Eyes Wide Shut

I wasn't quite sure what this short story was trying to be. The husband seemed so determined to cheat on his wife, yet I suppose he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. In the film, he is constantly haunted by an image of her cheating on him. The novella portrays the husband/doctor as a very handsome man. Women are constantly throwing themselves at him. My biggest problem with the movie was Tom Cruise. I just don't see it. Why would women be throwing themselves at him? Also, Nicole Kidman was nude, why did they never show him below the waist? And just one glimpse of his bare chest.

Another weird film by Kubrick. At least I felt this one was watchable.

Dexter (season one)

I couldn't make up my mind on this book. It was good at drawing me in, moving along the plot. But in places it seemed like it was written by a 4th-grader. I'm not sure if we are supposed to feel sympathy for Dexter, but his 'Code' is somewhat admirable.

There are some major differences between the book (book #1 in an 8-part series) and the first season of the television show. In the book, the character of LaGuerta dies in the book, but lives in the series. Also, LaGuerta is a much more sympathetic character on TV. The book has her as basically a bumbling kiss-ass. She makes mistake in the adaptation, but in the end, she is moral and sharp.

Another major difference is that the TV show kills off Dexter's brother at the end of the first season. In the book, Dexter allows him to escape. Also, on TV, the brother dates Debra, Dexter's sister. This made the plot much more interesting. However, the novel is very short, basically a novella, so it makes sense that plot points had to be added for a 12-episode season.

Dexter's girlfriend is a much richer character on the television show. And her determination to no longer play the victim is admirable.

Andromeda Strain

It seems like this story could have been so much more. In the book, it seems like there were some avenues Crichton opens up where I thought "A-ha, this could be interesting," only to find that they went nowhere. I enjoyed his attempt at "futurizing" computers (the novel was written in 1969). Many were close to accurate. The choice to make one of the characters female for the film I assume spoke to the women's movement of the 70s. In the end, both the book and the novel make for a pretty boring read/view, especially when the subject material has so much potential for action.

Princess Diaries

This book was very cute. I enjoyed the honesty and humor of a teenage girl. The movie was also good, although very different from the book. Some of the main characters were gone. But there were scenes that made Megan and I laugh out loud. Julie Andrews was wonderful at portraying a slightly uptight, but very good-hearted queen. I think this was one of Anne Hathaway's first roles, and I can see why it launched a very rich career.

I'm going to read the second book soon. Megan says there is a "Princess Diaries 2" on Netflix.