Harry Potter and the Top 5 Best Cast Characters

Having recently finished watching the entire 8 film series on blu-ray I forgot how much I like the Harry Potter films. Now and again they may not be as good as the books, and sometimes they do feel like a novel on screen instead of a film, but overall I think they are great. I am surprised how much I have enjoyed them, even Half-Blood Prince (which I remember hating at the cinema) makes much more sense after watching them close together. So it got me thinking. We all have our favourite characters, but were the best actors hired for the right roles? Here's my Top 5 best cast characters and some honorable mentions. Massive spoilers ahead!

My Year in Books- 3 Months in

At the beginning of the year I set myself a target of reading a book a week. I wanted to read some classics which I think I really should have read more of; maybe some Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen. I also wanted to read some Sherlock books, more of Philippa Gregory, Game of Thrones among many others and some great suggestions from Twitter. So we're on week 10 and I'm quite chuffed to say I've read 12 books. I've read 4 thrillers, 3 Sherlock Holmes books, a couple of girly reads and a picture book (I think that counts), among others.

I've already talked about Sweet Valley Confidential (which I HATED, just in case you wanted to know). I loved Caitlin Moran's book How To Be A Woman; brilliantly funny and very honest. I laughed out loud most of the way through it. It's on my other half's "to read" pile especially after I told him about what she used the word "China" for.

Finally got round to reading Jurassic Park. Anyone who knows me knows it's my favourite ever film so there wasn't really much excuse for me not to have read it. It was great, quite different in places and book John Hammond isn't as lovely as Richard Attenborough's John Hammond but it's still a great read. I'm allowed to say I prefer the film though, right?

The Sherlock Holmes books have been fun, easy reads too. Made me wish I had read them earlier. Watching RDJ and Benedict Cumberbatch's versions make me feel like I know some of the stories already so that probably helps.

With some of the other books that have turned into films; the problem I had was that I remember the film's ending so vividly I end up waiting for certain things to happen. Gone, Baby, Gone was one that really suffered from this. The end of the film is strong, I knew most of the story was just empty build up. A great book it's just I remembered too much of the film.

Philippa Gregory really has a beautiful way of bringing history come alive. Highly recommend trying some of her books, I'd start with The Other Boleyn Girl and try the rest of the Tudor Court novels.

Also I've read a couple of Charlaine Harris' new herorine Lily Bard. The stories are set in the town of Shakespeare (I know, just go with it) and are more crime than supernatural. In fact, if you're looking for more vampires and werewolves and fairies you're best off with Sookie. But if you're willing to try another girl, you won't be disappointed. Quick and easy to read, they are perfect holiday reads. The books are called Shakespeare's... And range from Landlord to Trollop. Interesting, no??

One other book I wanted to mention was the amazingly fantastic picture book, I Want My Hat Back. Go into Waterstones, find it and buy it. Any kids book that has a character going red with rage is going to be alright with me.

My to-read list for the next quarter:

• A Charles Dickens book, probably Great Expectations.
• Start, and hopefully this time finish, Game Of Thrones.
• Pick up something totally random just because the cover is nice.

Sweet Valley... Worth Revisiting?

Even if you don’t read much now, I’m sure when you were younger there were book series’ that you loved. Goosebumps, The Babysitters Club, Point Horror are the ones that I remember most. I collected them all but my big love was for the Wakefield twins of Sweet Valley High.

I’ve recently rediscovered my love for reading. When I was younger, I loved going into WH Smith’s and finding the newest Sweet Valley Twins books. Then when I got a bit older I nabbed my sister’s Sweet Valley High collection. They were a little more risque; a lot more talk about boys and dating. One book always stuck in my head, I think it was the first one I read. It was called Too Good To Be True and was about some family friend of the Wakefields accusing their teacher of some sort of assault. I don’t think I really understood what what going on, but I knew I wanted to read some more.


For anyone who wasn’t a 12 year old girl, Sweet Valley High was about Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. Blonde haired and blue eyed they were all American identical twins. They were completely the same except in their personalities; Elizabeth is the bookish, goody goody, always wanting to help out others and sees the best in people. Then there’s Jessica, the bad girl. Selfish, arrogant and only interested in being popular, she is the polar opposite of Elizabeth.


To be honest; they are both shit.


I’ve only just learnt this however thanks to the new book Sweet Valley Confidential. The tag line goes “Haven’t you ever wondered what happened when Elizabeth and Jessica grew up?” Well, it’s not been a burning question I have to admit. But feeling nostalgic for things from my childhood, I wanted to read it.


