Jurassic Park, Moonstruck, and a Nice Weekend

In the hope of shaking things up a bit, I will be discussing a book, movies, and do a journal post! I'll try keep it as short as possible (I know, I can drone FOREVER)
: P

I finally finished reading Jurassic Park after years of watching the movie (and being ordered by my brother to read the book at some point in my life, lol). Before I begin my review, I just want to say that I LOVE the movie and I've watched it way too many times to count. I had very high expectations for this book.

I enjoyed it, sure, but I couldn't help noticing tiny differences between it and the movie during the entire book. Usually I HATE it when a movie don't stay true to the book that it's based on, but in this case I preferred many of the changes that the movie made to it. The movie had more drama, of course, but it also had a few connecting factors that made the story flow better in my opinion *Shrug*

One of my favorite aspects of this book were the characters that Michael Crichton created. My all time favorite character in the story would have to be Ian Malcolm, hands down. He blatantly states his opinion without the slightest care for how his peers view him. Also, he might be an arrogant man, but his theory was right in the end. So brilliant. So blunt. So Malcolm. ^_^

Here's a good example of Ian Malcolm in the book:

"I'll make it simple," Malcolm said. "A karate master does not kill people with his bare hands. He does not lose his temper and kill his wife. The person who kills is the person who has no discipline, no restraint, and who has purchased his power in the form of a Saturday night special. And that is the kind of power that science fosters, and permits. And that is why you think that to build a place like this is simple."
"It was simple," Hammond insisted.
"Then why did it go wrong?"

They changed Malcolm in the movie. They made him out to be kind of silly-ish, and his thing in the movie was "life will find a way." In the book, Malcolm pretty much preached the Chaos theory to anyone who would listen. He predicted every twist and turn that the park took, and he was never surprised when he was proven correct. He's such an awesome character : )

Malcolm wasn't the only character that the movie changed, pretty much every character was altered in the movie and it would take way too long for me to go through it all. Another example is Dr. Grant: In the book, he loves children and willingly risks his own neck for them without any motivation but their safety. In the movie, they made it kind of a journey for him. He started out with a strong dislike for children, but by the end he had unwillingly formed a strong bond with Hammond's grandchildren which altered his view of kids.

Another large difference is the endings. In the movie, they leave with with the heartwarming scene of Dr. Grant, Dr. Sattler, Hammond, etc. flying peacefully off into the sunset in a helicopter while the grandchildren are fast asleep in Dr. Grant's arms. Dr. Grant smiles at Dr. Sattler (they sort of have a thing going on in the movie, but she's just his student in the book) and it is a very touching smile, full of promise.

In the book, they pretty much are flying away as fast as they can while the island erupts in violent explosions in the background (there's no volcano, they're bombing it). Dr. Sattler is comforting one of the sobbing children as Dr. Grant is a bit disappointed/relieved that he'll never get to study the dinosaurs as much as he'd like.

Yeah, it leaves you with pretty different feelings, doesn't it?

Also, the book makes you really think about science as a whole rather than just genetics. It's a very interesting read, but I'm not left with a great respect for the author. He's ideas are fantastic, his writing. . . . . . not so much. Still, it's a great book for any sci-fi lovers out there.

Now, time for a movie review. Moonstruck came out in 1987, so of course I didn't go seeking this one out. My friend Bubbles has awesome parents, and they forced us to watch it with them (despite our protests). I didn't expect to like it, and I didn't. I loved it.

This movie is great. I wouldn't exactly call it a romantic comedy, it's more dramatic than that. It is hilarious, though, and the romance was the central plot. It's also about family loyalty, so it's not ALL lovey-dovey.

The actors did a great job. It stars Cher and Nicholas Cage, and they sure played their parts with commitment. I was truly blown away. Oh, and just to clarify, it's not a musical. I know that the picture I posted makes it seem like it is, but it's not. That's the best picture I could find for it, so don't be fooled.

Anyway, if my recommendation isn't enough for you, it won three Oscars, fifteen other awards, and eleven nominations. Yes, it is that good.

However, I suggest that kids only 13+ up watch it. There is some adult content. Not a lot, though, just one scene really. *Giggle* It got awkward with Bubbles, me, Tay, Devin, and Bubbles's parents all watching that together. Anyone else out there feel weird when everyone in the room is turned on by the same scene? : P We all avoided eye contact for a while after that part. . . .

Now for my last topic: my vacation-ish weekend (which was last weekend, I know I'm slow to post). I went to my friend Bubbles's riverhouse with her, Tay, Devin, and Matt. It was quite relaxing, and surprisingly warm too. We did some hiking, went in the water, played rummy, watched Moonstruck, and ate good food. It was great : ) Her riverhouse is awesome; I totally loved the bunkbeds. It was like a giant sleepover at night (with me, Bubbles, and Tay of course. Devin was in a different room and Matt slept at his dad's house).

Bubbles and Tay are some of my wildest friends, and I love them to death. My only complaint is how they pressure me when it comes to NHC. They don't really mean to, but they pry about him too often. I trust them and everything, but sometimes I want to tell them to butt out. *Sigh* They help me, though, considering they have WAY more experience with guys than I do. Telling them to butt out is not smart, especially since I need their advice sometimes. . . . .

Lol, I think Bubbles and Tay should write a book together. They know a LOT about guy's heads, if you ever need to figure out whether a guy likes you or not, go to them. They know exactly how you can test to see if he likes you or not, how much, and whether he'd go out with you. All without the dude having a clue as to what you're doing. They've been very helpful over the years : P

Anyway, they pressure me more than they realize. I know they don't really mean to, but it's still annoying. They tell me to do these physical things with NHC that I know neither of us are ready for/want to do. They mean well (they claim that he might get bored with me if I don't 'make some kind of move on him' or something like that) but they really don't know what they're talking about in this situation. NHC and I are at a very good place in our relationship (in my opinion at least, I can't exactly speak for him) and there is NO way that I'm going to change things when it's going so well. I'd be SO uncomfortable if we went any further at the moment, and I don't see how that would accomplish anything. So Bubbles and Tay will just have to deal with it, 'cause I'm definitely not listening to them this time.

I do hope that I can revisit Bubbles's riverhouse soon, it was incredibly relaxing. . . . . *Dreamy Sigh* I wonder what it'll be like during the summer when the water's even warmer. . . . .

~Peace out, my wonderful readers : )