Books Vs Films - Warm Bodies

As a first thought, these posts may be quite biased because I know in my head that a book will always be the victor. Nothing will ever beat or even come close to the picture you’ve painted in your head through the description from a writer, so either way you’re going to be somewhat disappointed by someone else’s idea of what it may look like. Saying that, there is some films that have come pretty close to what I excepted it to be visually; The Amazing Spiderman for example – the character portrayal in the comics and the character brought to life on screen by actor Andrew Garfield came pretty close in my mind.

                I’m going to continue this post by talking about a specific book/film. Warm Bodies. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had the misfortune of seeing the film first (don’t know how I didn’t realise it was a book beforehand, must have been living under a rock). So I purchased the book and started to read.

The basic story line is similar: there’s a plague that has turned the human race into ‘corpses/zombies’ apart from small herds of people that are surviving on very little, and there’s a zombie names ‘R’ that falls in love with a human and turns back again. Yea, that’s the same plot, right? But reading into it, it’s so different. So much so that I was a tad bit disappointed.

I wasn’t disappointed in the film, I absolutely LOVE the film, think it’s brilliant. I was just disappointed about how there was so many things in the book of which I would have loved to have seen come to life. For example, the ‘bonies’ have such a bigger role in the book. I would have loved to have seen their ‘meeting room’ where they went around taking polaroid pictures of the remaining civilisation and plastering them all over the walls (the camera of which in the book: Julie steals. In the film: Julie finds in an abandoned house); or how they all congregate to a ‘church’ type area within the airport and have a distinct noise/groan and gathering. These things I would have loved to see, just to see how a director would have translated them to the screen.

The casting for R, in my opinion, was perfect. Nicholas Hoult makes the perfect zombie teen and I can definitely picture him while I’m reading. He’s a fantastic actor and portrayed the role incredibly well and I think matched the description of the character almost spot on. But ‘R’ as a character in the book is so much deeper (personality wise)…he’s not just interested in the girl; he’s battling inner demons, mulling life over, having constant battles with himself over hurting those around him. You don’t get that kind of depth in the film. In the film he just simply kills Perry off and feels a bit bad about it later on when he realised he was Julie’s boyfriend…but in the book, Perry becomes a big part of R’s subconscious – Perry is actually kind of vital to the story which I didn’t think he would be after watching the film.

Moving onto the next character, Julie. Bloody hell! How deep is she ?! She has such an interesting and hard-done-by past that you never get into on screen. You find out about her mom, about her run in’s with drugs, about charging for sex…all sorts. I really do have a strong and empathetic bond with her character in the book, where as I thought she was just a bit whiney in the film. The character development in this book is fantastic – even Nora has a great background story. I really feel like a lot was cut out and lost about Julie in the film which is a huge shame.

Don’t even get me started on the ending. Now if the ending in the book was done in film that that would have been award winning right there. The ending chapters are where things change. The story line isn’t the same in the slightest (well it is vaguely in that R becomes human again) but I never would have guessed that the kiss between Julie and R has an effect on both of their beings, and that Julie’s father breaks down entirely. I can honestly say that the last half of the book had me gripped and I found myself reading it whenever I could because there was always new surprises and twists.

So if I had to choose my favourite between book and film, in this case I couldn’t really. I like both for different merits, and I really couldn’t compare due to the amount of differences between the two. All I can say is that I love the movie and recommend it to anyone wanting to watch an easy going, heartfelt teen. In contrary wise, if you’re wanting an emotional, deep and physiological story then I would HIGHLY recommend the book – I think it’s one of my new favourites.

(after having a non-working laptop for a few weeks, this post is far later than I planned but I know exactly what I’m writing about next – Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Halestorm!) 

Deaf Havana - live in Manc, CD signing

Today I met the heroes of which make up Deaf Havana. Had a brilliant time so thought, hey…what not blog.
 

                So the day started out getting up later than planned (having the day off work= instant refusal to get out of bed before 9:30am) and catching the train into Manchester Victoria. I’ve been looking forward to this day for some time but it never even registered in my head that ‘hey Carys, you don’t know Manchester at all, why not look up the address’… but luckily the extremely chatty man in Starbucks gave me wonderful directions (I don’t do directions well at all – or maps – so well done Starbucks man!)

