tv review : Brothers and Sisters 1, 2, 3

Title: Brothers & Sisters
Year: 2006-2009
Creator: Jon Robin Baitz
Rating: ★★★★★

 

My thoughts: Since I've seen all three series in the last four months or so, I thought I'd write a review of the whole show so far, as it had been ages since a show had interested me so much! I love Brothers & Sisters because the story flows very naturally, characters are many and all interesting, and I like the way I really cared for every single one of them after only having seen a few episodes!

What I like about this show so much is that nothing is ever either right or wrong, but there are different sides to it. In the same way, there's not good characters and bad characters, but I have to say, I really do like everyone in the show. That's because, even if someone acts in a way that has negative consequences of other people, they always show you the reasons for this behaviour, and it's easy to understand them and to relate to both sides most times. An example of this is Holly: she's meant to be the 'evil' woman who takes over the family business, but I've often seen her as a very independent person who really cares about her family and ultimately tries to make decisions that will make everyone happy in the end. Her past is also very interesting, I've often wondered what she had been like :) Rebecca is also like that, she has her flaws but she's sort of in the middle between the two families, and I like that about her.

My favourite characters will have to be Nora (Sally Field is an amazing actress, she really makes you care so much for her character), Scotty, Justin and Kitty. Kitty is the one I've loved since the very first episode, and she's probably a little bit of what I would like to be at some point: opinionated, passionate, wanting more from my life and not letting people getting in the middle of all this. I like that she's such a strong character with a great personality but can also be very fragile at moments. I also love Kevin, the senator, Julia, Sarah, Saul... All of them are interesting in their own way. 

book review: Uglies by Scott Westerfield

 

Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfield
Read on: 2208/09
Rating: ★★★★★

My thoughts: Uglies is such a clever book that it has already made its way into the list of my favourite reads. It's about a future version of our world where, to avoid diversity, at 16 you have an operation and from an "ugly" you are turned into a "pretty", which means that you would look perfect, just like everybody else. I wasn't sure I would have liked this book, as the plot didn't say much more than this, but I found it so clever in the way it develops, and so incredibly well written. The style is simple but effective, and it grips you from the start to the end. I often find that so many books have a slow beginning and then get better and better, but Uglies was interesting and captivating from the start. It's a different read, instructive, that makes you think and that entertains you all at the same time. It's so hard to find a book which is based on a completely original idea, and Scott Westerfield managed to write one.

Photography: Liverpool

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film review: Antichrist

Title: Antichrist
Year: 20089
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Seen in: August 2009
Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

My thoughts: Antichrist was an interesting film. I wouldn't really know what genre to categorize it in, and I don't think I'd be able to offer a detailed plot of it, as it's completely unique. There's violence, swearing, mutilations, shocking sequences, things being cut or damaged, running, hiding, but even black and white scenes with soft music, scenes where nothing really happens in the surface and others where you're not really sure of what's going on, and whether it's really happening or it's all in the imagination.

The truth is that this film can be seen from a series of different points of view, none of which would be wrong or right in absolute. Lars Von Trier has put in some amazing shots and has directed this film in an amazing way, even if it shows two really disturbed people doing strange things and going to strange places. It's not entirely symbolic or entirely realistic, it's just a story about a "him" and a "her" who are never given name, and between whom it's really difficult to determine who is the bad person and who is the good one. This is the question that stays with the audience at the end of the film: did she go crazy because of his rationality? Has she made him like this? Or has he made her that way? Who is the "antichrist"? And I think that this is exactly the confusing and genius effect the director wanted to leave. I have to say though, I won't watch this film again for a very long time, because of all the violence and the shock...