The Lone Ranger

Hi Ho, Silver! Away!

Yeah, that's right; the popular TV series has been made into a film by Disney, and you know what? It's really entertaining.

The story of the lone ranger is told by an aged Tonto, looking back fondly on the transformation of a law man into a gun-slinging outlaw, bent on seeking justice and revenge for the death of his brother. The one thing that any viewer should know is not to go into the film expecting anything other than a romp. Take it with a pinch of salt, and you'll be laughing through the ridiculous chase sequences and oddities. 

The film plays entirely on the fact that Disney have kept the original storyline, but made some amusing changes along the way that will make devoted fans of the series happy. 'Kemo Sabe' (the name that Tonto calls him, for example, originally meant 'trusted friend', or trusty scout, but in this version it means 'wrong brother', a jibe that the survivor of the ambush should have been Dan Reid and not John. The kids will be happy too, with the duo of Tonto and Reid quipping their way through the movie.

With a cast that includes the ever-impressive Johnny Depp (Tonto) and Helena Bonham-Carter (Red Harrington, all you need to know is that her fake leg is a gun), the film was always sure to be a good laugh, if nothing else. But it surpasses that with Depp playing his not-entirely-sane native American character to perfection. Oh, and the spirit-horse? Weird, but hilarious.

The story was good, too. It had a nice plot that enabled the two leads to develop their character well. Particularly that of Tonto, whose back-story turns out to be pretty integral to the plot. The climax, to the famous William Tell Overture, is exciting and hilarious. The whole film is hugely enjoyable and slightly mad; a great way to spend a couple of hours.

With tons of action and a lot of laughs, the film is great for all ages. 

Dare I give it a 10/10? I think I will.

heyuguys.co.uk

For the IMDB page, click here.

Upcoming Books

I have had these in my possession for write some time, and soon I will be reading them. First, though, I will be reading the 800-page giant that is The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters, which was kindly given to me by the people of Penguin to read. I may be some time, but by God I will have a review for you when I'm done. In the meantime feel free to enjoy my reviews of films (both old and new, but mostly new..ish) and, if something takes my fancy, maybe even a rare food post.

Look out for this little lot in the coming months:

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (bought for £2 in a charity shop!)

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin (Yes, all of them)

Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop of Dreams - Jenny Colgan

The Library of Shadows - Mikkel Birkegaard

Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas

The Alloy of Law - Brandon Sanderson

Grave Mercy - Robin Lafevers

Spartacus: the Gladiator - Ben Kane

Er.. just a few then! But hey, it's a nice range isn't it?

Inferno - Dan Brown

Robert Langdon's fourth foray into an international crisis begins quite differently from his other adventures; finds himself waking up in a hospital, in a completely different country to the one he thought he was in, with no memory of the past two days. To make things worse, a woman he can't identify is trying to kill him, and all he can do is to go along with the doctor who saved his life. What happens next is a breathless chase through the streets of Florence, with Langdon frantically trying to recall his actions.

As with any of Dan Brown's works, this book is highly intelligent and meticulously thought-through. There is always an impressive amount of research with all of this authors books, and this book certainly doesn't disappoint. Although I don't confess to know anything about the subject matter, the book made me feel like I learnt a lot. The focus this time is on Dante Alghieri's The Divine Comedy, specifically on the epic poem's first part; Inferno, or in other words, Hell. It also delves into the concept of Man's existence on this planet and the impact of our ever-increasing numbers. Of all the Langdon books, the ideas and truths that it sets out pack the most punch, and resonate with the fear of death that is in most of us.

The one thing that make strike some readers is the similarity in plot points to other works in this series; a female companion, a race against time (this time to save the world), a treasure hunt with clues in art and literature, a shocking secret, an organisation or two that is deeply involved in the threat.. the list goes on. Landon's knowledge and his useful eidetic memory pieces it all together rather well, and manages to escape through several memorised routes... every other chapter.

The twist in this story is that Langdon has no idea who to trust or how he got to Florence and, as always, we are right there piecing the puzzle together with him. This story seems a lot more personal and character-driven than the like of Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol. Here, the story progresses in a way that in much easier to read and has a wonderfully human element to it.

This is a classic thriller in every sense, a book for the masses, as Brown's other works are. It is a very enjoyable read, but the end is seriously lacking. It isn't definite as to whether the threat can be stopped or not, or if it will be, and although this leaves it open to interpretation, sceptics may think that this is actually a ploy to get us to read the next book (if any) in search of answers. Should there be more Langdon books? Yes, definitely, but just give the end more punch. We don't want to be left standing there with a book and a bunch of questions.

It's a 7 out of 10.