            After getting to HMV way too early, the time between then and the acoustic set was spent buying headphones, drinking bobo tea and meeting up with people who are going to Uni in the city – all in all pretty productive, but let’s move on. We returned back to HVM at half past four to try miss the flow of traffic that would be turning up at five and queued for a half hour. One of the greatest things I found about people who listen to Deaf Havana is that they’re so friendly. I didn’t meet one rotten person in the que/inside. Everyone was lovely and helped each other out (a big thank you to Aiden who let me stand in front of him so I could see). Going in alone was the most terrifying thought but I met two other people on their own and we stuck together and chatted as though we had met before. Lovely!

                To get in, you basically used Deaf Havana’s new CD (Old Souls) sort of like a ticket, you showed that you had it on the door and went into the little staging area. It was such a cute little space so the acoustic set really did feel pretty intermit. I absolutely fell in love with James Veck-Gilodi’s stage presence just by the way he talked between songs.

                Happy to say I have a few half decent pictures and videoed a few songs. You can really tell when my arm starts to go dead in all the video’s I recorded, but the achey arm was definitely worth it to get a little memento – especially seen as they played one of my favourites (Hunstanton Pier).

                The signing was great, my cd case now looks all decorated. And talking to the guys while getting it signed was wonderful. I love when bands really interact with their fans and they really did seem so humbled by the amount of people who actually came to buy their album. It’s always refreshing to see that people still care about the music they produce and about those that listen to it.

I’m glad I didn’t say anything too awkward, though. I’ve met guys from bands before and blurted out the uttermost bollocks that has just pooped into my head. The most I said was ‘I really don’t know how to talk to you, little awkward’, in which James responded ‘HEY ME TOO! Hence my ramblings between song just now’. I politely asked to take pictures and BOOM, the day was over.

           The Ringmaster Festival of which I was going to for my birthday got cancelled this week so I’m really glad I managed to get to see Deaf Havana today (seen as they were in the line-up for next Friday). All in all, pretty happy.

18th Excitement

I’ve never been one for birthday celebrations. I don’t know why exactly, it just never appealed to me. So much so that I used to say ‘I don’t like my birthday, it’s too much fuss over what is essentially just another ordinary day’. I think I really did have a hatred for my birthday at one point. I’ve never wanted to grow up – much like the female peter pan. I want to be as young as I am for as long as I can – impossible, though I can always dream.

But this time it’s the ‘big one’. My 18^th. I don’t think that it’s much of a big deal over in America with the drinking age being at 21 and all, but over in England it’s definitely the biggy. I don’t know though, so if I’m wrong and it is a big thing, I’d love to hear about it.

So as expected, I have everyone at work, all my family members and my few friends asking the question: ‘SO WHAT HAVE YOU GOT PLANNED?!’. Until now, nothing. It’s seriously not really even crossed my mind that I might actually do something. At one point, I kind of gave in to the guys at work and just let them plan a night out and I’ll just tag along and we’ll all say it’s for my birthday. That’s how all my nights out go – I’m not much of a planner.

Though lucky me, I managed to come across a website for the Ringmaster Festival which just so happens to be the day after my birthday and include a line-up which I’m in love with (featuring bands such as Deaf Havana, The Blackout, Hadouken and We Are The Ocean). I managed to coax a friend into coming with me and camping and I have to say I’m dead excited. I really can’t wait for my birthday to come around and it’s a wonderful feeling.

I really had forgotten what it felt like to be genuinely excited for something. And it seems as though all the things that make me happy are coming in leaps and bounds. I’m in love with music so my next few months are packed with bands, gigs, and appearances which I’ll be sure to blog about and document because hey…it’s so much easier to write about something you’re passionate about/enjoy.

