Aurorina

Written by Lisa Gardner, one of the D. D. Warren detective saga. Basically, it’s a thrilling suspense which talks about the children with mental illness, or like she put it at the end of the book, children being expelled for violence.

Sometimes when you really think about it, you may feel sad that we know so little about how our brains work and what to do if they don’t work as the way we expected. I have known people with mental problems. There are moments that I feel they are crazy and hard to get along with. I am afraid that something I commonly say or do will trigger their explosion; or I may step into a bomb zone that I didn’t know. The family seems like to keep the problem a secret. They hardly talk about it like it’s a shame. Yeah, I know, that’s how most of us feel about mental illness: a shame to talk about or to have.

But do you feel sorry for those people? I know every one is different. But I think for some people, things possibly could turn out in a totally different way. If they didn’t have to face the trauma they did in the past, maybe they still act as normally as they used to. Some trauma could be and should be avoided while I admit that maybe some couldn’t. I wonder if the tragedy didn’t happen, will they have a better quality of life? Or things are just not right in the head, so they will go crazy anyway sometime even there was no trauma?

A bitter feel to think about this problem.

And a good book to bring public attention to it, although the book itself didn’t attract my attention at first. A little bit hard for me to read, maybe, and it goes quite slow at the first several chapters, because there are three different characters with three different story lines which don’t intersect one another until later.

And again, do all american people or at least writers believe or like the paranormal thing? Why these things keep popping out of almost every novel I read? Come on, you don’t need these things to have drama. Be creative, writers!

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How do you know you are in love with someone? Or if you may excuse me, what is love?

Is love just some kind of sexual attraction? You see someone, you find someone attractive, you hormon starts to react, you get excited, your heart beats faster, you blush, you get nervous, then you tell yourself you have a crush on someone. You work your way out, make someone love you back, then announce that you are a happy couple bathing in the river of love. So I would say love is or at least comes from sexual attraction.  If not, why they often say that love is irrational, unmeasurable? Why they’d say that you can’t analyze love like you are solving a math problem?

Do we really love anyone more than ourselves? I doubt it. If we do, then why would we often try so hard to change someone in the way we like it rather than they like it?  If they like jeans and t-shirts better than suits, why would we want them wear suits sometimes? If they are more comfortable not to talk much, why would we want them to be more talkative, more sociable? If they have the only hobby of playing video games, why would we hate it if we really love them? We couldn’t even let the kids be themselves. We are happy only when they match our expectations. Everything we meet with in our marriage may be the first time, but we all grew up from a little kid. We ourselves should know what the kid’s life or thoughts would be like. But why would we get so disappointed or angry if the kid does something wrong or fails one crap exam? Something happens and the kid is gonna get through it. why could we just provide some productive advice and help and comfort, why do we have to yell at them? Why would you want the kid to do something or be someone you wanted to do or be but never got the chance to do or be? Do you ever ask them if they’d like to?

Love should let your loved ones be comfortable with who they are, what they do. Love should make them feel confident to be themselves. You shouldn’t change someone in the name of love into another person you like but they don’t.

Love brings out the best in someone. Love does not create another best person that wasn’t there.

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This movie is based on a true story, which is hard to believe. It’s something you would think that it’s only gonna happen in a movie or a drama TV series or a novel or every kind of that literature creation but a real life. Give up almost everything, husband, marriage, kids, study in a college at a quite old age trying to get a degree in order to apply a law school,  then study harder at law school and get to be a lawyer, all the efforts of 18 years are made to try to free a brother who was imprisoned to life because of murder.

Perhaps you’d say that many people could do that to their family, to their beloved ones; you might say, yes, there are misery, struggle, sadness, heartbreaking moments, but people get through these things, it’s no big deal, this is life. But I wonder if we all have the strong faith in our beloved ones. Have you once doubted that your spouse didn’t love you as much as before even they said they did? Have you suspected your kids were lying even they swore what others told you about them were not true? Have you once wonder that your parents loved your siblings more than loved you? If you have, then how could you keep the faith in your heart that your brother is innocent when every evidence and proof indicated that he murdered someone? Could you still believe his innocence when he was sentenced guilty of murder? How could you know he is not lying to you? When you were ruining your life for him, would you ever ask yourself if it’s worth it? What if he did it? Besides, what if you become a lawyer but still can’t find a way to help him? What if you can’t help to free him in your whole life? Then what’s the meaning of these sacrifices? Would you regret?

The woman is very tough. Who ever could suffer but manage to beat it is tough. Not only tough, but determined, faithful, courageous. Most important of all, they have the ability of love.

By the way, Hilary Swank may be not the most beautiful woman in the world, but she is absolutely one of the best actress. She shines in this movie. She portraits this very woman, who gives whatever it takes to love and help her brother.

