JANE EYRE

So for my birthday the boy and I went to see Jane Eyre. I'd been anticipating it for a while after seeing the lovely film posters for it. I was excited to see a Brontë classic being adapted once again for the screen- I am so in love with Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë and wished for it to be as beautiful and as captivating.

Charlotte Brontë's classic is timeless, the grand rooms of Thornfield in all their glory and austerity and the beauty of the pastel rose gardens, the early morning sunlight catching the intricate lace that adorn the windows and the delicate embroidered dresses gently sweep the polished floors. Its themes of love, religion, morality are still of consequence today, but here we see the struggle of one girl's journey through life as she tries to escape the tangled clutches of her evil Aunt and the religious infused school she attends which punishes her for just being herself and then her eventual arrival into adulthood where she

Jane is captured so beautifully by Mia Wasikowska- gentle, graceful, intelligent and intriguing. Her effortless charms soon intrigue the austere Mr Rochester (wonderfully portrayed by Michael Fassbender), owner of Thornfield and they become entangled in a will-they/won't-they? love story. 

I urge you to go and see it, it is such a gorgeous piece of cinema. Fans of Wasikowska and Fassbender will not be disappointed ♥

NEVER LET ME GO

This film is fresh in my mind and all the flickering beauty of it is still there but also the melancholy and the tragic undertones. Carey Mulligan as Kathy H is an enchanting, sweet and quite often lonely character as she finds herself growing up quite cut off from society at the boarding establishment Hailsham. There is nostalgia there, wooden floor board, acrylic paint, milk bottles, school dinners, old tapes, grey cardigans and mousey hair as well as mild jealousy and the boy with the rosy cheeks and kind smile who Kathy has a definite fondness for. But Hailsham isn't just a school, it's a place where its students are reared into a very carefully thought out life, a short one, one that leads to being an involuntary organ donor. The secrets are gently unravelled, little parts of the mystery told in matter of fact but still very familiar school assemblies 'students at Hailsham must keep themselves well' after discarded cigarettes are found on the school grounds.

The film is delicate and sympathetic in its cinematography, the slightest look from Kathy towards Tommy is captured as though you were travelling in the small car with them. The jealous eyes of Ruth framed behind lace curtains at the Cottages and the familiar whistle of the kettle on the stove. The warm tears shed by Kathy in the autumn clad forest and her dimples of sincerity when she finds Ruth in hospital.

It follows Cathy's bittersweet story of how she carries on with her life to be a carer after drifting apart from her two best friends Ruth and Tommy (who she happens to be in love with). The deeper story is tragic and I had so much empathy for Kathy and her unconditional love for Tommy, her constant struggle of knowing her purpose and yet showing no angst or hate.

It is a sad film, one that is reminiscent of the tragic undertones of relationships and short lives found in Atonement. It has modest beauty though, nostalgic beauty. It's one to watch.

CLASH OF THE TITANS

I had to see this epic mythological motion picture as Kimberley would not give me peace unless I did. She was, as always, right in doing so- we quite often urge each other to see films the other hasn't and we always do and end up feeling happy that we didn't miss out! We have an ongoing joke about seeing films like 3:10 to Yuma, mostly Russell Crowe films that Kimberley hasn't seen (have you watched it yet Kimberley?)

Ahem... Clash of the Titans was something I'd avoided if I'm being honest, I'm not really that fussed about greek mythology, unless it's pretty and the focus is on princesses and beautiful mythological creatures- I'd given Troy a miss, much to the disappointment of my boyfriend who has told me numerous times how good it is. I surprise myself because I absolutely loved greek mythology when I was younger, I adore Hercules by Disney, I find it all fascinating. So I got the dvd and I thought it was actually quite good.

Set in Ancient Greek, Perseus (SWorth) is struck by tragedy, losing everything he loved and then finds out he is a demigod, son of Zeus (LNees). He finds himself in the middle of a war between the gods of Mount Olympus and the people on earth who Hades (RFiennes) threatens to unleash hell upon unless they are willing to sacrifice the Princess Andromeda to the Kracken. As a mere mortal, Perseus must persue the mission to save the city of of Argos from the bubbling armeggedon with the help of ageless beauty Io (Gemma Arterton), a few soldiers and two Persian monster hunters. The group set out on their quest to find the fates who will tell them the only way to defeat the monstrous Kracken is to decapitate the Gorgon Medusa (Natalia Vodianova), whose face cannot be looked upon or else the viewer would turn to stone.

There's monsters, sword fighting, winged horses, shiny gods, all in the fight against man and the immortals. It's definitely worth a watch, even if you just like Sam Worthington or are a fan of the very lovely Gemma Arterton. Liam Neeson is always great but I disliked this version of Zeus, he's a bit of a liar and a cheater and just not very god-like, well apart from his hazy, glittering appearance.

They're also apparently making a Clash of the Titans 2 so fans of the first one will get so see more of Sam and perhaps Neeson in action, I hear Ralph Fiennes is making a reappearance as god of the underworld Hades. This time Zeus is in need of Perseus' help when Hades makes a deal with their powerful father Kronos to overthrow Zeus and unleash hell upon the world.

