The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Unless you've been hidden from the internet for a while, you should hopefully be aware of the phenomenon that is set to hit cinemas in August. The movie adaptation of the first book in Cassandra Clare's highly acclaimed series; The Mortal Instruments.

The story revolves around Clary Fray (Lily Collins) who has to join up with a group of strangers that call themselves 'Shadowhunters' when her mother is kidnapped from their home. She soon learns that not only has her mother been keeping some pretty big secrets from her, she is not at all who she thought she was. Some may say it is a Twilight rip off or just another YA romance novel. Those people are so incredibly wrong.

As with any book to movie adaptation there are people who have issues with the casting, although with CoB this is only a small percentage of the fandom that still remain unhappy. They were unhappy with the casting of Jamie Campbell Bower as the wonderful Jace Wayland, with claims he wasn't who they wanted and he just wouldn't be able to achieve the Jace look and attitude. However, after the release of the first trailer most of those doubts were erased, it's safe to say that JCB is better than anyone could have imagined, not only does he appreciate the character to his full extent he also portrays him in such a monumental way. And though only a handful of stills and 3 trailers have been released to the public, the amount of support and appreciation towards the cast and crew is absolutely remarkable.

This wasn't so much a review, so much as a comment on how this is a film you should definitely be looking out for. It's released in USA on August 23rd 2013. Check out the book series if you haven't already read them, I suggest you go ahead and read them now. If you haven't already seen the trailer, here it is below.

All credit goes to movieclipsTRAILERS for uploading this and Sony for producing it.

I'm going on an adventure!

I was quite apprehensive about whether or not I was going to enjoy Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ due to overwhelming concerns regarding the way it was filmed, after the trailer alone received bad reviews at the San Diego Comic-Con for being shot in a relatively new way it made the movie look too much like a movie set and less like Middle Earth. On top of that I also bought tickets to the 3D showing (An accident) which made me even more wary of what I was walking into. However I was very pleasantly surprised.

Source: MovieStore/ Rex Features

Martin Freeman (Sherlock, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) compellingly plays Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit who enjoys a quiet lifestyle like the majority of Hobbits. Whilst much of his own generally awkward personality reflects onto his portrayal of Bilbo, it doesn’t put the viewer off, nor does it ruin the feel of the film. On one quiet day, Bilbo gets a visit from Gandalf the Grey, who is played by the wonderful Ian Mckellen (X-men, The Da vinci Code) the aftermath that follows this is 13 Dwarves turning up in Bilbo’s Hobbit hole demanding food and hospitality.

There is one main scene that really captured my attention and will stick in my mind for a long time, and this is not a spoiler for the film because it gives none of the plot away. The scene is in Bilbo’s home, all of the dwarves have quietened down, they are gathered around the fire and the entire group starts singing such a melancholic song. The atmosphere felt in the film is passed onto the audience, so much so the viewer gets caught up in the emotions that are occurring on the screen.

Source: Newline Cinema

There are many cameos from characters in that we grew to love, or in some cases hate in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Elijah Wood returns as Frodo which was truly wonderful to witness again, and also Ian Holm returns to the franchise as the older version of Bilbo. Amongst the tremendous cameos are Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett who in the Lord of the Rings trilogy played the elves, Elrond and Galadriel. And of course how could one forget Andy Serkis and Christopher Lee who return as Gollum and Saruman (I may have become a little enraged when Saruman made his entrance)

There are a lot of things I could comment on that make this movie truly fantastic, but unfortunately I only have one page and I have to keep it short and spoiler free! Although occasionally you can feel your attention slipping from the film, it will almost immediately return to you. Even if you haven’t seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy this film is meant to be the prequel, so it’s still worth seeing it. Yet again the score is absolutely wonderful and contributes so much to the atmosphere felt in the film. Please go and see this film, or buy it on DVD when it is released because you will really not regret it. I give this 5 out of 5 stars because it is truly fantastic, and as one of the most anticipated movies of the year, Jackson certainly has not disappointed.