I’ll leave some links bellow to some of the things I’m going to just in case anyone out there wants to tag along too.
·        Thursday 19th September – Deaf Havanaacoustic set and cd signing
·        Friday 27th September – The RingmasterFestival
·        Tuesday 22nd – Shinedown, Alter Bridgeand Halestorm (Manchester)
·        Saturday 15th – A Day To Remember(Manchester) 

Those Nights

'I remember when We used to laugh About nothing at all, It was better than going mad. From trying to solve all the problems we're going through, Forget 'em all. Cause on those nights we would stand and never fall. Together we faced it all. Remember when we'd;
[Chorus:]
Stay up late and we'd talk all night, In a dark room lit by the TV light, Through all the hard times in my life, Those nights kept me alive'

These lyrics are by Skillet – Those nights. Coincidently, this is a song that I sang when I was in year 10 (15 years old) on stage in front of my friends and family along with a school band for my Music Diploma. I could relate to it then and I can relate to it now.  I’ve not listened to this song since I performed it, until tonight. And it’s started to make me think back to the nights that have really kept me strong. Just thinking about ‘those nights’ really does make me feel blessed.

I wanted to take this opportunity to write about some seen as I no longer keep a written journal/diary for numerous reasons.

My first memory will be one of my most recent. Trampoline-ing at 3am in the pouring down rain. Given that I was slightly drunk, I’ve never really experienced something like it. I was with the people I’ve only met once before - That in it’s self is enough to make me smile ; that people I had never met before would talk to me and make me feel involved and comfortable…and I could then hang out with the same people again and feel as though we've gone back years. (I don’t know, I don’t make friends often so everything excites me I guess.) But the night grew later and I was feeling like a little social butterfly as I fluttered between crowd to crowd and talked about life. It got until 3am where I found myself out side in the middle of a thunderstorm with a cigarette, looking up into the sky and getting truly drenched. That was lovely. I was gathering my thoughts and sobering up to the sound of raindrops hitting the glass table top – bliss. But out came a guy that I get on incredibly well with, let’s call him ‘Dylan’. ‘Dylan’ grabbed me by the hand and pulled me across the wet lawn (I wasn’t wearing shoes mind, so my socks clung to my feet like mad) and up onto the trampoline. And we bounced. I don’t know how long for, it felt like forever, but it also felt like it was over too soon. But, hand in hand, we bounced. And bounded. And bounced. We laughed like hell and got soaked through under the early morning rain clouds. Right then is when I could say I felt truly happy. There’s something just so exhilarating about being out in the rain. We fell at one point and just laid there, flat on hour backs, laughing like we had lost all sanity as the rain began to fall on our faces. Yea, I like that memory.

My second will be another late night story with, let’s call him ‘Zack’. We ate curry with my family and sat and talked until it was time for him to get the last bus to the next town along. Long story short, we missed it. Lucky enough, my mother actually likes ‘Zack’ so offered him our spare room for the night. Though instead of going to bed, we stayed up in my downstairs living room with the TV on, talking until 5am. I got excited cause I found that I actually had SkyDisney so all I remember is being sat side by side, completely engrossed in Cinderella. How cute. After that, I fell asleep on his shoulder, and he was too much of a gentleman to wake me up or shove me away. But when I did wake, it was to The Descent where we sat and laughed and made ridiculous running commentaries. The best thing about that night was staying up and talking about anything, everything until the early hours - Just being completely comfortable in someone else’s company.

 A third will be something that’s hard to explain why it was so brilliant. It’s nothing out of the ordinary but it meant the world to me anyway. My parents recently went away for two weeks and left the house and cats for me to look after. I absolutely hate being alone. I don’t know what it is but it just makes me panic-ey and emotional. And my wonderful friend knows this all too well. I love him to bits – let’s call him Alex. He came over numerous days and cooked for me after work…chicken…brisket…you name it. Such a good little cook he is. But some nights, practically for a whole week I think, he stopped over and just kept me company. Being a couple of introverts, it was up our street to sit in with a Chinese, watch films and do nothing all night. One night we sat up and made Cookie Dough Pizza while we watched the amazing Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I will cherish my lazy nights with him for always.