And I wanna say that no wonder Hilary has won the Academy Award, twice.

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Henry says he can’t change the past. But I think he dose in the book.

First, see, the older Henry travels to Clare when she is still a little girl. Wether or not he makes her, she does fall in love with him, the traveler from the future. So Clare falls in love with Henry even before she meets him in the real life. And when she really meets Henry in reality for the very first time, she is extremely happy not because she has a crush on him, but she has finally found the one she misses so much. On their first date, Clare tells Henry they are going to get married because she knows for sure they are married in the future. It’s not a normal conversation you’d have on a first date, right? Suppose the older Henry didn’t travel to little Clare and Clare didn’t know their story and their marriage in the future, then what would happen even if they met in the real life? Maybe they just met and nothing would happen. Maybe they dated for a while and then broke up. At least Clare wouldn’t fall in love with Henry even before she knows him. At least it would take some time for them to fall in love. If Henry didn’t travel, then the first meet and first date would never be the same. So how could Henry say he can’t change the past?

Second question, Henry buys a lottery ticket and wins the prize because he already knew the winning numbers when he travelled. If he didn’t travel there was theoretically  no way to win this prize. No prize, no dream house. But he travels, He wins. So he changes his own life.

My explanation to this conflict is there must be different spaces. In one space, Clare meets Henry, they fall in love, they get married, they may get rich in some way(perhaps not by winning a lottery), they buy this dream house, they go through everything. And Henry travels to another space, and finally affects Henry and Clare’s life in this space. Alien Henry makes Henry and Clare live a similar life that he has in his space.

Or maybe there are not only two spaces. There are many spaces. When Henry travels, he travels through different spaces to different time. All those Henrys  meet each other from time to time, and eventually every one gets involved and they all eventually have the same kind of story. Like, they all win a lottery therefore get the money to buy the house; Every little Clare meets a Henry from some other space and falls in love with him before she finally meets him in real life. It’s possible. And more explicable in and of the book itself.

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I just saw two movies of his. He played two different guys with a tad of resemblance.

In Cyrus, he is a weird, 22 years old, raised by and now is living with his single mom, Molly. He is not happy with the fact that Molly is seeing some guy, especially when he realizes something serious is happening between Molly and this guy. His performance is hilarious, although he is quite serious. No fake laughing, no yelling, no screaming, no stupid act which all often happen in a comedy. Natural and reasonable.

In Moneyball, he is a fresh Harvard graduate with a economics degree. As you can see, he is kind of shy. He seems to be nervous when he talks to his boss. He doesn’t know what to say to fire a player and how to say it. He feels very relived when he tells a player he was transfered to anther team and the player takes it calmly. Again, no exaggerating in his performance, but there is a quiet power. It’s like the sea. It looks peaceful but there are waves coming continuously.

Yes, he is Jonah Hill.

As an actor, the best chance for him should be the Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Just after I wrote down these words, I googled him. It seemed he was already nominated for this prize by the performance in Moneyball. Well, no surprise for me.

Lucky enough, he could win an Oscar in a leading role. That means, first of all, he needs a role that fits him well; second of all, a good screenplay and a good director; most importantly, there must be a producer who trusts him to let him play the leading role. Easier to say.

Wish him good luck.

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It’s not easy to put the original story in a two hour movie without confusing the audience. But they made it. The whole crew and cast were fantastic. They did a phenomenal job together. They accomplished the impossible.

First, the script is great. They kept the spirit of the story but they also adapted some parts. Like the scene when Henry tells Gomez he is actually a time traveler. In the book, Henry breaks into the store, picks some clothes and then he and Gomez head to a bar(or restaurant, I don’t remember). When he feels like dizzy and traveling again, he asks Gomez to go to the restroom with him. And then he disappears right in front of Gomez. But in the movie, he disappears once he gets dressed in the store. There is nothing right or wrong. It’s just different media. In a movie with a limit time, you just need to get straight to the point.

There are also many other scenes that are different from the book. And many details were cut as always. Like about Clare’s mother’s mental problem, and Mark’s girlfriend.

Second, the directing is great. I have seen another movie played by Rachel Adams(The Vow). I could tell that the story is good. It’s the same star. But the movie lacks of a bit of something which could make it a classic. I can’t tell exactly what it is. But I know I wasn’t as moved as I should be or I’d expected to be. They could put it better.  Same thing doesn’t happen in this movie. The story is well and clearly told, which is not easy because of the time travel thing, by the way. I think the director should be given the credit. It’s the director who put the story together, who decided where the story would go, from the very beginning.

