MOVIE REVIEW - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

Title: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Director: Tommy Wirkola

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen & Peter Stormare

Released: 2013

Rating: ★★★

This film has been getting pretty mixed reviews, but here is what I thought of it!

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We all know the classic Hansel and Gretel tale right? Well Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters has taken the story to a whole new level.

The movie begins with the classic Hansel and Gretel tale. Two kids get thrown into the woods by their evil step-mother. They find a house made of Candy which is occupied by a witch. She tries to eat them, but they push her into an oven (wow, and these are called fairy tales?!) But instead of just ending there, fast forward fifteen years and Hansel and Gretel are now super hot and famous witch hunters.

The two are called to the town of Augsburg, where they are to investigate the strange disappearances of several children in the area. And these are no ordinary disappearances, because yes, you guessed it, witches are behind them.

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I actually really enjoyed watching Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, even though it kind of wasn't what I expected. I really liked the concept of the movie and it was quite a new fresh twist on the tale. I'm really digging the whole fairy tale remakes right now.

Even though the story is set quite a long time ago and the set looks old fashioned, the characters and the script is very modern and I quite liked the contrast.

The acting was all round fairly good in the movie, but I really enjoyed seeing Gemma Arterton play Gretel. I was a huge fan of her in Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and although she plays a completely different character in H&G, she still nailed the sexy and feisty persona.
Even though Jeremy Renner is such a familiar face, I haven't actually seen a whole load of his movies, but I will definitely be checking some out as I thought he did a great job as Hansel!

Now it's that time for the not so great things about the film.

First off some of the graphics in the film weren't that great, mostly it was the design of the creatures, which was a bit of a let down but I know that the film didn't have the biggest budget.

Secondly, and probably my biggest qualm with the film (and I have noticed other peoples biggest qualms), was the amount of fake blood and random gore.  I mean, don't get me wrong, some of the action was totally amazing but some of it I just found it really over the top. The movie would have been a lot better and a lot less cliché without it. Luckily this didn't overpower the film, as thankfully, there wasn't that much of it.

I did however, really enjoy the ending, which wasn't that cliché and was pretty bad ass. ;)

I'm going to give this three stars, because I genuinely did enjoy it.
Oh and just warning guys, this is definitely not a family film.. :P

Have a great weekend,

-Bee

BOOK REVIEW - Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

Hello, hello, how has everybody been?

If you don't already know who Elle and Blair are, they are Youtube beauty gurus, and first time authors. Beneath the Glitter is loosely based on their lives and their fame through Youtube. As a viewer of Elle and Blair's video content on Youtube, I had been really excited to finally get a hold and read this novel!

I hadn't actually read some chick-lit in a while, so here are my thoughts:







Title: Beneath the Glitter

Author (or in this case Authors): Elle and Blair Fowler

Published: 2012

Rating: ★★ 1/2

Welcome to a place where dreams are made.  And where nothing—and no one—is ever what it seems.After their make-up and fashion videos went viral on YouTube, sisters Sophia and Ava London are thrust into the exclusive life of the Los Angeles elite.  Here fabulous parties, air kisses, paparazzi and hot guys all come with the scene. Sophia finds herself torn between a gorgeous bartender and a millionaire playboy, and Ava starts dating an A-list actor.  But as they’re about to discover, the life they’ve always dreamed of comes with a cost.

Beneath the glitter of the Hollywood social scene lies a world of ruthless ambition, vicious gossip…and betrayal.  Someone close to them, someone they trust, is working in the shadows to bring the London sisters falling down. And once the betrayal is complete, Sophia and Ava find themselves knee-deep in a scandal that could take away everything they care about, including the one thing that matters most—each other.

Blurb by St. Martin's Griffin

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Okay I don't exactly know where to start with this book, so I guess I am just going to dive into my notes and go from there.

