Book to TV Movie: Stuart: A Life Backwards

I first heard of Stuart: A Life Backwards when I saw the trailer for the movie on TV. It looked dramatic, intense and brilliant - especially thanks to the acting of Tom Hardy, from what I could tell - so I was definitely intrigued. Then I kind of forgot about it, until I came across the book at the library and knew I had to read it. It quickly became one of my favourite books of the year, and after reading it I knew I had to watch the movie asap.

 I finally got my hands on it (ahem, it's on YouTube) and I have to say my first impression from the ad was correct - it's dramatic, intense and brilliant. Tom Hardy is an AMAZING Stuart. He embodies the character in a literal, physical way; changing his posture, body language, facial expressions and even his voice. He captures Stuart's humour and heart, but doesn't shy away from his incredibly dark side. Hardy's performance is so raw, gritty and utterly heart-wrenching that it's difficult to watch at times, but you can't look away all the same. He's completely compelling.

Also brilliant is Benedict Cumberbatch as Stuart's biographer, Alexander. He's spot-on as the middle class intellectual, perfectly delivering his wry observations and air of nervous affection around his subject. It's the odd couple that Alexander and Stuart form that is placed at the centre of the movie, and amongst a helluva lot of horrible back story, it's a joy to watch. Hardy and Cumberbatch have a wonderful chemistry.

The style of the film perfectly captures and conveys the essence of the novel. Aside from the amazing performances, the timing and structure are well done, interspersing harrowing flashbacks with more heartwarming scenes at just the right intervals. The soundtrack is utilised to wonderful effect; one of my favourite scenes is when Stuart and Alexander bond over singing along (quite badly) to Babybird's 'Because You're Gorgeous' in the car (who can resist a car singalong?!). Animation is also used a few times to communicate Alexander's hilarious imaginings (like his worry that Stuart will steal everything the first time he's in his flat), and it ties in nicely with the illustrations in the novel.

Obviously things had to be left out and altered to adapt the story to fit the one-and-a-half-hour movie format, but the film is remarkably faithful to the spirit of the novel. The only thing I really missed was the scene from Stuart's stay in the country with Alexander's friends; what appears at first to be one of Stuart's fits actually turns out to be him saving the place from some robbers. It's an effective scene in the book, playing with the readers' assumptions and shining a new light on Stuart, but I can understand that it would have been cut from the movie for simplicity and time. As it is, all the key events and elements are in there, touching on all the important emotions; in the space of an hour and a half, you'll laugh, get mad, get sad, probably cry and definitely feel incredibly ill. Stuart was a remarkable man who led a difficult and short life; it's heartening that, though he didn't live to see it, his story will continue to touch many, thanks to his friend Alexander's book - and this movie.

Rating: 5/5

Related
This interview with Hardy and Cumberbatch made me smile. Watch it after seeing footage from the movie to realise just how much Hardy transformed himself for the role. Brilliant.

September and October TV Addict Challenge Links

Because I am terrible and forgot to do a post for September, you can post your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for September AND October here!

Book to TV: Puberty Blues

It's a bit hard to compare one episode of a TV series to a whole book, so I thought I'd just post some general thoughts on the first episode of Puberty Blues. I may do a more in-depth comparison once the season comes to a close. (Psst, you can see my review of the book here).

• The casting is amazing. The adults, all Aussie veterans, are obviously great, but I think the young cast is really brilliant. Deb, Sue and Garry were highlights for me, though that could be coz they were obviously given the most screentime in this ep.
• Deb and Sue's story is off to a solid start, while the adults and boys have been given much bigger story lines than in the book. I like the way the first show focused on Garry's problems; he already stands apart from the other dropkick guys. But I hope the show doesn't sanitise the overall misogyny too much - it would really undermine the message of the original. They don't seem to be shying away from the more disturbing aspects, like date rape. As for the parents, the setup for their subplots is promising, and provides a bit of welcome balance to the squeals of Deb and Sue.
• I wrote down the exact quote and lost it, but I loved the inclusion of Persuasion by Jane Austen and the comment along the lines of the way it portrays the restrictions placed upon women in the past - just like Puberty Blues. Intertextuality, woo!
• While they took a lot of things - the horses, the panel vans, the language - straight from the book, it kinda annoyed me how the girls were wearing flares. A minor point, I know, but they make such a big deal out of straight-legged jeans in the book that the flares really stood out as wrong to me.
• LOLPAST moments: The "hilarity" of drink driving - with your child in the car - with no seat belts. The boy who'd rather be whacked with a ruler than read a book as punishment. There was also the fact that Sue's mum only told her not to get sunburnt coz of how much she whinges, instead of, you know, skin cancer.
• Name drops: Many "molls", "You're dropped" and "pash-off".
• Food drops: Splices, Cheezels (five finger rings!) and Sunnyboys (taking the shape of missiles hurled at Deb and Sue).

