The Book vs. The Movie......

I think it's fair to say that most of us have experienced the joy or the disappointment of seeing our favorite books coming to life on the screen.  Bringing the written word to visual life has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for years and sometimes they hit it out of the park and sometimes it sinks faster than the Titanic.

Years ago, it was standard practice to change the ending of a story.  This is what many of us have come to think of as 'the Hollywood ending" and for the most part we pretty much hate that. LOL  Then there is 'the book was so much better' belief which we pretty much all agree on.  I'm not a screenwriter, but I think it must be very hard to take a much-loved story and translate it to the screen.  How do you decide what's important to the story and what can be set aside?

I've been thinking about this because I just finished reading Poldark by Winston Graham and while I was reading it, I kept thinking of the changes that were made in the screenplay. (though some of the dialog is verbatim)  I came to the conclusion that I liked the screen version better than the book (not because of Aidan, lol).  Don't get me wrong, the book is well written and thoroughly enjoyable, but I could see where a little more drama would be necessary for the screen. Debbie Horsfield, who did the screenplay, had a big responsibility to take the first two books in the series and condense it into the first season, keeping true to the characters as well as getting the nuts and bolts of the story.  I think she did a wonderful job!

Which brings me to the BTE list of a few books to movies, loved and unloved:

Cinderella ☺ -  The Disney version...of course I was only around 5 or 6 when I saw it, but even today, it's my favorite Disney, with my favorite scene being where the birds and the mice make a ballgown for Cinderella -  the movie is not true to the original story, but I don't care.

When Worlds Collide ☹ - Classic example of taking a brilliant sci-fi novel and turning it to trash!  I loved the book so much, I wish someone would do a remake and give it the script and cast it deserves.

The Hunger Games ☺ -  There were some changes in the first book that really stood out to me and I wondered why they did that, but overall, I think they stayed reasonably true to the story.

The Hobbit ☹/☺ - I really hated that they took an obscure character from the books (Radagast, the brown wizard) and gave him a bigger part in the story (and I hated that he had bird crap in his hair! ick!) Anyway, it kept me from being anxious to see the sequels!  Once I got over that, I re-watched it and found I liked it much more than I did at first and subsequently enjoyed the rest of the trilogy.  Casting Martin Freeman as Bilbo was genius!

The Lord of the Rings ☺- I wondered what happened to Tom Bombadil, but all in all, I enjoyed the theatrical version of this classic trilogy.  I especially like the visualization of the Shire.  It was just as I imagined.

Game of Thrones ☺- I've really enjoyed watching (well mostly watching as I closed my eyes a LOT ) the show despite the changes from the books.  The good thing is, my memory sucks and I read the books so long ago, that I can't always remember what happened and therefore did not notice many changes. lol

The Midwich Cuckoos ☺ - this book written by John Wyndham was so good and I was pleased that the 1960 version of the story called Village of the Damned stayed true to the story very well.  The kids in the film are creepy as they should be.  The only complaint is the cheesy title they came up with for the film.

The Killer Angels ☺- I surprisingly loved this book by Michael Shaara and really loved Gettysburg, the film they made of it.  The casting was excellent and I felt they followed the book and the history very well.  I especially admired Richard Jordan in his final performance, playing General Armistead and Jeff Daniels as Joshua Chamberlain.

I know I could come up with more, but instead I'll ask you for your picks and pans - just put it in the comments below!!  Don't be shy!

Something Wicked This Way Comes.......

A lot of things scare me, but nothing scares me more than the thought of the religious right wing politicians taking control of congress.  I don't talk about politics very often.  Basically, I'm a mugwump most of the time.  (mugwump: a person who is unable to make up his or her mind on an issue, especially in politics; someone who sits on the fence with his/her mug on one side and his/her wump on the other)  But these politicians and the people who support them scare the beejeesus out of me, and they should scare it out of you too.

When it comes to elections, I try to vote for the person that I think will do what's best for my country.  In the past I have sometimes voted Republican and sometimes Democrat.  I do lean more to the the left than the right, but if a Republican candidate seemed to be a better choice for running the country, I would vote that way.

The minute I hear a candidate spout about 'family values' my brain goes on red alert!  Everyone of us has our own family values and as sure as bears crap in the woods, I don't want someone foisting theirs on me.  I don't understand people who feel they need to make everyone in the world believe as they do.  It frightens me that these people could get in power and change hard-fought-for laws to tell us who can marry who and take away a woman's right to decide what happens to her body.  What's to stop them from going further and making laws to support more of their Christian beliefs which may not coincide with yours?  Separation of church and state is pretty sacred to me and we the people have to make sure it stays in place.

