Oh, my gosh! I loved, loved, loved "Wuthering Heights". I actually loved the book so much that I don't even feel like writing about it because my scribble will most certainly do the novel no justice. I believe that "Wuthering Heights" is the first book, out of those I've managed to read in the last few years, that I have unequivocally enjoyed from the very fist page and could not put down. I got so caught up in the story that, having opened the book yesterday morning, I could not take my mind away from it until I have turned the last page, in the process neglecting hundreds of pages of the reading that I was supposed to do for college.

As a girl ought, I have always enjoyed reading a good romantic novel, which has led me to adore Dumas as a teenager as well as to waste quite a few hours on dime novels many of which are not worth paper they are printed on. Plenty of the stories in this genre have succeeded in stirring my emotions to some extent, which, I admit, is a very easy task; nevertheless, I have hard time remembering anything that have left me as wrought-up as "Wuthering Heights" did. There is no doubt that the wild, maddening and all-consuming passion that is the main subject of the book is like nothing I have previously encountered.

Being perhaps the least imaginative reader out there, even I managed to feel completely immersed in the gloomy world of "Wuthering Heights". None of the characters has left me indifferent -- the intensity of their feelings, the reckless abandon with which they live, the extremes of their behavior are sure to find a response in many readers. While to some extent a romantic novel, the books is as far from typical love story as one can get, which, in my opinion, makes it ten time as interesting. I do not usually recommend books, but I'll make an exception for this one. I think that "Wuthering Heights" is something one who enjoys reading absolutely must add to her reading list. No movie -- and there are a few of them -- can do it justice!

Осталось прочитать 27 книг списка на 2010 год

I became a little familiar with the story many years ago when I watched a movie of the same name with Demi Moore. Since I could hardly remember a thing about that film and the name of the novel quite often appears in various lists of important works of literature, I've decided to give it a try. I believe that the main focus of the movie was the adulterous affair between the main characters, so I expected some sort of a love story with a tragic ending. It was not the case.

Unlike the movie, a significant part of which is devoted to the development of the relationship between the priest and Hester Pryne, "The Scarlet letter" begins after that relationship had tragically ended. A resident of God-fearing puritan community, Hester, whose affair with the priest ended with her getting pregnant, is sentenced to wearing a letter A, which stands for "adultery," on her chest for the rest of her life. A scene of her standing on the scaffold, with the letter on her chest and a baby daughter in her arms, opens the narration.

The conflict of the story revolves around four main characters: the wearer of the letter A, Hester; her lover, Dimmersdale, who happens to be the most revered clergyman in the community; her husband, who has been missing for the past two years and now swears to avenge his honor by destroying the man who stole his wife; Perl, Hester's illegitimate child. "The Scarlet Letter" covers seven years of the main characters' life and is concerned with Hester dealing with her ignominy, the priest being tortured by his conscience, and the husband trying to uncover the truth.

The novel was written in mid-nineteenth century, and this is easy to tell from Hawthorn's manner of writing. In it, the author explores social and religious norms of Puritanical society, as well as the ways in which sin can affect people. His style is often convoluted and rather formal; the story is somber and moves very slowly. The characters and their actions are often exaggerated to the point of ceasing to be believable. Overall, "The Scarlet Letter" was definitely not a page turner, and while it is undoubtedly a solid and meaningful work of literature, I found it to be a chore, not an enjoyment.

Осталось прочитать 29 книг списка на 2010 год

After three earlier unsuccessful attempts to get tickets for IMAX showing of Avatar, today I have finally got to see this movie. To begin with, I should have gone to a regular 3D weeks ago - while sound was definitely an improvement, the IMAX screen in our theater seemed to be hardly any bigger than a regular one; the only major difference I've noticed was in for some reason very uncomfortable chairs.

I am probably one of the last people of earth to see the movie, so I don't think it is necessary to tell anyone what it is about. There is no doubt that technically this film is the acme of not only its director's career, but all modern cinematic art. A product of Cameron's genius, Avatar has definitely reestablished its creator as one of the best directors of our time.

The amount of imagination that went into it is mindboggling - every plant and creature of Pandora is something incredible; the special effects are top notch; the implementation of 3D makes the whole thing twice as great. For 160 minutes the viewer emerges into a completely different world, every detail of which is so well thought and crafted that it makes you almost believe that it is all real. As far as technical aspect of film making is concerned, Avatar is undoubtedly the best movie I have ever seen.

