Books That Should Be Movies

We all know on our shelf there are books we wish were movies. Obviously in a perfect world, they would represent the book exactly right. And even though this mostly doesn't happen, we all still crave our favourite book to be made into a movie. I've compiled a list of books I loved reading and therefore think would make excellent films. Thank god Every Day by David Levithan is being made - it needed to be so badly!

The Shiver Triology by Maggie Stiefvater

I know, I know, I go on about this series way too much - but there's a reason! It was the best fantasy series I've ever read and I think the whole wolf/forbidden relationship thing would make the perfect movie.

Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Come on guys; it would be the gayest, happiest movie out there with Tiny Cooper running the show. I still need to read the Tiny Cooper Hold Me Closer book but I stand by my opinion that it should be a movie.

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan

This is one of the first LGBT books I read and I've never looked back since; all I read are gay romance novels. David turned me into an LGBT fanatic. No joke. It would be such a cute film about love and lust and acceptance.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella was such a cute retelling of Cinderella with geeky twists and nerdy happy ever afters. I think it would be the perfect film to go watch with that nerd who loves Disney movies.

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

This book had me in floods of tears and gave me too many shivers to count. I can imagine it to be something like the Notebook and such a wonderfully sad film. This needs to happen. Anyone want to start a petition with me?!

What are some of your books that you wish could be movies? Let me know in the comments! Until next time, Vee x

Film Review: Every Day

Hey guys! So in this week's blog I'm going to be reviewing the film Every Day. The book was written by David Levithan and is one of my favourites.

However, the book is always better and in this case it certainly is. The book made sense and was reality mixed with the impossible. The ending is different from different perspectives - like in Another Day we see Rhiannon's point of view and in Every Day we see A's.

The film could have been better executed in so many ways; for instance, they could have had A and Rhiannon narrate the story so we could actually understand what was happening - unless you read the book first this would be a very disappointing film. The ending is different to the book and the overall acting was dramatized and cringy. The way they run off and have adventures is completely different from the book and the French restaurant they meet at was hardly mentioned.

For anyone thinking teen romance films are already too cringy, their opinion would be valid if they saw this movie.

The speed of which they got through the scenes made little to no sense and there was hardly any comedy or train of thought. It was as if the film was making tons of scenes and lobbing them together, regardless of whether or not they made any sense. There was no transition is what I'm trying to say.

The film had the potential to be really well done, and even though some of the scenes reminded me of the book, the ending is disheartening for anyone who hasn't read it first. I was really looking forward to seeing how they pulled this film off but the time and effort wasn't there and it certainly didn't show.

I hope Levithan will stick to the books because they are so much better than any movie could be. I hate to give a bad review but I have to be honest, even if it's a product from my favourite author.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments and let me know if you read the book first or after! Until next time, love Vee x

Movie Review: Love, Simon

Hey guys! So I went to go see Love, Simon last Friday with Oli as it's just been released in the UK. I haven't read the book yet but I wanted to blindly go and see the movie regardless - any LGBT related film means I'm definitely going to see it.

I didn't really know what to expect from the movie and since I haven't read the book I had no idea what it was supposed to be like.

Love, Simon is about a normal boy growing up in a normal school (relatively normal minus the weird principal) with normal friends he loves. He has a loving family but has a secret. Simon is gay and hasn't told anyone, not even his best friend Leah. However, when Simon hears that there's someone else called Blue at the school who is gay but has kept it a secret, he instantly messages him and goes by the name of Jacques. Blue and Simon talk via email for weeks and Simon is determined to find out Blue's identity as he's starting to fall in love with him.

They both encourage each other and inspire one another to tell their family and friends that they are gay but Blue is still kept a secret. That is, until Martin threatens to out him and Simon unless he sets Martin up with his friend Abby on a date.

When Martin's date proposal goes terribly wrong, he angrily outs Simon anonymously and things start going wrong. Blue refuses to speak to him and Simon's friends are angry he lied to them.

But as you can imagine, they soon forgive him - even Leah who was secretly in love with him. Simon is still trying to identify who Blue is and asks him to meet Simon at the Ferris wheel.

