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Overall, Ron Howard (director) and Akavia Goldsman (screenwriter) produced the Da Vinci Code as faithfully as Hollywood would allow for any book to movie adaptation. The biggest problem book to movie adaptations? Faithful readers are always at the disadvantage, as Hollywood appeals to those who haven’t read versus those who have. (Lord of the Rings being a minor exception to a degree.)
The Da Vinci Code opens exactly as the book does, and there on out I found my self convinced I was watching quite a good film.
There were, of course, some boo-boo’s along the way. Some of these boo-boo’s much more prominent than others, but only to those who’ve read the book. Take the introduction of main character Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) for example. In the book, Langdon is awoken and removed from his hotel room by a police officer. There is no book signing whatsoever, mainly because the book that Langdon is signing in the movie isn’t even properly published in the book, as revealed by Langdon when being interrogated by Fache.
Howard also missed an opportunity to give viewers a mini tour of Paris- as Langdon, en route to the Louvre, passes many historically known and appreciated landmarks. (Eiffel Towers, Tuileries Gardens, Arc du Carrousel, to name a few.) A mini tour that would’ve taken just as much screen-time, if not less, than the route depicted in the film. Precious screen time that Howard is generally infamous for depicting.Some minor errors that may have bothered those faithful to the book would be the actual solving of the puzzle-which was done in the back of a taxi, not a park. (Wrong place to insert sightseeing of Paris, Mr Howard.) And a boo-boo that could bother any Da Vinci fan.. the mysterious “A. Pope” being found via modern cell phone instead of a historical and infamous French library, a terribly mundane attempt to save screen time and a terrible touch of modern times.
Pacing of the film, overall, was of a stop and go manner. Ridiculously fast at one moment and painfully slow in the blink of an eye. The flashback scenes were smooth and amazingly depicted, subtle yet genuinely effective.
Casting on the other hand, was a product of sheer brilliance. Tom Hanks IS Robert Langdon-and I’m not saying that because I’ve been an avid Hanks fan since I first saw Apollo 13. (I’m 17 now, you do the math..it’s been a long time.) He had his rough patches throughout, but still played the stuffy Harvard professor with ease. Audrey Tatou was a simply fantastic Sophie, albeit without the proper looks, something that is entirely out of her control. Ian McKellen without a doubt, was the best Teabing hands down. He never fails to deliver. Paul Bettany, the albino Silas, delivered a performance of sheer perfection. Even in silence he was intimidating and moving. Other characters such as Collet were grossly underplayed and Fache just wasn’t quite intimidating enough.
I believe many critics were ridiculously harsh upon reviewing the Da Vinci code… and like any good highly over paid Hollywood reporter-I doubt they’ll ever actually pick up the book and read it. It’s probably too much for them to handle.
I was recently asked via my MySpace..”why r u a bengls fan!?! they r terible. chd johnson is totly obnoxiou booo tot he bengals. sux that ur stuk with chrs henry!”
Yeah, I thought it was a Brown’s fan to. But who knows.
..Yes, that is in-fact how it was written. Don’t worry, I had a hard time understanding it, and found myself fearing for America’s future generations. Srsly!
But I suppose I should do this random visitor justice, and answer the question. Why am I a Bengals fan?
No, not just because of C. Johnson, or C. Palmer, or Marvin Lewis a.k.a. Black Jesus. All of those people have done wonders for the team but they aren’t the only reason I bleed black and orange. It’s a hometown pride situation. I’m a Cincinnati girl, through and through. Sure, I wasn’t the most verbal Bengal fan when they were 6 feet under, but I wasn’t waving a Terrible Towel either. (Please kill me if I ever do, thank you.) The Bengals are a piece of Cincinnati, a piece of where I grew up, and therefore I support them. The Bengals could lose every game next season, but I’d still wear my #9 jersey with pride.
Being a Bengals fan is a prime situation right now. Here you have a team whose been battered on, beaten down, and abused by sportscasters for the past several years, and now they’re finally gaining their momentum. Records are being broken, the team is getting noticed, and being on Monday night football isn’t such a joke anymore. Ok, they haven’t won the Superbowl yet-but it’s coming. I’d hate to be a team that’s already won, simply because there’s no way to repeat the feeling of winning a Superbowl for the first time. Cincinnati will be a madhouse when that happens. Yeah, WHEN that happens. Not IF. Making fun of the Bengals is now at a point where the person doing it gets made fun of instead of being agreed with. And it’s
That brings me to the other part of the question/statement..Chris Henry.
Chris Henry is an absolutely foul and disgusting reprensentation of the Cincinnati Bengals. Not only has he humiliated himself, he’s humilated the city and his teammates. If NFL rules allowed, I can near gurantee you that Henry would no longer be a Cincinnati Bengal. His ability to play doesn’t mask his lack of common sense.
As for #85, I’ll just let him be. He’s got enough skills and wit to be as cocky as he is sometimes. Life in Cincy wouldn’t be the same without a little CJ, and he loves this city, he respects this city.
So what, I’m a Cincinnati girl. I’ll represent for the Skyline and WHO DEY any day.
If you're a smoker, you can quit, as long as you have the right access to the sufficient amount of methods available, methods that make it possible for millions of smokers to quit, says a report released by the US Government.
