Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Slow and steady wins the race...

Voice of light 5

This is now a great example of how working hard and goal oriented will get you the results... This version is a big step towards discovering magic...or so I think :)

Have a great day ;)

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Kenneth Branagh

Long have I tried to write this entry.
Many times did I start.
Many times did I leave my words behind, because nothing could ever do him justice.
So how come I manage now?
I don't know. But I do know that I have adored this man since I was a teenager.
Why, do you think that is?
I think an answer has to be;
Because he understands Shakespeare...as I would like to think that I understand Shakespeare.

I have felt that the stories from old have relevance today, both as literature and as plays, so when he reinvents the plays time and again I'm left in total and deep admiration. He is one of those rare magicians. One of those embodying qualities from all the muses. And when he then went and made a brilliant film of my favorite Norse God, then I became at a loss for words. Only a few people on this planet will have that effect on me. Kenneth Branagh is one of them. That is why this entry is such a hard one to write, because where to start?
I think I'm going to give a small selection of my favorite films from all the ones he's made.

I'll start with Henry V.
This is one of the historic plays of Shakespeare. It is fashioned like a tragedy, but with the wedding in the end it isn't... This was Branagh's first big motion picture both acting and directing, and I think he did a marvelous job!
The story is beautiful and powerful, and I absolutely loved it...

Then comes the film where I really understood his talent.
Much Ado About Nothing.
The film is so elegantly executed and so brilliantly both in terms of acting and direction that I fell completely in love with Ken, Ken, Prince among men...
And the tension between Beatrice and Benedict (Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh) is timeless. Also the atmosphere of the film has a certain timeless feel to it.

I saw Frankenstein when it came back in 19...mmmpluh, and I really enjoyed it. But it was when I read the book on University and watched the film again I truly saw the film for the strike of genius it is. He's taken the essence of the novel and turned it into the best filmed version of the gothic story...
SPOILER...The only thing I didn't like about the film is that Frankenstein didn't make the bride, he refused to do this. And in the film Helena Bohnam Carter is was changed into The Monster's bride.

Along comes the film of my favorite Shakespearean play, Othello. I have never before seen a more sinister Iago or a better Othello... Come on, it's Morpheus and Frankenstein :)

Then comes this pearl of movies in As You Like It.
He really is a Shakespeare authority, and when moving the woods of Arden to Japan he struck genius I think. He's not acting in this, which is sad, because I value his talents as an actor to a great extent. He really is a multi talent. But the movie is brilliant, and the story is beautiful. Plus, a movie with Kevin Kline is never wrong.

He has also made a movie of my favorite opera, The Magic Flute by Mozart.
And I think it's a real treat that the singer playing Papagena is Norwegian...and she's also a very talented singer. This film has the Kenneth Branagh magic along with the magic of the most talented composer of all times.

And Kenneth Branagh as Guilderoy Lockheart was brilliant. When he came on screen, I felt that this part was written for him, and Kenneth Branagh proved to me that he is a magician ;)

But his true high point, at least by my standard, was when he directed Thor.
I have enjoyed the stories about the norse gods almost just as much as I have enjoyed (and enjoys still) Tolkien and fantasy as such. So when I went to see the film version of the Marvel story, I had rather high hopes and knew a bit more about the back ground than the average joe... Though, as my brother kindly pointed out, the Marvel stories and the mythological accuracy are two very different things, and must not be confused...
However, Kenneth Branagh managed to fuse the two wonderfully, and he made Valhalla even more magnificent than I had imagined. And the world tree was so breathtakingly beautiful that I cried. And of course that's how it is, if it's there...
And though I know that Loki really is the true son of Odin (only his mother is a jotun), and though I know that Thor really is married to Sif, I couldn't care less. Kenneth Branagh should make more superhero movies... He has the touch of the masters of old :)

I think Kenneth Branagh is one of the great men and great actors on this planet placed here to inspire and comfort. In my mind he's part of a precious group of people who are simply extraordinary.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Summer at last...

This winter has been close to eternal, and only yesterday did we get temperatures according to spring. Today it increased, and now we have summer. Yey! I managed to get an hour sunbathing today, and I think I truly deserved it :)
So, my exams are over and I'm finally able to focus my attention to other important matters of life, such as my blog.

I know I have neglected the blog to make sure I studied properly, and unless the sun spirals out of order, I think I did well :)
So what to write about this wonderful first summer day of the year?
I could tell you that I'm watching Fringe at the moment. I always liked Fringe. Suitably weird and spiced with good looking men;)
Further on the television series part of my life we have the always funny and uplifting How I met your Mother. When I'm feeling a bit down, a couple of episodes are never wrong.

And as for books, I'm reading five at the moment. Yeah, I know, I'm weird... and believe me, you wouldn't want me any other way... I tend to be in different moods during a day, and one single book rarely matches that change, so I need several. Should I maybe see someone?
Anyway, the books I'm reading are these;
I'm re-reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
This is a brilliant book about a hidden world in, or rather under London. This story was initially made into a BBC series, which I recently saw (and enjoyed), but the author likes the book better, and I have to agree with him. Though, the guy playing the Marquis is smoking hot :)=

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment, and I know I always have to wait for ages, so I bought a book. I have never heard about the author before, she's American, or so it would seem as she writes about Salem.
Her name is Janet Evanovich and she has written what seems to be a little pearl called Wicked Appetite. It reminds me (so far, I'm on chapter six) of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and anyone who are inspired by those guys, I like. The story is easy to read and you quickly get into what it's all about. I can't wait to see where she takes me.

University is over for the summer, at least for me, but I have to keep in mind that I start my second year in just a few months. I will get an awful lot to read, so I might just get cracking. Plus, I want to up my game... I've read almost the entire Jane Eyre, and it is a surprisingly good read. I really enjoy the hidden stories, the madness in the attic, and all the references to classic fairytales. It's brilliant. I've also watched the BBC series, which is so good I could cry.
 And I bought the film with Magneto as Rochester... I haven't watched it yet, but I will :) I really like Michael Fassbender. Mmmmmm!

I might have let it slip now and then that I'm a huge Marillion fan...no, never heard about that before? Well, I am. They are the essence of my creative flow. And my favorite song, I think, is a song called Neverland. It's from the album called Marbles.
And you might have guessed that this album has a certain fairytale theme, and it does. We are talking Peter Pan.
Although I know the story about Peter Pan, I never really read the book. Now I am reading the book, and I can see why it has fascinated people for ages.

When I'm too tired to make sense of the world, the universe and everything, I resolve to reading Jeremy Clarkson. He has a brilliant view on so many things, and a archaic and stuffed up Tory view on other things, I still like him. His entries are two and a half pages long, a perfect length for me finding my own Neverland...though, most of the times I fall asleep with the book in my hand having finished half an entry, thus it lasts forever... when I have to read it again, because I forgot all about what I red the last time, I have bed time stories forever. I think my record is starting the same entry seven times... :) The one I'm reading now is The World According To Clarkson, volume 3. Also known as "For Crying Out Loud!"

So, now we're back in blog business again... I'll fill these pages with all the mind blowing things I dub of great importance, and we're laughing :/)