Overall, I really enjoyed the plot of the film and how even though he didn't meet Blue, he still loved him for his personality. Isn't that what everyone wants to be loved for?! This and the fact that Simon brings up the whole "Coming Out" issue is great. He thinks straight people shouldn't have to be the default sexual orientation. Why don't we all come out? We do any of us have to come out?

The only thing that was disappointing was the fact they made Leah fall for Simon when they would be better off just friends. I also found it rather strange how she suddenly forgives him for everything and she doesn't have feelings for him anymore. It seemed unrealistic.

If you haven't already, go see the film, have a laugh and maybe even a cry. It's a beautiful love story about acceptance and falling for someone's personality instead of their looks.

Please let me know in the comments what you thought about the film and if the book is any different to the film - I'm really interested to find out!

Until next time, love Vee x

Film Review: Baby Driver

Hello there! In this week's blog I'm going to be writing a review on the film me and Oli saw the other week called Baby Driver.


Overview

Baby Driver is about a man who has got into debt with a con artist and he has to be the getaway driver for clients. He slowly pays his debt off but once he thinks it's over, they tell him he has to keep driving.

Baby has tinnitus so he plays music to drown out the ringing. He developed it when his parents died in a car crash.

Baby falls in love with a waitress at the diner his mum used to work at and tries his best to protect her and his disabled foster father.


Review


I wanted to see Baby Driver because it looked action packed and stars Ansel Elgort from The Fault in Our Stars. Ansel's acting is always good and he didn't disappoint.

However, I don't think the plot was well thought out as there were moments where the film lulled and I lost interest.

The best parts of the film are the speeding cars and getaways. They were all entertaining and came with a few surprises.

We see Baby develop a conscious for the victims of the robberies and soon he is committing crimes himself to protect his loved ones. We slowly see him find his way as his feelings develop for Debora (the waitress). However, he kills to protect her and ends up in prison.

We then flash forward to when he is released from prison which felt rushed. I thought the film would perhaps end differently.

The women in the film aren't given exciting roles; Debora is your typical waitress who dreams of running away with Baby and we only see Debora when Baby pays attention to her. He has to let her down on several occasions to protect her but his foster father ends up hurt instead. No matter what Baby does, people keep getting hurt.

Debora doesn't seem to have many opinions about anything and by the end of the movie she seemed irrelevant and Baby seems to see her in the same light as his mother - good singer, a waitress, beautiful.

Darling, the only other female character is a typical criminal sitting on the side of her vengeful husband until she dies and Buddy inevitably seeks revenge on Baby.

Overall, I enjoyed the film because of the fast cars and Ansel. The plot, however, wasn't the best and Buddy makes Baby deaf so his ringing in his ears is now stuck there without music to drown it out.

I'm going to give this film 3.5/5 ✩

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Film Review: IT

Hello!

My partner and I decided to go and see IT on release day after I had told him I wanted to desperately go and see it. But when the time came I chickened out when he bought the tickets! However, he dragged me in and the cinema was obviously packed (with a whole school I may add).

Overview

If you haven't read or watched any of the IT films, then here is a brief description of what it's about.

George or "Georgie" is Bill's younger brother. And one day, he decides to make a paper boat and goes to sail it down the street. However, to his dismay, his boat  drifted down the drain but is caught by Pennywise the clown. Pennywise lures Georgie to him and bites off his arm and drags him down the drain with him. The disappearance of Georgie has Bill on adventures to try to find him - and he drags his friends along too. To some of them, the adventure is scary and pointless as they all know Georgie is dead.

The group of friends set off, gaining new members by the day and venture to find Georgie. Soon, they all start to see the things they are scared of come to life. And Pennywise is among the horrors that lurk down the drain...

Review

I knew what I was getting myself in to and was preparing myself by pushing my face in to Oliver's armpit before every scary scene. However, there were obviously a few scenes that made me jump but surprisingly I managed not to scream.

I haven't yet managed to get my hands on the book or watch the first movie - so there will be more reviews and comparisons to come!

I hadn't read anything about IT before - I had only seen the trailers. So when I went into the movie I was prepared for some comedy and horror which is a weird but brilliant combination. I recognised some of the actors - in particular Finn Wolfhard who is a cast member in Stranger Things. The children all acted well and I enjoyed the funny bits, cringed at the bad and hid away at the sight of Pennywise the clown.

