Inferno - End, His Christmas Pleasure

Well I have stayed up late and finished Inferno. It is not really very different from all his other books but for some reason he decided to cram more into this one. It didn't really work but then again I was entertained and think this a good airport book.

His Christmas Pleasure - Written by Cathy Maxwell, so far there is nothing special about this romance novel. But then again I have not yet come to the most important parts.

Inferno

It looks like I cannot rotate the pic above (sorry I'm not very technical) but the good news (for me at least) is that I have started to read Dan Brown's Inferno. A kind hearted colleague of mine loaned me his kindle. Isn't that such a good deed? And not only that but two other colleagues have broughts dvds for me to watch. I feel very lucky!!!

Inferno is very typical Dan Brown and follows the same formula in all his other books. This is an excellent airport book. And I'm having a good time with it so far.

The Great Gatsgy, İncir Reçeli, The Apparition, Coupling Season 3

 The Great Gatsby (2013) Baz Luhrman is a director to my own heart. I love his visuals, his excess in everything and how well he directs his actor. On the other hand I would probably wait for the dvd if this film did not star Leonardo Di Caprio. He was wonderful and I liked the film too (of course as an adaptation it will lose to the book but then again this is usually what happens no?). The film reminded me of Moulin Rouge with Nick in the Ewan McGregor part. And I certainly did not understand why the film was in 3D. I'm glad I saw it on big screen though.

İncir Reçeli (lit.translation Fig Jam) I have heard about this film from here and there and when I had the chance to watch it on TV I took it. I didn't expect to like it that much or the tears that I shed through it. I would not call this a good film. Directed somehow generically by Aytaç Ağıtlar, it doesn't have the art of cinema but it is good storytelling and I liked the characters. I especially liked the fact that the male lead was not handsome or charismatic. He seemed pretty much the regular guy we see around us.

The Apparition I watched this on Digiturk and it was bad but I somehow kept going. Anyway it is not worth it. What is it with this stupid horror films I keep watching every weekend just because they are there? I need to stop it.

Meanwhile there was a slump in Borgen and The Good Wife (we have all been there and done that) but I keep liking Grey's Anatomy.

Lake Mungo - Fail

Well I got this one in the bargain bin and thought it was going to be a horror film even if it is bad. What I got was a fake documentary style where there are interviews with the related parties and authorities, photos in which some ghostly apparitions appear (been there done that much much better with Shutter) and my falling asleep 10 minutes into the film and wake up at the end credits. Seriously this was not my cup tea. I don't like that sort of docus and I certainly do not want them in my fiction. This one was major fail.

Gizli Anların Yolcusu - End, The Saint Zita Society, Jane Eyre (2011)

Last night I was not going to watch anything but my shipment has arrived with new goodies in it so I have decided to give Jane Eyre a go

Well it is one of my all time favorite novels and it is not that hard to adapt (albeit never in the same level with the book) but this one ended up being a failure as far as I'm concerned.

The visuals and the soundtrack were both very good but in cinema they are not enough to make it good storytelling. The script was disjointed, the moments that may not have been that important to the plot but crucial in order to understand the character were passed by in favour of the more dramatic incidents in the novel. Sadly these do not affect the viewer that much if they just float about aimlessly.

The female lead Mia Wasikowska's performance was not bad, unfortunately it failed in comparison to the other, better "Janes" in the history of the adaptation (my favorite performance is Charlotte Gainsborough's). As for Rochester, he is not a male character I particularly care for and I wouldn't have minded anyone in this role but Mr.Fassbender's (good actor the he is) performance didn't do anything to me, especially in combination with the tight & shiny costumes they made him wear. Zero chemisty among the leads did not help either.

All in all this was not a successful purchase.

I have started to read Ruth Rendell's The Saint Zita Society.

 Ruth Rendell is a writer whose books I always liked to read. Some of them (A Judgement in Stone, The Bridesmaid) I loved. This so far is going good.

Gizli Anların Yolcusu ended predictably. It is a sad story and I keep thinking of it.

Best Love - End

Best Love/Greatest Love ended even better than I remembered it. There were tears, laughter and the absolute pleasure of watching a good rom-com.

Now this may not be for everyone since the male lead is a quirky and excessive character but Cha Seung Won is a very good actor who knows how to balance comedy and melo and manages to give it just the right note and make it work. The female lead on the other hand is completely grounded and moderate and the actor Gong Hyo Jin is more of a realistic/natural type of actor and those two different acting styles complement each other very nicely.

The secondary male is most probably the best in Korean Drama history (yes, he is even better than the one in Brilliant Inheritance). Yoon Kye Sang is not only very good looking (in that hunky adorkable way that doesn't exist in real life) but he is a good actor completely in tune with the rest of the cast.

The secondary female acted by Yoo In Na is not as developed as the others but I'm happy to say that she is not that completely evil bitch you want to slap while watching the drama.

I love the rest of the cast, the conflicts and the jabs at the Korean entertainment industry (which is very similar to Turkish one).


Lee Seung Gi cameo was so so good that they actually made a commercial out of it later on :)

Meanwhile Gizli Anların Yolcusu is getting weirder and weirder (a middle aged man suddenly turning gay after finding out that his soul mate is a younger man who is actually under his employ) and I don't care for any of the characters but I'm curious about where the story will lead to. Actually a major plot point is revelaed at the beginning and the novel so far has been a flashback.

Best Love - Episode 14, The Cellar - End, Gizli Anların Yolcusu

Last night I was in tears in this second viewing of Best Love, I don't think I have cried the first time... I love the characters and their nobility.

The Cellar ended and I had a good ride although I have to say some parts were disgusting. Mr.Laymon has the rythm and the talent but he can be oh so sick sometimes.

And I'll take a break from the triology (the one following The Cellar is the Beast House) and started a different book, a love story I think between two men. The title is Gizli Anların Yolcusu (lit.translation: Traveller of Secret Moments) well if you treat the title as a mini acrostiche then you get gay. This one was a best seller (but then again Ayşe Kulin's books usually are). At the initial pages we are introduced to one of the characters who is married and has a daughter. They had a son too but he died in a traffic accident and his wife never really got over it. This man is the owner of a publishing company. Ayşe Kulin doesn't really have a distinctive prose style but she is a good story teller and I find myself immediately drawn to the book.