This is the mono edition (bootlegged I’m afraid…) that I am currently listening to.

Well I thought it was worth consuming, but the fact that I had the DVD out on hire for near 4 1/2 weeks and took 3 sessions to finally get through it tells you something. The style, scenery, cinematography were all excellent, the pace a bit slow, the story interesting in parts, boring in others, ultmately could have had 30 mins trimmed off easily. 3.5/5

This is the first Ishiguro I have read, but it won’t be the last. It is a minor masterpiece, a novel that starts wistfully looking back at life growing up in a boarding school somewhere in England, but quickly it becomes apparent that some things are not right. As the story unfolds, told in a series of flashbacks by the main protagonist, more and more disturbing details of the world these characters inhabit are revealed. As you understand more, large moral and ethical issues raise their heads, although you are not directed to a certain view of these, but rather left to ponder “what if?” and “will we ever face these questions?”.

However these tidbits simply serve to keep you turning the pages, and in between are surprisingly tender and often beautiful moments of innocence, of childhood, growing up, and friendship.

The word “completion” will never be the same again.
4/5

This is a CD & DVD pack containing the whole concert video. Well worth consuming I’m sure

I’m a fan of some of Tim Burton’s films like Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow, but have never seen his other animated feature The Nightmare Before Christmas. However I like the mix of gothic horror, with comedy and whimsy, so this suited me nicely.

This was a nice movie; I really wanted to give it 3 1/2 out of 5 but you can’t do halfs. The story was a simple tale, a love story of sorts, but it was really the style, character and execution that get top marks in this case. The designs of the character puppets and the sets is exquisite, and the music from Danny Elfman is up to his usual level, with a jazzy feel along with the usual orchestral themes.

The voice cast, who as far as I can make out are all British actors apart from Johnny Depp, are excellent, and the subtle nuances of the animation really give life and emotion to the characters.

Overall none to taxing, but a very nice film.

Pretty awful. I sort of expect this from Tom Cruise, but disappointed with Speilberg. The story was very thin, the acting was shouty, especially Dakota Fanning (expect when she was precocious). The father-son relationship was less than 2 dimensional. The only vaguely good thing I can say was the effects were quite good. However, worth avoiding, unless you are a very big Tom Cruise fan.

I didn’t choose this book, it was a gift, hence it’s not perhaps the type of book I would usually read. However I have to say I did keep turning the pages. It doesn’t really have a strong narrative, more the ongoing musings of Reta the main protagonist as she goes through a period of her life including the “loss” of someone close to her, and her ongoing career as a budding author. However the descriptions of the characters, and small details of their lives are beautifully done. I felt the internalised thoughts of Reta about why her daughter had “dropped out of life” and started living on the street didn’t really say a lot to me and the eventual resolution seemed a bit abrupt and perhaps forced. Overall though, worth consuming, and also in this day of 700 page novels it was nice to have something more brief and concise. I would consider another of Carol Shields books.