One of the films I’m most looking forward to seeing this year is David Fincher’s adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig. Images and potted biographies of the main characters have now been released and I particularly like the look of Robin Wright as Erika Berger and Embeth Davidtz as Annika Blomkvist.
Mr Men celebrate 40 magnificent years
17 August 2011 by 1 Comment
The Mr Men series by Roger Hargreaves celebrated its 40th birthday this month. Mr Tickle, the first character, was inspired by a question from Hargreaves’ son Adam who asked what a tickle looked like. I loved the Mr Men books as a child, although never quite such a big fan of the Little Misses. It pleases me immensely to find out that Roger Hargreaves has become the third best selling British author and more than 75 million Mr Men and Little Miss books have been sold in the UK alone.
Birmingham for Tariq Jahan
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
The UK seems to be returning to some sort of normality after last week’s riots, although for some families it will take much longer than a few days to recover. Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy has written a poem dedicated to Tariq Jahan, whose son Haroon was one of three brave young men killed while trying to protect their local community.
We Need To Talk About Kevin Film Trailer Released
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
Lionel Shriver’s brilliant and shocking Orange Prize-winning novel We Need To Talk About Kevin has been adapted for the big screen. The film stars Tilda Swinton and John C Reilly as the couple whose son Kevin murders students and teachers at his high school. The Guardian has a sneak peek at the trailer. The book is outstanding but I’m unsure how appealing a film with quite so many unattractive characters will be for cinema audiences.
Colwyn Bay bookshop to become a library
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
Swanlake Bookshop in Colwyn Bay is set to become a library. The shop’s owner Dr Sibani Roy is concerned about the impact on the community of council cost-cutting and library closures and is working with the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration on how to create this new library. It’s an intriguing idea and I wonder if this could become a new way for independent booksellers to save their ailing businesses.
Books, Borders & Bikes Literary Festival
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
Traquair House in Peebleshire is hosting an interesting sounding literary festival this coming weekend. Mixing books and bicycle riding in the Scottish Borders (the mind very much boggles) this event is likely to attract extra interest due to the appearance of historian David Starkey. Starkey’s recent comments on race and the UK riots have caused a storm of controversy and it seems unlikely the conversation will stay on the topic of his latest book.
Yet another Bridget Jones film given the go-ahead
17 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
EW is reporting that Working Title has confirmed a third Bridget Jones film is in the pipeline. The film promises more tension between Bridget and Mark Darcy and another romp with Daniel Cleaver. I really enjoyed the first film but I found the second instalment frustrating. How much more of Bridget’s pathetic, whiny, self-indulgent bleating can we put up with? I doubt I’ll be rushing to see this one.
Another good week for Harry Potter
10 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
As I predicted last week Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 continues to do extremely well at the box-office worldwide. In the past week it has climbed to third in the list of highest-grossing films of all time. Apparently it is unlikely it will challenge the James Cameron duo of Avatar and Titanic at the top of the list, I’m still not sure I agree but either way it’s a great result for the final chapter in the franchise.
Sue Sylvester dropped from Glee 3D. Is there any point seeing it now?
10 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
I’m a bit of a Gleek. Not a massive, massive fan but it’s fun. There’s a lot of excitement about the 3D cinema release of the live Glee experience but none from me. The only thing that could make the film worthwhile would be an appearance by the fantastic Jane Lynch as sadistic cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. The news that her scenes have been cut just convinces me that I’m not interested in seeing the film at all. There’s only so much autotuning one girl can cope with.
Dirty Dancing to be remade? Whhhhhhhhhy?
10 August 2011 by Leave a Comment
I’m very unhappy with the news that a remake of Dirty Dancing is in the pipeline. Original choreographer Kenny Ortega has been signed up to direct the remake which is bound to be an absolute disaster. Why do studios feel the need to remake classic films instead of developing new ideas? Jennifer Grey’s old nose will be spinning in its grave.