Did you watch Puberty Blues? What did you think?

Review: Puberty Blues by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey

I read Puberty Blues along with the Top Chicks Shirley, Jess, Lissa, Zoe and Mandee a couple of weeks ago, and because I'm a slack-arsed moll I'm only getting around to writing my review now.

My first encounter with Puberty Blues was when I was a young teenager; my mum would sing the theme song from the movie whenever I would get all angsty. It was as annoying as it sounds. When I was a little older I watched the movie, and was pretty horrified, cringing the whole way through. When I was a little older than that, I watched it again, and this time thought it was equal parts horrifying and hilarious. Having now read the book, I can say my feelings for the source material are pretty much the same - I found it both horrifying and hilarious, often at the same time.

If you live under a rock - or, y'know, not in Australia - Puberty Blues is the semi-autobiographical account of two teen girls trying to fit in with the popular surfie crowd in 1970s Sydney. It's sparse in both length and language, with a frankness that emphasises the rawness of story. The narrator, Deb, describes characters and relays events in a matter-of-fact manner that leaves you with eyes wide and pearls clutched. I'm talking 13-year-olds having sex, doing drugs, being gang raped... I want to give a copy of this to every person who claims "kids today" are more sexualised than ever and say, o rly?

Interestingly, the fact that internal narration or reflection is limited works to highlight how awful the whole situation is, especially because when Deb does comment, it's very tongue-in-cheek. As they look back on events a few years down the track, it's clear Deb and Sue are wiser and definitely not OK with how they were treated in the past. There's a kind of credulity in certain parts; it's as though they're saying, "Yep, we did that, can you believe it?" But, importantly, while they may shake their heads at their naivety and invite others to do so, it's not about passing judgement on the girls. If there is judgement, it's on the boys who treated them so abysmally and the culture that not only allowed but encouraged this kind of behaviour.

Shirley mentioned in her review that she considers Puberty Blues to be a feminist book, and I agree. While it recounts some very sexist words and actions from a group of misogynistic boys (and girls, actually), the perspective of hindsight discussed above means that this sexism, while not overtly criticised, is purposely shown in a negative light. The closing scene, in which the girls triumphantly decide to forget about what others think, get their own surfboard and teach themselves to surf (something that was previously taboo) reinforces the ultimately feminist message. I would have liked this scene and their victory to have been expanded upon, but really, its brevity is in keeping with the rest of the novel.

I did appreciate the book, and there were parts that were really funny, but more than anything I was disturbed. It's scary to think that that's the way things used to be for girls - and even scarier to contemplate whether much has changed. I certainly hope it has!

While I think the writing was really effective overall, the first person narration didn't quite work at times. Although Deb is the main narrator, she would talk about events and conversations that she wasn't present for. Of course, it could be explained in that Sue (or someone else) told her about them - but it's not. I just found it sloppy and distracting. It could be due to the writers' inexperience at the time, but I would think an editor at least would pick it up. It's not a major problem, and I can see why this book is such a cult classic, even if it's not entirely enjoyable. At just over a hundred pages, it's a quick read - but not an easy one.

Rating: 3/5

Related
So excited for the TV show that starts tomorrow night, although it looks like they've seriously toned it down.

Fine Print
Genre: I guess this would be young adult, although it deals with pretty mature themes and has been around since before YA was officially a genre.
Published: 1982
Get It: Readings

August TV Addict Challenge Links

Post your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for August here!

July TV Addict Challenge Links

Post your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for July here!

May and June TV Addict Reading Challenge Links

I've been a very Bad Blogger. I completely forgot to post the linky for May for my own challenge. Whoops! Since it's nearly the end of the month, and I'm going away, I thought I'd get ahead and post the June one... along with May. So post your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for May and June here!

Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

I've been putting off writing this review for so long because, goddamn, I hated this book. I don't have many nice things to say about it. And you know what they say...

I was really surprised at just how intensely I disliked Pretty Little Liars. I'm completely obsessed with the TV show, and I was expecting the book to have a similar appeal: four pretty friends are tormented by the mysterious 'A', who somehow knows all their secrets and manipulates events to create juicy twists at every turn. But while the basic plot is the same, the book just fell totally flat for me.

Perhaps I would've liked it better if I hadn't seen the TV show first and had nothing to compare it to. But somehow I don't think so. There were so many problems. The pacing felt unbearably slow, and while a lot of stuff happened, it actually felt like not much did. The threats from 'A' were few and way too far between, and the four main characters barely spoke to each other for the majority of the book, creating a sense of disconnection that extended to me as a reader.

This was reinforced by the fact that the girls are all so freaking unlikable. In the show, they're nice girls who sometimes do questionable things, but you root for them because, hey, they're pretty cool. But in the book I just wanted to punch them all in the face. And I'm not generally a violent person.

The access to each of their inner selves through the third person narration does them zero favours. They all come across as superficial, selfish and downright mean. Hanna and Aria were particularly infuriating. If you played a drinking game and took a sip for every time they admired their own looks, you'd get drunk pretty damn fast. This was not only annoying, it was also extremely unrealistic - especially in Hanna's case, since she's supposedly recovering from an eating disorder.

I also didn't like any of the girls' parents. They were shallow, nasty and/or bigotted. There pretty much wasn't a likable character in the whole book. This might have been OK had the plot been more interesting. It's only a short book, but it took me forever to get through because I just wasn't interested.

I'll give the next book a go, as I've been told it gets better. And I still really, really want to know who A is. But I don't know that I can sit through 10 more books of this.

Rating: 2/5

March TV Addict Reading Challenge

Leave your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for March here! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so here.

The Book Was Better: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

I was obsessed with the Sailor Moon anime when I was a kid, and totally want to rewatch it after reading the manga. I currently have the whole series downloading, er, on order, and while I eagerly await its arrival, I thought I'd check out the live-action series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.

Now, I like cheesy, cutesy stuff as much as the next adult-in-denial, but even I couldn't get past episode one. Seriously, I started watching episode two and thought WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE. The acting is on the over side, the special effects on the under side and the whole thing is just craptastic... minus the tastic. Like, Luna is a stuffed toy/really bad CGI animation. And the transformations involve really, really bad wigs. And Tuxedo Mask is kinda creepy. Maybe it gets better, but... eh, I just can't do it. P.S. If you want to, the whole thing is on YouTube.

Review: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi

I've been wanting to try manga for awhile so it's probably appropriate that my first foray into the genre was with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, considering that Sailor Moon was my first experience with anime. While it's probably on the younger side for me these days, it was a non-intimidating way to break into manga, and still a lot of fun to read - especially coz it got bonus points for nostalgia.

If you're not familiar with Sailor Moon (where were you in the 90s?!), it's about a young girl named Usagi (Serena in the US version of the anime) who discovers she's a guardian of the moon and the leader of a group of butt-kicking sailor scouts whose mission is to find and protect the "Legendary Silver Crystal" and the moon princess. Exactly what their background is and why this is their mission isn't explored in this volume, and the girls don't really question it themselves. But that's understandable, considering how much does happen within the pages; in quick succession, Usagi discovers Luna the talking cat and finds out she's Sailor Moon, locates Ami (Sailor Mercury), Rei (Sailor Mars) and Makato (Sailor Jupiter) and defeats a few of the nasty Kings of Heaven while she's at it. And let's not forget her many hate-fuelled encounters with Mamoru (a.k.a. Darien from the US anime) and her even more numerous love-driven interactions with his alter-ego, Tuxedo Mask.

I have to say, I was surprised at just how quickly everything happened - while the manga was initially identical to the anime, the plot developed much more rapidly on the page than in the show, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't really miss the padding, though, coz, being familiar with the story, I was kinda impatient to get to the action. There's plenty in this volume, but the main focus is on setting up the characters and introducing important plot points. I'm keen to pick up the rest of the series to see how everything pans out (although I kinda sorta already know, but hey, it's a new way of experiencing the story - plus, NOSTALGIA!).

