The Review thread|Voice your opinions!

[hamlet]

Okay, so I personally love hearing people's reviews about things. And I know a lot of people watch/read new stuff all the time. So here, I guess I'd like to know what new things you've watched or read and what did you think about them? It could be a movie (no spoilers please! You can use the spoiler tags for those. When you post there is an icon that has a face with its mouth crossed out...use that tag for spoilers.)...it could be a music album...it could be a live performance you saw...an new tv show you tried out...a book you're reading, anything!

For instance, Im currently raving about this show on BBC called "Being Human". There's one season if it and its currently going through a second season. The show is so witty, entertaining and comical. Its about a vampire, ghost, and a werewolf living in a house together. Its like a sit-com with....vampires and werewolves But its hilarious and different and well put together.

How about you guys?

[erin]

Oh I love that show! BBC America is like my life. Personally, (without giving anything away) I wish Annie and Mitch were together.

As for me, I just read a very good book called The Red Necklace. Its about a gypsy boy named Yann who has a talent for throwing his voice. One day him and his companies travel to the marquis's chateau to perform a show. The performance goes wrong however and Yann runs into the marquis's very unloved daughter Sidonie. While Yann shows some compassion to Sidonie, her father strikes a deal with the devil, Count Kallivoski and arranges for her to be wed to him. The action, drama, and romance is nonstop. If you love historical fiction I definitely recommend this and it's sequeal The Silver Blade!

[cuervo]

Sounds cute Ophelia.

One of my favourite novels of all time is Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim. The book is right next to my laptop right now actually. I've read it over and over and wrote notes on the pages.

At the age of eight, Brian Lackey was found bleeding in the crawl space of his house, having endured something so traumatic that he can't recall the five hour period of time in which that event took place. As a teenager today, he believes he was the victim of an alien encounter. Neil was molested by his baseball coach in the summer of 1981. He's a gay teen hustler "working" in Kansas. The lives of these two characters cross. It's a beautiful, honest, in your face story. It sounds weird but I urge you to give it a try - it is different. But definitely some disturbing content.

[lizzie]

My latest love is the novel North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. How could I not love it? It has romance, drama, a great plot, wonderful characters, and the mini series stars Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton! *swoon*

*sudden thought* Richard Armitage shoulda played Darcy at some point...

Anyway. XD Back to the book. It's a touching story and I have to admit that I've read it twice in the last three months. Yes...I am obsessed. But it's WORTH IT! Find it and read it!

[fagin]

I recentley purchased Laurence Olivier's 'Richard III' off of Amazon.co.uk due to the fact my class is studying the play and I'm obsessed... XD

What can I say? It's brilliant! The acting and camera angles and all may seem somewhat dated now, but I loved it, especially all the brilliant costumes. I even bought a hat similar to those seen onscreen (don't know how to describe them but lots of characters wear it...the kind with the ribbon type thing that can be slung over the shoulder?) Anyway, it's a truly fantastic movie; not historically correct of course but dramatically it really makes its mark.

A must watch for all you Shakespearians out there! ^^

"But shall we wear these glories for a day/Or shall they last and we rejoice in them?"
Don't worry m'lord, I think this movie's here to stay. :3

[hamlet]

Its one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. If someone *cough cough* snags Richard on this site you will be loved forever

[erin]

Okay another book review, if you love something with pure emotion and need to let out a few tears, read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks! I cried like a baby reading it and I absolutely loved it to death! Veronica 'Ronnie' Miller has had quite a summer between reconciling with her estranged father, experiencing her first love, and many more events as a teenager. It is filled with everything between humor, emotion, action, and so much more! I really just adored it so much!

[fagin]

I'm a big Richard III geek. XD So here's another Richard-y review.

I recentley read Antony Sher's diary/sketchbook 'Year of the King' in which he records how he transformed himself into Richard, as well as behind the scenes mayhem, a great look into the inner working of the RSC, the complications of designing the sets and, in his case in particular, the costumes for the show, as well as talking a lot about his family and personal life. Although I never saw the show I really loved reading this book as an aspiring actor; it was really well written and insightful, not to mention accompanied by some truly magnificent sketches and some great anecdotes and ideas that came from rehearsals and the process of getting the show ready for performance.

Amazing, amazing, amazing. I'd reccomend this not only to Shakespearians but aspiring actors as well. A thoroughly absorbing read. Loved it. :3

[fagin]

Sorry to double post but I've just been listening to this soundtrack for the bajillionth time...

Riverdance: the Irish Dancing phenomenon.

"Based on Irish folk dancing styles, Riverdance was originally devised as a 20-minute intermission entertainment for the Eurovision Song Contest. There, its phenomenal reception inspired composer Bill Whelan to expand the piece into a full-length stage show, still centred around Irish music, but now telling a loose story of many different peoples who in the twentieth century have found themselves émigrés. The paradoxically formal yet expressive, sensual and exhilarating energy of traditional Irish dance and Irish folk music is only the beginning. A work full of strong melodies, excitement, romantic dreams and nostalgic longing, the full Riverdance show is a spellbinding spectacle. Complete with orchestra, Bill Whelan brings influences from Irish classical music, incorporates the haunting sound of vocal group Anuna, and adds the diverse folk sounds of Nova Scotia, Macedonia, Russia and Andalucia to his rich cultural melting pot. Playing on the album are some of the finest folk musicians around, including piper Davy Spillane and Eileen Ivers on fiddle. The result is not just a tuneful souvenir of a great stage show, but a most enjoyable release in its own right."

A combination of Celtic, Latin and other forms of music, the show is a true phenomenon in terms of sound and sight, with stunning cheoreography and a varied and haunting score.

The CD I own is Riverdance: Music From The Show. My personal favourite tracks are Reel Around The Sun, Riverdance, Marta's Dance/The Russian Dervish, Countess Cathleen/Women of The Sidhe and Home & The Heartland. The musical is so full of power and emotion, mixing old instruments with new...it's simply spellbinding.

Of course, what's better than the soundtrack is actually seeing the show live; it's mindblowing. But if you can't see the show I'd most definitley reccomend the soundtrack!

I saw Riverdance earlier this year when it came to Shanghai; one of the most amazing experiences of my life, in all honestly. Truly an epic.

[MAYOR HECTOR "HADES" TORMEI]

I love Riverdance like there's no tomorrow

Anyway, I just read The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway for my senior year AP Literature and Composition class. I know it's a 'classic' and has been read loads of times but I need to voice my opinion where my classmates won't tear it down and ostracize me for it.

I hated the book. Simple as that. I don't like Hemingway's simplistic and choppy writing style and I don't like the subject matter of the book. A bunch of writers drink all the time, hate each other and cause fights, and repeat themselves in conversation. The two main characters Lady Brett Ashley and Jake something (I can't remember his last name) are deplorable in every sense to me. Also, as a staunch believer in animal rights and a hater of animal cruelty, the fact that a good quarter of the book focused on bull fights made me very angry and a little nauseous. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. Ever.

Sorry to be such a downer but that book really got under my skin. Read The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison instead if you ever get the chance to chose.