Austenland: A Movie Recommendation

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I don't feel like I know enough about  movies to write film reviews. Sure, I watch a lot of movies, but my taste is kind of limited to historical film, retro film (very limited - mostly Audrey Hepburn- though I am hoping to change that), dance movies, chick-flick movies, books-i-have-read-turned-film movies, eighties movies, the Bourne series and Disney... I don't watch a lot of Horror or Action or much over an M15+ rating, And, I don't feel like I know enough about how films are made to comment on them. Long story short: I really liked this movie and while I want to write a Book Vs Film post about it, I don't want to wait until I have purchased and read the book it was based on (Because I kind of somehow missed the fact it was based on a book I have never read before I watched it) to tell you all how awesome it is. If  you can follow that you deserve some kind of virtual imaginary merit badge. If not, what I am basically saying is that I am Pro-Austenland, but I didn't want to write a review because I don't feel "cultured" enough to do film reviews.

I watched this movie three times within the span of a week. This is kind of rare with me. I do re-watch movies I like, but usually not more than once in the same fortnight or month. I'm not sick of it yet. I feel like I could pop the DVD into the player right this second and then watch it again maybe tomorrow, but I do know what restraint is, And I won't let myself get sucked into that Jane Austen wormhole, no matter how tempting it is. 

^Before you all read on; may I remind you of 'The Austen-Induced Disillusionment Cycle'. While this movie (or the book it's based on) is not the work of Jane Austen I believe it does have similar side effects and encourage the reading/watching of other Austen works...

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I really wanted to share some film clips in this post ( Especially for the Trailer ) however, I was not having any luck at getting it to upload the right size. If you want to watch it, click on the word "Trailer" above, or simply go to Youtube and have a look for yourself. Basically, this is a movie about single 30yo Austen-obsessed Jane, who is tired of reality and wants to live out the ultimate Austen-Fan-Girl experience at a place called 'Austenland'. During her stay she asks herself: Is this place everything it's hyped up to be? Is this really what I want?

The Movie Stars Keri Russel. Other Actors and Actresses Include: JJ Feild, Bret Mckenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, James Callis, Georgia King, Ricky Whittle and Jane Seymour. The movie was Directed by Jerusha Hess and based on the book 'Austenland' by Shannon Hale. The book was published in 2007 and the movie was released in 2013. This movie is classified as a Romantic Comedy. I get a little laugh out of the fact that JJ Field has starred in an Austen BBC mini series and that Georgia King's character in 'Wild Child' proclaims herself as Mrs Darcy. Also, when is Jennifer Coolidge not funny?

^The Book that the Movie is based on, which I have NOT read YET.

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^The book dedication. 

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I think that Fan-girls (Especially the Jane Austen fans) will find they can relate to Jane's character throughout the film. Not only is it easy to relate because of Jane's obsession with the Austen world, but because of what this journey represents to her. Sometimes it appears that Jane is living out her fantasy and sometimes Jane appears to be questioning whether her fantasy is everything she thought it would be, And if maybe she should just give up on it. 

The movie also has a bit of a Jane Austen inspired plot. There is a love triangle, plenty of interesting characters, a play, long-winded talk, awkward piano playing and some assuming. Really it's like a few Jane Austen books that got mixed together with modern characters and a whole lot of silliness. It's fun, it's FUNNY and it's smart. I cannot help but think, when I finally get around to reading the rest of the Jane Austen books I own (I have read three) that I will see even more similarities. I don't want to tell you what the ones I have picked up on so far are, because I don't want to spoil too much. 

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So to delve further into that. The main characters totally geek out over Victorian Era clothes, activities, interiors and cannot wait to pick a name. If you are uncomfortable about watching that kind of thing, then this movie is not for you... I felt like for most part the way things were conducted at 'Austenland' were very authentic to what I know about the 19th century. Except for this random buggy thing that the servant drives in part of the film...

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I have heard a few people say this was disappointing compared to the book (but I haven't read it yet) and that it was really cliche. I felt like the cliches were done on purpose, partially for comedic effect, but also because this is a movie about a fangirl who is veering into her fantasy world. So of course that means living out her romantic cliche fantasies... I also felt like some of the 19th century cliches were almost a social commentary on the Austenland stay. "The full Jane Austen Experience" well why wouldn't this include the cliches?

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One of the characters Jane meets is Henry Nobly. She describes him as the resident Mr Darcy and says he "plays his character very well". In this film Jane find herself questioning whether Mr Perfect is real and if he is really all that perfect. Obviously Mr Darcy from 'Pride and Prejudice' isn't quite perfect, because he is a little judgmental , he's not great at communicating with people, And he's not fond of dancing...

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and I think anyone who is a dedicated fangirl, a Jane Austen fan, And/or likes modern day rom-coms will enjoy it. This is also a film that can be watched over and over again, so it's definitely good value. This would also make a good Christmas gift for a Jane Austen fan. 

