Trudging

Well, my word count is rising, but nowhere near as fast as I had hoped. My internet broke on Saturday, and after spending about 2 hours on the phone to TalkTalk trying to tell them that I needed a new modem while they insisted on performing many diagnostic tests before telling me that.... (wait for it!) I need a new modem, I didn't really feel like going near my computer again. Then my girly night in with a chum was cancelled due to her menfolk going down with the Tummy Bug of Doom, which also didn't help. So I read (The Welsh Girl and Testament), thoroughly enjoying both books. I then made the mistake of watching The Black Dahlia on my own (the fountain scene still gives my the heeby jeebies). Not very productive. Oh well, I have now crossed over 80,000 words...

Sex and the City

I went to see the new 'Sex and the City' film with about 4 million other people last night (and that was just in the same cinema - they were showing it on 2 screens every hour!). Beforehand, I was excited, but also worried about whether it would live up to the expectations of everyone who had loved the show. Could it be as good? Could it translate to film? Would I secretly find Carrie exceedingly self-absorbed and sometimes want to give her a good shake (just like when watching it on TV)? Luckily the answer was 'Yes' to all these questions.

We all laughed, cried, and felt that the time had gone by in a flash, and I came out of the cinema with a smile (and a bit of smudged mascara) on my face. Even though some of the characters, especially Charlotte, lost some of their personality and became almost caricatures, it was still captivating. And best of all, along with the film I enjoyed a fair number of dolly mixtures as a retro treat. Yum!

He loves me, he loves me not

I watched a fabulous French film last night, 'He loves me, he loves me not' starring Audrey Tautou and Samuel Le Bihan. This 'love' story is the antithesis of 'Amelie', and really cleverly constructed so that you see both sides of the action, and the very different perspectives of Angelique and the love of her life. There's very little else I can say without giving away too much of the story, but the more sinister moments are beautifully balanced by Tautou, who radiates innocence and sweetness throughout.

I loved the use of metaphors about cardiologists and less literal problems of the heart, which were often hidden in the many layers of the story so that the meanings didn't become clear until close to the end of the film. It was a very visual story, particularly with Angelique's beautiful paintings and collages giving an insight into her rather lonely world. It's just the sort of imaginative tale you can get completely lost in for a few hours.

The Prestige - Christopher Priest/Christopher Nolan

I read the book a while ago, and have been meaning to see the film since then. We don't watch as many films as I would like, mainly because S finds it so difficult to stay awake during anything longer than about 40 minutes. I suppose he works quite hard... Anyway, he's in London living it up with the Bank of America so I was free to watch a Proper Film. How exciting! Having read the original novel and marvelled at its twists and turns (like in nature to the proverbial 'twisty turny thing') it is reasonable to say that my expectations were high. Although the film does remove an entire section of narrative, it does it in such a way that I couldn't tell that it was missing until I racked my brains a bit. The brain-racking was slightly hindered at the time though, as I spent a good proportion of the film going 'Was that really David Bowie?!'. It was.

And now for the really geeky bit... I have a weird thing about accents. No, not a fetish, I just get really irritated when accents aren't consistent or are badly researched. Hugh Jackman kept it together most of the time, only slipping in a bit of Aussie elongation and flattening during his death scene, which I suppose is permissible. Scarlett Johansson was most impressive, getting the English vowels and (harder) consonants perfectly, though her speech rhythms were sometimes still a bit American. I was slightly confused by Christian Bale's accent, which seems to wander around all over the place, that is until I watched the extras. He really talks like that...

Bank Holiday Intake

Over the bank holiday weekend a planned camping trip (well, suggested would be more accurate...) was cancelled due to downpours and gales, as should only be expected for the last weekend in May. So instead of outdoor pursuits, or at least the pursuit of a good pub, we had to make do with indoor activities - our chosen pastime? Rediscovering films! HMV has a great deal on at the moment (3 DVDs for £20) and within it we managed to pick up a 3-pack of Merchant Ivory ('Howard's End', 'The Remains of the Day', 'The White Countess'), and two other films ('Amadeus' and 'Shakespeare in Love'. I know...). So we saw 'The Remains of the Day' and 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', which S gave me for Christmas but we hadn't got round to watching. On Monday, I did suggest another Merchant Ivory, but S decided he'd rather do some cleaning while watching 'The High Life'...

I must confess that before Saturday I had somehow never seen 'The Remains of the Day' - what a masterpiece of repression and denial. I did find it interesting that in the '20 years later' sections everyone had been aged except for Emma Thompson (who I suppose did have slightly more grown-up hair, but was unchanged other than that) and Anthony Hopkins, who looked exactly the same as in their glory days.

'Breakfast at Tiffany's' is an old favourite for an afternoon in, especially if feeling a little 'dehydrated' following a night out. Dehydration was mainly due to the late night involved, but that was not the only reason considering some of the conversations (probably the only discussion of the correct chemical symbol for Tungsten on Canal Street last Friday, probably not the only discussion about whether the blonde girl in the corner with the gynaecologically short skirt was in 'Girls Aloud'). So we relaxed with a piece of cake and S managed to stay awake for at least 60% of the film (a real achievement!).

Due to tiredness and dehydration, I also had a weekend off from proper reading, and picked up 'The Sign of the Cross' by Chris Kuzneski. This is in the 'Da Vinci Code' vein, good for a long journey or weekend where you don't want to think too much. There's absolutely no subtlety in it, and a feeling that Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland are just a homogenous Scandinavian blend of pine trees, saunas and Hamlet. I enjoyed it, even if I felt like giving most of the 'characters' (2D and utterly stereotypical) a good shake once in a while. All in all, a satisfying weekend, although a bit of sunshine wouldn't have hurt...

Becoming Jane

With an interesting concept, accomplished cast and a fond public on its side, 'Becoming Jane' was always going to be relatively well-received. Anne Hathaway convincingly brings alive the frustrated author, torn between duty, passion and her conviction that works written by men and women have equal validity and promise. The 'Pride and Prejudice'-like romance between Austen and Tom Lefroy seems to jerk from antipathy to true love, creating a paradox due to the film's lack of pace in other aspects of the story. This may reflect the lack of historical background material regarding the supposed courtship and love affair, though it does create the effect of a slightly awkward gear change half-way through the film.

Visually, the eighteenth century comes alive, and the slow unfurling of the story may be considered atmospheric, particularly the opening soundless sequence. However, it really needed either more atmosphere or more substance to utterly convince, instead the result is an uneasy mix of conventional love story and stylistic imagery. The questions surrounding Austen's life and love that 'Becoming Jane' tries to answer are indeed intriguing, and for that reason I would say it is worth watching. Unfortunately though, it falls short of 'Shakespeare in Love'.