Here is headline that prompted this post:  Boehner's resignation prompts cheers among GOP's right wing - WHAT?  I honestly believe this is disgraceful behavior.  

Reading further, I came to this:"John Boehner's decision to resign ... is a victory for the millions of grassroots conservatives who worked tirelessly to elect conservatives to control the Congress," said Jenny Beth Martin, president of the Tea Party Patriots." 

Now if that doesn't turn your stomach, it should at least inspire you to vote against the candidates that espouse a religious-based congress.  Your personal beliefs could depend on it!

I need some snicker-doodles.... and I'm gonna go get some and watch Poldark again.

The Phlegmy Awards

I used to really enjoy watching the Emmy awards.  It's no secret I watch a lot of TV and always have, so seeing my favorites nominated and sometimes winning was always fun.

Last night I had it on for all of 5 minutes so I can't really comment too much on it since I didn't watch, but I can tell you the dude who hosted was so horrible, I couldn't watch. ( I was told later it was Andy Samberg)  There was a lot of flack on the internet today regarding Game of Thrones winning best drama over Mad Men.  I haven't ever watched Mad Men, so I can't really express an opinion other than historically the industry has consistently thumbed it's nose at anything sci-fi or fantasy, so GoT winning is a good thing to me.

I have watched 4 seasons of GoT and currently watching season 5 and I have to say, despite the graphic violence and re-writing the story, I think they are doing a great job with it.  I really think all the actors and actresses (yeah I know it's not p.c. to use 'actress' any more, but I think that's stupid) are very well cast in their roles and they are doing a fine job.  (Here's a hint for you - if you decide to watch GoT, don't get too attached to a certain character... lol)  The sets, costuming, cgi are all fantastic.  The story is complex and compelling.  They deserve all the nominations and wins they get.

So what turned my Emmys into the Phlegmys?  I seriously think they need to divide network TV from pay TV to even the playing ground.  It's really hard for the prime time network shows to compete with HBO and Showtime.  If they did that, then I'm sure some of my favorite shows would be in the running!

From now on, I'm doing my own awards!  The BTE Emmys :-)

Outstanding, I don't like to miss network shows - Castle, Nashville, Blue Bloods, and the winner is.... a 3 way tie!!

Outstanding Actor in the above - Nathan Fillion
Outstanding Actress in the above - Stana Katic
Outstanding Supporting cast - Castle ! - (it's nothing without Havie, Ryan, Martha, Lainie, and Alexis.)
Outstanding just because he's still so handsome after all these years - Tom Selleck (yeah baby)
Outstanding musical night time soap opera that Empire copied - Nashville!!
Outstanding for showing the importance of family - Blue Bloods
Outstanding pissed off all the time cop - Donnie Wahlberg, Blue Bloods

Outstanding non-network show - Justified, close second is Hell on Wheels
I really loved Justified and hated to see it end however....
Outstanding Best Ending EVER - Justified
Outstanding actor in a big hat - Timothy Olyphant - I ♥ Raylan

Outstandingly gross but fun to watch - Bones

There's few comedy shows I like but I don't fret if I miss them - Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Blackish all get the BTE seal of approval

Outstanding on PBS - the hoity-toity soap opera Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, and newcomer POLDARK! The winner is: POLDARK of course LOL but the other two are so fabulous, it's really a 3 way tie.  I'm going to miss Downton and CtM and I'm anxious to see future Poldark episodes

Outstanding new comer to my TV set  -  AIDAN TURNER - the one, and the only

Outstanding series that got cancelled and it really pisses me off - FIREFLY - this will be on my Emmys every year, forever.

Outstanding characters I love to hate and really want to jump on the screen and slap them, past and present- Cary Warleggon, Poldark - heartless bastard!!  Someone kill him, please! Mrs. O'Brien, D.Abbey - gone now but not forgotten,  Mrs. Olsen, Little House on the Prairie - gone now but not forgotten, Not on TV, but I'll throw it in anyway, Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter.  LOL

Well, I think I can add a lot more categories, but this is getting really long, so I think I'll go make some coffee instead. 

Further confessions of a Teenior Citizen

Now that you know that I obviously suffer from a bit of a case of arrested development in the eye candy department, I figure it's time to chat about the latest model on my mind -  Aidan Turner.  Ever since Poldark, I've been watching everything I can with him in it. LOL  Starting with the Hobbit trilogy in which he plays Kili, one of the dwarves who goes with Bilbo Baggins to get their homeland back from an evil dragon.  Then there is a mini series called Desperate Romantics, in which he plays painter/poet Dante Gabriel Rosetti. And then my favorite, Being Human, the UK version in which he plays John Mitchell, a tortured yet vulnerable vampire.  Each character I've seen him as is very different and he plays them equally well, but I have a soft spot for Mitchell.  He's like a little wounded bird with a dark side that he hates yet can't always control.  I want to reach in the screen and hug him and tell him everything will be OK, (though it usually isn't).  Mitchell consistently makes bad decisions and then tries to make things right!