TRON: LEGACY

TRON: Legacy is a neon, futuristic and super cool journey into the deepest digital realm of the Grid forged by Sam Flynn's dad, Kevin Flynn who went missing back in 1989. Sam finds a portal to the world his dad is lost within, only to find creations that are so far advanced it's unbelievable they aren't real. He's flung into a world where no one can be trusted, including white haired club owner Castor (Michael Sheen). Will he find his dad? Will he make it out of the world where super sleek black suits, perfect hair and electric blue glasses of drink exist? I don't want to spoil it all, but I love that it's Disney and super grown up while still staying true to its childhood routes.

Disney have released it on triple play, which I also love you can take the dvd copy anywhere, put it on your ipod but the best way is definitely to watch it in blu ray high definition to best appreciate the amazing special effects in this movie.

Natasha ♥

Ondine

Ondine is an original and romantic Irish film starring Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda, which places Irish mythology into a contemporary setting. Farrell plays a fisherman called Syracuse who one day pulls up a woman in his fishing net, but she is rather mysterious and evasive and leaves Syracuse guessing about her true identity; she only tells him that her name is Ondine, which means 'of the sea'. And strangely enough she seem to bring him good luck as his fishing nets become full when she sings. His little girl Annie starts to think that she is actually a selkie, a seal lady of Celtic myth who can temporarily become human if she hides her seal coat, but must eventually return to the sea. Ondine moves in with Syracuse, who falls for her even though he is somewhat wary of her secret identity, and along with Annie they carry on like a normal yet somewhat-dysfunctional family. However, when a mysterious man arrives in town searching for Syracuse's mysterious selkie it seems as though his run of fairy-tale luck is over.

What I liked about Ondine is that I didn't know too much about it, and although the plot is simple it doesn't give too much away and leaves you guessing about Ondine's true identity; Who is really? Where is she from? Is she a real mermaid? I couldn't work it out personally and throughout the film I was left arguing with myself, because the film has a realistic setting and it would be quite a challenge for the film-makers to make it convincing if Ondine was a real mermaid, but if she wasn't then who is she and how did she end up being caught up in Syracuse's net? Although it sounds like a frustrating watch it really isn't, it is quite a joyful and serene film and I thought it was worth the personal battle about what was going on as I wasn't disappointed by the end. But the result is not the only reason why the film is worth watching; Alison Barry who plays Annie in particular is a super sweet actress and she really shines in this film, and she brings all the mythology into the film and it is sweet how Ondine plays along with her theories that she is actually a selkie. Also the location is just beautiful, it made me want to go to Ireland and stay in a little peaceful fishing village like where Ondine is set. But that is enough of what I wanted to say about the film because some films I think you just need to watch without much knowledge and just see where the film takes you; Ondine is one of those films which I highly recommend if you want something a little unique and different ♥

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

When I first heard that Walden media had taken over the third installment of the Narnia series I was somewhat skeptical, as Disney had already done a lovely job of making The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Also, there were rumors that it was going to be made in Digital 3D, and even though I always go and see films in 3D I think that film-makers can often get caught up in making all the jumpy-out bits that they sometimes forget the more important parts like the story-line and the dialogue!! The trailer was full of fantastical sets and magic, but the part that really caught my eye was when the bedroom was filling up with water and the children swam to the surface to find themselves in Narnia - so beautiful! But I needed to see the film properly to make my mind up about it and to see if it was made of more substance like it's predecessors...

The film is set three years after Prince Caspian, and the two youngest of the Pevensie children, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are staying with their cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) which they are not too happy about; Edmund is struggling with the fact that in his world he is not old enough to be a soldier, and Lucy is envious of her older sister Susan who is away in America with their parents. Luckily the children are still eligible to enter Narnia and upon arrival they are rescued by the now King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and their old friend Reepicheep the warrior mouse (this time voiced by Simon Pegg), and taken aboard the beautiful ship The Dawn Treader where they join the voyage to rescue the seven Lords of Narnia whom had been banished by Caspian's Uncle Miraz.

When I finally saw the film at the cinema (yes, in 3D) I came out with only one criticism, and the people I went with agreed, that the only thing that ruined the film was that the cinema screen was extremely dark, and with the glasses on it made it even darker to see much when the film itself was set in low light. But apart from that I loved the film and couldn't wait for its Blu Ray release (typical me!). The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is full of swashbuckling adventure, monsters and magic, with stunning sets and costumes. The film is very visual which I love, as I read all the books as a kid and it is so amazing to see them brought to life so beautifully and realistically (don't get me wrong though, there will always be a place in my heart for the late 80s/early 90s BBC versions). I had spent ages thinking of things from the book and wondering 'how will they do this?', 'how can they make falling into a painting to enter Narnia look good?' etc. but somehow they did it, and I was impressed. I also like that this film centers around Edmund and Lucy, who are more in depth characters than their older siblings; Edmund is more complex and has had more of a personal journey since the first installment, and Lucy is the one who discovered Narnia in the first place and is just lovable in general. Also, newcomer Will Poulter was the perfect actor to be cast as the annoying cousin Eustace; I was aware of Poulter from watching School of Comedy and Son of Rambow and knew he would be hilarious. Oh, and fans of Liam Neeson will love Aslan's short-but-sweet appearances, and fans of Ben Barnes will just love, well, Ben Barnes! All-in-all a light-hearted adventure which will re-capture your childhood, make you laugh and treat your eyes in this visually stunning installment of the Narnia Chronicles ♥