From Page to Screen- "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones"

"It's after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best looking guy in the nightclub just stabbed a boy to death- but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiralling into darkness, Clary realises that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunters- a war in which she has a fateful role to play..."

This blurb was the first thing that made me fall in love with the 'Mortal Instruments' series, which one of my amazing friends told me I had to read. 

As a fan, I was thrilled when I first heard that they were to be made into movies, and I absolutely loved the movie of the 'City of Bones,' and I'm sure many fans across the globe were very much pleased with the finished product. Despite (shockingly) being a 12% rotten tomato and considered a bit of a flop, the experience I had when watching it for the first time on the big screen was so wonderful: the atmosphere in the audience completed this viewing of my favourite book adaption. As the lights dimmed, everyone cheered- and I'm not exaggerating. People were laughing at even the subtlest of jokes, cheering at the greenhouse scene with Clary and Jace, and when the credits were rolling and the lights came back on, everyone applauded with so much enthusiasm. This never happens at the cinema, but this was how much the film that has been considered as a "shallow and somewhat spiritless picture" was appreciated.

Of course, changes were made in the film, for example the emphasis on the rune:

which I though was an effective decision, as it has now become recognised as the logo of the 'Mortal Instruments' series, but also contributed to the storyline.
One of my personal critiques about the movie's changes was the explanation of the twist that impacts the relationship of the protagonist and the love interest. I don't want to spoil the plot of this twist for those who haven't read or seen the movie, but I think the movie could have executed it better and leave the audience in ignorance about the truth with Clary and Jace, like in the book. When I finished the first book, I was like "OH MY GOODNESS! OH NO!" whereas in the movie, we are told the truth so it doesn't leave us having a slight panic, desperate to see if there is a mistake. But other than that, I was so pleased with how the book came to life.

The actors were well cast, Lily Collins playing a convincing Clary. I don't know about you, but when reading, I always imagine I'm the protagonist and if I don't find them engaging, I usually stop reading (which rarely happens). I really enjoyed stepping into the shoes of Clary, and Lily Collins was able to step into her shoes and finding them the perfect fit. (I know that is a really corny thing to say, but sometimes they need to be said) She was able to show the vulnerability and innocence of Clary's character, as well as the fiery and intelligent side to her. The wonderful thing about Cassandra Clare's protagonist is that she does have these very contrasting sides that compliment each other and also make it possible to believe her to be a an actual person. Clary is an ordinary girl, and when being thrown into the world of Shadowhunters, she shows curiosity and being scared- she's not afraid to say she is afraid, but that just demonstrates her strength.

Jace is a loveable character. His dry humour and his arrogance just makes the reader fall for him alongside Clary. Jamie Campbell Bower played a slightly different Jace to what I always imagined when reading, the actor being much more dry in his execution of lines, however I thought it worked very well. The performance wasn't forced, which made Jace appear so natural and witty, and his accent  made Jace even more charming.
The only problem for me was that I couldn't stop looking at Robert Sheehan, who played Clary's best friend, Simon. He is a fantastic actor (who I loved in the British series 'Misfits') and his Simon was exquisite. The awkward personality of Simon that is so adorable in the book, was present on the screen, and even though I may be bias because of my crush on Robert Sheehan, I can't think of anyone better for the role.

I'm one of those people who loves studying the characters and storyline and seem to forget to mention the effects, which I thought were amazing; my favourite being towards the end when Clary uses a rune to cause the bad guys to freeze in motion, also when they enter the vampire lair. I don't really know cinema and camera terminology, but the city scape clips made me want to go to New York city, unfortunately not on the flying motorbike like in the book, but the views were incredible.

The soundtrack was also a good mixture of genres, from techno, creating a dangerous and artificial atmosphere with 'Into the Lair' by Zedd, to the melodic and soulful music of Ariana Grande and Nathan Sykes's 'Almost is never enough,' contrasting so greatly and them being the first two songs on the official album. The album contains so many great artists, which would be enjoyed by so many because- as I said before- of the eclectic selection: alternative, pop, metal... Listening to the album, I was thinking which songs really stood out to me and really suite the story, and it came down to two: 'Heart by Heart' by Demi Lovato and 'When the Darkness Comes' by Colbie Caillat, which are really lovely songs. Music, I think, is crucial in a movie, as it is a medium to convey the story; it sets the feelings of the characters and the situation they are in, which books don't have, so I am really happy with the soundtrack.

Even though reviews have been pretty poor for the movie, the filmmakers are going ahead with making the second: 'City of Ashes,' which I, along with the hundreds (if not thousands) of fans will be very excited about, as well as waiting for the last book in series which is to be released in mid 2014.

Once Upon A Time

I love stories. When I was little, whenever the words "Once upon a time" were read aloud, the world would just vanish around me and I entered a fairytale. I became the hero of the story, I would be surrounded by magic and I would always have a happily ever after.

