Book Review: The Hobbit

With the second part of Peter Jackson’s sprawling film adaptation in cinemas, it might surprise you to learn that The Hobbit is relatively short book. Tolkien wrote it before The Lord of the Rings, his most famous work, and, first published in 1937, it is a standalone fantasy novel filled with action, adventure and, most importantly, dragons!

The story is about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins who just wants to be left alone to his quiet life, but when a group of dwarves and a wizard turn up for an unexpected party and press-gang him into accompanying them on a quest, his world is turned upside down. It is only a matter of time before he tangles with trolls, elves and eventually the great dragon Smaug.

 

Tolkien’s story is epic but the most compelling aspect of it is Bilbo’s character arc, shifting from bewildered stay-at-home hobbit to thief and adventurer. The dwarves have distinct personalities and you’ll definitely have a favourite! While the book can’t show you the stunning landscapes visually as Jackson’s film trilogy can, Tolkien has a knack for evoking a sense of wonder from the marvellous places the party travel through, from the Elven town Rivendell to mines under a mountain where goblins roam, to Lake-town, a settlement in the shadow of the great Lonely Mountain. There are daring escapes, thrilling chases and tense confrontations. In one of the most memorable sections, Bilbo has a spine-tingling encounter with the now-familiar Gollum and steals a mysterious magic ring. When The Hobbit leapt to publishing success and Tolkien’s publishers requested more from Middle Earth, Tolkien realised that this seemingly minor treasure could become the most important ring in the history of Middle-Earth in the sequel, The Lord of the Rings.

The Lord of the Rings is without doubt Tolkien’s epic masterpiece and the inspiration for the majority of the fantasy genre today, but The Hobbit is an odd little story that appeals to children and adults and tells the story of a reluctant hero who ultimately embraces adventure and does great things.

To quote Bilbo in his later appearance in The Lord of the Rings, 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door…You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

 

If you liked The Hobbit…

You’ll enjoy the graphic novel The Hobbit Or There and Back Again by Chuck Dixon (741.5941)

Have a look at the DVD of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first part of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation (823.91)

Try the sequel that has eclipsed its predecessor, The Lord of the Rings – Tolkien makes Middle Earth even more epic as we find out the truth about that magic ring Bilbo stole from Gollum. Start with The Fellowship of the Ring (823.91)

Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien, Myth and Modernity by Patrick Curry examines Tolkien’s world building of Middle Earth (823.91

DVD Review: Citizen Kane (1941)

It may not be your stereotypical Christmas movie full of dancing elves, fat Santa’s and talking reindeers but there is something about Citizen Kane that always makes me feel festive.  Orson Welles co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in this 9 times academy nominated film from 1941 and it despite almost costing Welles his career has gained notoriety in the film world and is often the subject of cinematic debate.

Loosely based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, a prominent figure in the newspaper industry of the time, Welles plays Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy newspaper producer, who is living in seclusion in his huge mansion in Florida. We first meet him on his death bed as he utters the word ‘Rosebud’ in his final breath and drops the snow globe he was clutching in his pale hands.  His death becomes global news and a reporter, Jerry Thompson, seeks to decipher the meaning of his final word by talking to those who knew him. He tracks down Kane’s childhood Guardian whose memoirs allow Thompson to learn about Kane’s childhood. He finds out that he grew up in poverty in Colorado. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that the boarding house run by his parents was sitting on top of the world’s third largest goldmine. He was forced to leave his Mother and ended up in the care of Walter Parks Thatcher, his new legal Guardian. At the age of 25, Kane gained full legal access to all of his possessions and enters the newspaper with his seemingly attractive journalistic style of writing which was void of all fact and knowledge and used bold headlines to sell papers. He took over the company, The New York Inquirer, and his rise to power is documented. He marries a President’s niece and runs for the office of Governor of New York State. The next few years see his marriage disintegrate, his chance at office disappear and the wonders of his life ripped away from him. His last few years were spent in isolation in his Floridian home and his staff recall a time he had previously uttered the word ‘Rosebud’ shortly after his first wife had left him.

At the end of the film it is revealed to the audience what ‘Rosebud’ really means, Thompson couldn’t decipher the meaning of the word and it is us and Kane who know exactly what it refers to. This reveal has since been called ‘the greatest secret in cinema’ by renowned film critic David Thomson.  Welles was never particularly keen on the concept of using ‘Rosebud’ as a thematic device for mystery and said in an interview “we did everything we could to take the mickey out of it”. William Randolph Hearst reportedly banned the film from being advertised in any of his newspapers and offered distribution company RKO Films over $800’000 to destroy all known prints and negatives of the film. Despite Hearst’s efforts the film was fairly profitable and was the 6^th most successful film that year, however it is considered to be Welles’ worst work as it almost cost him his career due to the backlash from Hearst.

I can’t tell you why exactly this film reminds me of Christmas because that will ruin it for you, so you will just have to borrow it and see for yourselves! Nothing like a bit of Christmas mystery.

If a black and white film documenting the life and death of a successful newspaper magnate isn’t your idea of a festive favourite, we have plenty of others in the DVD ZONE to choose from, including ELF, MIRACLE ON 34^th STREET and THE MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL.

