If it ain't broken, don't fix it

Or in other words, if a book just will not translate into the big screen, let it be in the old school print reality, where it belongs... As a big fan of Nicholls' book One Day, I was really looking forward to its adaptation. I was curious how Lone Scherfig was going to render the book's witty dialogues, work with the fact that each chapter depicts just one day from the characters' life over the span of twenty years, and above all, how she was going to make the viewers feel like we know Dex and Em forever...

Well, she did not, in my humble opinion anyway...Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are both fantastic and definitely capture the essence of their characters, yet what made the book fresh, intriguing and simply gripping, falls flat in the movie. It seems that yet again the devil is in the details as much as inbetween the lines. Without the humour and brilliant sarcastic intelligence defining Nicholls' book for me, what we are left with is altogether pleasant, but a bit blant love story of two friends who discover years later that they do love each other, only then it is too late. It has been done way too many times to stand out. Definitely a big one zero for the book on this one...

Pulp culture

OK, I admit to being guilty of spending good few Autumn Saturday evenings watching the X Factor...Guilty as charged...Leaving aside all the diva drama and probably unresolvable issue whether the show actually finds or destroys talents, every now and again it does get entertaining...Although I find it very hard to warm towards any of this year contestants, I must say I was a big fan of Matt Cardle last year. I loved his unique voice and the fact that even through the cheesiest of cheesy songs he managed to project some of his quirky personality. I imagine I was not the only person to expect him to do well and pull out a few tricks out of his famous hat (if you watched the show, you'll know what I mean...). And I guess I was not the only person to be sorely disappointed.

No doubts any album needs to be a collaborative work of many people, whose visions will have to meet somewhere in the middle. And I do understand that before you establish your position in the music world, you may have to compromise every now and again in the name of the 'broader picture'. Yet I am baffeled with this one...The worst thing is Matt Cardle himself does not seem convinced...Well, have a listen yourselves...

Anyway, in my humble opinion, the best thing to come out of Matt's X Factor 'adventure' (or misadventure according to some ...) was that more people had the opportunity to find out about his original band - Seven Summers. Now, that was like a breath of fresh air - original, energetic, and full of the good vibe that indie music should be all about. All that remains to be said is that I shall join the league of people who hope Matt Cardle will go back to his roots and let's allow music to speak for itself...

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Change begins with a whisper...

Today a few words about an amazing movie I have seen lately ... I must admit I went to see The Help without too high expectations but came out of the cinema absolutely gobsmacked! And not only for the gripping storyline and Oscar-worth performance of Emma Stone, Viola Davis, or Octavia Spencer, to mention just a few! It was refreshing to finally see a movie about strong empowered women which manages to avoid cheap 'cheesyness' and moralistic tone! It will make you laugh out loud, it will make you shed a tear or two, it will even make you question your own inner hypocrite ... And above all, it will make you feel good, and make you want to make good things happen around you! All in two hours and ten minutes which you will not even notice passing!

I just wish that more movies like this were made so that little girls of today do have some role models other then self-obsessed celebrities famous for being famous or their perfect hair and not much else to offer..