BOOK REVIEW: "The Prisoner of Heaven" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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I’ve heard a lot of praise for the works of Carlos Ruiz Zafón from friends who have read his books. “The Prisoner of Heaven” was picked up by chance at an airport, mostly because I was intrigued by the description on the back.

“The secret World of the Cemetery of Forgotten books, hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona... a novel full of creaking trapdoors, a novel where even the subplots have subplots.”

This pretty much sums up what this story is about. But first of all I have to honour the author’s style which is impeccable, captivating & simply a delight to follow through all the pages. In times where all those “Twilights” & “Shades of Grey” dominate the bestseller list, this book is like a breath of refreshing spring air.

With about 280 pages it’s a quick read but the author still manages to envelop you in the magical atmosphere of the story. Set in Barcelona, you almost feel yourself sitting on a park bench of that exact city and reading the book there. In a short description - the book is intriguing, with quite a few twists & turns and extremely atmospherical.
By the time you reach the ending, you have probably managed to build a close connection with the main characters, so that the final outcomes are heart touching.
My judgement consists of 4 out of 5 stars, so just a minor reduction for some parts which weren’t as exciting as the rest and most of all because I’m not such a fan of open endings :)

ALBUM REVIEW: "Halcyon" by Ellie Goulding

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I’ve been a fan of hers ever since her first album came out which I thought was absolutely incredible with songs like “Guns And Horses”, “Starry Eyed” and “Every Time You Go”. Looking forward to her concert on April 25^th, here’s a review of what I think about Ellie Goulding’s second outing!

The first song “Don’t Say A Word” seems like an intro song to me as it lacks a chorus. It doesn’t really stay in mind. “My Blood” is already the highlight of the album – what an extraordinary track you just can’t get it out of your head. “Anything Could Happen” might be the most popular song, I hear it in commercials and TV-shows ALL the time! Its mood is quite catchy. “Only You” is certainly not my favorite, as I think it comes across quite annoying, though it improves with time. The title track “Halcyon” is what I expect from an Ellie Goulding album; breathtaking. “Figure 8” is the last highlight, a dub-step sounding song that completely manages to get your body shakin’.

“Joy”, “Explosions” and “Hanging On” have nice melodies, but you forget about them easily. “Atlantis” is cool, having an unusual edge to it, the last one “Dead In The Water” is pleasant to listen to. I’m not incredibly impressed by Ellie Goulding’s second one, as the first one was so path-breaking. She certainly stayed true to her style and tries out new things in terms of sound and voice-mixing and still, all songs are nice to listen to, but “Halcyon” in general is less groovy and lacks a chartbuster like “Lights”! Can’t wait for the concert though and, hey, it’s still Ellie Goulding!

 

MOVIE REVIEW: "Les Misérables"

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This year’s Academy Awards are over! I couldn’t be happier with the/my winner of the evening: Life of Pi! However, Les Miz got the second most nods which made me real happy as well! The wins for Best Supporting Actress, Best Sound Mixing and Best MakeUp are all so very well deserved! I love the story of Les Misérables, having seen the Mini-Series with Gérard Dépardieu tons of times! My expectations towards the movie for the big screen were huge!

I have to applaud all the actors that are part of the film. Hugh Jackman’s voice is definitely worth an own review, but I liked it as it was unusual. So was Russel Crowe’s! Anne Hathaway’s and Amanda Seyfried’s voices were a bit weak but I absolutely loved the imperfect interpretation that made it so much more real and authentic than any other musical. I thought that not only Anne Hathaway’s superb and absolutely stunning performance but also Hugh Jackman’s passionate interpretation of Jean Valjean were oscar-worthy. 

But apart from the wonderful make-up and costumes, the glitzy performances by ALL actors and the fabulous settings, there were two things that I really disliked. The first thing were the weird camera angles that made the sets look unreal from time to time. And the second thing is the screenplay. While the first half is adapted fantastically, the second half is not! Lots of events have been left out whilst others were given loads too much time, such as the furniture-barrier scenes! The film seems unbelievably long, especially the last few scenes could have been shortened.