Writing these stories has really brought to light the amazing people in my life. I could never thank my friends enough for being there when I need them. I always make myself think that I have to stand by myself and go through things alone, but when I think back on all my amazing memories and past experiences, it’s really not the case. I’m so blessed and so thankful that I’ve met the people I have and have experienced all these events to date. It’s nights like this that make me take a step back and slap myself for being so closed minded about my problems and issues, because I know I’ve got it a lot better than some people. So if anyone I know does actually read this, I just want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart and that I cherish you beyond belief. 

Mid-Year Fave's

The new ‘Maybelline FITme! Anti-shine stick’

I’ve been testing out different brands of foundation and going from creams, to mousses, to liquids but came across the TV advert for the anti-shine stick at 3am one day. Don’t know what caught my eye about it but I was interested and found myself buying it at Boots a week or so later. I’m incredibly impressed to be honest. It’s small and compact so I can throw it into any of my bags that I take out, because it’s in stick form (much like the consistency of a tube concealer) it’s non-mess and it’s super easy to blend. The colour, surprisingly, blends into my transparent skin tone incredibly well so any of you pale ladies (or gentlemen, I don’t judge), I would really recommend this product to use as a daily foundation.

Got2b powder’ful

For anyone with short layers/short hair especially, this styling product is fab! It’s definitely made hair styling in a morning before work quicker and simpler. Just a little sprinkle, rub it together in your palms and tussle…or sprinkle it straight to your hair and ruffle and walaah! So now my layers are shorter, it’s a great quick fix for my hair, though I did use it when I had longer hair too. You know when you have freshly washed hair and it’s too clean to do anything with? This is great for that. Sprinkle some powder near the routs and backcomb away, brilliant for those flyaway days.

Primark Home scented candle

For £2, I bought a decent sized scented candle from my local Primark. I love candles, I love scented items and I love reasonable prices. So this was great in all senses. I’ve been burning my purple ‘juicy blueberry and blossom’ candle every night before bed for the past couple weeks and my room smells gorgeous and I’ve still got two weeks of use left of use in it at least. I’m a sucker for falling asleep to candlelight (unsafe, I know) and it seems to make sleep come easier and more soothing when it’s to such a lovely smell and a dim glow of a flame.

Lush

I’ve recently become a Lush lover. i went in with a friend one day and sat there with one of the shop assistants for two hours just trying things out and her giving me a hand massage with all the different products that she would recommend for my skin type. It was such a lovely experience. You would think a complete stranger rubbing your hands/arms for hours would be uncomfortable, not at all. Lush is such a friendly place. But I do have some products that I’m in love with so far and

these are:
Angels On Bear Skin – this is a facial cleanser that acts as an exfoliator also. It has a strong smell of lavender, with obvious lavender pieces and it just smells refreshing as heck. It’s not like any kind of cleanser I’ve used before. You have to get a small amount of it in your hand and mix it with water until you get it to a paste like consistency before applying to your face. The promises on the lid are that it will ‘evens out skin tone, reduce redness and improves health and appearance of your skin, giving it a natural healthy glow’ and I totally agree. Does everything it says it will, and more – my skin got so soft after using it
Rehab – this is a shampoo which is definitely called rehab for a reason. It’s done wonders for my chemically damaged hair and it’s given my head a lot of life back. It’s a god send and I’m so glad I got recommended it. It’s got a minty type smell and it leaves your hair feeling healthy and shiny.  A definite re-buy and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s got dead or damaged hair – it’s a miracle shampoo.

Retread – ‘a heavier weight conditioner that is there for you in times of trouble’ ; ‘drive your hair in for some serious breakdown recovery. This conditioner is a pit stop for your hair’. Again, I completely agree with the labelling, everything in Lush seems to be described perfectly on the tubs. This conditioner (used alongside my Rehab shampoo) is bloody wonderful and makes my hair feel like silk

Skeleton Hair Clips

I kept seeing these around tumblr constantly and I loved them. So I bought some from a seller on ebay and they’re wonderful. And I love them to pieces. I think look fantastic and they just add something to your hair. I really enjoyed wearing them around work.