Let Me Gather My Thoughts on Little Women 2019...

Hello darlings!

It feels so nice to be back at my laptop writing blog posts for your enjoyment (I hope!).
I am quite excited for today's post, in which I will be chatting about the latest Little Women adaptation and comparing it to the beloved 1994 version--which is my personal favourite.

1994 vs. 2019

As previously mentioned, this adaptation is my favourite and one of those lovely films that warms my heart!
It is the one I've watched the most too.
I believe it captures the warmth and charm the story best and makes me want to go back to it again and again.

I'll also admit that I think Christian Bale makes the best Laurie, portraying him as the sweet, boyish character we all love from the book. Winona Ryder is a perfect Jo and brings her to the screen wonderfully aswell.

Overall, I think am quite biased as to my feelings about this version!
But now let us discuss the most recent adaptation...





As I had strong attachments to the older adaptation of the story,
I admit I was skeptical about what this new adaptation would be like.
But I was surprised, and I actually enjoyed it. I don't like it quite as much as the 1994 one but it was still pretty good.

Emma Watson, Saoirise Ronan, Eliza Scanlen, and Florence Pugh were all fabulous and played their roles wonderfully.
It took me about half of the film to get used to Timothee Chalamet as Laurie. But he was alright apart from the fact that he looks like a teenager throughout the whole film, which doesn't really work when they have all grown up, got married and there he is still looking 18 (and Chalamet is actually 24...)!

Aside from that, there was a scene where Amy is talking to Laurie and some of the things she says had a slight feminist edge to them that irritated me a little.

Other Thoughts

Costumes
This is always my favourite part about period drama films! I'll insert pictures of some of the ones that I rally liked.

Jo's outfit here is so suited to her personality!

What girl wouldn't want to attend a ball in this dress!

This might be my favourite of all of them!

Beautiful dreamy Meg!

Again, Amy has a beautiful wardrobe!

The cinematography and sets were really beautiful and well done too. I loved the scenes in the garden like the photo above and John & Meg's wedding.

Plot

The plot was done slightly differently to the other adaptations I've seen. We are introduced to the characters when Meg is already married and a lot of what happens towards the end of the book has already happened in the beginning of the film. 

Then it goes back and forth between the past when they were young to the present events unfolding.

Not sure if that made sense!

So to wrap up this post, I did enjoy this adaptation and recommend it to those who love the story or would like an introduction to the book. But I do highly suggest that if you haven't already read the book go read it right now!

The book is best and is so dear to my heart! talking about it makes me want to go back and reread it.

keep blooming,

5 Movies That You Will Love If You're A Bookworm

Hello darlings!

As a bookworm, I love watching films with literary themes as well as reading itself.
So I came up with five movies containing bookish themes that I have seen and enjoyed that I am going to share these recommendations with you today.
There is something cosy about many of these films and you feel connected to many of the characters through the love of books.
I realise now that all of these are period drama films as well, meaning I clearly haven't seen any modern day films about writers or books and that historical set movies are my favourites!

Well, let's begin shall we!



The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I have watched this movie several times and both me & my mum love it. I confess that I am guilty of having not read the book yet but it is on my list!
The movie is so heartwarming and beautifully filmed, centered around how books bring people together among other things and is set during and after the Second World War.
This was a pretty obvious one to add to the list!




Tolkien

As we were watching this film, my mum whispered to me, "This is going to be one of your new favourites isn't it." She was right!
This movie is so beautiful and truly wonderful. Even though I've only read The Hobbit so far, I loved learning a bit about the life of J.R.R. Tolkien from this film.
The actors were fabulous and it was a thoroughly enjoyable! I especially recommend it if you are a Tolkien fan yourself.




Bright Star

You'd best be warned that though Bright Star is a very beautifully filmed movie, it will make you cry...a lot!
But aside from that it is on this list because it is all about the romance between the famous poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, and involves reading, writing & reciting poems and other literary themes.
There are stunning scenes with bluebell woods and cloudy pink spring blossoms to feast your eyes on. I can't say much for the costumes, especially worn by Abbie Cornish's character Fanny Brawne, but the rest of the film is really lovely.




Miss Potter

Who didn't love Beatrix Potter's daring books when they were younger? I still do in fact and am pleased to own a cute little box set of many of her books.
It has been a little while since I have seen Miss Potter but I had to include it on this list since it is about such a famous writer.




