About a Boy by Nick Hornby

Author: Nick Hornby
Original title: About a Boy
Pages:  320
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Genres: Contemporary, Comedy, Drama,
Goodreads


Name: About a Boy
Year: 2002
Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Cast: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette
Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Language: English
Country: UK, USA, France, Germany
Time: 101 min


Blurb:    
Too cool! At thirty-six, he’s as hip as a teenager. He’s single, child-free, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He’s also found a great way to score with women: attend single parents’ groups full of available (and grateful) mothers, all hoping to meet a Nice Guy.
Which is how Will meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old on the planet. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Joni Mitchell and Mozart, looks after his mum and has never owned a pair of trainers. But Marcus latches on to Will – and won’t let go. Can Will teach Marcus how to grow up cool? And can Marcus help Will just to grow up?

My thoughts:
     This is the first book by Nick Hornby that I have read. I have heard so much about the author from the very beginning of his carrier, he is also one of the most favorite author of my best friend. So eventually I have no choice but to read his books one day. About a Boy is a good start as the book has positive reviews and has a movie adaptation. Frankly speaking the book did not rock my world, it was a funny, cozy read, sometimes thought provoking, but most of the time just satisfying. The book is read quite quickly and leave a nice aftertaste. I like how Hornby puts serious topics in a funny form. The book might seem easy and almost fluffy at the same time it is quite problematic and reveals some contemporary issues. I just loved the child's perspective on a family: rational and mathematical:

Suddenly I realized - two people isn't enough. You need backup. If you're only two people, and someone drops off the edge, then you're on your own. Two isn't a large enough number. You need three at least.

     The movie has left the same impression as the book: nice, cozy and funny. I did not like the ending where the boy singing a song on the stage: it was really painful and did not invest much in Marcus's character change as the book's critical point connected with Kurt Cobain's suicide. But altogether it is a good and thorough adaptation.

Rating: 

    3,5/5 

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Original title: North and South
Pages: 521
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no 
Format: e-book
Genres: Classics, Romance, Drama
Goodreads

Name: North and South
Year: 2004
Director: Brian Percival 
Cast:  Daniela Denby-Ashe, Richard Armitage, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack
Genres: Classics, Drama, Romance
Language: English
Country: UK
Time: 235 min (4 parts) 

    Blurb:     
     When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction.
My thoughts:
      I really liked the book: its slow pace and detailed scenery and characters description. The main character Margaret Hale is not my favorite and did not agree with her judgements on many points, but she is quite likable and worthy of our sympathies. Sometimes I was really irritated by her and had a wish to stop reading but in the end I continued and am very glad I discovered such a writer as Elizabeth Gaskell. I am looking forward to read more novels by her.
     I absolutely loved the movie and though I did not find the first acquaintance of Margaret Hale and John Thornton to my tasting, the rest of the movie was great! The portrait of John Thornton in a movie is a bit harsh in comparison to the book, I imagined his manners a bit different, but altogether Richard Armitage was an excellent choice for this role. I did not quite like Daniela Denby-Ashe performance, I did not picture Margaret so shy and putting her gaze all the time down. I found it hard to put together her appearances with her actions and state of mind. I would prefer her less shy and more dignified, as she seemed sort of ashamed all the time in a movie. Sinéad Cusack's role as Mrs Thornton was astonishing, she was truly inspiring.

Rating:

    4,5/5 

All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Author: Hiroshi Sakurazaka 
Original title: オール・ユー・ニード・イズ・キル  
Pages: 
Edition Language: Russian  
Series: no 
Format: e-book  
Genres: Science Finction   
Goodreads  

Blurb:     
      There’s one thing worse than dying. It’s coming back to do it again and again… When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armour and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the Bitch of War. Is the Bitch the key to Keiji’s escape, or to his final death?