Have a great Christmas!

Further Reading in the Information Store

Citizen Kane by Orson Welles – DVD ZONE – Shelved at 791.43

Citizen Kane by Dan Williams – BOOK ZONE – Shelved at 791.4372

Orson Welles: A Biography ­by Barbara Leaming – BOOK ZONE – Shelved at 791.430233092

Information Store Christmas opening hours

Christmas opening hours:

This week:
Both sites will be open as usual Monday to Friday. NB We will be closed this Saturday.

Next week (16th - 20th Dec):
We will be open at both sites 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. NB Norfolk House will be open.

Christmas week:
We will be open 23rd and 24th December, 9am to 5pm at the main campus only.

New Year week:
We will be open on 2nd January at 10:30am, closing at 5pm (main campus only).
We will be open on 3rd January from 9am to 5pm (main campus only).

Saturdays:
NB We will be closed Sat 14th, Sat 21st, Sat 28th December and Sat 4th January.

Back to normal hours on both sites on Monday 6th January.

Please check Blackboard regularly for any changes over the Christmas period, including for any snow updates!

Have a wonderful holiday from everyone in the Information Store.

New and LONGER opening hours at Norfolk House Library

As of today we are now open longer hours in the Library @ Norfolk House

Monday - 8:30am to 6:30pm
Tuesday - 8:30 am to 6:30pm
Wednesday - 8:30am to 6:30pm
Thursday - 8:30am to 6:30pm
Friday - 8:30am to 5pm

Saturday - closed (but we are open 9:15am to 1pm at the main campus)

The Life of Nelson Mandela

Today the world mourns the loss of South Africa's most famous and influential leader, Nelson Mandela. Some people may be reading the headlines this morning, aware of the name but not of the life this amazing man had, so here is a quick run down of Nelson Mandela and why South Africa are grieving for his death.

Nelson Mandela was born on the 18^th July 1918 in Umtatu, South Africa. He was known by most by his clan name of Madiba and it wasn't until he attended school that his teacher gave him the English name of Nelson, this was a common tradition in South African education and one, Mandela says, was due to British bias on their education system at the time. He received an excellent education up until he was expelled from Fort Hare University for leading a strike against university authorities and so his rebellious streak began to appear. 

Young Nelson Mandela

He completed his degree in Law, became very interested in politics and joined the African National Congress. In 1944, Mandela married his first wife Evelyn and in 1946, they had their first son, Thembekile. In 1948 the National Party won the general election and began building the apartheid which involved enforcing racial segregation in all aspects of life, separating white people and black people by law. Mandela, outraged by the apartheid led strikes against the regime, most famously the Defiance Campaign which in 1952 saw him publicly burn the pass he was legally obliged to carry as a black male. During this time he divorced Evelyn and married another woman called Winnie with whom he had two children.

In 1960, police killed 69 demonstrators protesting after the banning of the ANC party, this was known as the Sharpeville Massacre. Mandela organised a bombing campaign which involved planting bombs under an abandoned Government building. There was never any intention to kill anyone, but one fatality came when a bomb exploded too early in the hands of a young activist. Following an uproar from the bombing he left South Africa in 1961 and upon his return a year later he was imprisoned for leaving the country illegally. He was then trialled for acts of sabotage, violence and treason.  He said he had dedicated his life to the struggles of the African people and told of his ideal situation in that white people and black people could live together, harmoniously once more. He added that he was prepared to die for this ideal. He was sentence to life imprisonment.

Nelson revisits his prison cell

He was imprisoned in a small cell and spent most of his time doing mundane chores such as breaking rocks or sewing.  While in prison his eldest son, Thembekile died in a car accident and his mother also died. His wife, Winnie, was jailed by the apartheid regime and spent thirteen months in solitary confinement. These three tragic events almost broke Mandela and he wrote how he had no words to describe the sorrow he was feeling.  He started gaining access to books while in prison and studied the work of Shakespeare and Churchill and learned about the Afrikaans. He demanded respect from the prison guards and became highly regarded amongst the other prisoners. In 1970 he secretly began writing his autobiography and smuggled the pages out of the prison.  In 1982 he was moved to a different prison and his conditions became better as he was allowed access to more books. His status amongst followers of the ANC party reached a unique level and members of the apartheid regime began negotiating with him.

In the 1980's the Anti-Apartheid movement was formed in London in response to the Sharpeville Massacre. It was during this time that the world became aware of the situation in South Africa and the imprisonment of Mandela. It was the eventual demise of the Cold War that began to encourage the apartheid regime to negotiating their political stance. The current South African President P. W Botha suffered a mild stroke and the country was taken over by F.W Klerk who upon his appointment as President announced that the regime was to be abolished and all political prisoners were to be freed, including Nelson Mandela.

