Time Changes Everything

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a compelling novel about love, loss, and the importance of time. The story follows Henry DeTamble, a time traveler, through his life. A life that is full of the unknown because Henry never knows when he will time travel, where he will go, or when he will return. If that wasn’t complicated enough he then meets a girl, Clare Abshire, who he wishes to never leave. The driving force in the story is their love which for Clare began when she was only six years old and him when he was 28; keeping in mind that in present time they are only eight years apart. However after Clare became such an important part of his life he began to travel back in time to her when she was just a child. Henry’s life is clearly complex and his time traveling poses a lot of issues to himself and those around him. This story is one of the best I have read in a long time, I couldn’t put it down. It keeps you waiting and wondering throughout the whole thing in a way similar to that of Clare.


The movie version released back in 2009 is very good as well. Eric Bana as Henry and Rachel McAdams as Clare do a great job of bringing these characters to life, their acting did not lack a drop of passion. Due to the lack of time though it could not encompass all the magic that novel did. Basically all the storylines that were outside of the main love story and even some from the love story were cut from the film. There were fragments throughout the film that readers would have caught and been like “oh that is from this storyline…” but the movie doesn’t do more than allude to them and there are some parts that don’t even get that. A few of them I would have liked to keep just because I thought they were important to the power behind the story. The movie really is just a small fragment of the book and there are minor details they change in the parts that they use that aren’t too extreme so they don’t really bother me. My main issue was the cut of several important parts of Henry’s life that in the book really help to form him into the man he eventually becomes and his relationship with his wife into as strong as it is. I highly recommend the book especially to read before to movie, it will provide more of a connection to the characters so even though there is a lot cut out of the film you will still know everything that they have been through and really feel for them.

Here is a trailer for the film version:



Enjoy!!

(I take no credit for the videos or photos used in this post)

Young and Old Under Potter's Spell

J. K. Rowling’s series about the young Harry Potter has cast a spell over people young and old. She got the first of her seven book series published back in September 1998 by Scholastic in the United States under the title, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone at the same time the second book was released in the UK. In July 2007 the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released selling 15 million copies in the first 24 hours. The series follows a young wizard by the name of Harry Potter as he attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and discovers a destiny he as an orphan never believed he had.


Rowling signed over the movie rights to Warner Bros. Studios in October 1998 and the fad grew, to more than just readers. November 2001, the first film hit the big screen featuring Daniel Radcliffe as the star, Harry Potter. Warner Bros. divided the final book into two films the first’s release date is November 2010, and the second finally commencing the series 10 years later in July 2011. In regard to whether or not the change from books to movies was good varies. Rowling’s novels are not small, so to fit them into one movie a lot had to be cut out. Me as a reader knew the details that were deemed unnecessary to include, however my siblings who just enjoy going to see the films and not reading the books often had several questions at the end of each movie. This proves to me that they books were not translated as well as they could be. Editing aside though I believe they stayed very true to Rowling’s original work. I’m actually happy that the final novel will be divided into two segments in hopes that the films will portray the book as well as it possibly can. Of course the pressure is now on for Warner Bros. since it is two movies a lot of the changes they got away with cannot necessarily be shrugged off by saying they didn’t have the time to include it.

This series also inspired video games and a theme park, to learn more about the new theme park visit the site here.

Here is the trailer for the final two Harry Potter Films:



Enjoy!

(I take no credit for the video or pictures in the post)

Two Dead Men to One

The book Dead Man Walking written by Sister Helen Prejean is her true account about the beginning of her pursuit to get rid of the death penalty.She is still working towards this goal, to keep up on her efforts visit her site here. The book follows Prejean as she is spiritual adviser for two different men sentenced to die by the electric chair, Patrick Sonnier and Robert Willie. Sonnier was charged with the kidnapping and murder of two teenagers along side his brother who received life in prison. Willie was charged with the rape and murder of a teenage girl with an accomplice.

The film adaption of these events combine these two men into one, Matthew Poncelet. Poncelet is charged with the murders of a teenage couple and rape of the girl sentenced to die by lethal injection. Many aspects of both Willie and Sonnier are thrown together to make Poncelet from the crimes themselves, to the victims families, to the convict's character and comments in certain situations.

When the movie began I assumed Poncelet represented Sonnier and another man would be along later to represent Willie but as the story began to unfold I noticed the combination of the two men down to one. This large change didn't bother me however; I actually found it kind of fun being able to sit and watch the movie while being able to pick out which traits of Poncelet's story belonged to which real man. Plus I acknowledged that to have the men's stories separately would have made the film much longer and seem a little repetitive to viewers. In my opinion the adaptions and changes they made for the film worked fine and kept the important points from the real life stories. I have no problem having read the book and then watched the film with liking both versions. I think it is an excellent adaptation.

Here is the trailer for the film:


Enjoy!

(I take no credit for the picture or video featured in this post.)