Third, the stars are awesome. Rachel is so good. The first scene in the movie is the one when Clare and Henry meet each other for the first time in the real life. Clare knows Henry, but he doesn’t know her at all. She sees him and recognizes him. She is so happy that she couldn’t help it to murmur his name. She smiles toward him. She couldn’t move her eyes from him. Love is in her smile, in her eyes, on her face. You have to believe that she is deeply obsessed with him even if you’ve never read the book. There is no other explanation from her performance but she is in love with him, very much. Eric is very cool. His smile is charming. His experience as a time traveler in the movie is cool and fun(unless the ending). Their connection in the movie looks natural. The emotions, the reactions, the laughing and crying, all seem very natural. No overacting. No underacting. I think that’s what you call a good performance. Apparently, they both have the natural talent.

Other stars are great too. The little girl who plays young Clare is brilliant.

All together, they make it a five star movie. It’s the type of movie I like. It’s romantic. It’s warm. It’s fun. It’s a classic.

P.S. I used to think that an adapted movie could never be as good as the original book, because many details in the book hence the beauty of literature would be cut or deleted. But after I saw this movie and the interview with the screenplay writer and director, I started to accept their concept about book and movie. They are totally different media. They have very different language to tell a story. Nothing right or wrong. Nothing better or worse. They both exist with their own unique, peculiar beauty.

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I am reading this novel. Actually I saw the adapted movie first, and it inspired me to read the original book.

Basically, it’s a love story.  Like all the romance, there always is something unusual happening, like car accident, like severe illness, like war, like death…… With all the variaties of unusual things, there is still a different, unique, you’ve never heard of element, Time Travel.

Yes, Henry time travels. There is no specific pattern of when or where he is gonna travel. He travels when he is under much stress, or excitement, or anxiety, or anything that makes his heart race fast, his blood pressure raise high. But he travels as well when he is sipping a tea, sitting at the balcony and reading Sunday newspaper. He travels to places he knew. He also travels to somewhere that he’s never been to, sometimes with total strangers all around him. The only pattern of his travel seems to be that he travels a lot to the place or people or event which is important, unforgettable to him. It’s like gravity which attracts him to it.  It is fun, if you could think it positively. But most of the time, it’s troublesome, or even dangerous. And it’s really embarrassing, because he couldn’t take anything with him when he travels, that means, he travels naked.

Clare met Henry for the first time when she was 5 years old. Henry was in his early thirties. He traveled. You could say that Clare didn’t have a happy childhood. She was lonely. She was worried about her mother and her dad and their relationship. She often spent time after school in the open lawn area  invisible from the house  behind a ridge. Henry was like her spiritual friend who showed up every now and then, helped her solving all kinds of problems, mostly academic, and also personal. Clare wrote down every date when she met Henry. There were 152 different dates, from the first time till the last time when she was18 years old. And Henry traveled from his early 30s to early 40s. Then there was a 2 year gap when she didn’t see Henry at all. Henry told her they were married in her unseen future.

God knows how much Clare loves Henry, not just in the future, but also present.  Clare misses Henry so much when she couldn’t see him. She believes that she is gonna see Henry again, but she doesn’t know when and where.

One day when Clare is 20 years old, she steps into the Newbery Library to look up information required by the professor for the homework of her art class. There, unexpectedly, she meets Henry, younger than she’s ever seen him. She won’t blame Henry for not recognizing her, because she knows this young Henry doesn’t even know her at all. Clare is very well prepared to ask Henry out for a dinner and a long nice talk. She knows he won’t turn her down, not because she is pretty and sincere, but she will be his beloved wife. Finally, the life together with Henry she has always been longing for is waiting ahead of her.

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Not bad.

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A suspens.

The President’s kids, Ethan and Zoe, were kidnapped, yet no one claimed responsible, except a note received days later, which said there is no ransom, and there will be no demand. Terrifying, frightening, the kids were no where to find, live or dead. Alex Cross, a detective of NYPD, received a call from the First Lady, the mother of the missing kids. Alex was requested to find the kids, guaranteed he would get all the resources he could.

At the same time, DC got a series of severe attacks from an unknown group. Dr Hala and her husband arrived at Dulles Airport from Saudi Arab. Of course they were not on a sightseeing tour, they were on a mission. They were trained by The Family. It had an very delicate organization which prevented the disfunction in case someone one the branch was caught or killed.(By the way, it reminded me of the CCP undercover intelligence connections played on TV back in China.) They were trained to defeat the arrogant American. Hala hated America, which is full of junk food and nothing decent to eat. The streets here were dirty, greasy. The weather was unpleasant either, not like Saudi, where at least it was cool in the night. Hala believed America was just an arid wasteland that ought to be destroyed, soon.

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A Sherlock Holmes style detective story. There is a series of Reacher novels. It’s quite good. I think I am gonna explore more.

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