated due to the cheap looking sets and scenery. I know that some of this was film in places in the UK but cannot for the life of me remember where. When watching this recently, I commented quite a few times to my boyfriend about just how bad the sets looked. Can you imagine this being re-done now? I’m sure everything would be much fancier and more extravagant but that would take away some of the magic of the original film.

Somehow, I never actually knew that this film came from a book. Now that I do though, it is one I really want to read. As the Grandpa in the film reads it to his Grandson, I can imagine reading it to my children one day and them realising what a wonderful story it is.