Author Archives: mava

The fault in our stars

The fault in our stars is the multi-million worldwide bestseller and that’s explain why so many of us (english students of course five), chose this book to read. Not only because the book is just 300 pages but because it is very intelligently and funnily written and I don’t know any girls who wouldn’t have even a little bit interested to the epic love story.  This epic love story is written by John Green who gave his first inspiration to write this book when he was working in the children’s hospital. Easter Earl, a girl who died at the age of 16 to thyroid cancer and was also Green’s friend, was one of those children who inspired Green to write this novel.

The book is published in January 2012 and it has also been made the film in June 2014, which is based on the book. I think the film raised the popularity of the book even more and I myself for example found the book after I had seen the movie.

The fault in our stars is the story about 16-year-old girl Hazel Grace Lancaster, who suffers from thyroid cancer. Her illness is incurable and her doctor recommend Hazel to go Cancer Kid Support Group. In support group Hazel meets a boy Augustus Waters, who is embodiment of the perfect boyfriend except that he has a cancer too. Young couple bring together a book named An Imperial Affliction, which tells truthfully about cancer and dying. However John Green’s book doesn’t bathe in misery on the contrary he manages to tell the story about cancer sarcastic funnily without being tasteless. You can also notice from the book it is based on real events because the author can describe the feelings of cancer patient so credibly. “I’m a grenade and at some point I’m going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okey?” says the main character at the desperate moment and in my opinion this is the good evidence about how well John Green knows what it feels like to be sick. I will not spoil you how the book will end but I recommend to prepare several of tissues.

Critics have praised the book all over the world and especially they have liked new perspective of cancer and romance. The fault in our stars is called melancholy, philosophical, intelligent and touching. The Time magazine is criticized the novel “damn near genius”. So decidedly this book is readable!

I think this novel describes perfectly the real life with a good days and also not so good days and after reading The Fault In Our Stars everyone can put the things order of importance in our life. At least I woke up after the book how happy I should be on my health. Because “the world is not a wish-granting factory” as the book several times mentioned.

 

 

Sources: Wikipedia.org

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Maleficent

Maleficent is a fictional character from Walt Disney’s 1959 film Sleeping Beauty. The film, Maleficent, is formed in this old story from the perspective of the evil mistress. The main actor is seen stunning Angelina Jolie, who plays perfectly Maleficent. The film was released  in the United States on May 30, 2014 and here in Finland on May 28, 2014. And it was directed by Robert Stromberg who has won two Oscars in film production design and for example he has staged  a movie Avatar and Alice in Wonderland.

Maleficent is a powerful fairy who lives in the Moors, a magical forest realm bordering a corrupt human kingdom. As a young girl, she meets and falls in love with a human orphan boy Stefan. When the boy grows, he became familiar with the king and didn’t spend more time with Maleficent. The king was afraid of Maleficent because her great power and he wants to Maleficent’s death. When Stefan finally comes to meet powerful fairy he stuns her to get her strong wings so that he could become the king. When Stefan has crowned to king, he gets a baby girl, Sleeping Beauty, together with his wife. Maleficent is still angry about her wings and curses Stefan’s little  baby eternal sleep when she turns sixteen years. Only the true love’s kiss can broke this curse. The princess grows and Maleficent learns to love her. She wants to broke the curse but she can’t. When the Sleeping beauty fall asleep to an eternal sleep, the prince tries to wake her up with a kiss, without success. Only when Maleficent kisses the girl, she wakes up. The princess crowned to queen of human kingdom together with the Moors and peace and balance is achieved between empires.

In my opinion this version of the Sleeping beauty is more interesting than original. It doesn’t follow the same boring schema and it’s refreshing to hear for once the “bad guy’s” point of view to the story. For once we get some information about background why the bad guys become the bad guy. And in the end you find out that an evil Maleficent has just the broken heart and she is after all the “good guy”.

This film has attracted a lot of opinions, especially because it change so much the original version. But many critics have praised the film’s visuals and costumes. And I really can sign it! Animation is done carefully, and especially The Moors looks breathtakingly beautiful. And I have to say that Angelina Jolie has a lot of effect why this film is so awesome. Maleficent’s costume is made wonderfully and it looks real. Jolie’s gesturing and facial expressions crowns the whole movie and I can promise to you that the song “Once Upon a Dream”, which found in movie’s soundtrack, will be playing in your head for rest of the day.

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