Far From The Madding Crowd

I finally had the chance to see this series on DVD. I have the DVD for some time now, and I finally sat down and watched it. I thought Pride and Prejudice was my favorite, but boy, am I wrong about that. Far From The Madding Crowd is a far more intriguing story about 3 men who love one woman. I fell very much for Gabriel Oak, the best part I saw Nathaniel Parker ever play in a film or series, and I was happy to find out that he was the winner after all. But between the first meeting with Bathsheba Everdene and their marriage, a lot happened. I am not going to tell the story here, as I think it is way to beautiful to discover by yourself. If you like the film, you also like the audiobook, read by Nathaniel Parker. Nat is one of the best reading voices I've ever heard. I shed a few tears when Gabriel proposed to Bathesheba for the second time. It was so well done, Nathaniel really deserves all the credit for this role. I will see this series more often now I know it is this good. It is really the best drama I've ever seen. I heartly recommand this film, book and audiobook to everybody who loves a good story with intrigues, romance and many more. It has everything I want to see or read in a story. This is a wonderful adeption and I hope they are not going to make more as they did with Pride and Prejudice and Vanity Fair, which was remade as film a few years ago. Far From The Madding Crowd really is a great series and I hope they are going to show it on the Dutch TV. I doubt that would happen as the series is 10 years old, but then who knows. If they are going to show it, they can put Bleak House by Charles Dickens (On the BBC a few years ago, with Charles Dance as wonderful, scary Tulkinghorn) on TV. But that is another story. I must say that I still don't like the character of Frank Troy in the series. You can see from miles away that he is no good. I have a sort of feeling for baddies in series and films and this is one for sure. In my opinion he got what he deserved.

Sleepless in Seattle

One of my favorite films is Sleepless in Seattle. I remeber seeing it in our local cinema (when we had one). It was a lovely film. I like films like this, romcoms with a romantic ending. I am not really into these so called action films where they show how many people they can hurt or kill in 2 hours. I think the story is important too. And the one of Sleepless in Seattle is a great one, in my opinion. It is about a man who looses the love of his life and moves with his son to Seattle. The son is very sad to see his dad so sad and hurt and he decides to call a radio programme to help his dad find a new wife. In the meanwhile a woman is on her way to family as it is Christmas eve and listens to this radioprogramme. She is very moved with the story behind it. It seems that every American woman listened to that programme as the man, Sam, and his son, Jonah, are receiving tons of letters from women who want to be Sam's new wife. One of them is Annie's, the woman on her way to her family. Jonah wants this lady to be his new mother. But there are some problems. Sam is dating a woman, who Jonah very much dislikes, and Annie is getting married to a very dull man called Walter. Jonah refuses to let the woman go and writes her a letter. He wants to meet her on top of the Empire States Building in New York on valentines day. Annie is in New York with Walter and Sam doesn't want to go to New York as he is dating this other woman, he thinks his son is going crazy. On valentines day, Sam discovers that Jonah is missing. He is on his way to meet his new mother. Jonah spends the whole day on top of the Empire States Building to ask every women up there if she is Annie. Annie is having a romantic dinner with Walter, when she sees the Empire States building lights up especially for valentines day. She tells Walter the truth and breaks of their engagement. She goes to the Empire States building to see if Sam and Jonah are there.

The good thing about this film is that Sam and Annie only meet twice in the film before they end up together. Annie is a journalist who wants to do some research on Sam and Jonah, and her boss allows her to go to Seattle. They only have eye contact in these moments and at the end they are together. Ofcourse they are. You can see it coming from miles around, but it is one of the reasons I like the film so much. I had a video tape of it, but I watched it so many times that it snapped. The DVD is a better alternative. It doesn't snap that easy. And Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are wonderful in this film. There is really magic when they meet. And the boy who played Jonah is a great actor too. I have no idea if he ever did something else after this film, but I really liked his way of acting. Sleepless in Seattle is really a kind of film for rainy, grey days, when you don't want to leave your house. I always get me a bunch of cookies or crisps and a cup of tea. I am always moved by the end of the film, even though I can almost spell the words they say.

Pride and Prejudice

The first time I heard about this story it was via a commercial on TV about the film that was about to come out in 2005. I really wanted to see it, as I like Keira Knightley as actress. A few days later I saw the making of Pride and Prejudice and I fell in love straight away. When I saw Mr Darcy I really felt very much in love. I went to see the film with a friend and her husband and I loved it. The only bad thing was that my friend whispered in my ear that she liked the film and asked me questions if I like Mr Darcy and so on. Also her hubby had to use the loo and prevented me from totally getting into the film. I was a bit annoyed with that and I went back on my own a week later. I really sank into the film. In the mean while I had seen the TV series with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. I can't say which one is better, both Colin and Matthew play their own version. But I must say that I think that Matthew dared to show us how insecure and vulnerable Mr Darcy was. I prefer him over the Mr Darcy Colin played. No offence to Colin at all, just my opinion. I also think that the film was better cast. I loved Donald Sutherland as Mr Bennet and Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Bennet. Tom Hollander was hilarious as Mr Collins. I love the scene where he proposes to Elizabeth, a wonderful role by Keira Knightley. But my favorites are the two proposals by Mr Darcy and the letter he wrote to Elizabeth. I always shed a little tear when I see that scene. I saw the film 16 times in the cinema. I couldn't get enough of it. I have the DVD ofcourse, even the American as they have another ending then we had. They get to see Mr and Mrs Darcy kiss, the lucky bastards. That was a comment I heard a lot when the film ended, there was NO kiss in the film. I also bought the book and I can read it over and over again. It is a wonderful lovestory and very well written. I tried more books by Jane Austen but they didn't make me happy. The one book I really love is Pride and Prejudice. By Jane Austen that is. I really like the character Elizabeth Bennet. She shows courage, love and all the other emotions so well to me. Real girlpower and that in the 17/1800s. Jane is also a wonderful character, but she is a little to sweet, she doesn't dare to stand up against things. I really like the Bennet family, they are a one of a kind family to me. But I am really in love with Pemberley. They used Chatsworth for that and I hope to visit it one day, to step in Keira's/ Elizabeth's footsteps. Pride and Prejudice is really one of my favorites, and with Far From The Madding Crowd a book and film I can take to a deserted island. I am sure that I can spend a lot of days there with these books and DVD's.