My thoughts:    
        I decided to read All You Need Is Kill after I watched Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise.  Beat me, but I just LOVED the movie and I found the book a bit boring. It is very much the same as with the Martian: the science and action scenes are much better on screen then on paper.
      The producers changed a lot in a movie. Some of the changes were good, some are unnecessary. The title character could have stayed the same recruit instead of becoming an officer. I rather enjoyed Keiji Kiriya as a character. The narration was rather dry but you can see the rapid development from a hopeless rookie to a war hero. And I feel that the movie would gain more for starring Keiji Kiriya instead of "Major William Cage." I also wish the movie had more of the Japanese and other diverse characters. The diversity would make sense as the entire world was trying to push back the Mimics. Without doubt the book has its own merits, and I like the way the story developed and ended. I am glad that the book avoided happy end clichés.
    On the other hand, what I did not like, or rather say, did not fully understand is the nature if the time loops in the novel. It is explained, but leaves too many questions. I prefer the explanation in a movie; it is much clearer and fits better in the picture.  No doubt I would recommend the movie and the book to all. It is a great action-packed story.
  

Rating:  

    3,5/5 

The Martian by Andy Weir

Author: Andy Weir  
Original title: The Martian 
Pages: 384 
Edition Language: Russian 
Series: no 
Genres: Science Fiction   
Goodreads 

Name: The Martian  
Year: 2015
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig
Genres: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Language: English/Mandarin
Country: UK/USA
Time: 144 m

 Blurb:       
      During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission.  

  My thoughts:     

  I like both book and the movie. This is the case when the book was not much better than the movie. It has slight differences and I found it much drier. The scientific stuff was explained in so many details that I believe I was a pleasure read for boys. My father and brother loved it. I however preferred the movie, since where were unbelievably beautiful martial scenery. The plot was really nicely developed, there were no obvious flops and the story kept the reader and viewer on the edge of their seat. great adventure with a lot of humor and self-reflection. I would recommend it to everyone as a good inspiring book/movie.

Rating: 

    4/5 

Movie: The Girl on the Train| The Bucket List

Name: The Girl on the Train 
Year: 2016
Director: Tate Taylor
Cast:  Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson
Genres: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Language: English
Country: USA
Time: 112 min

Outline of the movie:
     A divorcee becomes entangled in a missing persons investigation that promises to send shock waves throughout her life.

My thoughts: 
      I deliberately gave this movie some time before I watched it: not to mix my impressions from the book. I must confess that I quite enjoyed the book and was not hoping for any successful adaptation. I was right: the movie was much weaker than the book. This is I believe due to the incapability to show on the screen the inner confusion and disability to cope with the reality of the main character. Emily Blunt is a very talented actress and she gave this unreliable and confused heroin a very distinct voice, but I still think the book creates a better premises and atmosphere for those events.
      Altogether, I enjoyed the movie, even though I was aware of the ending. It is a nicely adapted story with a lot of suspense, hopelessness and desperation, but anyway, it lacked the creepy atmosphere I felt while reading a book.

Rating: 

    4/5 

Name: The Bucket List
Year: 2007
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes
Genres: Comedy, Drama Language: English
Country: USA
Time: 97 min

Outline of the movie:
      Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. 

My thoughts:
     There was a time I truly enjoyed those motivating movies. I like how the energy they provide makes you believe in better times and does not allow to give up to circumstances. But at the same time, they make me think that yes, we are all equal in the face of death and there is no discrimination against race, gender and position in life, but still some people can make their ending more interesting if they have the means. Yes, this will not make them happy, but it might bring some sort of comfort, while less fortunate people will have less opportunists to make the rest of their life brighter.
      In this picture, the ideal balance was reached Morgan Freeman gave Nicholson the great feeling of belonging and friendship support, while Nicholson gave the opportunity for the crazy ideas from Freeman's Bucket list.
      It is a good, kind movie with a philosophical view on death and great and talented cast, but I cannot say I was taken away by it. For me the best movie with such topic remains Knocking on Heavens Door.

Rating: 

    3/5