The Millennium Series

Before I go ahead with any reviews as such... One thing that I would like to state here is the fact that I really don't know how to write one... so I think these reviews are more or less about my feeling about the book or the movie.... Honest personal opinion on what I have read or watched!

So the millennium series... Author Stieg Larsson's first and only work of fiction. Three books dedicated to the character of Lisbeth Salander. Yes there are many other characters in the books but they all fade in the face of the sheer force this woman possesses. She is extremely bold. She has been through a lot in her life. The very system that should have protected her, made her vulnerable and exploited her weakness. And yet this very system made her the person she is, of course it would not have happened, without her steely determination and her moral center.

I loved the first book. It was a fast paced thriller. In this book we are introduced to the character of Lisbeth Salander. She does things and makes choices that are very difficult to understand. The intrigue and mystery surrounding this character builds up, as the main plot of the book, another mystery unravels. The book sets up for the next part of the story very well.

The second book was difficult for me to read. I think partly because I already had an idea of what was going to happen and I was afraid for Lisbeth Salander. I finally decided to just go ahead and read the book without stopping for a break, when I finally finished I could not wait to get my hands on the next book.

The third book was very easy to read. Although somewhere in the back of my mind I felt like it was a fairytale like ending. There is this character who has only suffered in her life and in the she has all these fairy god-mother like characters standing up for her and fighting for her. And the villains of the story being ridiculously stupid and vain about their powers and reach.

And yet I would recommend these books to everyone to read!

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

I loved the first movie....

About the second movie.... well, I dont think it was as good as the first one, but I am glad I saw it in Imax, on the big screen. The cinematography was good. The animation was excellent. The all the actors did well.

Its been a year since the Pevensie sibling have been back from Narnia. Having been a grown young man and a King, Peter is struggling with his identity in London and Susan is trying to fit into the 'real' life.

In the meanwhile back in Narnia, thousands of years have passed. the telemarines invaded Narnia and established their rule. The narnian have been forced to go into hiding. Prince Caspian X, about to be killed by his Uncle Mirage, escapes into the jungle and blows Queen Susan's horn for help. This is how the Kings and Queens of Narnia are transported back into the magical world of dancing trees, talking animals and magical creatures.

The story follows the journey of the Pevensies who unite with the young prince, the rightful heir to the throne of Narnia, in order to bring his uncle to justice.

I love the characters of Reepicheep, a valiant mouse (who belive it or not can bring a grown man to his knees) and the skeptical but loyal dwarf, Trupkin. Together they made an unlikely pair. I loved the movie....

If you like the genre of adventure and fantasy films, I think you may like it. A warning though, do not attempt to compare ot with LOTR or HP movies. They are very different.

American History X

Yeah well.. it takes me ages to read a book let alone write a review... So i thought i probably should include the movies i watch too...

So yesterday... I saw the movie American History X. I dint know what i was to expect from the movie, with the exception that a friend had suggested the name and told me that he relly liked it. I have had the dvd with me for over 5 months i think. I just did not feel like watching the movie.

And yesterday, with the cable gone and nothing else to do... I finally sat down to watch the movie. I actually thought it will be a movie on the American Indians for no apparent reason.

Anyhow getting back to the movie...

It is a hard hitting drama and it stars Edward Norton (his range of movies is just amazing - fight club, primal fear, the illusionist... etc). The story I dont think is new, but the way it has been dealt with is novel.

The movie is about a man who belives in white supremacy and his journey from the suburbs he lives in to a jail back to his family. Considering he really believes in the idealogy (atleast he thinks he does), it takes some really dramatic incidents to jolt him to realty. He comes back to his family and finds himself staring at his own older image in his brother.

The movie moves in and out of the past and the present quite effortlessly. Despite the violence and the hard hitting scenes, the movie manages to retain its simplicity.

And somehow as it is with these "real" movies, there is never a happy ending as such. I could almost predict that something nasty was about to happen and well... i was not dissapointed.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Story

The book is about a young doctor who delivers his own twins - a girl and a boy. And soon after he discovers that his daughter suffers from Down Syndrome. In that split second he makes a decision. His decision affected by his past -- haunts him and his family for the rest of his life.

What I Think

I am not too sure what I want to say about the book. The story is quite different from the kind of stuff I am used to reading. The book left me with a pang of dissapointment and sadness for the lead character. The characters are left groping in the dark without answers while the reader is left with this urge to somehow set evrything right by giving them an answer --- U see its quite a helpless situation.