Needless to say, the book was way better. I thought the film was too rushed and the plot was rather simple, compared to that of the book. Not much character development, except for the main characters a bit, and it felt like too many things were left unexplained. Of course, having read the book I knew what was going to happen next but if I hadn’t, I think I would have been a little confused from time to time. What bothered me the most, I think, was the way Håkan was portrayed in the film: a sweet old man, caring for a vampire girl, providing her with fresh blood – whereas in the book he was a paedophile, lusting after Eli. Leaving that bit out of the story changed a whole character, and that’s huge.

Let The Right One In was an okay film but that’s all, I don’t think I’ll get the urge to watch it another time. I will, however, most likely read the book again some time because the story is just plain good.

Okay, so I had no idea what to expect when I started watching this. I hadn’t even heard of it before I found out it had won a ridiculous amount of Oscars this year (yeah, I live under a rock, it seems), so I just had to watch it and see if it deserved all the praise. And yes, yes it does.

Since I had no expectations, neither good nor bad, I was able to enjoy the film with an open mind, and even though at first I was a little confused to see a teenage boy being given electric shocks by a policeman, it all started to make sense as the story went on.

I very much enjoyed the story as a whole, and the way Jamal’s life was portrayed through flashbacks was interesting, starting from the childhood and gradually the present and past came together in the end. Once I got the hang of it, I really liked the way the story was constructed.

Overall, loved Slumdog Millionaire, and definitely want to get it on DVD when it comes out here.

I don’t know, I have mixed feelings about The Man Who Died. It was so short that somehow I didn’t manage to form an actual opinion of it before it was already over. But I have been thinking what it would be like to rise from the dead, literally. However, the Jesus described in this short story felt so strange, and as I have gotten my share of religious teaching in my childhood and teenage years, he also seemed somehow… wrong. It irritates me a lot that I’m unable to leave everything I’ve been taught about Jesus outside, and just concentrate on the character of the story as a man who died and then came back to life. Now there is always the notion of how he “should” have been once he came back to life lingering at the background, and I keep comparing the Jesus of the short story to the Jesus I “think” he should be. It’s confusing, but also so very irritating. But this shows just how tightly our cultural (and religious and…) background affects on how we perceive and understand things, everything we do, the way we act… and escaping it is difficult, and can’t be done without a lot of practice and firm concentration.

It feels somehow wrong to say this, but I didn’t like St. Mawr that much. I feel like I should at least appreciate it, after all it was penned by an acclaimed author… but I can’t. Page after page of descriptions of the landscape and the stupidity of the heroine made this short story very dull. I’m not a feminist by any means but the condescending way Lou was described bothered me every now and then – especially the way she thought about herself, like men were higher in importance than her. Perhaps there was too much symbolism that I just didn’t understand but I don’t think the story was that good…

I’m glad I didn’t read Demian, say, four years ago (or so). Some of the thoughts offered in the book would probably have had a huge impact on me back then; I was arrogant and proud enough, thinking I was so much above everybody else. I still do sometimes think I’m above the masses, but it’s not the kind of fierce and cold arrogance that I used to feel, nowadays I see it more as a soft and tender understanding, I believe everybody can achieve higher knowledge about themselves, rise above the masses so to speak – but not all choose to do so. I do not pity or despise them for that, I just think they’re missing out on something wonderful.

We all walk in a dream; this world, all the lives in it, everything is a haze, a beautiful one, a comfortable one, but still just a misty dream. And to acknowledge that and aspire to rise above it, see on the other side of the dream, and travel your own path – to me that is the most important thing, and so few people truly do that. People are too comfortable with their lives and, more importantly, being in a dream doesn’t bother them, some don’t even notice and those who do, ignore it. I don’t think they’re any less human than those who do try to wake up from the dream, it’s just the path they’ve chosen and it holds very little interest to me.

