Reading And Watching Joyously

 So many people have recommended this book to me, over a period of several years. Even after Mum lent me a copy I took a while to start it - I think I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. At first that did seem to be the case, it took me a while to get into it. The short chapters felt a bit jarring and I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but the more I read the more I loved it. The short chapters made sense in between longer chapters and I loved the way it moved back and forward in time so that the story slowly became clearer and clearer. It had brilliant word use and really painted a picture of both the French and German situation during WWII. It was still more sympathetic towards the French point of view, but it definitely showed how things came about in Germany. It really did live up to the hype once I relaxed into it.

 I have never seen The Bodyguard - I didn't like Kevin Costner when I was younger and had little interest in watching his movies. I felt like watching it tonight, after hearing 'I will Always Love You' a few times recently, and knowing that I often do like things now that I didn't in the past. I really enjoyed it. Kevin Costner was actually really good (I don't mind him now), and Whitney Houston was as well. I liked the music, the storyline flowed well, the characters all seemed quite believable. It was quite scary in parts, I hadn't expected that, and although it didn't make me cry like I thought it would, I liked the ending.

 Liam and Amelie watched this (separately) a while ago, and they and lots of their friends love it and talk about it a lot. Over the past couple of weeks Caitlin and Amelie have watched it right through and I've seen bits and pieces as I've gone about my day - sometimes sitting down to watch a whole episode, sometimes just seeing glimpses or listening as I do something else. I see why the kids love it - the storyline is engaging, complicated, unexpected at times. The dialogue is funny, the animation is really good, and the whole concept comes together really well. The characters are each very individual and develop strongly over the seasons. They each have their doubts and their faults and they come to accept them. There's a strong message that your destiny can be achieved in unexpected ways - and that you always have choices, even if there are expectations on you. Also that everyone has a role even though everyone's skills and strengths are different. I'd definitel

 Caitlin watched this last night and asked me to watch it with her today. I hadn't heard of it before, I was happy to watch it because she knows what I like and I trust her recommendations. I really enjoyed it. It's a fairly simple story about mental illness, and touches on a variety of ways it can present, and how debilitating it can be. It showed that there can be light even when things feel really dark, and the importance of having a support network. I really enjoyed the multi-age friendships that evolved too.  It ended up being a fairly feel-good movie - I think the point it was making is that things CAN get better with time, even when the mental illness persists.

 The girls watched Bolt today, and I watched bits of it. This was a big favourite of Amelie's many years ago - we've all watched it SO many times and we all love it. It's a good story,  not too scary, well cast and well animated. Amelie loves the hamster, I love the cat (and Penny!), and Bolt is pretty cool. The thing I got from it today is that just because you aren't who you thought you were, doesn't mean you're not capable of doing the things you were doing (or in simpler terms - identity doesn't define what you can do)

 I'd been wanting to watch this for a while - the cast looked good and I love anything set in the Northen Territory. Caitlin was browsing Netflix looking for something to watch while she crocheted, and when she flicked past this one I said I was keen to watch it, she said she was as well, so it was an easy choice for our evening. I really liked it. The characters were cast perfectly, they were all believable. They were funny and cute and likable and their decisions made sense. I loved all the Northern Territory footage - Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine Gorge and the Katherine River, and the Tiwi Islands - I haven't been there but would really love to (I've been to all the other places shown). There was a little bit of dramatic licence - they drove on dirt roads to get to Kakadu from Darwin, which isn't necessary - but it all added to the feel of the movie. The soundtrack was great - the songs were all appropriate and there was a heap of beautiful Tiwi music. Predictable but n