Don’t watch it only for its brilliant songs that stay in your mind for days to come but also for the unusually real and authentic performances and making! A very special interpretation. I hated The King’s Speech, but Tom Hooper’s got me with this one! I dreeeammed a dreeeamm!

BOOK REVIEW: „Before I Go To Sleep“ by S. J. Watson

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I bought this intriguing sounding book in New York at Barnes & Noble and finished it within 3-4 hours (unusual for me!). Its plot had me from the beginning onwards and didn’t leave my thoughts. 

After an accident, a 47-year-old married woman wakes up every day with a deleted memory and has only her little notebook to check who she is and where she’s at in her life, at the moment. But how true is the content of the notebook really?! And what was the accident really all about? Time after time, her memory returns…

The writing style of the book has the right pace. It’s not about details here but about getting further in the events. The structure is such that putting the book away is made impossible, very Dan Brown-like!

However, the “50 Shades” syndrome can be found in “Before I Go To Sleep” as well – it’s not even THAT good; neither are the characters nor the credibility but you simply don’t care and that’s okay I guess. So grab an exciting easy reading book that is definitely thrilling, has shocking moments, a superb pace and some interesting plot aspects, but lacks some originality.

 

 

MOVIE REVIEW: "Anna Karenina"

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Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, Hanna… Joe Wright is one of my favorite directors right now. Not only is his choice of actors always exquisite, his movies also shine with the best cinematography you can get. In his new project, once again with muse Keira Knightley who has finally seemed to have specialized in tragic time period roles only, he has a try at Leo Tolstoi’s famous adultery novel “Anna Karenina”.

As almost all of the scenes in the whole movies take place on a stage, making you feel like the theater audience with special backstage insights, the movie is given a special feeling to it right from the beginning. This technique works fantastically, even though I was skeptical while watching the trailer. The whole scenery in general looks absolutely fabulous, every scene works for itself. On that score, the movie is a masterpiece. The cast delivers very solid performances, although I feel that no one really stood out, however, maybe that was the screenplay’s fault.

That leads me to the weakness of the film, which is the plot itself. I have rarely seen such a heavy movie in my life with such few light moments so that the few light moments, especially in the end, are almost too appreciated. Blame Tolstoi, I’m sure the novel has exactly the same tonality! Maybe the screenplay should have been loosened up a bit and not centered on 3 persons only in order to take away some of the drooping moments.

All in all, however, a movie made with so much love for adequacy and detail, a cast stunning to look at and the fascinating beginning and end, a magical movie that dares to give you something different in terms of setting events in scene, despite being a mass release!

 

MOVIE REVIEW: „The Hunger Games“

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I’ve finally seen it. In the U.S. the movie was the 12^th most successful of all times. (Without inflation rate.) Well, that is certainly something. Based on the highly popular book trilogy, “The Hunger Games” already had a huge fanbase and this fanbase is exactly the people that use the medium of cinema the most excessively these days, (see Twilight).

The plot of the movie is totally capturing, I wasn’t bored for a second, despite a running length of almost 2 ½ hours. The audience is led through the story very well, the events seem to be brought to screen quite accurately. The characters are very well developed, and the acting is superb. Jennifer Lawrence is wonderful as the main lead, but also Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks etc. play their parts with commitment.

Negative points about this movie are difficult to discuss in such a short text. First there are some logical questions that are bound to come up with this kind of material, but secondly there are some aspects regarding the credibility of it all. 

The real highlight about “The Hunger Games” is this eerie atmosphere, this excitement that is built up cleverly and that keeps you glued to the screen. The movie has a great pace and the cinematography pleases the viewers from beginning until the end. Maybe I’ll even read the second part, but I’ll definitely watch it!