Posts Tagged ‘movies’

Bleak House

{ September 11, 2010 @ 3:59 pm } · { Books, Movies }
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I find something aesthetically satisfying in a book that has been well loved.

My husband and I enjoy finding a good literature movie adaptation, and the BBC has produced several. When my mother and father in law visited us last, they had the complete set of BBC Charles Dickens stories, one of which was Bleak House. I found this book several years ago in a little hole in the wall bookshop and got it for a buck or so. Although difficult at the beginning, as with all Dickens’ books, the story is gripping and intricate. The basic plot follows a little group of distantly-related friends thrown together by an out-of-control chancellery lawsuit. Some generations prior to the story, the wealthy Jarndyce family went to court to contest an inheritance dispute. This becomes a catalyst to bring the four people together and also to cultivate their different relationships toward each other. Meanwhile, a dramatic scandal in an aristocratic family is being unearthed with much accompanying mystery and treachery. The whole story plays out like a complicated symphony of people having a really rough time. We all know Dickens never missed an opportunity to jab at the social injustice of Victorian class distinction, but with this novel he throws in bureaucracy and crooked lawyers too! It’s a delightful read.

The movie was artfully put together, with relatively few changes to the storyline and a leading lady who bears a striking resemblance to my sister in law. It’s about the closest I’ll ever come to soap opera.

Rick and Ada meet to discuss their future.

Esther learns the truth about herself

I think this actress resembles my sister in law.

Soup and The Lovely Bones

{ May 22, 2010 @ 5:43 pm } · { Food, Movies }
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unbelievably tasty

Stupid camera batteries… I have no idea where they got off to. I must have a million sets of batteries and TWO rechargers, but as soon as my soup was ready and in the bowl, the batteries in the camera pooped out and I couldn’t locate any others or either of the rechargers… oh well. We had this asparagus soup for late lunch/ early dinner today, and I give it a perfect 10. It was delicious, easy to make and light. I used chicken broth instead of veggie broth and omitted the pepper. (the pic is a shot I ripped off of AllRecipes)

I watched The Lovely Bones today, and was quite pleased. Mind you, I like Peter Jackson’s heavy-handed CGI, so it did not come across as excessive to me. It added a kind of Dali-esque surreal feeling to Suzie’s experience, but IMDB was pretty brutal. Some of those reviews! (Chill out, people.) Okay, the ending lacked closure, but it was good otherwise. I may be reading into this, but I thought I detected a little Hitchcock undertone in occasional additions of the killer’s POV. I couldn’t help thinking of Norman Bates and the sinking car as he was scurrying to hide the evidence and the viewer almost wants him to get away with it… a slightly disturbing little effect for a movie which was all around well organized. I say, good job, Peter Jackson.