Top Ten Tuesday #1 - Characters I Wouldn't Want With Me On A Deserted Island

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, where every Tuesday you list your top 10 in a certain topic. This week's topic was '10 Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island' but to avoid being too similar to everyone else, and rebel from society's norms, I decided to list the 10 characters I wouldn't want to live with. I know, it's bad of me but what can I say? I'm too hardcore to abide by the rules.

Oh the individuality

Jack from Lord Of The Flies

If you have read the book, you will realise that this young boy of around 10 has killed some three people on his stay at the deserted island. I wouldn't want to know what he would do to my desert island crew - yikes.

Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter

I realise that everyone will probably be aghast at the choice, but here are the reasons. I'm pretty sure he would start an argument with all of us 'muggles' and his hairspray fumes would probably kill everyone.

A mildly amusing meme

Gandalf from Lord Of The Rings

Bar Dumbledore (who seems like a bucket of fun) old wizards kind of bore me. If you are an elderly wizard why can't you just magic yourself younger again? It would sort the wrinkles out at the least.

Holden Caulfield from Catcher In The Rye

Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine. 

Gollum from Lord Of The Rings

He seems as if he would claim all of the resources as his own ... Plus he sort of creeps me out ...

Lydia Bennet from Pride and Prejudice

1. She's very annoying. 2. She's from like the Stone Age, so there would be a total culture clash there.

Snow White (and all 7 dwarves)

Snow White obviously thinks herself more highly than to listen to instructions - if we told here to not let Gollum steal anything, she would happily let him take all of our coconuts, oblivious to what we said. Plus, carrying 7 dwarves behind your back at all times is bound to get annoying.

Foxface from The Hunger Games

She says she's good with plants and knowing what to eat and all...and then she died because she ate poisonous berries. Sounds like someone who is telling the truth and has their life under control?

Macbeth from Macbeth

Err ... duhh he killed everyone. (well more or less...)

The Whole of the Twilight Cast

They can't even sort their relationship triangle out, plus one can't be in the sun, and one turns into a rather scary-looking werewolf - did they ever actually expect an invite from me?!

I would love to find out who your 10 people would be, that you would or wouldn't want with you! So comment your links in the description and I will check them all out!

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Review

An explosive addition to one of the most popular film franchises around, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes manages to blend together brutal war and moral depth with high success. 

Matt Reeves does a fantastic job, and I must admit surpasses my prior expectations, in the whole making and concept of the film; how they quite managed to pull of such an extraordinary and impressive feat of special effects still baffles me, with apes wielding guns and riding horses left, right and centre.I do think that this film has been pitched near-perfectly, with just the right amounts of drama, suspense, emotion and horror all encapsulated in the piece. 

What really surprised me about this film, is that there was a constant plot, and the pace didn't drop for too long. I'm not going to spoil it too much for you, as I thoroughly recommend you watch it for yourself, so here is just a basic plot line. A very basic plot line. 

I started the film off with a huge bucket of popcorn to the ready, and an open mind on what I was about to witness. A thorough ten minutes of animal grunted sign-language was to follow with a pretty spectacular 'monkey meets deer meets bear' type deal. The film, as I said, never really at a stand-still, moved straight into the major plot twist - the apes stumbled across a group of humans.

The apes and the humans had many different interactions throughout the film, with our protagonists Caesar and Malcolm (Jason Clarke) forming a strong alliance, or 'trust' in each other over a dam project for the survivors city. Meanwhile Koba, Caesar's former pal, is off shooting humans and hatching an evil plan.

A touching father-son scene, amidst a pretty fatal, yet spectacular all the same war scene later I ended the film with a couple of unanswered questions, a 'what used to be' huge bucket of popcorn and a very urgent need to pee. 

Firstly, shoutout to possibly the most kickass gentle giant ever, Maurice the ginger orang-utan. 

I left the cinema, having thoroughly enjoyed such a brilliant blockbuster, with the ending still replaying itself in my mind. The apes all accept Caesar as the leader, and there is a rather touching end scene of him standing with his family, and possibly the cutest baby monkey special effect I have ever seen in my life. And possibly the only baby monkey special effect I have ever seen in my life. 

But Caesar's ending line, 'war has only just begun' was hauntingly eerie, and surely has to open this major blockbuster up to making another sequel. 

The military are still on the way to fight the apes, which is an absolute disaster, as now Caesar is back in control, the apes are good once more (well until they fight the humans in the next film I suppose...).

Too much animal grunting, and no real need for 3D glasses put aside, I really did enjoy this film and thoroughly recommend it as it is worth the watch. The special effects are brilliant, as is the casting, the tension felt is immense and the apes are all pretty hardcore. 

Apes, fire, guns, a guy with glasses, and touching moments throughout, why wouldn't you want to watch this movie?

I give this film 4 1/2 Moustaches.

Oh the pun.

Do you have any film recommendations from recent releases/coming soons?

Ready Player One Review

A while back I stumbled across a Youtube account called 'ItsWayPastMyBedtime' run by Carrie Hope Fletcher. It was blatant from the get go that she has a passion for books and reading stories, and she suggests some fantastic reads. 

I watched a video named 'Carrie's Book Haul' where she recommended a book called 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline amongst others like The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I decided, at the next given opportunity to purchase this book as it sounded like something that I needed to read immediately. 

The three progressions of the books front cover.

Short Synopsis

I'm not going to spoil too much of this book for you, as I think it definitely is one of my favourite reads of all time, pushing me to recommend it to you. 

The world, exactly 30 years from now, is falling to pieces and everyone is escaping the harsh truths of reality by congregating in a huge online gaming platform known as the OASIS where they can go to school, hang out with friends, or ever since the creator of the platform's demise, they can hunt around for clues to a hidden Easter egg. If they can be the first of millions to find this Easter egg (after progressing through three well hidden gates and completing some tough challenges) they will win the fortune of James Halliday, the creator of OASIS.

