KEEP CALM AND LOVE BOOKS: movie

Release Year: 2014

Genre: Drama/Romance

Length of film: 1h 45m

Director: Shana Feste

Following their high-school graduation, Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde), a sheltered but privileged teen, becomes enthralled with David Elliot (Alex Pettyfer), a working-class youth with a troubled past. Though Jade and David quickly fall in love, Jade's father (Bruce Greenwood) strongly disapproves of the relationship, while David's father (Robert Patrick) advises caution. However, their parents' disapproval only makes the love-struck teens more determined to pursue the intense affair.

The trailer for Endless Love

Now, What I Thought:

I've never actually done a movie review before so please don't compare this to the blogs that focus mainly on these. I was browsing Netflix just 2 hours ago and I came across this film and I thought, "Oh what the hell, I want to feel inspired." Boy did I make the right choice!!! I really thoroughly enjoyed this movie! Something I did not know coming into it, was that it's actually an adaptation from Scott Spencer's novel, Endless Love, published in 1979. Whether I'll go ahead and read the book, I haven't decided yet, but I will definitely write a review on it if I do. This movie was very romantic yet inspiring. I found myself relating to Jade quite often and I understood what she felt and was going through. I really loved the character David. I found him genuinely sweet and caring, and those are traits that many lead male roles nowadays often lack. As for Alex Pettyfer, meh. I was never a fan of the actor, I found the only thing wrong with the casting part was him, everyone else was beautifully casted. I did like his little british accent cameo in the film; FYI, the actor is actually from the UK so that's why I did find it funny when he whipped that out.

Can I just express how much I love the actress who played Jade! She was fantastic! I honestly couldn't think of a better actress to play such a beautiful, timid, butterfly of a character! I use the word butterfly because I really did feel like she just opened up and blossomed (Jade, not the actress haha) towards the middle and was finally getting to live her life. You could really tell that her eldest brother's death affected her more than it did Keith (Jade's other older brother). I really liked that we even got insight on Keith's own relationship and the parents! Their mother really is such a cool person and so understanding. I liked that small detail that she was a pronounced writer before and how we got some knowledge on how her life has changed.

I did often understand where Hugh, Jade's father, was coming from, definitely. I understood that suddenly this boy comes into her life and she wants to drop and throw away her ambition for med school just to spend more time with him. It would seem absurd if that happened in real life and I'm more than sure my own father would act the exact same way, if not more aggressive. The producer really made him the 'antagonist' of the film when they added some details about his marriage (for obvious reasons I won't name what). I still actually liked him better than David's father, Harry. For some reason Harry really rubbed me the wrong way. I found him shallow and just wanting his son to stay and take over the shop. A parent is supposed to let their children go at some point to find their dream and live their own life, not keep them back with guilt for leaving you. I just didn't like how Harry approached things and his hesitation when David was clearly so happy to even be considering college.

All in all, I really enjoyed this film and I will probably re-watch it soon, as I usually do with my favourites. This has definitely been added to "My List" on my Netflix account, rest assured. The drama was fantastic, the romance was amazing and the whole journey between Jade and David was absolutely lovely. The movie left me inspired and really happy so all pluses for me! Go watch it!!!!

college - 4:10:00 AM

Endless Love | Movie Review

Release Year: 2014 Genre: Drama/Romance Length of film: 1h 45m Director: Shana Feste Following their high-school graduatio...

Pages: 369 pages

Publication Date: December 31st 2012

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking

ISBN: 0670026603 (ISBN13: 9780670026609)

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Now, What I Thought:

I had just finished this book minutes ago and I am left here sobbing my eyes out because of how beautiful this story was. Now, obviously with everyone's hype for this book and the description of it, you automatically think this is going to be a sad book. I'd say that this book was 95% happy, it was warm and fun and I felt like I was physically in the book with Lou and Will myself. There is a movie adaptation that is coming out soon, which I think the actors that play Lou, Will and Patrick are amazingly well casted.

Warning: DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK.

It will spoil you, I didn't have the common sense to not watch it before I even opened the book to page 1, and I did find it spoil me a bit, where I would get to a part in the novel and I would remember what happened in the trailer and I'd realize what would happen next. I really wished I had left those parts for surprise you know?

Lou's family played a huge role in this book, I liked how involved they were and how we actually get to see them a lot and even Patrick. I loved to hate Patrick too, he really was just there as another obstacle for Lou to climb over. This whole novel was for Lou to find herself and grow up and live HER life. She's a 27 year old living at home asking her parents permission to do things. She needed to finally grow up and explore the world on her own and live the life she wanted to live. I didn't really like her sister, even with her P.O.V chapter. I still didn't like how inferior she made Lou feel at times and even when Treen would think and we got to read that, I just did not like her selfish thought process and how she thought she was better than everyone.

The relationship between Lou and Will, I don't even have to really say, was magninicifent! It started off rocky and Will would mock everything she'd say or do while she'd just get frustrated. But they finally found a balance between themselves and Will started living more of his life. I liked reading Will being happy, because it would just remind me of his life now and how it seemed like he hadn't smiled in a long time and truly enjoy his time with her and outside in general. There are so many rememberable scenes between the two that it just made this book so great and I can't express the amount of happiness that flowed through me while reading it.

This book will always been on my top favourites because it was just so emotional and life changing in a way. We really get to read about other people's lives and how just a moment in time can change someone's life forever. Jojo Moyes has a really great writing style and I look forward to reading more of her stuff very soon.

Adult Fiction - 10:38:00 PM

Me Before You (Me Before You #1) by Jojo Moyes | Review

Pages: 369 pages Publication Date: December 31st 2012 Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking ISBN: 0670026603 (ISBN13: 9780670...

Pages: 324 pages

Publication Date: May 10th 2011 by Henry Holt

ISBN: 0805092528 (ISBN13: 9780805092523)

Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Now What I Thought:

The amount of times I have re-read this book is insane. Most of the time I have a hard time picking out new books to read because it's novels like Ruby Red that just captivate my attention over and over again. The first book is really good, it does a great job at introducing all of the characters and Gwyneth is just such a likeable person. Charlotte, her cousin, on the other hand... I mean, I do feel bad for her A LITTLE, but as for some of her actions and rude remarks towards Gwen, are just ridiculously unnecessary. The novel itself and the content is so funny. Definitely has comedic aspects in it, if not the whole thing. I will be honest, from the first time I read this till now... I never did like Gideon, 'the love interst'. Sure he's her companion and her opposite, if you will, but the guy is seriously such a git.

As for the time-travel part of the book, it was good. I loved Gier's view and representation of time-travel and was definitely enjoyable. Gwen is part of this whole dynasty and family just filled with the unknown and while she thinks she's just on the outskirts of the big whole plan, she's really smack-dab in the centre. I liked the fact that Gwen caught on fast and was a fast learner when it came to time travel, even though Charlotte would disagree. Her family on the other hand, really irked me, down to her mother. Her aunts just never believed in Gwen and her ability to do a good job and fix the problem at hand. I hated how they would make her feel insufficient and inferior to Charlotte and Gideon.

Having read this trilogy so many times, it's difficult to remember what happens in each individual book and not mush everything together, some of you will know what I mean, haha. This series was originally written in German, and even the movies that were made are in German. The translation was totally fine and I didn't notice anything too peculiar about word choice and such. Kerstin Gier has an amazing talent to write YA fantasy and I never once found myself bored, lulled etc. reading these novels.