According to the Associated Press, experts say the quitting methods available could triple low quit rates but a lack of awareness and/or shortage of insurance coverage prevents this statistic from occuring, so what to do?
The facts stand as poigant as ever, smoking can kill. Smoking is a leading cause in lung cancer, leading cause in miscarriages among smoking mothers, and the US Surgeon General has consistenly released statistics and warnings about smoking, so why isn't the quitting rate dropping?
46 million Americans are currently living without health insurance, the vast majority of those are also smokers. As listed by Cancer.org, there is an abundant variety of quitting methods ranging from the cold turkey approach to nicotine replacement therapy.
"Smoking cessitation (quitting smoking) represents the single most important step that smoker can take to ehance the lngth and quality of their lives" says the US Surgeon General. David F. Ranshoff M.D, says "many doctors cannot easily bill insurers for counseling patients or referring them to quit programs."
As Mark Twain said," It's easy to quit smoking, I've done it hundreds of times." Leaving some to wonder, can you really ever quit?
I’m going to make a personal entry here and it’s for the greater good of cancer awareness.
On May 9, 2006 my Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. For those who don’t know, that’s cancer of the uterus. It’s second to breast cancer in amount of deaths per year. Our entire family was in shock, worried out of our minds, and completely unsure of what to expect. In the week prior to her surgery, I found myself overcome with a need to educate, spread awareness, and get the message out to anyone who’d listen. You could call it my method of coping.
Yet, I found myself unable to tell my friends. I told my best friend, Emily, who gracefully understood my struggle and told several other people that I couldn’t. I told my English teacher, Lisa Dunster, because I liked her, and knew she’d been through the loss of a close friend to cancer and would understand, encourage, and help. I also told Gretchen Washington, my Special Education teacher, and she to was a source of understanding and encouragement. It seemed the majority of people I told either wanted to change the subject or pity me to a point of annoyance. But the above people were such a great source of relief and giving. They made the people who wanted to change the subject or ignore me less of an issue. Cancer isn’t hopeless. It’s a hell of a fight but it’s a fight worth pushing through. My Mom’s pathology report came back quite positive. Yes, cancer was there, but only Stage 1. No chemotherapy was needed and it was now just simply her time to recover. You never realize how much impact someone has on your life until they are less present. I came to greatly appreciate everything my Mom does and did for us while she was on down time, and came to realize how much responsibility she holds on her shoulders-our house would and could essentially fall apart without her. A life lesson learned right there. Unfortunately, it took 17 years.
But, bad news loves to come knocking just when the sun seems to be rising. My Mom had a checkup yesterday, and the doctor revealed that her other test results showed Stage 3 cancer, and left her with several options. The first option was let the cancer be and hope that perhaps it will go away on it’s own. I personally am terribly glad my Mom didn’t entertain this option-too much risk taking for my own personal liking, and I’m sure our family’s as well. Second, hormone therapy which would cause a 60-80 pound weight gain. No one needs to go through that. And finally, chemotherapy. Another scary “C” word, but a lifesaving choice.
So my Mom may end up be bald and worn down to her end. She’s still my Mom, shiny head or otherwise. What do someones looks matter when they’re alive? Hell, I might shave my head if it gets the message across. Hair grows back. But unfortunately, people don’t. It’s also said that shaving your head makes your hair come back healthier and fuller than before. Just as suffering makes you come out a stronger and more educated person.
Cancer is out there people. Please, get checked if you think you may be at risk. Better safe than sorry, yes? It’s scary, it sucks, and a cure would be fantastic-but it’s life. My family’s going to be ok through all of this. Dad will keep being Dad, Tim will keep fishing and being his humorous self, and I will keep running and keep hoping, and well, being a teenager.
With all this said, I have decided to run the Flying Pig Marathon next year. No, not half. Nope, not a quarter. I’m talking the entire 26+ miles. My track coach, who knows me as a sprinter, will probably have an anxiety attack when I inform him of this, as I doubt I will be able to manage track season and a marathon at the same time. I am no long distance runner, but I will be come Spring next year. I am looking to put a team together for my Mom, to help her in the fight. If you’re interested, please, send an email or comment my way. You don’t need to run the whole thing, run half a mile and I would be perfectly content. You could even just cheer along on the side and I’d be thrilled. This marathon is one of my ways of getting awareness out there, and doing my part for the cause.
Say It. Fight It. Cure It.
New York Times and General Motors are at it again. Well, Thomas Friedman and General Motors are at it again.
Friedman, a NY Times columnist well known for his cultural dislike of GM, published an op-ed on May 31st that many called "typical Friedman" and "devoid of facts."
Being the controversial journalist that he is, Friedman delivered the blows as smoothly as one could when discussing General Motors, calling the company "like a crack dealer" and "more dangerous to America than any other company out there." Friedman even went as far to say, "The sooner GM gets taken over by Toyota, the better off our country will be."
General Motors made an defiant attempt to sell their side of the story, by means of a 500-word letter, but were promptly shot down via the New York Times, who requested that the letter be cut down to 175 words. A deal was reached for 200 words, but GM's use of the word "rubbish" in describing Friedman's article blew out publishing of the letter entirely.
Friedman's original attack came as rebuttal to GM's Fast Lane blog, but quite obviously, the feud wasn't to end there, and may not-until one or the other bottoms out.
Sources: Fox News, GM FYI, Winding Road, and Autoblog.