Speaking of nostalgia - or perhaps lack thereof in this instance - I'd forgotten just how much of a whiny little so-and-so Serena Usagi is. It can get pretty annoying at times, although it does make her transformation into Sailor Moon all the more potent. My favourite character was definitely Rei; she's a straight-up biatch and it's awesome (though you'd think with all that meditating she'd be a bit calmer). I also enjoyed the fact that Tuxedo Mask is still a bit of a mystery and Usagi is unsure about whether he's a friend or foe; it kinda reminded me of the early days dynamic between Buffy and Angel (again, awesome).

Of course, one of the big drawcards with Sailor Moon is that it's oh-so-pretty (it's right there in the title!). The girls fight evil, but they do so while looking fierce in every sense of the word. Their jewellery and cute accessories all turn into weapons, which is way cooler than anything Spiderman has to offer. The illos are exactly what you expect - super cute and fun, if a little overcrowded. I did find it a tad disconcerting to read right-to-left initially, but it doesn't take long to get used to, and the translation notes at the end were really insightful. By the time I finished reading, I felt, like, so cultured and shit. Yeah, from reading Sailor Moon. That's how awesome I am.*

*May or may not be sarcasm.

Rating: 3/5

Related
I had this in my head THE WHOLE FREAKING TIME.

Fine Print
Genre: Shoujo Manga
Published: 2011 (this edition) by Kodansha Comics
Get It: Fishpond

January TV Addict Reading Challenge

Leave your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for January here! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so here.

Challenge Alert: The 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge

I watch a lot of TV. The fiancé and I are big fans of box set marathons. At the moment we’re going through Dexter, and when I discovered that it’s based on a book series, it got me thinking about how a LOT of my fave TV shows are based on books. And about how I want to read them. Then, whilst browsing the available challenges on A Novel Challenge, I had a light bulb moment: Why not turn my quest to read the book versions of my fave TV shows into a challenge?

So here it is! The rules are simple (coz I’m not so good at following them myself):

-The challenge runs from January 1 2012 – December 31 2012. The idea is to read the books that TV shows are based on. Where it's a series, read the books that correspond to the TV seasons available (read the whole series if you want to, of course!). What you do from there is up to you: review the books, do book/show comparisons, review the TV shows, do recaps… whatever tickles your fancy!

-Pick the level you want to achieve in this challenge from the list below, create a post on your blog about it and pop it in the sign-up linky! Non-bloggers are welcome to participate too – do your thang in the comments.

-Each month I’ll create a post where you can come and link up your reviews or comment about the books you’ve read/shows you’ve watched as part of the challenge.

 -You don’t have to plan in advance what books you’re going to read - though of course you can if you want to! Here are some ideas (let me know if I’ve missed your faves):

• The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith. There are four books in the original series, plus The Return trilogy and one book in The Hunters trilogy (with two more to come). There’s also Stefan’s Diaries, which are four books (with more to come) based on the TV show. Just to make things easy. Ahem.
• Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepherd. The series currently stands at nine books, with three more to come.
• A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin, which Game of Thrones is based on. There are five books out now, with two more coming. There are also six novellas connected to the series.
• Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, which consists of six books.
• ­The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, which True Blood is based on. At the moment there are 11 books out in the series, with at least two more to come.
• Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. There are 13 books in the original series, 10 books in the It Girl spin-off series and four in the follow-up series, The Carlyles.
• Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell.
• The Secret Circle trilogy by L. J. Smith.
• Chief Inspector Barnaby series by Caroline Graham. There are seven books in series, and the first five were the basis for Midsomer Murders. 

Challenge levels 

1. Single play: Read the books that correspond to ONE TV show.
2. Mini-series: Read the books that correspond to TWO TV shows.
3. Series: Read the books that correspond to THREE TO FOUR TV shows.
4. Soap opera: Read the books that correspond to FIVE OR MORE TV shows.

Since this is my own challenge, I'm going to aim high and go for "soap opera" level. Remember, you don't have to read the whole series to complete the challenge, just the books that correspond to the seasons of the TV show (e.g. the first four books of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, which formed the basis for the four seasons of True Blood that are currently available).

Sign up here!