Alana’s Comments (group member since Apr 19, 2013)

Alana’s comments from the Classics Without All the Class group.

Is it terrible that due to Netflix, a lot of the shows I've been watching lately are the old ones from the 80s? I'm talking Murder, She Wrote, Magnum, P.I., MacGyver.... and I love settling back into those shows, where you know exactly what's going to happen and everything cheesy and good is going to work out in the end. Something very comforting about that.

I quit watching GOT after the first season. So much stuff from the books had to be left out so they could throw in as many lengthy sex scenes as possible. Granted, he kind of wrote the books that way, which is another reason they are way too long, but still. I only started watching it because there are so many characters that I thought seeing them on screen would help me keep them straight in my head, but I think it only made it more confusing.

I wanted to get into Person of Interest and that new Keifer Sutherland show with the kid (completely forgot the name of it) but just didn't have time when they started. Are they both still on? Any good?

Rose wrote: "Fern Gully
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
The Girl of the Limberlost
The Trouble With Angels"

I didn't know Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken was a book!!!! I must read this, it's a wonderful movie! And based on a true story, I understand. All the better!

I didn't realize Castle was based on a book series? I will have to look into reading this... (I haven't seen the show yet either but I keep hearing great things about it.)

Jessica wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Doesn't your perception depend on whether you saw the film first or read the book? For instance The Hobbit is coming out soon, I read that as a child, and read it to my own children..."

I hated "Wallflower" as a book, so I'm not inclined to see the film. Sometimes that's probably unfair, as I hated "Atonement" (couldn't get past the first 30 pages, literally!) but the movie was ok (not great, but ok).

Someone will have to let me know if I'm missing out by not seeing "wallflower."

Jess wrote: "I really enjoyed the film adaptation of The Hunger Games, I thought it was quite faithful to the book (having said that, there was quite a lot of time between me reading the book and the movie comi..."

I actually preferred the Swedish version. Granted, I saw it first (and before they were even talking about making an American version, so it wasn't all that well known at the time) but I thought Lizbeth was so much better acted and more engaging as a person. The American one was rather flat.

However, with the difference in ending and plot in the two (minor differences, but some variations on the wrap-up in the end) make me very curious to read the book and see which one is more "accurate" or if they are both different from the book.

Ryan wrote: "
The Lord of the Rings: Movies > Books. Tolkien told a wonderful story... he just didn't tell it as wonderfully as Peter Jackson. "

O, wow, I have to disagree with you there. While Jackson did an absolutely fantastic job bringing those amazing books to film, the books are still incredibly better. So many rich details and stories. But I can understand where they might get cumbersome and drag out for some people.

Evalien wrote: "Has anyone read Battle Royale?
I love the movie with Takeshi Kitano but haven't tried the book yet.

Also Howls moving castle, great Ghibli film and lovely book as well."

I haven't seen the movie yet but the book Battle Royale was absolutely fantastic (a thousand times better than Hunger Games, which I'm not entirely convinced she didn't plagiarize, since they're practically the same story, except Hunger Games is way toned down. Battle Royale is something like 600 pages long but the action moved so fast that I tore through it in two days!

I read it for another group a few months back and we actually tackled it as a two month read, so starting early is probably a good idea. I finished it in just a couple of weeks, but I was in the middle of deep house cleaning and listened to it on audio for at least a couple hours every day. I'm pretty certain I had the Nadia May version, and she did an excellent job. There are large sections that would have been rather dreary if I hadn't had her voice adding just the right been of irony to all the right places where sarcasm would have been understood by the original audience. I highly recommend audio as it IS lengthy and a bit wordy in places. It keeps you trudging on.