So here he is:

Mitchell

Kili

 

Ross

Himself

You have to admit, he's mighty good-looking and he's not just a pretty face.  He really has what it takes to create a believable and unforgettable character.  I look forward to seeing his future work, especially season 2 of Poldark.

Yeah, I'm old enough to be his mother (yikes) but don't worry, I don't have sex fantasies - that would be... just wrong.  Well maybe if I could imagine I still looked like this:

But I don't. Lol.  I look like this:

and I don't think my imagination can get past the truth!

I just want to give him a big hug and tell him how much I enjoy his work and that I hope he has a long and healthy and happy life.  I would also tell him that he would be a FABULOUS Heathcliff and I really want to see him in cowboy duds.

 

Aging Gracefully - the Great Myth

Aging Gracefully.....what the hell does that mean anyway?  For someone like me who falls into walls, bangs their toes, shins, hands, etc. etc. etc., drops sh*t all the time and can't see the frakking road at night it's almost laughable!

I hear things on the TV about how to prevent aging, like exercise, eating right, getting enough sleep (don't get me started on sleeping) and after about three minutes it sounds like this.... blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah... Oy!  save me from the middle-aged experts, please!  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't try to take care of yourself, but the truth is, there's no such thing as aging gracefully. Trust me on this.

The good news is, you CAN age gratefully!  Let's face it, if you don't want to age you have to die and are you sure that's what your really want??  One of my all-time favorite TV mini series is Lonesome Dove.  One of the main characters is Gus, played perfectly (beyond perfect actually) by Robert Duvall.  In a very poignant scene with Laurie he says to her: "The only healthy way to live life is to learn to like all the little everyday things, like a sip of good whiskey in the evening, a soft bed, a glass of buttermilk, or a feisty gentleman like myself"  I thought and still do think it is a brilliant bit of advice.  Learn to love everyday things.

I'm a 'glass is half empty' kinda gal, so it's not always easy to remember to find joy, but I try.  A good book, a good laugh, dinner with a friend or family, watching that stupid squirrel trying to get the bird seed, finding the perfect fabric for that project I'm working on, being able to do things in spite of the snap, crackle, and pop of my bones, and the slow fogging of the eyes from cataracts not 'ripe' enough to blast away.  I'm grateful for this and more.

In closing, I want to try inserting a link into the blog - if it works you'll be laughing like you need your depends on (unless you don't find little old ladies swearing funny, as I do)

Prank Call

Confessions of a Teenior Citizen.....

I love movies.  I love television.  I think I have been a fan since I was a child.  My earliest memory is seeing Walt Disney's Cinderella back in the '50's, most likely at the drive-in theater in an old station wagon packed with 5 or 6 kids.  

As I matured (stop laughing), I grew to appreciate cinema more and more until today, one of my most cherished pleasures is to see a really great film - one with an excellent story to tell, perfect casting, perfect costuming and sets, amazing cinematography, and good if not great directing.

Which brings me to the the thought that prompted me to write today.  Eye Candy, or celebrity crushes .... 

Yeah, I'm considered a 'senior citizen' but when it comes to those handsome guys on the big screen (or little screen) I'm still a teenager.  I've been this way for a long time.....like even before I was teen.  Remember Bronco Lane or Sugarfoot?  I loved 'em.  Dr. Kildare (Richard Chamberlain) nearly gave me heart failure. Then there was Illya Kuriakin and Captain Kirk and lets not forget THE BEATLES!

Moving on, for while I went retro... Gary Cooper and Cary Grant (who doesn't love Cary Grant??)  Then along came Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson.. mmm-mmm-mmm (by this time I'm married with a child - no matter)  Skip a few years..ok a lot of years and along comes Gerard Butler - it was the Phantom that did me in and my biggest crush SEAN BEAN... holy crap!  He's my fantasy man!! Sandwich in Nathan Fillion, Hugh Jackman, and Timothy Oliphant (Oh Raylan, take me away for a day or two.....) and a few others to boot!  What's a girl to do?  

Thank heavens for the internet. LOL  I can see my boys anytime I want!!  The truth is, I do look at my eye candy probably more than I should, but not as much as some people might think I do. :-)   I'm OK with that!

Up next.....Aidan