The Dark Knight...

So I went to see The Dark Knight last night, a mixture of apprehension and excitement. I was really worried that my expectations were going to be too high. I really wanted Heath Ledger to live up to the hype, I'd seen clips, he'd scared me silly, so I was hoping that he would do the same but more in the actual film.

The answer: Yes, yes he did, by the bucket load. He was incredible, when my friend and I left the cinema we were actually lost for words on how to express our opinion, it was done through knowing looks, nods and grunts.

But anyway, this post isn't really about the film - I'm just going to assume that you are going to watch it as it is incredible. The main point of this post is about the couple sitting next to me, who if I said were slightly annoying, it would be a very big under statement.

Now, I don't mind people coming to sit next to you when there are no other spaces available, and I'm all for people sitting the same row, especially as my friend and I were on one of the best rows. But, I've always done this and I'm sure most people do it as well, if there is room for such a thing I like to leave one seat in between me and another group of people. It just gives a little extra bit of personal space and room for shifting about if you get a bit uncomfortable.

However, it seems that this couple don't really follow that and sat directly next to me, now I'm not a social recluse who shrivels up at any contact with a stranger, but it would have been a bit nicer if they left one seat, considering we were the only 4 on the row. Even more so due to the next few reasons:

After the initial, 'great' *rolls eyes* moment of them sitting next to me, I hear a little rustling and then a strange movement that I'm not accustomed to in the cinema. They had brought ice creams in. Twisters to be exact. My friend and I had a big laughing and high pitched squealing session about this on the way home, I seriously do not know anyone who brings ice creams into the cinema?!?! I would have thought it was highly impractical as you don't really know where it is going to drip! So that was my first moment of, oh no..... (although to be fair they smelt really nice - the ice-creams now, not the people! They had a non-odour really)

Secondly, and most annoyingly, they committed the one thing that I HATE the most. They whispered to each other questions about the film, all the way through the film. It was just annoying, I'm all for people wanting to discuss the film, but please do it after it has finished, or when you watch the DVD in the privacy of your own home. If you are confused about something, don't turn to your boyfriend and ask him questions about what is going to happen, when he doesn't know either! Just sit and watch, then it will become clear.

Now this whispering elevated to exclamations of what was going to happen. Everyone in the cinema was thinking it, as it was pretty obvious, but you build up your own suspense in your head you don't say things aloud such as 'The Driver!' when the whole cinema is quiet. Nooooo, oh really? I never would have guessed, thanks for pointing that out to me, just bloody wonderful.

The main point that caused me a lot of rolled eyes moment is this: Now I don't think I'm giving too much away here when saying that there is a scene when The Joker has his head out of a car window and has the the wind blowing through his hair. At this point he does look really quite manic (not that he doesn't in the rest of the film), but to top everything off the girl next to me whispers 'He's crazy!'. Well done my darling, well done, you've just got that The Joker is a little bit off his rocker *claps*, really intuiative. Now I'm all for people getting freaked out by him, it's the point, but please, please, try and keep it in with your inner voice rather than making it audible. Little sounds and gasps are fine but full blown statements are best left to when you are watching the film on your own, don't you think?

Anyway, sorry about that I just had to have a little rant - haven't done so in a while. So all in all, go see the film and if someone starts whispering just go behind them, lean in, and say 'Why so serious hmm?', in your best joker voice - that might freak them out of whispering.

Lovely literature...

Another literature based post ahead!

So after posting on The Student Room I was reminded that I haven't really posted about my favourite book on the blog! Now, I do love quite a fair few books, but one that stands out as being really quite special to me is 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess. I know that he ended up disliking it immensely, but I have to say it started my interest in Burgess, leading to 'A Dead Man in Deptford' amongst others, so I'm very thankful for that!

So, why do I love a book about a violent rapist with a taste for ultra-violence and Beethoven so much? Quite simply, it's magical, arresting, intriguing, confusing, questioning. A big old smack in the litso with a great sweaty rooker.

The language is incredible, overwhelmingly delicious, if slightly difficult to start off with when you first encounter the Nadsat element.

Now one of my favourite parts is when Alex describes listening to music - it is astoundingly brilliant and encapsulates the undulations of classical music. I'll just leave you with that quote to ponder over, and hopefully you'll pick up the book - as much as cult legend has it, it isn't totally about violence you know!

'Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow, glazzies closed, rot open in bliss, slooshying the sloosh of lovely sounds. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk round my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss my brothers.'

p.s. I still can't forgive Kubrick for missing out the last chapter in the film, unforgivable.