The Book Thief

Obviously I could not have a list of bookish movies with out including the movie which even has the word 'book' in the title!
I read The Book Thief  some time after we first watched the film but it has been a while since I have revisited either book or movie and I feel it is high time I did so.
So unfortunately I don't remember a whole lot about the story but I knew I had to include it in this post.



I hope you enjoyed this post and discovered some new movies.
Do you have any films you would add to this list?


keep blooming,

Movie Recommendations

Via Unsplash

Well, hello lovely folks!
Since I didn't manage to write and post a January Favourites, I have not talked about any of the movies I have seen so far this year. I have seen some pretty great ones though, and I am excited to share them with you today!




Priceless {2016}

Oh my! This year was the first time I became fully aware of the seriousness and reality of slavery, human trafficking and those such things. On February 7th, I took part in the End It Movement on Shine A Light on Slavery Day. (Info @enditmovement on Instagram)
Not long after that, my family watched this film. It covers the topic very well and from a great perspective. In a way it is a rather beautiful story, but it is full of hurt and brokenness.
Basically, it is about a guy named James who takes a job transporting a mystery cargo. When he realizes that he is actually delivering two young women to men running a sex trafficking business, he desperately tries to save them and get them back.
I highly recommend this movie!



Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer {2018}

This is another movie covering another big topic that is often hushed up. Though it may be an emotional watch for some, it is impacting and important to watch in this day and age.
I struggle to actually have any words  to describe it, since all it really is is pure evil.
So I just encourage you to watch it and then spread the word. Also, I think I should mention, that nothing is graphically shown but things are talked about and implied. In one of the court scenes, the lawyer shows the jury a photo of a baby that was aborted and still alive, and if you want to see the photo they give a link to their website at the end of the film.



God's Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness {2018}

Well, this list isn't very light hearted! Here we have another movie which is very relavent to what goes on around us today.
I very much enjoyed the first two films of this kind and wasn't as impressed with this on but it was still a good watch!



I feel weird adding this last one on the list as it is comic period drama but this post won't be very long without it and it is nice to end on a semi-positive note so here goes!


The Importance of Being Earnest {2002}

The Importance of Being Earnest is one of those witty, period dramas that is enjoyable for the whole family. It was entertaining, fairly decent and with  Colin Firth and Judi Dench added to the mix,
was quite good.


Thus concludes a few of the movies I can recommend that I have recently seen.
Qotd: Which one of these movies interests you?

xoxo
Hannah

Berkeley Square // Thoughts (or you could call it a review)

Via Pinterest

Oh hey, Wildflowers!
Been a while since I've rambled about a movie or series, hasn't it? Well, today I have a whole post for you about this ten episode mini-series called Berkeley Square.
I found out about this from another blogger and I am so glad we watched it because as I am about to show you, it's really good!

via Pinterest

Alrighty, so Berkeley Square follows the story of three nannies during 1902, who all work in different households in Berkeley Square, London and end up all becoming friends.
The stories of them and the families they work for all intertwine in a most wonderful way and the whole thing is very entertaining.


The Nannies

via Google

Hannah Randall is Irish(and starts of as a ladies maid), and her story begins when she has just lost the father of her baby(born out of wedlock)to a riding accident. Hannah then seeks employment in London, and after some struggles lands a job working as a live-in nanny in Berkeley Square, while her baby is left in the care of a Polish woman she met on her arrival in London.

via Google

Lydia Weston is a country girl, who is employed by her family' landlord to assist their elderly nanny and better her self by getting a respectable job.
She is quite a darling girl, innocent and unfamiliar with the ways of the rich and city folk, but she succeeds in being a great nanny and good friend.

via Google

Matty Wickam is probably my favourite because of her cute romance with Ned Jones! They are a cute couple who don't really get along at first, which makes it all the better.
Ned is employed in as a footman in the house where Matty works as a hiding place. He is wanted for a suspected murder which was really just a self-defence case. The housekeeper is his mother, hence why she gets him employed. Anyway, back to Matty.
Matty is a stern but friendly nanny if that makes any sense!


The Story

Even though the plot is quite simple, it has it's suspenseful and emotional moments. There are characters you despise and those that you love, which is essential to have a good story.
Also, I must mention the children in this show are adorable, especially Bertie! Bertie is Hannah's nannying child and he's very sweet. Everyone is just so lovable! Well, mostly everyone...

via Pinterest

Ned is such a darling which the children. He and Matty are one of the highlights of Berkeley Square in my opinion. They sort of have a hate-to-love- thing at first, but the moments when they acknowledge their feelings for each other are the best.
Okay, okay, I'll stop rambling about them!

