Elizabethtown

The story is quite simple: guy who thinks he's made a mess of his life finds some hope and love and learns to love life and realise what's important.

It didn't do very well when it was released and may not even have reached your local cinema. Many people said it wasn't very good, but I really like it. I can see why people might not have embraced it wholeheartedly - it's quite slow and a bit cheesey at times, and Kirsten Dunst can be a bit annoying. You might not like it if you are of a particularly cynical disposition. Having said that, I have been accused of cynicism many times, and it may be one of my favourite films. For me it achieves what I think is it's goal - it's a life affirming film that leaves you feeling better at the end of the film than you did when you sat down to watch it. Great soundtrack as well.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you watch the film after reading this post and hate it!

Filming Tolkien

For the past few weeks we've been watching the extended DVD editions of the Lord of the Rings films. I really loved the films when I first saw them at the cinema, although I know some people weren't too happy about changes that were made to the storyline and other things when compared to the books. I'd read the books before I saw the films, but I couldn't remember them in great detail, so I wasn't too bothered by any changes. Avid Tolkien fans like my mum and Mr C were more upset by the changes. My mum was particularly peturbed by the fact that they didn't put 'The Scouring of the Shire' in, because she thinks that this part of the book makes an important point - that evil can happen in your own 'back yard'.

Mum has been a Tolkien fan since she first read The Hobbit as a teenager. She even thought about going on Mastermind and having Tolkien as her special subject! This isn't really relevant to the post, but we have a book at home called Father Christmas Letters, which is a book of letters from Father Christmas, written by Tolkien to his son. I really loved this book as a child. I must have a look at it again when I next visit my parents.

Anyway, we've watched all the extended films now, but I'm still working my way through the extra features about the making of the films. Sometimes watching the 'makings of...' things can take some of the enjoyment away from watching the films, because then you know that the special effects are just that. However, with these films seeing how they shot and made everything has added to my enjoyment of the films as films, because of the amazing detail that was gone into, and the skills that were employed in creating everything. I felt a bit bad when I first saw how much detail was put into the weapons, for example, because I hadn't noticed it when I watched the films, and someone had gone to so much trouble to create it. Next time I watch the films I'll make extra effort to look for all the details.

The documentaries do explain a bit about why they changed certain scenes, dialogue etc, and also tell you a bit about Tolkien and his worldview, which is quite interesting. I'm not sure whether he would have liked everything about the films- he seems like he was quite a 'stickler' and might not have liked some of the changes that were made. Hopefully he would be impressed that someone actually managed to 'film the books', though, as he is (apparently) on record as saying he thought they were un-filmable. I'm not sure if that is the word he used or if it is indeed a word at all!

JFK

I'm watching JFK at the moment. I've never seen the whole of this film (at least not that I can remember) because something always stops me from seeing the ending. The same goes for The Pelican Brief. I have no idea why this is the case. Poor Kennedy is about to be shot (it's quite near the beginning).

Yesterday we went to Wagamama's for lunch. I had chicken curry, Mr C had ginger chicken with noodles. That wasn't what the dishes were called, but I can't remember the proper names.

I've done quite a bit of shopping this week. Probably not a good idea, but at least I now have some things other than work clothes, jeans and t shirts to wear. I even bought a skirt and a dress. People moan about Marks and Spencers, but I do sometimes find some good stuff there, that I can't find anywhere else. Anyway, Mr C and my friends will be pleased as they are often complaining about my lack of feminine clothing. I also went to H&M earlier in the week. I never usually find anything I like there, but I did this time. Good for my wardrobe, not so good for my bank balance.

It's been really warm during the day today, but now it's getting quite cold. Must go and concentrate on JFK, otherwise I won't have a clue what's going on.