Somewhat of a drawback was, however, the fact that Pandora and its creatures that are supposed to be a background to the story take the center stage. When watching Avatar, I often felt that the story was just an excuse for showcasing advances of modern cinematography - the dialogs were few, not very interesting, and seemed to be written by a fifth grader; the characters, especially that of "I didn't sign up for this shit" girl, were flat, somewhat cliched and uninspired. Highly unoriginal names of the planet and the mineral, unobtainium, the humans were after once again made me question whether too much of the creators' mind power went into the CGI, taking away from the story.

In conclusion, I think that Avatar was an OK, not an amazing, movie; it was, however, an amazing moviegoing EXPERIENCE. After seeing it, I'll probably never spend a dime on watching 2D film in a theater: Paying 10 bucks to see a romantic comedy on a big screen is definitely not worth it; any Sci-Fi or cartoon that is not shot in 3D, on the other hand, will be put to shame from now on.

"Seriously?" was the first thought that came to my mind after the credits of "Up in the Air" started to roll. I've spent almost two hours waiting for this snooze fest to take a sharp turn and magically become worthy of all the buzz it has generated, but this has never happened.

"Up in the Air" received 6 Golden Globe nominations: best picture, best director, best actor, and best supporting actress for both Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. I say that the critics were either blind or drunk. Vera Farmiga is the only part of this movie that makes it more or less bearable. The rest of the film is lackluster, to say the least. The script is unimaginative and lacks in dynamics; the camera work is bad; Anna Kendrick is just ok; George Clooney...well he is just George Clooney.

For two hours, the audience is subjected to watching a guy who spends more than 200 days per year traveling all over the country and firing people. He sincerely believes that everything that most of other people value in life is an unnecessary baggage that weights them down. Another two characters are overeager recent college graduate, who is supposed, I guess, to charm both the audience and the main character with her lack of real world experience, and a woman that Clooney's personage meets in the airport and whose purpose is to help him discover what really matters.

The action in the movie is pretty much limited to scenes of firing a bunch of random people and to for the most part boring dialogs between the main characters. Clooney is undoubtedly nice to look at, but if anyone is able to find 5 distinctions between this personage and, let's say, his character in the whole array of "Ocean's Twelve" movies or any other of his movies for any of that matter, I'll be very surprised. The premise of the film is highly unrealistic; the storyline is predictable and full of clichés. The message? - family is important; being alone stinks. Wow, that is quite a revelation!

"Сто лет одиночества" оказалась очередной книгой, которая оставила у меня смешанные чуства. Написанная в 1967 году Габриель Гарсия Маркесом, это произведение стало для автора началом пути, который в 1982 году привел его к получению Нобилевской премии за заслуги в области литературы и считается некоторыми "the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race". Будучи лишь простым читателем, я осмелюсь не согласиться с последним утверждением.

В общих чертах, "Сто лет одиночества" сводится к описанию столетней истории жизни семьи Buendias и города Масоndo, начиная с его основания Jose Arcadio Buendia-сом, заканчивая полным разрушением города и смертью последнего отпрыска рода Buendia. На протяжении всего повествования, реальные события переплетаются с разного рода фантастикой: привидения давно умерших предков, люди, живущие до 140 лет, героиня, питающаяся землей и побелкой, цигане, летающие на коврах и так далее и тому подобное. Практически на каждой второй странице книги, рождаются дети, погибают насильственной смертью мужчины Buendias, или умирают естественной их старики-родители. Любовь, страсть, инцест, войны, самоубийства - лишь несколько из многочисленный событий, происходящих в жизни героев. Принимая во внимание все отклонения от нормы, "Сто лет одиночества" можно смело назвать сказкой для взрослых. Сказка эта, однако, на мой вгляд, слегка депрессивная.

Стиль Макркеса запомнился и понравился мне еще после прочтения его другого знаменитого произведения "Любовь во время холеры". Однако, как и в случае с последним, сюжет "Сто лет одиночества" показался мне немного скучноватым и растянутым на уж очень много страниц. К тому же, я думала, что голову сломаю пытаясь разобраться о ком конкретно из представителей семьи Buendia идет речь, так как 22+ клавных героев произведения делят около 7 имен. В целом, книга не так уж и плоха, но к разряд моих любимых произведений она 100% не относится. Кроме того, с трудом осилив как "Сто лет одиночества", так и "Любовь во время холеры", я, скорее всего, еще очень долгое время не решусь взяться за прочтение других произведений Г.Г. Маркеса.

Осталось прочесть 22 произведения списка