As for content, there is a slight bit of language but nothing too bad and a case of adultery. But all is resolved in the end, I shall say that.

All in all, this was a great find and the best part is that the entire series is on YouTube! (So you have no excuse not to watch it!)

So, tell me, will you be watching this now?

xoxo
Hannah

"Life seems nothing more than a quick succession of busy nothings."

Dreamy!

How does one put into words all a review of a movie when they love it so much they have no words?
This is my dilemma right now. You see, after seeing the 2007 adaptations of Mansfield Park I decided that it wasn't my favourite JA story. But after watching this one, I LOVE IT!

I'm trying to figure out how to go about this review, I suppose I'll just begin to chat about what I loved about it(well, technically ALL of it was my favourite but that goes without saying!).

First of all, there are two quotes which I loved and stood out to me as I watched:
1. The title of this post, "Life seems nothing more than a quick succession of busy nothings" (- Fanny Price). It's soooo true though! Sometimes life does feel like that. When I heard it, I went back instantly so I could save it.
2. "There are as many forms of love as there are moments in time" - Edmund Bertram
Is this not one of the loveliest quotes you have ever heard?

♥♥♥

Next thing I want to point out is how many of the cast I recognized. I love it when that happens, and usually one of the actors/actresses are from Downton Abbey!
For instance, in Mansfield Prak, there was: Johnny Lee Miller (Mr Knightly in Emma), Lindsey Duncan (only seen her in a Poirot movie, but still..), Victoria Hamilton (Ruby Pratt in Larkrise to Candleford & Queen Mother in The Crown), Charles Edwards(Michael Gregson from Downton) and last but definitely not least........Hugh Bonneville(who I'm sure you know...*whispers, "Downton"*) played the very cringy Mr Rushworth. I mean look.......(ugh, that hair!)...

On the right

Moving on, I love Fanny and Edmund. Together, obviously but also as individuals. Fanny is a perfect mixture of a person who enjoys reading but is also intelligent and doesn't have her head in the clouds like some heroines who read a lot. She's not full of airs from being partially brought up in more upper-class society, even when she returns to her lower class family for a time.

The carriage scene!!!! My ♥!

Edmund and Fanny have a sort of brother/sister relationship, to begin with, but that grows into something more over time as they get older. Edmund is a good sort. 

He is sensible, friendly and loyal.

I was a bit annoyed at his attentions towards Mary Crawford, but that didn't go far when Edmund realised Mary's true colours and character.

Overall, Fanny and Edmund have are a sweet couple and the fact that they spent a big part of their childhood together makes it sweeter!

~

Meh.

Naturally, I did not take a liking to Henry Crawford. Though I do think that I much prefer this actor for Henry Crawford than the actor in the 2007 adaptation.
Mary Crawford was also not my favourite, to say the least. I was glad when Edmund was no longer interested in or engaged to her. I also like this actress better than in the other movie although they look strangely similar.

Love this picture, it's so dreamy and pretty!

Of course, the setting and style of the movie were lovely! The Regency period style was less gorgeous than say...the Victorian and Edwardian era(where the dresses are sumptuous and amazing!) but I still loved all the feels from that time period.

Though I have not read the novel, I do believe that Frances O'Connor played Fann marvellously. I like it when actresses aren't drop dead gorgeous but naturally beautiful and the simple makeup style helps. 

~

Again, despite me not having read any of Jane Austen's main 6 novels right through. if the movies depict her stories right, it seems to me that Austen had an incredible talent for casting her characters. She always has such a wide range and so many of them!

I love Fanny's little window desk nook.

This adaptation vs. the 2007 version is a perfect example of how it the story(portayed in a movie) can be great or not so great based on how it is presented. I for many reasons didn't enjoy the 2007 one as much. I thought that Mansfield Park(the storyline itself) was nit interesting and a bit dull. A lot of moping around until Edmund sees clearly and realises he is in love with Fanny. Whereas this version was utterly lovely and sweet!
(Hope I didn't lose you just there!)

I really liked this outfit of hers!

So that, my darlings, is most of the thoughts I could compose together about this wonderful movie.
I confess I nearly watched it again tonight(like a few days after first seeing it!).

~

Tell me, have you seen it and which version do you like better?

xoxo
Hannah