The other day, I came across this short independent film from a group called The Bakery in the U.K.  It was released about two months ago, and from what I understand, it has enjoyed a mild amount of fame.  I know that this blog doesn't have a great many readers, but I'd like to do what I can to get the film and its message out there.

The Last Bookshop is about a future where the printed word, even the e-book and e-reader, have died out.  There is one bookshop left in the entire world, and a young boy who has never seen or heard of books stumbles across it.

Okay, so I went into this film on the verge of tears from imagining the very last bookshop in the world.  I was already convinced that this would be the saddest movie ever made, hands down, but it was a little more complex than that.  I don't want to spoil it, so here it is so that you can find out for yourself.




See?  See what it did there?  It got you all hopeful, then left you standing in the street, confused and remorseful and sullen.  There were just so many profound things to think about all packed into twenty minutes. My favorite part:

"In the old days, did everyone used to read books?"
"As a lad, we all queued up at midnight for a book about a wizard.  It was the vogue."

At first I was like, "Omg, they're talking about Harry Potter, I queued up at midnight for Harry Potter!"  But then I was like, "Wait, if the owner of the bookshop queued up for Harry Potter, that means that this will have happened within my lifetime..."  And then I was sad. =[

I sincerely hope that a future like the one in the film never comes to be, that people strive to teach the next generation the value of reading and imagination.  I know that my blog is really only interesting to people who already read or write, but outside of blogging, I do my best to support reading and literacy initiatives, programs that get books to children, bookstores, libraries, and I even just tell people I meet how amazing reading can be.  I promise that I'll be providing more posts in the future that will lead you in the right direction to do all of those things yourself.  I encourage anyone who enjoys this blog to do their part to ensure that reading and readers don't die out and to pass on the joy of books to the next generation. 

If you'd like a look behind the scenes of The Last Bookshop, you can visit the official blog for the project by clicking here.  Also, Hall's Bookshop is a real place in Tunbridge Wells, U.K., so if you're ever in the area, you can pay them a visit. 

If you've seen any other films like The Last Bookshop that you know I've got to see, don't hesitate to give me the link!

So I don't know about all of you, but I love fan art.  For those of you who don't know, fan art is art drawn/painted/photoshopped/etc by fans of a book/anime/movie/etc.  Deviantart is practically exploding with it.  And that is where I found all of the beautiful Hunger Games fan art presented in this post.  Art created by real fans seems to more truly capture the essence of a book and the feelings it inspires than Hollywood-style representations.  After all, fans are the only people that love a thing enough to actually invest time into creating an artistic expression of it, generally without getting paid. It also serves as an outlet for people's alternate imaginings of a story, which opens up the world of impossible romantic pairings and gives us all pictures of characters who hate each other kissing.  Without further ado, here are five beautiful pieces of fan art with a little info on each.  I hope you all adore them as much as I do!

"The Hunger Games" by Tiffany Mills (a.k.a. Sunshineyellowful); Source A more lifelike rendering of the Mockingjay emblem worn by Katniss.  I've seen quite a few pictures that people have drawn trying to capture the look of a Mockingjay, but they all seem so harsh and look nothing like a real bird.  Being a great lover of birds, I was pleased with this realistic rendering and find him to be completely adorable and exactly how I imagined him when I was reading.  I also <3 the happy little look on his cute little bird face.

"Fire is Catching" by Megan Lara; Source Lara is the artist behind the alternate cover art that appears on the front of some limited edition issues of Willow: Wonderland, a recent Buffy comic book spin-off series from Dark Horse.  She has drawn tons of beautiful ladies from the realms of books, TV series, video games, and comics in her lovely and unique Art Nouveau style, and I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this picture of Katniss in the artist's interpretation of her interview dress.  This is also available in t-shirt form here.

"Effie" by pseudolirium; Source I was really thrilled to find this portrait, especially because so much Effie art is unoriginal (meaning practically traced from movie stills) and unappealing because I don't like the movie portrayal.  In several interviews, the creative minds behind the movies admitted that they tried to make the beauty of the capitol more washed out and garish than it was portrayed in the book in an attempt to make it unappealing to young viewers, whom they did not want to get the wrong message from the film.  Thus, movie-Effie is overdone and washed out rather than glamorous.  In this charming Photoshop portrait, she is perfect.  She has an almost classic appeal while still appearing futuristic and edgy.

"Berries" by Kate Wheeler (a.k.a. Rat Girl); Source; I'm loving the simplicity of this one, as well as the sort of jagged, harsh-line style.  It's so uncomplex, but their ragged appearance and the berries say a lot.  Apparently, there was some debate about the original version having the wrong coloring, so the version you see is the corrected version.  The work was originally drawn on card stock with artist quality pens, then colored in Photoshop.