In the trailer I thought that they showed a lot of scary scenes and if this was only the trailer, then I couldn't wait for the real deal...

However, when the movie finished I couldn't help but feel that there weren't enough scary scenes; believe me, the ones that were there were terrifying! But I hoped there would be more jumpy bits. The one scene that made me lurch out of my seat was when the clown appeared behind Beverly Marsh, the only girl within the friend group.

I liked the diversity and back stories of the children and we see what they're scared of. Pennywise feeds on this and so the children learn that they mustn't be afraid, otherwise they'll "float too."

Overall, I thought the film was executed well and the only thing I can fault is that there needed to be more horror scenes!

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Let me know in the comments what you thought of IT and if you've read the book!

Beauty and the Beast 2017 Movie Review

Hey guys, I'm going to be doing something different today and talk about the new Beauty and the Beast film now out. I'm very excited to be doing my first movie review and hope you enjoyed the film as much as I did. (There may be spoilers for those of you who haven't yet seen the film.)

First of all, I was apprehensive about seeing it because I was worried I would just see Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. At first, I did think this, but after a while I just saw her as a brilliant and very talented actress.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite Disney movies and I was nervous the new adaptation wouldn't exceed my expectations. However, Disney has made the movie better and more informative in my opinion. I loved how we see more of the Beast's back story and more of Belle's mother as well.

I also liked how Disney has added in some new songs and made a magical book that the Enchantress gave to the Beast. This book transported the Beast and Belle to Paris, where her mother died of the plague when Belle was a baby. Belle questions this throughout the film and I'm pleased we have received answers about what happened to her mother.

                                                                                                 
Some things have been changed - such as Gaston tying Maurice up in the woods to die, a few songs added, Chip the teacup not stowing away to help Belle and Maurice escape the cart that will take them to the asylum. However, I like how they made Belle and her father escape on their own and this proves Belle is more inventive and has more skills than the Belle of the original film.

They also added that people who loved the servants and workers in the castle, would forget them altogether, and would forget the castle even existed. It turns out that Mrs Potts and Cogsworth both have loved ones who live in Belle's village. Mrs Potts finds Mr Potts again instead of striking up a friendship with Belle's father like in the 1991 movie.

I enjoyed that there was much more of a story with this movie because it proves that Disney thought more about having a plot in place with questions answered. The Enchantress has more of a role in the film and is actually there when the Beast dies and brings him back to life.

Now, lets talk about the music. From the very first song to the end, it was exactly as I remembered it and brought back childhood memories of watching one of my favourite Disney movies. The new songs added are called "Days in the Sun," "Evermore" and "How Does a Moment Last Forever?" However, the one part I do prefer in the original movie is the "Be Our Guest" song when they are serving dinner because the food looks so yummy!

The scenes and props were spot on. From Belle walking through the village singing to running in the field, to her outfits, it was brilliantly done. The village is just like the one in the 1991 movie and the castle is slightly different but scarier. And the library is every bookworm's dream - including mine. However, the Beast also reads - I remember he couldn't read in the original movie and Belle had to teach him.

                                                           

I thought that the costumes were excellent and exactly like the 1991 movie. From Belle's blue and white everyday dress to the famous yellow gown, it was very well made. The red cape Belle wears in the grounds was one of my favourites too. Overall, all the costumes were good and reflected the clothes which were animated in the original movie.

I really think the actors were well played and lived up to my expectations. Gaston is just as selfish and even more funny in the newer version and his companion is the same little, annoying man as in the original film. However, they did make Lefou gay in the movie which I loved, obviously. And the furniture was just as whimsical and comical as ever; I do however prefer the animated Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs Potts because of their appearance. Belle was cast well and had a strong female lead by one of the most influential actresses of our generation.

Overall, I love both the original and the new adaptation but enjoyed having more of a plot to the newer version. I grew up with the older Disney movies so I didn't care too much about plots when I was younger, but now I really see the importance of setting out the whole story and appreciate that Disney has done this.

Don't forget to comment your opinion down below if you've seen the movie!

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