BOOK REVIEW

ELSEWHERE, by Gabrielle Zevin

I’m going to do a review about a book I have read: Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin. First, I’m going to explain a little bit the plot but without revealing the ending, because maybe some of you want to read it!

The main character of the story is Liz (Elizabeth Hall), a nearly sixteen-year-old girl from United States who is killed in a hit and run accident by a cab. After her death, she wakes up on a boat, so she thinks she’s dreaming (because she denies accepting that she is dead). The boat arrives to Elsewhere, the place where all the dead people go. Elsewhere is a place very similar to the Earth, but the main difference is that the people who live there age backwards. In this place, Liz meets Betty, her grandmother, and some good new friends (and also, she falls in love). At first, Liz doesn’t like Elsewhere because, who wants to be dead? But then she realizes her life in Elsewhere is like a second life, the same or maybe better than her life in the Earth.

The main reason why I liked the book is because it’s very original. I thought about what happens after death a million times and I imagined a million things, but when I read Elsewhere I discovered another perspective which I did never think about it. I also liked the love story that happens in the book, although it’s a bit predictable.

Maybe, what I didn’t like a lot about the book is that in some parts the writer of the book described not very interesting things; I mean, she described some chapters of Liz’s life which weren’t important at all and that made the book a bit boring in some parts. I would like the book to have a bit more of action.

But, a part from that, I enjoyed the reading of Elsewhere and I recommend it to my classmates basically because it’s not a very difficult book to read, so I think that is a good point for practicing English. Also, the story is original, even though in some parts it’s a bit boring.

Finally, this is a quote from the book that I specially loved and I would like to share with you:

FILM REVIEW

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

The Butterfly effect is and American movie directed by Eric Bress and J.Mackye Gruber, starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart. The title of the movie refers to the butterfly effect, which shows us how a small initial difference can totally change the final result. 

The main character of the film is Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher), who lives in a small town with his mom and friends. His father is in an asylum, cause he has mental problems. Evan also suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, very confused. It’s like he forgets about some small chapters of his life, but Evan’s mother and his friends hardly believe him. They think he makes it up just to get out of trouble, because most of the times he has memory blackouts it’s when he’s doing something wrong or irresponsible. Also, Evan writes in a diary all of his blackout moments (at least, the part that he is conscious), because he thinks this is a good way to try to recover memory. As Evan grows up, he has fewer blackouts until it seems he has recovered totally. Then, he goes to the University, and one day he finds one of his old diaries by chance and he decides to read it. Somehow, he travels back in time just in the parts he had a blackout when he was a child, so he is able to change his past. Even though he tries to change his past to make his present better, he can’t do it and he notices how a little change in the past can change all his future completely.

What I liked the most in this film is the storyline. I decided to watch this film one night when I was bored, because one friend recommended to me. At first I thought the film would be the typical American comedy, with nothing special, so I was surprised when I finished it thinking how good this film was for me. Well, it’s not one of the best films I’ve seen in my life, of course, but it has something that makes me like it a lot. The film has action, love and also some psychological part, so it has a bit of everything. I also liked a lot the main character, because you can feel easily identified with him (not for the part of the blackouts, but his character).

Talking about what I don’t like about the film, I didn’t like the fact that in some parts it’s too much unbelievable. But maybe this is to make the movie more interesting.

So my rating is:



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FILM REVIEW

HACHI: A DOG'S TALE

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale is a British-American drama film released in 2009 that is based on the true story of a Japanese dog, Hachikō, a faithful dog who went everyday on a train station in Japan at the same hour waiting for his owner to get out of work. Even after his death, Hachikō continued waiting for his owner every day at the same time in the same place until he died. Actually, there is a statue of Hachikō in the train station that he used to wait for his owner. The film is a remake of a Japanese film called Hachikō Monogatari (“The Tale of Hachikō”) released in 1987. It’s a very emotional film that made me cry a lot, but I was worth it because the storyline is beautiful.

The film is about a college professor called Parker Wilson who, one day, picks up a dog who was lost in the train station that he uses every day to go to work. He decides to bring him home until he finds the dog’s real owner. He sees that the dog has a collar with his name, but the name is in Japanese. Then, he discovers that the dog’s name is Hachi (that means “eight” in English) and that the dog is an Akita, a Japanese dog breed. From that moment, Parker does whatever he can to find out who the dog belongs to, while he and Hachi start becoming great friends. Although Hachi is not like the normal dogs (for example, he can’t learn the type of tricks that dogs do), he demonstrates to be very loyal waiting for Parker every day in the train station when he gets off his job, even though Parker at first didn’t want to.

What I liked the most about the film is the storyline. I have to admit that I get emotional very easily when I’m seeing that type of films. But, with this film, while I was watching it I couldn’t stop crying. I think it was the film I cried the most watching it. This film is trying to teach us what loyalty is, doing it though the most loyal animal in the world: the dog. As everyone says, the dog is man’s best friend, is the only one that loves you much more than he loves himself. Also, I find impressive that fact that this story is real, Hachikō existed. I love what this film is trying to transmit to us, the values, the feelings that nowadays our society has destruct. Also, the actors, the music (the soundtrack), the story, the ambient… all these things create a pile of sensations that no other film has ever transmitted to me. Focusing on the main actor, Richard Gere, he did a great job. I think he was perfect for the role that he played.

I don’t think I have anything that I don’t like about this film. I don’t have anything to criticize; for me, this film is a 10. I recommend everybody to see this film, because I think it’s for all ages, no matter how old you are, this film is perfect for everybody. Well, maybe I don’t recommend a kid to see it, because maybe he or she won’t understand the message of the film or only will focus on how cute the dog is. A part from that, I think this is a good movie for everybody.

As I said before, for me this film is brilliant, so my rating is:

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