I enjoyed reading Demian very much, in a way it is a typical bildungsroman, but following Emil Sinclair’s youth and his maturation was so gratifying that I must give Demian credit for being more than just average or typical. Emil Sinclair’s life (what we’re told of it, at least) is fascinating and full of twists and turns. As his understanding of himself develops, the reader becomes more and more attached to him. A very good read, but I’m glad it took me this long to read the book, as I believe I’m now able to appreciate it the way it deserves to be appreciated.

Oh how I love The Sound of Music. I’ve seen it many times over the years, but it never gets old. Perhaps the film felt ever more special this time because it has been over a year since I last watched it.

The Sound of Music has such beautiful scenes, and the scenery is just breathtaking. An example of a perfectly symmetric scene is the scene where Captain Von Trapp and Maria are dancing together in the garden at the ball – I don’t think I’ve ever seen such harmony in any other scene, in any other film. Pure perfection, I was quite blown away.

A great musical as well! The songs always get stuck in my head for a while after watching the film. Not that I mind, though, I like the songs. :)

Never have I forgotten myself so thoroughly than I did while reading Siddhartha – especially in the final chapter, for a brief moment I forgot everything about myself, and when I happened to look into the mirror shortly after finishing the book, at first I didn’t recognise my face. This has never happened before, it was as if I was faced with a complete stranger. The feeling was… indescribable, yet wonderful. The ending was so powerful that it left me with a feeling of an inner glow, some sort of peace and serenity, the certainty that everything will be alright in the end.

At times I could find myself in that Siddhartha who was still searching for enlightenment – all the descriptions of people going on about their ordinary lives, without worries of their existence; the inability to fully understand their world; the newfound love for the world and finally seeing all of its colours, I could relate to all of those and sometimes it was so painful.

Especially painful was the chapter named as “Samsara”, in which Siddhartha immerses himself in carnal pleasures and becomes nearly obsessed with material possessions. The change in him is so thorough, so huge that I almost felt physical pain and such sadness that I wanted to skip the chapter altogether and pretend none of it ever happened.

I MUST get a copy of this book for myself, why don’t I have it already, and why did it take me this long to read Siddhartha? I’m not a religious person, but this book truly affected me.

I read this in Finnish but I guess it doesn’t matter, it’s still the same book. When I picked this book up in the library, I vaguely remembered that it had been adapted on to the screen last year. The short introduction text at the back of the book seemed interesting enough, so I took the book home with me.

And… yes, it was good. Perverse at times, and descriptions of violent scenes were very graphic, I’m not surprised the book is classified as horror. Still, a very good story as a whole, has many of the familiar elements of vampire stories but also something new and different. Being a vampire is described as a disease, a disease in the heart, another consciousness inhabiting in there. I find the thought very… intriguing.

My favourite scene in the book must have been near the end, when Tommy gets stuck in the cellar with Håkan, the image of the situation makes me laugh every time, even though it’s really horrible. But the way Tommy handles it… amazing and extremely amusing. I won’t go into details, in case someone hasn’t read the book and wants to do so.

I wouldn’t say this is primarily a vampire novel. No, it’s a horror novel with vampires but it’s not about them. It’s about early adolescence, revenge and in a strange way, about friendship.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started watching this film. And at first, in the beginning, I was quite sure this was another miss. But as the film went on and the story evolved, I started realising that this is actually a film I could like very much.

The story was a bit unconventional and original, the characters so… human that they felt really real. I thought several times during the film that “this is my kind of film” and that tells a lot. I like everything quirky and out of the ordinary.

It was the name of the film that first got my attention. “A Home at the End of the World”... I like it, it sounds peaceful. So in the end, a very good film, will certainly watch it again some time.

I love Audrey Hepburn and thus every movie with her in it is worth watching. But I’d say this film is my least favourite of the few other Audrey Hepburn films that I’ve seen so far.

The story and the characters were okay, I guess, I really liked the way Sabrina transformed in Paris and changed the lives of everybody back at home. I just didn’t like Humphrey Bogart’s character at all, and he was way too old for Sabrina. (and I’m usually very liberal when it comes to things like that) There was just something wrong, I don’t think I felt any sparks between the two “lovers”. Oh well.