So after two chapters of reading this book I had kind of already established what I had thought of it. And it wasn't exactly that great.
It actually reminded me of something that I would of thought up when I was a little younger, like a 'made up' story. And I know that sounds ridiculous. ALL stories are made up. But I still like to pretend they're real. Like to be able to live within the novel through whatever is being written.
But Beneath the Glitter was just giving me some artificial world, and quite a predictable storyline.

The writing just has a lot of dialog and descriptions of people and places. They didn't do too badly in the character development department, but I would have liked to see a little more.
I definitely feel that younger readers would really enjoy this, yet I felt that it was meant to be written for an older audience.

I would however, really like to point out that Elle and Blair did a pretty good job for writing a novel with little experience, and I know I am totally making this book sound terrible, but it actually wasn't that bad.

HOLD UP. I must be confusing you.

I would definitely call this book a guilty pleasure, because despite the predictable storyline and not so great writing, I actually kind of found myself getting pretty addicted to it once the storyline started to get rolling... okay maybe a bit more than a little.
I really began to look forward to reading it.

Oh and did I mention that the cover of this book is actually really cute?

Although the storyline was based around Elle and Blair's life and fame around Youtube, Youtube itself wasn't a big part of the story and it was only mentioned a few times within the book.

The book ended with a mystery and was intended to leave the reader guessing, even though I think I have nailed what is going to happen (very unsubtle villains :P).

I can certainly say though, that I am looking forward to the sequel which comes out next month I believe, and is titled Where Beauty Lies. When the time comes I will do a review of that and tell you guys what I think!

I spent a while thinking of my rating for this novel, and I was very close to boosting it due to my slight addiction, but once I had weighed out my thoughts and read over my notes I knew that two and a half stars was pretty fair.

So tell me, are you a viewer of Elle and Blair and have you read Beneath the Glitter? If so, leave a comment below. And if you haven't, leave one anyway, because I love to hear from you guys!

Until next time,
-Bee

MOVIE REVIEW - Beautiful Creatures (2013)

Title: Beautiful Creatures

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson & Viola Davis

Released: 2013

Rating: ★★★ 1/2


Time has certainly flown since my last post! I feel pretty bad for already needing to give excuses, but I have had a seriously busy month! Could you ever forgive me..? *Bats eyelashes*

Well today I will be reviewing Beautiful Creatures as you can see by the title. This movie came out a few months ago and I totally missed it in cinema! I haven't read any of the books (I have heard they are quite good), so my review will be from a complete outsider!

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So Beautiful Creatures follows a boy called Ethan Wate, who lives in  a small, secluded town called Gatlin. Ethan wishes to escape Gatlin, and plans on applying to the farthest college possible once he graduates.
But something stops him in his tracks, as the mysterious girl that he has dreamed about for months has suddenly moved to Gatlin... and she is not all that she seems.
As strange events start to take place after her arrival, Ethan discovers that she bares a dark secret, one that has deadly possibilities.

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The first thing I would like to say about Beautiful Creatures is that I was glad it was in the point of view and narrated by a male. It is more often that I see movies like this told by the female so it was a nice change.

Prior to watching, I had read many mixed reviews about this movie, people who loved it, people who didn't, and people who were just so-so. It has also been stated many times that it is just a Twilight rip off, but I highly disagree.
Yes, I did think of Twilight at some points because of whole paranormal relationship thing, but that's really as far as it goes.

Beautiful Creatures definitely deserved a lot more recognition than it has received, as it is an extremely underrated movie. I mean if Twilight has grown into the success that it has, I really am stumped at why Beautiful Creatures has not taken off.

First of all, the acting is fantastic! It isn't exactly an all star cast (Wait.. except for Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter) but they have still done a really great job with casting! The two leads Alden and Alice (wow they sound like a couple) I had never seen before, but I will definitely be looking out for more of their work in the future.

This movie also had a great set of characters, many refreshing personalities and each were developed really well.
The costuming of this film I also have to make a note of, I loved the whole 1800's gothic vibe!

I can say that I really enjoyed Beautiful Creatures and found myself genuinely wanting to see the next one. I would definitely recommend this film. I hope that they will be able to make a sequel, as the low income has made an unsteady future for the series. *Crosses fingers* Please do not let this be another Golden Compass!