What did I learn from this book? That all the Sweet Valley High books were trash. I mean, for one they were terribly written. They all started the same by going on and on about how gorgeous the twins were. And then there is the problem with the actual twins. Elizabeth was so wet; she let Jessica get away with everything. Elizabeth was pathetic. At least Jessica was fun, maybe a bit sluty but at last she had something about her. She was so selfish though, she is unable to be likable. There were loads of friends too, most were useless. The only one I really remember was Lila, Jessica’s friend, who was (surprise surprise) a bitch. The thing in Sweet Valley as well, if you’re a bad person you’d get ill and die (you’d be surprised how many times that happened).


So, back to the book. Basically (SPOILERS!) Jessica steals Elizabeth's boyfriend, dull-as-dishwater Todd (the one she always hated. Well, apparently she’s loved him for years, and he loves her). But it’s okay! Because it’s LOVE! After about 200 pages of Lizzie bitching and Jess whining Liz just forgives her. I don’t really know why. Because they’re twins maybe? We don’t know. It’s obvious from page one that LIz will forgive Jess (just like she always does), Jess and Todd will get married (because they really don’t care what they did to Elizabeth) and Liz will get together with her ‘best friend’ Bruce who, conveniently, has been in love with her for 10 years.


I used to love these books but Sweet Valley Confidentiality is such crap. Don’t get me wrong I love a good angst ridden story but this is lame. Somehow Liz ends up feeling sorry for Jess and ends up as maid of honor for her wedding. Don’t give me this “oh they’re twins with a special connection, YOU WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND.” Love conquers all? IT’S YOUR SISTER’S BOYFRIEND. Jess is soulless. I hate Elizabeth for being so feeble and I hate Jess for being a cow. I never read any of the Sweet Valley University (they had murders, affairs and fights apparently; very busy) but after reading this one I’m pretty sure I missed out on nothing. I would have been up for a new Sweet Valley High movie but honestly after this I don’t think you can make the twins likable.

The saddest thing about the book is that it says that whatever you were like in high school is the person you will be forever. People don’t change. Jess will always be selfish as long as she can justify it and Elizabeth will always be a pushover when it comes to her twin. They deserve any shit that happens to them. The TV show was pretty rubbish too, I should just try to remember the twins from the cool book series I read when I was a tween.

Englishman (Sherlock) in New York

So it was announced yesterday that Jonny Lee Miller would star in the much talked about CBS pilot Elementary. We’ve already had Sue Vertue, producer of BBC’s Sherlock (and wife of Stephen Moffat) say that she is “extremely worried” about another modern take on the famous detective. She’s got a point, it had been a little while since there have been any Sherlock adaptations then 2 come along at once in the shape of Robert Downey Jr.’s Hollywood vehicle then the slick and ultra modern BBC version with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Holmes and Watson the BBC version. 

In some bizarre “circle of showbiz” (as I’m going to call it) Jonny Lee Miller starred along side Benedict Cumberbatch in the National Theatre’s production of Frankenstein, where each night they played alternate roles of Victor and the monster. Again, Sue Vertue has been quoted as saying that Jonny Lee Miller is a “very fine actor” but says “Let’s hope their pilot script has stayed further away from our Sherlock than their casting choice.” I wonder what Benedict thinks of it all.

It seems a bit unfair to lambast a show before anyone has even seen a pilot and I know I will at least watch that. The thing about the BBC version is that it seems such an obvious choice, setting it in modern day London and one I can’t believe hasn’t been done before. He is quintessentially British though so having him as an American (I assume) will be odd. But if you are going to have the world’s most famous detective star in another show, you could be in worst cities than New York. The thing the BBC version has going for it is the lack of fog and horse drawn carriages plus the amazing casting of Benedict and Martin Freeman as Watson. No word on the casting of Watson yet but that will be just as important as Sherlock.

I had reservations about the BBC version. I thought they were just jumping on the band wagon of Guy Ritchie’s film but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I also thought the score was VERY similar (although I’ll happily admit I prefer the BBC version).

Holmes and Watson the Hollywood version. 

There is a place in the world for both RDJ and Benedict’s Sherlocks. RDJ is fantastic as an eccentric Sherlock, a lot more likable and maybe slightly easier to get on with but he still likes to show off. Benedict’s Sherlock is a lot harder to like first off. He takes his time to soften; very much a loner he doesn’t realise it automatically that he actually appreciates having Watson around. But that’s just scratching the surface of each actors’ performance.

