Gone Girl - great book and movie

Very rarely after watching a movie I find myself wanting to buy the novel on which the film was based on. That is exactly what happened when I saw Gone Girl directed by David Fincher.

This history is so great that even though I already know the key points, surprising twists and strong ending, I bought the novel by Gillian Flynn to see how this story was written.

Interestingly, Gillian Flynn also wrote the screenplay for David Fincher's movie!

Gone Girl - the story
According to an official description: „On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?„

David Fincher, director of such films as Seven, Fight Club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, created a thriller that develops slowly. gradually increasing tension until about the middle of the movie, when action begins to speed up and since then it is difficult to tear yourself away from the screen.

Movie and novel - a strong finale
The movie is worth seeing but also you should definitely read the novel to the end, because the finale is really, really great. I would like to tell you more about it and explain why I think it is so good, but I do not want to spoil the surprise and deprive you of these emotions that accompany while watching this movie or reading the novel.

Gone Girl is an interesting thriller about marriage, trust, betrayal, revenge and emotions that are associated with all of the above.

Even if you watched the movie, be sure to read the novel. You will not be disappointed!

Buy a novel on Amazon >

See the movie on Amazon >

Buy the movie on DVD >

Shutter Island – should you read a novel or watch a movie first?

Recently a friend of mine asked me what to do first - read a book by Dennis Lehane or watch the movie by Martin Scorsese with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role? Since I know both, I could honesty advise him.

I answered - read the novel and then watch the movie. Why? First of all, because you won't be limited in any way. You will be able to create in your own imagination everything what Lehane portrayed in his writing. Otherwise the film will eclipse the novel, because it's simply great, with superb creations of actors Leonardo DiCaprio (as Teddy Daniels), Mark Ruffalo (as Chuck Aule) and Ben Kingsley (as Dr. Cawley).

Of course, adaptation is not 100% perfect. But if anyone of you watched the movie first, don't be discouraged. You won't be surprised by unexpected changes in plot, but you will certainly appreciate the language, scenes which are missing in the film, and generally - the climate of the novel.

In my opinion this is one of those movies and books to remember and reminisce for many years. Definitely you will give thought about the story and ending.

If someone doesn't know anything about Shutter Island, I publish some brief information below:

Shutter Island is a novel by Dennis Lehane, published in April 2003. A film adaptation was released in February 2010. Laeta Kalogridis wrote a screenplay of the movie and it was directed by Martin Scorsese, who in my opinion is one of the best directors alive today.

Description from Amazon.com: "The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new ­partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple-murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades—with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is remotely what it seems".

In a nutshell – it's a great novel and a good psychological thriller :).

Best legal thriller ever

I recently wrote about the top ten legal thrillers by John Grisham. I think he is the king of this genre, but in my personal ranking best title in this category does not belong to any of Grisham's novels, but to Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow.

Scott Turow is a writer, a practicing attorney and author of eight novels and two nonfictional books. Presumed Innocent, published in 1987, was his first fiction book. It tells the story of Rozat "Rusty" Sabich - chief deputy prosecutor of Kindle County. One day he must deal with the brutal murder of Carolyn Polhemus - prosecuting attorney, who was once his mistress. His boss, Raymond Horgan, who is going for re-election, wants the case to be closed quickly since he believes that it will score on it  political capital. So Sabich starts to work on finding Polhemus' killer, but with poor results. There is no evidence nor idea who could do it.

During this time, Horgan discovers the truth about Sabich's relationship with Carolyn, and he pulls him from the case. From that moment evidence begin to turn up that Sabich may have killed Polhemus. Sabich is accused and suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted. Even his wife, who knew about the affair, begins to suspect his guilt.

Sabich has to battle to prove his innocence. He hires lawyer Alejandro "Sandy" Stern to defend him. In this way prosecutor participates in the process from the "other side".

It is interesting to see how a prosecutor thinks and how a defender acts, the methods they use and what is their attitude to work. While reading you can clearly see that Turow has a law degree and wast experience in this profession (he prosecuted several high-profile corruption cases as the Wikipedia states). He created world full of evocative descriptions, great dialogues (especially in the courtroom) and realistic characters.

I remember that while reading Presumed Innocent every moment I was impressed by things that I've learned, turn-based literary workshop, as well as the development of history, because he invented it very credible, it was logically drawn, probable and ends with a surprising finale.

I won't write a detailed review of this book, I would just like to encourage everyone to - if you haven't done it already – to read this book. Certainly you won't regret it! You can buy Presumed Innocent on Amazon.

PS. The novel was adapted for the screen with the same title in 1990 directed by Alan J. Pakula with Harrison Ford in the main role. See description and reviews.

The Safe House – great movie trailer with Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds

I enjoy not only reading thrillers, but also watching them :). That's why I often watch trailers to know what new film will appear in cinemas soon. One of the most interesting trailer I have seen lately is about thriller called The Safe House.

Trailer begins intriguing. In the first sentence a woman's voice says - "He was one of the most brilliant CIA operatives we ever had – until he went rogue".

After that it's just gets better and better. It turns out that Denzel Washington plays the most dangerous renegade from the CIA - his name is Tobin Frost.

On the other side we have Matt Weston played by Ryan Reynolds. He is a young and inexperienced CIA agent, who wind up with Frost when a group of soldiers destroy the CIA-operated safe house where he is kept captive. Only Weston and Frost survive the attack. But what next? Whom to trust?

Although I like movies about Jason Bourne, I hope that The Safe House will be made with more respect for the laws of probability ;-). That  it won't turn up to be only entertaining, but also with intricately and logical constructed plot.

Interestingly, Reynolds got a major role. Recently we could see him as a funny guy in The Change-Up, as well as a superhero in Green Lantern. How will he deal with this role? I hope that he created a good duet with Denzel.

Filming took place in Cape Town, South Africa. Now film is in post-production.
Release date: February 10, 2012.

The Safe House cast:
Director: Daniel Espinos
Writer: David Guggenheim
Stars: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick, Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson.

If you want to get The Safe House summary, see it on the official website.

Watch The Safe House trailer and write what do you think about it!