Wade Watts is a likeable protagonist. He has everything going for him, apart from his wrecked home life, being severely bullied as a child, and inability to get a girl without meeting her through a computer first. I suppose this novel was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. 

The novel is packed full with game, and sci-fi film references, 80's trivia and long, funny sounding names of distant OASIS planets. A certainly resilient and certainly nerdy Wade Watts is determined to uncover the Easter egg, much aided by his need to get away from his particularly uninviting reality. But when friendship, two Japanese players, a girl he has a crush on and an army of millions known as the 'Sixers' are out to kill him and everyone else close to the winnings, will he make it?

My Thoughts

If I'm honest, once I started reading this novel, I could only make it about three chapters through before calling it a failed attempt and putting it down. To say the start of the book was slow would be an under-exaggeration...try worse than a tortoise trying to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It wasn't until a six-hour stuffy car journey down to the coast that I decided to give the novel another chance. And aren't I glad I did. 

Much to my annoyance, after about a third of the book, you can't put it down. You can't sleep without 'just reading one more chapter', and put all eating, drinking, work and toilet breaks to a side just so you can procrastinate your day away whilst fully indulged in a great read. I wouldn't go as far to say this is literary magic, but a completely gripping and thrilling novel all the same.

This read is an absolute must for 80's kids, dystopian lovers, sci-fi nerds, and anyone with the ability to understand and appreciate a good book when they see one. Just remember who to blame when you are physically frightened for all of the characters, and have severe arm cramps from holding the novel for too long. 

Aftermath

Ten months after the novel's publishing, Cline revealed that there was an elaborately hidden Easter egg in the book itself, and would lead fans through a similar style hunt to find it. The grand prize was a DeLorean (and for those of you like myself who don't have any clue what this is, it is a pretty cool car)

There have also been talks of a film adaptation of the book. 

Fingers Crossed.

Question Time

Have you ever given up on a slow-starting book and then revisited it, realising it is amazing?!

The Fault In Our Stars Review

CAUTION - SPOILERS.

You have to submit to the sheer emotional trauma experienced in this teen movie sensation, based on the colossal novel by John Green. The film portrays an 'epic love story' as told through the eyes of a certainly resilient Hazel Grace Lancaster (played by Shailene Woodley), and manages to take you through a whirlwind of emotions in the 126 minute running time. 

Hazel Grace Lancaster is a particularly intelligent and sarcastic teenage cancer patient whose thyroid lesions have metastasised to her lungs; her condition, once critical has soon stabilised with an experimental drug treatment, but leaves her wheeling around her portable oxygen tank, and forever having to sit down. After wanting to just be a normal teenager, she is forced, much to her dismay to go to a nearby cancer support group. It is here where she bumps into the other main protagonist of the story, Augustus Waters (portrayed by Ansel Elgort) as they joke about his prosthetic leg, oblivion and his infamous hamartia of putting a cigarette between his teeth and not allowing it to 'do the killing'. From the get go it looked as if they were destined to be together.

A debatably rash Augustus invites Hazel back to his house, where they both decide to read 

each others favourite novels: Hazel's being 'An Imperial Affliction' which soon, after more bonding, flirting and mind-blowingly effective quotes about oblivion, stars and love, would see them travel to Amsterdam together (much to Hazel's doctors' dismay) to meet the infamous author, Peter Van Houten.

A plane journey, and romantic dinner-date later and they show up at Van Houten's abode to find him drunk, uncooperative and down-right rude. He insults Hazel's cancer, and refuses to answer any questions about the book, the main reason for the duo's travel to Amsterdam. In an attempt to apologise for what a cantankerous sod Van Houten had been, his assistant Lidewjj treats them to a trip to the Anne Frank House, where Augustus and Hazel share their first kiss, after struggling up many flights of stairs. 

'After that I fell in love with him like you fall asleep, slowly and then all at once' Hazel Grace explains as Augustus and her become smitten in one another's company. The day after, as if to dampen the mood Augustus reveals his cancer has relapsed, and once back in America, his health dramatically worsens, forcing him to the wheelchair. He asks Hazel Grace and Isaac to read him their eulogies, and Hazel quotes Van Houten on 'big and small infinities'. After all three had shared tears, amongst every single person in the audience that night, all of a sudden Augustus was dead, and Hazel was left at the funeral with only a sheet of paper written by Augustus and delivered by Van Houten, stating his eulogy of her to show for their most definitely 'epic love story'.

I have to applaud how the movie managed to make you connect so much with the characters in such a short space of time that you both cry and laugh with them. The casting was perfect in my mind, as Ansel, and Shailene have such great chemistry on the screen, and the movie did a pretty good job at sticking to the books principles. I also have to applaud Shailene Woodley's ability to pull of that short hair!

I hate to be a downer, and however much I myself like this tragic story, but I feel as if the whole movie was leading up to something big, and then Augustus's death fell a little short, and happened all so quickly. If you had blinked in the cinema, you probably would have missed it. 

And is the whole franchise really worth all of the hype? I mean, it is a blooming good read, and very gripping to watch, but there are other books out there with slightly more to offer. Saying that, I think The Fault in Our Stars has a very unique ability to mix cancer, a love story, a death and no happy ending, and manage to pull it off. We connect with Augustus and Hazel, and really learn that we can dictate our lives. Oblivion is inevitable, but a sad ending isn't.

The title of the book is taken from Cassius in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Hazel and Augustus realise that cancer was always in the stars for them, though it was them to choose how to deal with it. And I think that is the best summary, or closing thought I could end on. Life is an object for you to mould, and that is exactly what our protagonists did.