They are two quiet different takes on the same character but they complement each other really well. I just don’t know if there’s room for a third Sherlock Holmes in as many years.

Well, there was that The Asylum version...

Because maybe we should all be a little bit more like Caitlin Moran

I've always been against feminism. I know it's a stupid comment but I was. Me and my friend always used to joke about feminists "ruining it for everyone." We were quite happy to wait around for a (rich) man to take us away from our university hellhole we affectional called Azkaban. So when my bloke bought me Caitlin Moran’s book How To Be A Women part of me thought “Is he talking the mick?” Obviously the other half was quite happy as I had mentioned I wanted it so he must heave listened to something. I picked it up in Waterstone’s, I thought it looked funny and I like her hair and boots.

On closer expectation though I see on the back it was classed as ‘Humour’ (brilliant) and ‘Feminism' (oh dear). The word feminism did put me off slightly, I’ll admit. We all know what we think when someone says feminist; bad hair, crap clothes, men-hating, bra burning, spinsters. So when I got to the chapter ‘I Am A Feminist.” I wanted to read it quickly and move on. She talks about Germaine Greer (who I have to say, kind of annoys me when I see her on television) but the bit that nearly made me give up is when she says stand on a chair and shout “I AM A FEMINIST!” I wasn’t buying it.

However after finishing the chapter, and the book and I have to admit; she makes a really good point. Feminism isn’t about hating men or crap clothes; it’s about equal rights for women. Whether it be for equal pay or the right to vote; if you’re not a feminist then, really, you don’t want any of those things. Feminism means liberation for women. She wants to take back the world feminism and make it into a good thing, not an insult.

She says feminism gets blamed in part on a lot of things but it’s just that things like abortion, binge drinking, eating disorders are things that involve women. Another great point she makes is that bitching is not being anti-feminist; you won't get on with every female in the world. Some probably deserve the bitching. The world will not crumble because someone said something about so and so in the office. I think the one thing though everyone could live by is to BE POLITE. This is the only thing in the world I believe no one has any right not to be. Yes we all have bad days but you really shouldn’t take it out on everyone else. To quote her,

“What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy and smug they might be.
Are you a feminist? Hahaha. Of course you are.”

Feminism isn’t about changing women but changing how the world treats women. It’s about treating us all equally.

It’s kind of amazing when you think about it. Nicola on Celebrity Big Brother said she was a secret feminist. Why is it a secret? As Caitlin points out, feminism will take them; the dumb, bitchy ex-page 3 model. She’s not secretive about being a Page 3 model but being a feminist?? Oh NO! I’m not admitting to THAT! You don’t have to be friends with every female on the planet. But maybe we could work together to make things ever so slightly fairly, no?

Think they'll have that on the tour...

Just an introductory post to my blog so you know what it's about!

We're ready to believe you!

I'm a film watcher, DVD enthusiast, celebrity magazine reader, TV fanatic, book reader, RDJ fan, Jurassic Park addict, Nintendo devotee, reality TV follower, a professional Mario Kart driver, part time Ghostbuster and all round SingStar.

There are lots of TV shows I'm enjoying at the moment. Namely The X Factor, Misfits, I'm A Celeb, to name but a few. Also loved the last series of Celebrity (in the loosest term possible) Coach Trip and Derren Brown: The Experiments. Started watching Life's Too Short, which, while it may have it's critics at the moment, I thought the first episode was funny.

And yes I see there's loads of reality TV but I do like other stuff! Curb Your Enthusiasm, 30 Rock, The US Office, The Simpsons (I could be the only one though), How I Met Your Mother- so also a lot of American shows. I also love classics like I'm Alan Partridge, Black Books, Spaced among others.

The last film I saw at the cinema was The Adventures of Tintin, which was fantastic. The mo-cap was brilliant and I can see why they thought it would work better like this. And I loved Snowy!

The last DVD I bought was Supernatural Season 6. I love Sam and Dean, and this season had some classic episodes which I think I will blog about when I've re-watched them. Just to name check two of my favourites- Live Free or Twihard and The French Mistake.

DINOSAUR! 

My favourite films include Jurassic Park and Ghostbusters.

I love reading and am currently reading One Day and The Hunger Games. I read a lot of books adapted into films.

Looking forward to Fincher's The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and The Muppets.

So the blog will be a mix of all this. Oh, and celebrity gossip. I LOVE celebrity gossip. And Busted, I'm going to spearhead their reunion.