Three and a half stars.

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Please tell me in the comments below if you have read or seen Beautiful Creatures, and I would be really interested to know, if you have read the books, what you thought of the movie. Oh and do you think they are worth the read? I have been thinking about it for a while!

Oh and thumbs up for 10th post guys ;)

-Bee

BOOK REVIEW - Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

I'm a few days late uploading this as I have been super busy and haven't had any time to take any pictures! I finished this book a few days ago and wrote this review straight after! :)

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HOLY HELL. I am actually speechless... and trust me, that's not often. The only way to explain my brain right now is IOGAKbslizvqkavskjvzwkuqavdlvqwlauvc.

I actually cannot believe what I have just read. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver has completely thrown me off balance. Just five minutes ago I jumped out of bed like a crazy person, feeling like I was suffocating and almost starting to hyperventilate (I know I'm dramatic). I just can't contemplate life anymore.

Okay enough of my rambling and onto the review:

Title: Pandemonium (Delirium #2)

Author: Lauren Oliver

Published: 2012

Rating: ★★★★

Pandemonium is the follow up to the book Delirium, the story is set in a dystopian world where the government has declared love a disease (I have a review of the first book right here). It is narrated by Lena, now 18 years old.

I can't really elaborate on the story more than I have in my last review, as I really don't want to spoil anything!

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I really don't even know where to start with this review.

Pandemonium has quite a different feel than the first book Delirium. I remember I enjoyed the first book, but this one I absolutely LOVED. And it's not often I like the sequel better than the first novel.

The chapters in this book are separated by 'Now' and 'Then', as it switches between the past and present until they both kind of merge together at the end. I thought that this style of writing was extremely clever! It left you guessing a lot of the time as to how the 'Now' came to be, which was slowing revealed in each 'Then' chapter. I was absolutely HOOKED to both of the storylines, and was disappointed when each chapter would end because I wanted to continue the 'Then' story, then I would get hooked to the 'Now' story and want to continue with that. EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER PEOPLES.

Pandemonium was also a lot more engaging than Delirium. As I stated in my Delirium review, I loved the storyline, but sometimes I felt like it went a little slow and I wasn't always jumping on my chances to read it. It was so different when I was reading Pandemonium, as I was staying up as late as possible to read another chapter, and putting off other things I probably should of been doing *cough* sleeping, eating, breathing *cough* just to have an extra hour of reading.

I once again felt an extreme connection to the main character Lena, as the writing of this novel really allows you to understand her situation, and how this world, although it sounds ridiculous, could in fact be a reality.
There was also INCREDIBLE characters in this book. I felt that Delirium lacked a little bit of character development, but this book really nailed that right on the head! It's a little harder to develop other main characters in first person novels, but Lauren Oliver really did a fantastic job in Pandemonium!

And now for what I have been trying to get out of my system for pretty much all of this review, it has actually clouded my judgement...

THE ENDING

HOLY HELL.

I was shocked. I just did not expect it at all. I thought the ending to Delirium was a pretty big shock, but I really was caught of guard with this one.
Really, I write notes in the duration of reading a book so I know exactly what my thoughts were at the time, and there is a dot point that just says :

BOOM

... I mustn't say anymore or else I know I will spoil something.

Well another review has come to its end.
You will definitely be seeing a review of the third and final book in the series 'Requiem' quite soon and a review of the 'Delirium Short Stories' !

Until then, stay tuned for other book and movie reviews!

Have a lovely week!

-Bee

MOVIE REVIEW - Great Expectations (2012)

Title: Great Expectations

Director: Mike Newell

Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irvine, Holliday Grainger, Robbie Coltrane & Jessie Cave

Released: 2012

Rating: ★★★


I have been meaning to watch this film for ages!! I missed it in the cinema and completely forgot to watch it! I finally got the chance tonight and I thought I would share my opinion :)

So, Great Expectations; a lot of you probably already know this storyline, but for those of you who don't, here is a short blurb:

Phillip 'Pip' Pirrip (Cool name, huh?), is a poor orphan who is looked after by his sister and her husband, following the death of his parents. After an encounter with a escaped convict, a woman driven mad by love and the beautiful, but heartless Estella, Pip suddenly finds himself entangled in a great mystery; an unknown benefactor places a large fortune upon him, wishing for him to become a gentleman.