Even though I'm eighteen now, I can't help but relive my childhood excitement whenever I start reading a new novel. In these novels, I once again enter a whole new world. I'm not exactly a "deep" reader, for example, I'm not a a fan of Jane Austen or other classic authors, I'm more of an urban fantasy romance lover. My favourite series is Cassandra Clare's 'Mortal Instruments' series and Lauren Kate's 'Fallen' series. I will be writing about my opinions about these books as well as some of my other favourite novels, as well as some books I'm reading at the time, but for right now I am going to cover the concept of an urban fantasy story.

I have to confess that I have not read the 'Twilight' saga, which you may think odd considering it pretty much is the "spokesperson" of the genre. However when it was the massive hype when I was fourteen, I was very defensive of 'Harry Potter' when everyone compared 'Twilight' to what I considered as the classic of our times. So on principle I have never read it. Mind you, I am the person who continued doing maths in my last year of school because I thought it would be weird to go to school without complaining about it. Worst decision of my life- so you probably can see that I have no sense of logic.

                                                                               

Anyway, despite my personal conflict with 'Twilight,' I love the concept of a girl living in what she thinks is a mundane world, then something occurs which turns her life upside down and she discovers that vampires/ angels/ fallen angels/ werewolves/ witches and so on exist. And she falls in love with an incredibly good looking guy, which as a reader you wish they actually existed, and together fight the bad guys in an apocalyptic battle and save the world and end with a kiss. To me, that is one of the best plots. Many people complain that these stories are the same-same plot- but it is the incredible formula for this genre and without meaning to sound harsh, but the people who bag these books should just not read them. The "generic" format of urban fantasy romance is just as generic as a fairytale and fairytales are beautiful things. We all love the prospect of a "happily ever after."

Red

The other day, I went to Taylor Swift's 'Red' concert and I have to say I was pretty much swept away. And not just by the music, but by what she said. Within these introductions she gave us, I realised one of the reasons I like her music so much is because she has remained human. Which sounds pretty odd, but when I think about it, so many singers that become world famous become so materialistic and their fans idolise them to the point that it becomes like something similar to worship.

But when hearing Taylor Swift, she was able to engage her entire audience by talking about the most human emotions we have: love, joy and heartbreak. These are so simple words, but the most complex emotions there are- and the most confusing, which we can all relate to.

"Losing him was blue like I'd never known

Missing him was dark grey all alone

Forgetting him is like trying to know somebody you never met

Loving him was red"

When this album was released last year, I was going through some emotional roller coaster, and I had it on repeat for weeks. Without trying to sound so cliche, but whenever I hear these songs, it's like all those feelings come rushing back.  And it takes you by surprise; because you think you have moved on, but some memories and emotions can never truly leave you. It is amazing, how- with just a few notes- someone can be transported back to a certain time, to a certain place. 

Seeing Taylor Swift perform live, you could actually see the pain in her face. In her song "All too well" there was a pause that lasted for about half a minute. And in those seconds, even though so many were cheering, she didn't hide the hurt that she must have felt when she first wrote that song. And it was painful to watch, as she couldn't turn her back from the audience; she was exposed on the stage and it was so raw. For those who aren't Taylor Swift fans, that is fine. But for me- her songs capture so clearly the feelings that I felt a year ago. I can "remember it all too well."

Risks

'Once upon a time' is the most basic and universal opening there is.

I didn't know how to begin this blog at all, and I thought: "why not just go back to the basics?" I am pretty much terrified at the idea that someone could be reading this, but I'm even more terrified at the thought that no one will read it. So by some miracle someone is actually taking the time to read "Once upon a time:" thank you so much and please don't stop reading. I'll try not to babble too badly.

I'm not even sure what this blog is going to be about- I'll probably talk about books, songs, poetry, random discoveries that I thought interesting... I am a great believer in random discussions, because my mind is pretty much everywhere. One moment I'm thinking about running late for the train (which I always seem to do) and the next I'm wondering if it really is true that a toilet flushes on an e flat note.

Anyway, so despite me feeling terrified, in life we must take risks. Here is a poem I found once by an anonymous writer, which I think sums up taking risks perfectly:

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool;

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental;

To reach out to another is to risk involvement;

To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self;

To place your ideas, your dreams before the crowd is to risk loss;

To love is to risk not being loved in return;

To live is to risk dying;

To hope is to risk despair;

To try at all is to risk failure.

But risk we must.

Because the greatest hazard to life is to risk nothing.

The man who risks nothing 

does nothing...

has nothing...

is nothing...

He may avoid suffering...

but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love or live.

Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave. 

He has fortified freedom.

Only the person who risks

Can be called free.

And here is me, taking a risk.