Image from flipkart.com

The Elite - Kiera Cass

*Warning; spoilers may occur as this is the second book of the series. For a review of the first book, see this post*

There are only six girls left in the competition to become Prince Maxon's bride, but America Singer already knows that she has his heart. Or has she? As she struggles to get over Aspen, who is now closer than ever, Maxon seems to grow away from her. With the rebel attacks getting more frequent and tasks getting more difficult, America's emotions are in turmoil. Expect more tears, more tension and more danger as the competition gets even more serious.

There is something truly remarkable about the way that this book draws you straight back into the midst of the Selection; it's as if you never left the palace. The competition has grown more intimate, and only the six finalists, the Elite, remain. They are tested and set tasks, and slowly but surely Prince Maxon needs to eliminate the girls based on how they do.

America is still totally undecided on whether she wants Maxon or Aspen, and sometimes this can be a bit of a chore to read. Different situation occur and changes happen so fast, she changes her mind from what seems like one day to the next. Just as you think she has finally chosen Maxon (come on, we're all willing her to), something happens to shake her belief in him. Sometimes her distrust in Maxon seems entirely unfounded though, and you do wonder how much she really cares for him, or for Aspen, for that matter. As a character, America seems to get stronger and more sure of herself in this book, and it is really good to see that change in her. You are willing her character arc to make her into a princess, and though sometimes she disappoints you, it builds you up for the climax beautifully.

There are one or two shockers, but the biggest one had me in floods of tears. You can see it coming a little bit beforehand, but it is fairly unexpected even then. It was truly horrific to read, but at the same time you are so relieved; it could have been much worse.

As suspected the book ends on an insanely high note, coming off of a hugely low point which leaves you both thrilled and excited for the next book. I read this book in a day and it was such a whirlwind of emotion I was left breathless. It's a 9 out of 10.

Image: readbreatherelax.com

This book is the second book of the series. The first is The Selection, by Kiera Cass. The Prince is a novella accompanying the first book. For a review on this, please click here.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

This classic horror-story begins with letters from Captain Walton to his sister about his voyage. In them, he writes about his trip and then about saving a man from an icy death. The man is Victor Frankenstein. We then read his narrative to the Captain; a story that has embedded its-self in our imaginations ever since it was first published. It is the story of a clever young man who acted as God and created a monster.

What is perhaps the most interesting part of the story is not actually in the reading of it, but in the concept. This is actually a dark take on the story of creation in the Bible, where God created humans in his own image. In Frankenstein,  we see a man creating life, and this comes in the form of a hideous, mis-formed creature- an abomination in every sense. And although it is not said obviously, we can imagine that God plays a large part in how the events of this story turn out; the man who plays God is punished, he becomes a shadow of who he once was, and everything he ever had is taken away from him by the creature he made. It seems like God has let out his wrath for the presumption that a man should be allowed to create a living creature unnaturally.

Another aspect that is particularly interesting about this book is the way that the story has fixed its-self in popular culture. Many aspects of our commonly known Frankenstein story are wrong. For example, many people are under the impression that Frankenstein is the name of the monster. This could be because of the film title The Bride of Frankenstein which implies that the bride belongs to Frankenstein and not the monster, who she is really created for, therefore the two get combined in our thoughts.

Most of us are also familiar with the fact that the monster was made up of the body parts of several corpses and animated with lightening to get the heart to beat again. However, the book says nothing of digging up bodies or harnessing electricity. We can assume, by the fact that Frankenstein alludes to organs and the like, that he does work with dead bodies and does put them together, but we never know exactly how he goes about getting it to live again. He only says that he discovers the secret of life, but not what it is. This was disappointing, in a way, as it was almost expected, but it also added an element to the plot in that Frankenstein does not wish anyone to attempt what he has done, so he deliberately keeps back any information likely to help them succeed.

As for the reading of the actual book; it is a very difficult undertaking. The narrative is long with several offshoots and slightly arduous descriptions. Victor's narrative begins in his childhood and travels right through the years to the point where he is found in the ice, having chased his tormentor from Switzerland.

The character of Victor was also unappealing in places. It was mainly to do with the fact that he was quite weak in mind compared to the characters that we are accustomed to. The sight of his creation filled him with so much horror that he was bed-ridden for months, and then he kept lapsing back to this state of a regular basis. He felt sorry for himself through most of his story and did not seem to have much compassion for the creature that he had forced into being. We are so used to strong-willed characters with much more backbone that this eponymous protagonist that he seems a little bit boring to the modern reader.

This is definitely a book for an avid reader who picks things up and is determined to continue. It is not for the faint-hearted, although the horror aspect will do little to chill us now. It is for someone who is quite used to reading classic books; they all seem to have a quite laboured writing style which makes them fairly difficult to read. Even I came close to putting this down, but I persevered and I am very glad I did. It gets a 5 out of 10 though, as it was a good concept, but was gruelling in execution.

This was a Kindle edition, bought at no cost.