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First off, I would just like to state that I am a Great Expectations fanatic. I am a huge fan of the book and have seen many adaptations, so I am quite the critic when it comes to them! :P

Great Expectations is by far one of the best books ever written. The overall plot is extremely unique and original, and the characters are mesmerising. Great expectations is one of Dickens' most famous novels, and for this reason there has been countless adaptations of this movie.

Okay so I guess I'll start off with the positives.
The acting was, as expected, fantastic. They had a mostly all star cast, and I really thought all of the actors and actresses did an extremely good job and were very believable.

Mike Newell is also a very well known director, directing films such as Harry Potter, Mona Lisa Smile and Four Weddings and a Funeral. He again did a great job, and the setting and costumes of this film were also perfect and very true to the book.

Now, this may be me just being picky, but I really feel like the main let down in this movie was casting. I don't know if it is just me, but I really didn't think that most of the actors and actresses cast were suitable, excluding a few exceptions, which I will mention later.
First of all, Helena Bonham Carter in my opinion was not a great choice for Miss Havisham. I am a huge fan of Helena's work, and her acting was great, but I just don't think she was right for this role. Miss Havisham is a woman who has been driven mad by love, loss, pain and revenge. Helena played the role more like she had just come out of a mental asylum, which was quite entertaining, but not true to the book or the character.
I also have my ongoing battle with finding the perfect Estella. Holliday Grainger is certainly very beautiful, I again just wasn't feeling like she was right for the part. This may be because the true Estella in my eyes is Jean Simmons in the 1946 Great Expectations, which has got to be my favourite adaptation. In this film, the script also changed Estella's characteristics slightly, which I felt took the edge out of her character.

The two actors that I felt were absolutely perfect choices, were Jessie Cave as 'Biddy' and Olly Alexander 'Herbert Pocket'. Although they are slightly minor characters, they definitely stood out when I watched the movie!
Jessie Cave has come from 'Ron's annoying girlfriend' in the Harry Potter series, to a truly fantastic actress (and comedian!?)! She has a very bright future ahead of her!
I had actually never seen Olly on screen before, and was quite surprised to see that he had only been in a handful of films. I hope to see more of him in the future, his portrayal of Herbert was absolutely perfect!


Again, this review might be just me being picky, I know people who haven't read the book who have given this 5 stars, so maybe knowing too much about it has spoiled it for me. On its merits alone, this was a great movie! I do however, think that if you haven't read the book you would enjoy it a lot more, as you won't be as particular as I am!

Three stars.

Comment below your thoughts on this film if you have seen it, or the book if you have read it :)

Have a lovely week!


-Bee

BOOK REVIEW - Delirium By Lauren Oliver

I just finished reading this book about an hour ago (I know, everyone has already read this), and I knew that I needed to put up a review ASAP. My thought vomit (is that even a term), needed to be put down on cyber paper. I really couldn't wait any longer.

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Published: 2011

Rating: ★★★1/2







"There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the ends of the Earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure" - Published by Hodder

Delirium is told by 17 year old Lena, and is set in a dystopian United States. The government has declared love a disease, more commonly known as 'amor deliria nervosa' or the 'delirium'. In order to 'protect' the US of this disease, they have created a cure, a surgical procedure involving the brain that everyone will undergo once they have turned 18, and will take away their ability to love. Resisting is punishable by death. Lena has always counted down the days until her procedure. She believes it will make her happy and safe. Until one day she does the unthinkable. She falls in love.

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:O < Actually my face after I finished this novel.