PICTURE TIME:

I found way too many cool pictures and moving pictures to share with you and I couldn't fit them all in the post. I apologize if this slows down your Internet connection's ability to load the post, but I could not help myself. Also quick note, if you do decide to watch this movie based on my recommendation please watch the credits. ALL OF THE CREDITS. There is a very cool music video with a rap song that you just have to see. I would link the youtube version here, but I don't know if it's as funny if you haven't already seen the movie...

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So Elegant...

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Apparently he actually was in The Hobbit.

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Behind the scenes photo

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I decided to refrain a little with the pictures, because of spoilers. I hope you all enjoyed reading my recommendation and that you go check out the film trailer on youtube if you are interested. If you want to view image sources for the pictures I used click on the little "~" marks underneath the pics.

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie

Art, Style and Unusual Films

So it's a Saturday morning and I have been contemplating writing posts all week, but have just been too preoccupied with possibilities for new artworks, my awesome samsung galaxy tab 2 and with making polyvore sets. This post is a mix of a few things I have been considering posting, but was unsure about. I wanted to post some pics of my outfit, post pics of my artworks and talk about some movies I have seen recently.

This is my outfit today. A white T-shirt with black stripes. Courtesy of Coles supermarket. A Target skirt. It's an oyster skirt and I had to stitch all of the belt loops back on because the person who originally made the skirt didn't do a very good job. I don't know if you can see very well, but I have my top-line eyeliner done and there is a mirror necklace on my neck. And, I'm taking pictures of myself in the mirror. 

I'm taking this picture so obviously with the camera poised right in front of my mouth. It's so difficult to take pictures of yourself inconspicuously so I figured I may as well include the camera in the picture. So I am comically covering up my mouth with the camera looking into it like I am really concentrating in the first photo, like I am really curious looking in the second.

I'm not planning on going anywhere today and there is a possibility that I will have to swap the skirt for some daggy shorts to do some outside chores...

^These are some of my artworks. They look a bit pixilated thanks to the snipper tool, but what can you do? The one one the left is an ink drawing I did in my new notebook and the one on the bottom right is a pastel artwork I did. All the rest are gouache. 

I know I've been promising to show these off for a while and a few of the people who answered my survey asked me to flaunt these on the blog so I thought I'd better. I recently got some new art things, so I might be able to do some more and maybe show bigger pictures so you can get a closer look in the future.

Recently I've watched some interesting movies. I've watched 'Life Happens', 'The Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind', 'I am Number 4', 'The Sorcerers Apprentice', 'Once upon a Song' and 'Mirror Mirror'. Those, and some old favourites. Today I think I want to talk about the unusual ones.

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Above is a picture form the film 'Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind'. I've had a friend recommend the movie to me and I had high hopes because Kate Winslet and Jim Carey are awesome actors and the storyline sounded cool. I was a little disappointed because it was a little bit too wacky for my liking, but I do give it praise for the analytical thoughts that ensued afterwards. I don't know that I will be watching it again anytime soon, but I think it's worth some discussion.

Basically what happens is that Mr Joel Barrish (Jim Carey) meets a girl named Clementine and he falls in love with her kooky personality. They go out for a while, things start to head south and before it's officially over Clementine decides to do something impulsive and go to this backstreet clinic to get Joel removed from her memory. Joel finds out and decides to do the same. Mid procedure Joel decides that is not what he wants but it's too late to change his mind.

One confusing thing about the film is the revelation that this is not chronological. As the film goes further on you realise that some of what is occurring is the procedure, some is post-procedure and some is pre-procedure. It's all mashed together and it takes a while to get your head around the messed up time-line. What's interesting about the procedure is how quickly the memories mash together to create interesting scenes like the one shown above. A bed on a beach, rain in an apartment, sand in a library...

I really liked the characters and their messed up relationship. But, I'm not sure I liked the mixture of scenes and the strange attempts to escape memory loss. I think the main point of the movie is to show exactly what memory is. It does mean something, but it's not imperative to how you turn out in the end. If anything most of the characters that have the procedure done seem to repeat history. All that they loose is what they have learnt.

I didn't love the film. I think I could have liked it if the ending had been different. If they had confirmed that they were going to stick together, but there wasn't really any decision made. They just sort of laughed and then the credits were showed.

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The second unusual film I wanted to talk about was 'Mirror Mirror' which is a retelling of 'Snow White'. May I just say that I thought Lily Collins made a wonderful Snow White and that Julia Roberts (surprisingly) really suited the role of Evil Queen. I thought the costumes were wonderful and I really like the paintings on the walls of Snow's room. 

I think this was a different take on Snow White. The princess was more kick-ass than usual, but didn't loose her delicate feminine charm. The gnomes were giant bandits and the princess first meets the prince when he has been robbed of everything bar his underclothes. It was a funny take on the fairy tale, but there was still plenty of romance and magic in the tale.

I liked how the directors really went wild with the costumes and changed the story-line. I imagine that this story will probably be more appealing to the younger generations and that they might learn a thing or two about judging people or using manners. My only dislike was the song at the end, but I think that's just personal preference.

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I recently got myself a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and have just discovered this^ (That you can Customise your icons). That isn't my screen above. i can't wait to have a play around with polyvore and the snipper tool to create something cool like this!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend so far !

Your Favourite Blogger,

Natalie