After hearing a constant barrage of how amazing Avatar is, I finally succumbed and went to see it so I could at least judge for myself. I entered the cinema with a preconceived idea about James Cameron‘s newest record-breaking blockbuster but it was solely positive reviews that I had heard from friends who normally stick to romcom chick flicks!

On route to win most of its nine Oscar nominations, I cannot argue with Avatar’s nomination in the Best Visual Effects section. The 3D effects were amazing and made Avatar a very visually exciting and innovative film. However, the other elements of the film failed to impress. The storyline was a generic boy meets girl who he can’t have but eventually does. While there were some twists, the final ending was obvious. The acting was okay but, with a standard script, the cast didn’t really have much to work with.

So why has this film done so well, becoming the highest-grossing domestic box-office release in U.S. history after Cameron’s Titanic? It cannot be denied that the cinematic effects are brilliant but, as one of few 3D films out in the cinema, Avatar seems to have relied on this one differing factor to attract viewers. I wonder if it had been available in only 2D, if it would be nominated for so many awards? Doubtless, Cameron will scoop up several gongs but I strongly doubt that they are really deserved.

I have just finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy and it was one of the best books I’ve ever read, but also the most depressing.

This Pulitzer Prize winning novel is set in post-apocalyptic America, although we are never told the events leading up to this situation, and is based around a father and son who are travelling the road, surviving and looking for other good people. On the way, they see many horrifying incidents, as the lack of food and water has led many to cannibalism. But the father constantly reminds his son that they are the good men who are carrying the fire, a metaphor that is threaded throughout the novel. The Road tells their tale over the course of about a year and in that time, they meet only a handful of others, most of whom want to steal from them and they have to run away from, for fear of being eaten.

One effective method employed by McCarthy is the anonymity of the protagonists – they are simply named Man and Boy. Through this device, the reader feels that this pair could be anyone and this leads to an even greater sense of despair, as we cannot identify with the characters in a more personal way. 

Father and son in the film

With the film version released last week, I am hoping to see it soon and I am interested to find out how the director has decided to depict some of the more harrowing scenes in the novel.

Even though The Road is a depressing, and at times distressing, novel I would definitely recommend it – it’s a brilliant read that really makes you think and was difficult to put down.

When New Moon, the second installment of the Twilight saga, opened at cinemas across the country on November 20, it soon became all anyone could talk about it. Then, with Thanksgiving weekend at the end of November in the US, the film kept its grip on the US box office. In the first 10 days in the cinema, New Moon took $230.7m (139.4m), completely outshining the entire takings of its predecessor, Twilight, by $40m (£24.1m).

It also doesn’t hurt that the cast of the film are young and attractive. Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, has a particular charm loved by many girls, but especially those in America who swoon at the English accent of many fitties. In New Moon, Taylor Lautner, who plays Jacob Black, gratuitously flashes his abs whenever possible and leaves Bella with two attractive men fighting over her – something I’m sure few girls would cry about!

New Moon cast

Overall, I think New Moon and the Twilight Saga is filling a void of a new romance that captures the attention and imagination of many females, who can live vicariously through Bella for not just one novel or film but four! It will be interesting to see if the snowball effect of success continues but I’m sure it will and I will be one of many carried along with it!

Last night, I went to see a great production of Othello at the Citizens Theatre. Othello is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays but I had never seen it performed live on stage before, so I was really looking forward to it! Then, I read some of the reviews from previous audience members at the Citizens and I started to worry, because they were quite a mixed bag. But on seeing the performance, I thought it was done really well!

What I liked most was the modern setting and costumes juxtaposed with orginial Shakespearean text. Most of the male actors were dressed as soldiers, in combat boots and with the appropriate stripes on their sleeves. The only two female characters – Othello’s wife, Desdemona, and her maid, Amelia – wore harem pants, gladiator sandals and dresses with big shoulders – all clothes that are in fashion nowadays!

The set was mostly made up of a giant wall with different squares of grey. At times, it moved open to reveal a battle scene or a bedroom. In the scene where Rodriguo and Cassio fight, red light seeps through the gaps in the wall effectively to illumiante the scene of menace that is looming.

The only character I felt could have been portrayed better was Cassio, played byPhilip Cairns. Although he did successfully indicate the easily led nature of Cassio and his simple honesty, I felt that the disgust Cassio would have felt whe he discovered Iago’s malicious plan was not adequately conveyed.

Overall, I would definitely recommend anyone to see this play! It is running at the Citizens until 14th November, but it is sold out tonight, so you might have to be quick if you want a ticket!

As an obvious key focus, the piano music used throughout complements the action of the scenes. The film is also visually great to watch, despite the harrowing and, at times, traumatising events shown on-screen.

After enjoying this film so much, I was shocked to read of the 76 year old Polanski’s arrest this week by police in Zurich. He now awaits extradition to the US.

In 1977, Polanski was accused of unlawful sex with 13 year old Samantha Geimer and pleaded guilty. He struck a deal with the judge, that if he spent time in prison before the hearing, he would be let off for “time served”. It has been said that the judge reneged on this agreement, forcing Polanski to be exiled into France, who do not extradite their own.

While some have remained loyal to the award-winning director, many others cannot understand why he should be treated any differently from the average citizen. I do feel sympathy for Polanski’s own turbulent personal story – he spent his childhood hiding in the Krakow ghetto after his mother was killed in Auschwitz and his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was brutally murdered by the Charles Manson cult. These are terrible events. But surely Polanski’s personal tragedies and his acclaimed cinematic genius should not excuse from committing this crime.

Furthermore, he does not seem to treat his offence seriously. Some report the mocking tone with which Polanski treated the court in the late 70s. He has also openly stated that: “There’s a different justice for people who are public figures than for those who are not” in reference to the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky case. So did he think that due to his celebrity status, he was no longer accountable to the law?

Although I can understand that this incident did take place over two decades ago, I think it sets a bad example for both celebrities and the public if anyone, from any background, is let off, especially after admitting their guilt. Polanski is backed by the French government, particularly their Culture Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand, who claims that he understands America’s need for justice, but is appalled by the way in which Polanski was “trapped” by the Swiss Police on his way to an event that was, in fact, honouring him.

Polanski’s fame and clear creative talent have added an extra dimension to this case, but I believe they are not enough to diminish his status as an offender who must be punished for the crime that he committed. Yet, with such high publicity on the case, I am not entirely sure that the US government will follow through with their plans and imprison the director in the end.