"Katniss on fire" by palnk; Source I just think this piece is amazing.  That's why I saved it for last.  Fans love to draw and paint Katniss transforming into the Mockingjay; I've even seen some cosplays of her in a "burning" dress. However, few put quite so much detail into the feathers, and I love the smouldering ember effect on the feathered part.

I hope you've enjoyed this little adventure into the Hunger Games and into fan art; be sure to let me know if you liked it so I'll know whether or not to share the other fan art beauties I've found from across the internet!

Also, if you're not yet a fan of the Hunger Games series and would like to become one, I direct your attention to the newly remodeled online store.  You can now shop the store right here on the Notes From Carcosa site by clicking the "Shop" tab at the top of the page, or you could simply click here to get a copy (new or used) of the first book in the series.  Enjoy it!

Image courtesy of the European Pressphoto Agency

That's right, people, J.K. Rowling's first "adult" novel has been picked up by the BBC to be turned into a miniseries to be aired in 2014.

When The Casual Vacancy was announced earlier this year, it was clear to Harry Potter fans and Muggles what Rowling was attempting to do: break away from the cult phenomenon and be "taken seriously" by the rest of the literary world.  But the realm of science fiction and fantasy is fraught with such attempts, and like so many others who have tried before (Leonard Nimoy springs to mind) would tell her, it's an extremely difficult undertaking.

When the book was actually released during late September, reception was as is to be expected.  No one could remove themselves from the Potter-verse far enough to read it frankly, and many people were disturbed by her shift from imaginative fantasy to harsh, sometimes disgusting realism.  The book was trampled by comparisons to Harry Potter and relegated to the parallel universe where overshadowed books are doomed to dwell forever alongside George Orwell's Down And Out In Paris And London and Joseph Heller's Something Happened.

However, despite the fact that The Casual Vacancy was met with skepticism and was manhandled by critics, the novel has still become a bestseller (probably due to interest from curious Harry Potter fans), and the BBC seems to think that its gritty drama will fit nicely alongside its other programs.  Rowling herself also said, "I always felt, if it were adapted, this novel was best suited to television, and I think the BBC is the perfect home." 

Rowling plans to work closely with the BBC and with her agent, Neil Blair, who is producing the series through his own independent production company.

Also, I fully intend to read this book ASAP, so anyone who would like to follow along with me, you can purchase the book here.  Happy reading!

I always love it when a new Stephen King movie or TV series comes out, and I'm especially excited for this one.  While Bag of Bones is one of his books that I have yet to read, the previews I've seen for the 2-part miniseries a la It are really promising.  Pierce Brosnan is making a television comeback with a cast that includes a few others you might recognize from the most recent Dreamgirls movie and the hit TV shows True Blood and Beverly Hills, 90210.  The first part of the 4-hour movie will be airing on A&E on December 11th at 9 pm Eastern, 8 Central, and you know I'm going to be glued to the TV that night!  I also hope to squeeze in reading the book beforehand, so wish me luck!

Below, I've got a little behind the scenes preview for Bag of Bones, as well as a link to the creepy-as-Hell website right here.  Enjoy, everyone!

As many of you probably already know, production of the new Hobbit movie began earlier this year, and the movie itself is scheduled for release on December 14th, 2012.  The Hobbit Blog, the official blog of the movie, has been steadily providing updates and production videos for rabid fans.  What makes some of those videos so interesting is the fact that they're filming the movie entirely in 3D.  To go hand in hand with the 3D filming, artists Alan Lee and John Howe have drawn up a little 3D concept art for the movie.  This was just sooo cool, I had to share it with all of you!  So just slap on some 3D glasses and let the enjoyment begin!

If you'd like to see more on the 3D filming of the movie and the development of the 3D concept art, check out Production Video #4 below.

Since it was announced that the hit YA lit series, The Hunger Games, would be made into a movie, I'm sure many of you have been on the edge of your seats!  Well, just a few days ago, the official trailer for the movie was released!  Here it is for your enjoyment, as well as this link to the official movie website and a flipping sweet animated poster I snagged from it.  See you all in the theaters on March 23!
 - Miss K

P.S. Don't forget to turn the audio off on the poster to watch the trailer!

