Movie Monday: Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Another week of Movie Monday, a fun meme from Stephs Stacks where books are compared to their movie counter parts on the big screen. It is more like Movie Tuesday as I couldn't get to a computer yesterday. Nevertheless, my choice this week is....

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is a thrilling new 3D movie based on the book, due to be out in cimemas around the world this summer. Critics are saying its a fantasy, horror, thriller, supernatural action film... if you ask me, they probably couldn't decide where it fit.

The story itself is about Abraham Lincolm, the 16th President of the United States who secretly is a vampire hunter. He discovers that his mother really died at the hands of a vampire and seeks vengeance. The book is written like a biography, following Abraham Lincoln's real life.... but with vampires. Written by the same author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Seth Grahame-Smith and produced by no other than Tim Burton. I myself am currently in the middle of the book, so don't worry I won't be providing any spoilers. I am however extremely excited about the film as it looks fantastic. A review of the book will follow when I am finished with it. 

The Book

Goodreads

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

Quotes:

"henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..."

"In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares."

"There are but two types on men who desire war: those who haven't the slightest intention of fighting it themselves, and those who haven't the slightest idea what it is."

The Movie

IMDB

Release Date: 22 June (US) | 2 August 2012 (UK)

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Producer: Tim Burton

Writers: Seth Grahame-Smith (screenplay), Simon Kinberg (screenplay)

Stars: Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell and Dominic Cooper

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, discovers vampires are planning to take over the United States. He makes it his mission to eliminate them.

Film Posters

There are three film posters to date and I am not sure why they chose to create so many. I do however love all of them, so I thought I would share the other two.

Trailer

There are an obscene amount of trailers, so I have narrowed it down to two which will give you a good idea of the film.

Special Feature:
Behind the scenes action



I would love to hear your thoughts on the book or film.
Don't forget, my giveaway ends by the end of today, so if you haven't entered, head over now.

Movie Monday: Anna Karenina

Another week of Movie Monday, a fun meme from Stephs Stacks where books are compared to their movie counter parts on the big screen.

This week I decided to choose an upcoming film set to be released on 7th September this year, Anna Karenina. For those not familiar with the book, Anna Karenina is a novel written by Russian author, Leo Tolstoy. It is said to be one of the greatest novels ever written, while I do agree that it is a powerful story, it can get rather exhausting to read. There have been numerous adaptations, none of them really doing a great representation of the book, so I have my fingers crossed that a british version may just bring it some life.

The novel follows the story (more like tragedy) of Anna Karenina, a married socialite who has an affair with the affluent Count Vronsky, all while her family is in the middle of their own drama and infidelities. Vronsky is open to marrying Anna if only she leaves her husband. However, with pressure from Russian society and her personal insecurities, she can't get her act together. The entire novel follows the drama that is Anna's life, from attempting to follow her heart to being shunned from high society, put simply, it takes a toll on her life.
Amidst the novel is another story, throwing readers into the other side of Russian life. Set in the countryside on the estate of a landowner named Levin. It follows his life in managing his estate, personal life and marriage. Levin's story is slightly connected to Anna's through her brother Oblonsky.

While I am not in love with this book, I have a strong connection with it as my final High School English paper was written on it. For a year of my life, I was thrown deep into the characters lives and stories. The agricultural portion of the book that follows Levin is utterly exhausting, however I have family in Europe that have been through the same situations, so it was like reading their stories. It made it a little bit easier to handle. I haven't heard of any release dates for the US as this is a British film. If you do hear otherwise, do let me know.

The Book

Goodreads

Anna Karenina seems to have everything – beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life – and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself.

Quotes:
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"

"Hideous! As long as I live I shall never forget it. She said it was a disgrace to sit beside me."

"an extraordinary woman! It's not her cleverness, but she has such wonderful depth of feeling. I'm awfully sorry for her."

The Movie

IMDB

Release Date: 7 September 2012

Director: Joe Wright

Writers: Tom Stoppard (screenplay), Leo Tolstoy (novel)

Stars: Keira Knightley, Kelly Macdonald, Jude Law, Michelle Dockery, Matthew Macfadyen

The film is directed by Joe Wright and is his third collaboration with Keira Knightley, one of which was for her Oscar-nominated role as Elizabeth Bennet in “Pride and Prejudice", where Matthew Macfadyen also starred as Mr Darcy.
This new adaptation includes Keira as Anna Karenina who has an affair with Vronsky, played by Aaron Johnson (the geeky guy from Kick-Ass - not the best choice in my opinion). Jude Law plays Anna's husband (look below for a hilarious aged photo of him). Matthew Macfayden (famous for his role as Mr Darcy) plays Anna's brother Oblonsky. I know its from a different movie, but just doesn't feel right to me.

No trailers as yet, so please enjoy the photos, taken from Focus Features.

Have you read the book? If so, are you looking forward to the film?
I am on the fence with the casting, some are great choices, others are not. What do you think?

Movie Monday: P.S. I Love You

I am trying something new this year and joining in on Steph's Stacks Movie Monday meme! I am a big movie buff and love seeing great books on the big screen.

My first featured film is one of my favourite P.S. I Love You. The book was first written by Cecelia Ahern in 1994 and turned into a film in 2007. The film itself was a hit and starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler. While the book itself was a hit, I adore the film, the soundtrack and the cast. There were some minor changes in the film, but if you ask me, they did the book no harm. One example is the letters - In the book, Gerry's letters are given to Holly all at once with the note to read one a month. In the movie, it was more dramatic and Holly would receive a letter in random places. A bit of a tearjerker at times, nevertheless a wonderful book and film.

The Book

Goodreads:
A novel about holding on, letting go, and learning to love again.

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

The kind of enchanting novel with cross-generational appeal that comes along once in a great while, PS, I Love You is a captivating love letter to the world!


"Finding someone you love and who loves you back is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. But finding a true soul mate is an even better feeling. A soul mate is one who understands you like no other, loves you like no other, will be there for you forever, no matter what. They say that nothing lasts forever, but I am a firm believer in the fact that for some, love lives on even after we're gone."

The Movie

IMDB:
Release date: UK 4 January 2008/ US 21 December 2007
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Writers: Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Steven Rogers (screenplay), Cecelia Ahern (novel)
Stars: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler and Harry Connick Jr

Holly Kennedy is beautiful, smart and married to the love of her life - a passionate, funny, and impetuous Irishman named Gerry. So when Gerry's life is taken by an illness, it takes the life out of Holly. The only one who can help her is the person who is no longer there. Nobody knows Holly better than Gerry. So it's a good thing he planned ahead. Before he died, Gerry wrote Holly a series of letters that will guide her, not only through her grief, but in rediscovering herself. The first message arrives on Holly's 30th birthday in the form of a cake, and to her utter shock, a tape recording from Gerry, who proceeds to tell her to get out and "celebrate herself". In the weeks and months that follow, more letters from Gerry are delivered in surprising ways, each sending her on a new adventure and each signing off in the same way; P.S. I Love You. Holly's mother and best friends begin to worry that Gerry's letters are keeping Holly tied to the past...

Trailer



Extra: Music Clip from film - Gerard Butler singing