Things on my Mind...

*Jane Eyre (the new BBC version)--I watched the second and final part on Sunday night. I've been thinking a lot about whether I liked it or not. I feel they took some liberties in this retelling, but in the end that's all right with me. The first part, with the young Jane and at the Lowood school was highly condensed. But the Jane/Rochester stuff is more interesting anyway. I thought that the actress who played Jane looked the part perfectly, but had a limited range of expression. I've been pondering the portrayal of Rochester by Toby Stephens (who is Maggie Smith's son, by the way). At first I was like, eh. He didn't fit my expectations. But in the end, I thought he was very good. As a young'un, I found R. to be terribly brooding and romantic. But age, maturity and Women's Studies classes led me to realize that actually, he's pretty much a dick. I thought that Stephens expressed R.'s inner turmoil and conscience well. Not so much about his wife (Who's definitely the bad guy and deserved to be locked in the attic. Snerk.), but about what he was doing to Jane. It wasn't all just sexy, tortured guy. I really did enjoy this (and they had GREAT chemistry). I'd like to see it again.

*Misleading movie commercials--This just pisses me off.Blood and Chocolate, which recently came out, is based upon a YA novel written by Annette Curtis Klause. I loved this book and re-read it not long ago. It's a shame that Klause doesn't have more books published, because B&C and The Silver Kiss were both quite good. However, the trailer implies that the story has been drastically changed. The setting has been moved, and the characters aged. Plus,the human guy that Vivian dates has been turned into a hero, while Gabriel gets the evil treatment. Meh. Indeed, a quick skim of the IMDB comments suggests that fans of the book should stay away. I was startled by the commercials for Bridge to Terabithia, based on the Newbery Award winning novel by the fabulous Katherine Paterson, which seem to present it as a fantasy. Very different from what I remember. So I popped on over to IMDB. As of yesterday, there was only one comment. The review suggests that the movie is, in fact, true to the book, which is a moving story dealing with themes like friendship, being an outsider, bullying, and death. The fantasy scenes are only a tiny part of the movie. Although the review was quite positive, I gotta wonder if parents expecting something Harry Potter-esque might be in store for some serious discussions that they weren't planning on when they chose the movie.

*Guest reviewers wanted--So I want to do something where someone who has never read a romance novel (chick lit doesn't count) before reviews a book of my choosing. I'll provide the book, you provide the honest opinion. Volunteers are welcome. I have a couple of victims in mind, so they may as well volunteer now before I come after them. I'm thinking a little hockey or football romance to start. Hmmm, Margee?