Alright, I'm in film class this semester, and while I've seen a lot of the movies before and formulated opinions of them in my mind, I am relishing the opportunity to write my very own reviews of them!  Since I know you guys just LURVE my opinion, I've decided to share a little bit with you.  Plus, when I put the review into my very own blog, I don't have to place myself within the length constraints of a teacher, and we all know I love a well-rounded thought =]   Enjoy~

The Birth of a Nation, D. W. Griffith's ground-breaking 1915 film that both paved the way for his equally pioneering career as well as the birth of Hollywood as we know it, cannot be approached like any other film.  It's important to the history of cinema.  It's a powerful piece of film-making.  It's racist.  Its legacy has been stained by that racist content: the violent depiction of African Americans  and glorification of the Ku Klux Klan sparked riots at its release and subsequent releases, it earned itself a spot on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Best Films of All Time and was subsequently removed due to controversy, and it is often still used today as a recruitment film for the Ku Klux Klan.  However, to see how important this movie is and what a leap it was for film-making, one need only look to any movie made before it.

Released on the 50th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War, the film presents what at first looks to be a genuine, almost documentary-like glimpse into historical events spanning the entirety of the Civil War and the subsequent "injustices" of the Reconstruction that led to the creation of the Ku Klux Klan.  The movie actually portrays Griffith's adaptation of the second volum of Thomas Dixon's anti-black trilogy created for the stage, The Clansman, in which two families, the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons, are caught up in the horrors of war and the depicted horrors resulting from African American rights.  This friendship between the two families shows that while divided for a time by war, Northerners were just as appalled by blacks as Southerners and the two are inexorably united by their "Aryan Roots" and the desire to protect themselves from the marauding, out-of-control blacks.  The conclusion: African Americans just aren't suited for equality or integration into decent, white society, and the Klan is full of heroes that saved us from those ne'er-do-wells.

"The Little Colonel" earning his nickname in a realistic battle recreation

To see the realism contained in this film, much of the inspiration for which was taken from historical photos, it is not hard to imagine why people would have been driven to riot over something like this.  People either genuinely believed that all this horribleness was true or were completely pissed off by the gross inaccuracies that sought to reverse emerging civil rights.  People were appalled to learn that such a film had earned a special, honorable screening in the White House by President Woodrow Wilson (who praised it heartily) while it had been banned from several major cities.  Klan membership jumped to its highest membership in history in the decade following this film's release, despite the fact it had indeed been around as long as the movie said.  Because of all this controversy surrounding it, it became the first real blockbuster hit.  Griffith offset the production cost, a whopping $2.5 million in today's dollars, making it the most expensive movie ever made at the time, by charging $2 per ticket, or about $43 today, a price people were more than happy to pay.

The Lovely and Talented Lillian Gish

However, despite all the mess surrounding it, it is one of the movies that helped to build the fame of the amazing and noteworthy actress, Lillian Gish.  Gish, shining star of almost all of D. W. Griffith's most successful movies, gave a lovely performance as Elsie Stoneman, love object of the eldest Cameron boy, later known as "the Little Colonel" and founder of the Ku Klux Klan, and daughter of the "Radical" who gains for blacks equal rights using his "mulatto" protege, Silas Lynch.  As in any of her movies, she is immediately recognizable for her acting style if not her looks.  She has dramatic and believable facial expressions that inspired most of the close-up shots incorporated by Griffith in this and his other films featuring her.  She is an artist in the way of depicting tragedy and distress and was perfect for the role in which she is captured, chased, and set-upon by the villain Lynch, to her father's dismay.  She is also everyone's favorite love object in most movies; she seems to be effortlessly beautiful, despite the fact we all know she's incredibly done up with makeup to make her lips that cute shape.  However, no one ever made frizzy, unkempt hair and rags look more beautiful.  But I digress...

The Birth of a Nation was born out of an emerging art form, which is why while it contains many techniques moviegoers are familiar with today, they sometimes seem to drag out too long or hiccup.  However, we would net even have to most basic moviemaking techniques that we take for granted today, such as panning, close-ups, fade-outs, cross-cutting between two scenes to create suspense and excitement, and original musical scores, if it weren't for D. W. Griffith's first feature-length masterpiece.  We wouldn't even have the great (racist) classic Gone with the Wind if it weren't for this movie, as the novel was heavily inspired by it.  The Birth of a Nation effectively captured the attention of a nation, revolutionized film, and paved the way for Griffith to further change the face of cinema with perfection and advancement of his new techniques in movies such as Intolerance, Broken Blossoms, Way Down East, and Orphans of the Storm and with the creation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios.  It might be said that those subsequent films were only part of his attempt to redeem himself after The Birth of a Nation, but even if that is true, it may be truthfully said that the film pushed him to greater heights.

While I do not recommend that The Birth of a Nation be the first silent film you see, it is an absolute must see if you care about the history of movies.  However, it cannot be truly appreciated until you've seen a few movies that were made before 1915 or even some of Griffith's subsequent epics listed above.  Again, this movie cannot be approached like any other movie; go in with your eyes open or not at all.