Dear Fatty by Dawn French

This Thursday I was in town to do some groceryshopping. I walked into my favorite bookstore to see if the book I ordered was in. It was and I took it home. I started reading straight away. I haven't finished it yet, but it is a wonderful book already. Dear Fatty is written by Dawn French a great English comedian. It is a sort of biography, but then different. Dawn wrote letters to people she cares about and she is or was fan of. It is not a normal biography. This is much more fun. I love to read biographies, but most of them are just a story of someones life. A summing up of time. This one is totally different. It goes from young Dawn to older Dawn and back. She writes very funny and witty. She makes me see that I can be happy with the person I am. She writes about being fat, which I am not, in one letter I read. And the way she does it really makes me laugh and look at myself in a different way. She is talking about having 3 chins and having problems to buy bras in size 42H (I had no idea they had them in that size), and it is very recognizable, even though I have another shape of body then Dawn. I like her as comedian and she is a good writer too. It seems that this will be the only book she will ever write, but it really is a recomandation for those of you who want to have a laugh, but also want to read about Dawns life. Some of the letters are emotional aswell and Dawn captures it all so well. This book, not finished yet, is worth its money.

The Importance of Being Earnest

After reading Far From The Madding Crowd, The Importance of Being Earnest was on my list to read. I didn't realize it was a play untill I opened the small book. This is a book I couldn't put down. It really is a funny book to read. I loved it. Oscar Wilde really was not only famous for his trials, but also a very talented writer. I did read a book and a play now and they were really fun to read. This one was witty, funny and sharp. I have to see the film by Oliver Parker again. I saw it some years ago, but I really didn't get the story. Maybe that will be better now that I read the book. I still have a lot of books here that I still want to read, and it seems that the pile is only growing as I still buy books.

Far From The Madding Crowd

I finaly had the chance to read Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. I only found out before I started reading that I have the abridged version, so I just ordered the "proper" book on line. I started reading and I couldn't put it away. That hardly happens to me. It happened when I read Pride and Prejudice some years ago. Far From The Madding Crowd really is a charming, sad and lovely story. As I write it down I see that it looks a bit strange, but for me it is true. It is a very moving story, even in the abridged version. I felt very sad for Gabriel Oak when Bathsheba Everdene (how on earth did Thomas Hardy found a name like that) refused his proposal. I don't know why but I didn't like Frank Troy from the moment he walked into the story. He really was the bad guy from the moment I read his name. The story is very well written and I really seem to have a fascination for older and dead writers. I am really looking forward to read the "proper" book. I also have the audiobook read by Nathaniel Parker, who also played Gabriel Oak in the TV series. I still have to see it and listen to it. And I am sure that I love it. I think I better keep my kleenex ready when I see the film. I am really curious on other books by Thomas Hardy now. But first I have some other classics to read. This is really one of the best books I've ever read. It is in the top 2 of favorite books next to Pride and Prejudice.

Anna Parker

Anna Parker is someone I admire very much for her style of clothing, her acting and her interior design. I discovered her in a film called Othello. I watched that because I became a fan of Nathaniel Parker a little time before that. Anna is mentioned in the title role as Anna Patrick, her maiden name. I thought she was stunning, an actress like I hardly see anymore. There are very few actrices I like and Anna became one of them. I also became very fond of the style of director Oliver Parker. Later I found out that they are all 3 connected as Anna is Nathaniel's wife and Oliver is his brother. I found a few of Anna's films and TV series on line and it is really good to see them. I grow to like Anna more and more as actrice. But she gave it up when she and Nathaniel got children and after a small part in Rome, she never returned to acting. I think it is a loss, but she has found something else and I am more than happy with that. Last year I found a magazine called Living Etc where there was a feature on her house. I loved what she did with it. It is something I am looking for, for a long time. She gave me inspiration to buy certain things and change some things in my house. Anna also inspired me when it comes to clothes. She looks very stylish and feminine to me and I love the way she dresses. I don't like her because I am a Nathaniel Parker fan as people think sometimes. I really like her way of acting, clothing and interior design. I really hope to see more of her interior design, also in other houses. I am very curious on what she did there. You can see Anna's work as interior designer if you click on the links under this blog.

http://www.livingetc.com/housesGallery/article.php?id=224750&num=0

http://www.livingetc.com/houses/Stylish_white_house_article_224772.html#showpic

http://www.homesandgardens.com/homes/readershomes/Large_galleried_home_article_117615.html, Anna's old house.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0665811/, more about Anna's acting carreer.