At first when I heard about Delirium, I was very sceptical. I didn't really know how I would be able to connect to the book, and I also thought it would just be another plain predictable storyline. BOY WAS I WRONG.

After the first chapter of reading this book, I had instantly connected with the main character Lena. Not because we were extremely similar or anything like that, it was just that I understood exactly why she believed what she did; that the cure would be saving her from an extremely deadly disease. The writing of this book is really incredible, after that first chapter I knew how this could actually happen in real life. I understood exactly how the world came to that. When I was reading The Hunger Games, which is another dystopian world novel, I struggled to understand just why they were there. It wasn't a main issue or theme in the story, and was touched on very lightly. Don't get me wrong, they are some of my favourite novels, but it was something I feel the story lacked. But with Delirium, I really did just feel like another character living in the world. Lauren Oliver has literally written out a whole new world (cue the Aladdin music), and has done an amazing job of it.

One thing about these books that I also really love, and find very creative, is how at the start of each chapter it will have a verse, excerpt or quote from a book in the story. Example (taken from chapter 1):

"The most dangerous sicknesses are those that make us believe we are well.
—Proverb 42, The Book of Shhh"

They all really help you to understand the mind set of people living in this world, and it also gives you more information about the rules and restrictions.


There is also the perfect amount of romance in this novel! But don't worry, even though love is the main theme of this book, it's not too much or too cheesy. Love in this novel is not the way we see love today, it is seen as a fatal disease that must be erased from the Earth. How they were describing it in the novel almost made me believe that it was a disease for a second, by describing the symptoms of  increased heart-rate and disorientation as signs of having the Deliria.

 

The end was also very unexpected, and had a huge twist... which I won't say anything about, my lips are sealed ;)

The only thing that kind of let me down in this book was that it was a little slow paced, not in any way boring, I just sometimes felt that the story took a little while to unfold. There were also some main characters that I felt weren't really developed properly, but also many that I felt were developed amazingly! This is only me being particular though, and they really weren't major
issues.

I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next book, I'm looking at it on my bookshelf right now, but I promised myself I wouldn't start till tomorrow.. getting no sunlight for one whole day isn't the best.

I might go take a peek now.
No. I won't.
But you will definitely see a review of it soon.

I would absolutely recommend this book.
Three and a half stars.



Hope you all had a great mothers day!

Love,
Bee x

COVER REVEAL: ALLEGIANT - By Veronica Roth !!

I know it's been quite a few days since my last post, but what can I say, when you're busy, days just seem to go quicker and nek minnit, it's been a whole week.

Today's post will only be a short one... BUT ZOMG JSHAVKSZVAB!

Veronica Roth just posted the cover for Allegiant, the third instalment in the Divergent series. And seriously people, if you haven't read this series, get on it. It will take over your life.

If you saw my last post concerning Divergent, which was the Allegiant 'title' reveal, you would know that I completely freaked the hell out. Now you can imagine me when the actual cover of the book showed up on my computer screen. >> :O

These are definitely my favourite versions of the Divergent covers. I'm not even going to lie, when I first saw them when reading 'Divergent', I didn't really like them. I kind of thought they were a little tacky. (I know, shame on me)
But no kidding, while in the middle of reading the book, it completely grew on me. I almost feel that I understood them more, actually reading the book. Now I wouldn't change them for any other covers.

The Divergent and Insurgent covers:

The Allegiant cover is particularly intriguing, I am actually really digging the orange, and the wave is a complete mystery. The other two symbols on Divergent and Insurgent are known symbols in the story, but the wave is totally knew, I am very curious...

THEY ARE JUST SO PWETTY.
Ugh, I don't think I can wait till the next book comes out. Oh and just again, to anyone who hasn't read this book, READ IT. I have known people who dislike reading (dislike reading?! :o), who LOVE these books. That is just how amazing they are.

Oh and if you have read the series, then please, feel free to completely fan girl or fan boy with me in the comments below.

Well that will be all for today, hopefully I will have a review up tomorrow of a book that I have been dying to share!

Well wishes,
-Bee