The 'Walk to Freedom' Nelson and Winnie

In 1990, at 71 years old and after 27 years in prison, Mandela walked free, hand in hand with his wife Winnie. The countries hopes of the prevention of a civil war rested upon his shoulders. He made a speech, to 50’000 people showing his support for both the black and white communities, unifying them the way he had envisioned the world would be able to do.  Between 1990 and 1994, South Africa was torn apart by various political parties coming to blows, including the ANC party and in 1992, 45 people were massacred and hacked to death by security forces. Mandela blamed Klerk for turning a blind eye on what had happened and his relationship with Klerk became increasingly tense.

In 1993, Chris Ani an ANC leader was murdered and the anger in the country was reaching its limit. Mandela went on National television and made a statement used to calm and defuse the anger in the country. A year later, it was decided the first multi-racial election would take place and Mandela was elected as President of South Africa in 1994.  He worked at building bridges between African communities, giving White people a new confidence and reconciling the nation.

Rugby in South Africa was associated with the apartheid movement, as all players had to be white. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Mandela made his most celebrated political gesture by cheering on the predominantly white South African team.  While dressed in the same coloured clothes as the South African team he shook the hands of each player with 63’000 supporters chanting his name.

Nelson Mandela and The Queen 1995

Mandela broke South Africa’s era of isolation and travelled the world. The Queen visited Mandela in 1994 and he, in turn visited her in 1995.  In 1997 he handed over his leadership to Thabo Mbeki as he had always made it clear he would only serve one term. He retired in 1999.

He came over to London in 2008 for his 90^th birthday, despite his various health problems and his last public appearance was at the South African World Cup in 2010. He retired to his home in the suburbs of Johannesburg  where he died, peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends on December 5^th 2013. 

Nelson Mandela at the 2010 World Cup

Further Reading in the Information Store:

This World: Mandela at 90 - DVD - Shelved in the Book Zone at 320.968

Nelson Mandela by Colleen Degnan-Veness - 428.64

South Africa 1948 - 2000: the Rise and Fall of the Apartheid by Martin Roberts - 968.056

History of South Africa by Leonard Thompson - 968

DVD Review: Black Swan (2010)

The theme in the Information Store for the last couple of weeks has been around looking great and feeling great, so the DVD review for this week is Black Swan a psychological thriller/horror addressing the themes of deteriorating mental and physical health.  Directed by Darren Aranofsky and starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, this film will be sure to raise even the most reluctant hairs on the back of your neck.

Nina (Portman) is a professional ballet dancer who is desperate to be cast as the White Swan in her dance group’s latest production of Swan Lake. She is the perfect ballerina. She’s disciplined, elegant, pure and beautiful and encompasses everything the White Swan represents. Her problem is portraying the White Swan’s darker counterpart – the Black Swan.  Her innocence and purity makes it impossible for her to unlock her inner darkness so she can ‘become’ the Black Swan. She lives and breathes ballet and the production’s director, Thomas (Vincent Cassell), refuses to give her the role of the Swan if she cannot become the White and Black Swan equally. Lily (Kunis) is a new ballerina and she is everything Nina is not. She is dark, edgy and dangerous as well as an outstanding ballerina and her jealousy and rivalry becomes more intensified as she loses grip on reality and slips into the darkness she so desperately desires.  



Natalie Portman as Nina

As well as having a captivating story, Black Swan uses various thematic devices to evoke fear in the audience, Aranofsky’s use of mirrors is especially interesting as he uses this to portray the war Nina is having with her own personality.  Her body and mind starts dissolving and descending into madness as obsession and desire overtakes everything else. As she welcomes the darkness into her life, it quickly takes hold of her soul, wrapping her in the blackened wings of the swan she is so desperate to become.

The music, choreography and skill of the performance itself is breath taking and will have you firmly glued to your seat, it’s as intense as it is terrifying and the performances from Portman, Kunis and Cassell exceeds the brilliance of the direction.

Not for the faint hearted but perfect for those who fancy something a bit different and a bit challenging.

Black Swan is shelved in the DVD ZONE at 791.43 B

Top 5 Books for Feeling Great!

In the Information Store this week we are displaying 'Feel Good Books' a display of resources designed to equip with the best knowledge we can offer on how to secure healthy emotional wellbeing.

Food for Fitness by Anita Bean

This book provides a plethora of information on the best foods to eat while trying to get fit. There are useful chapters on how to replace certain foods and still maintaining a balanced diet as well as information on the best foods to eat for certain kinds of exercise. There are also some excellent recipes to try at home!

Shelved at 613.2 BEA

Get up and do it! by B & J Colclough

This excellent self help books will help you achieve your goals by following some simple steps. It covers motivation, beliving in yourself, making plans and overcoming difficulties. It also addresses how to stay focussed and how to finish and achieve your goals.

Shelved at 361.06 COL

The Massage Manual by Fiona Harrold
This book provides step by step techniques for complete body treatment. The introductory chapters provide useful tips on preparations for massage including information on oils as well as covering the basi strokes. The rest of the book focuses on different areas of the body providing easy to follow images for safe massage practice.
Shelved at: 615.822HAR



So You Think You're Mad? by Paul Hewitt
This book breaks down the steps to mental health in an honest, practical and easy to follow way. It then offers a review of the seven steps as they are all completed. He addresses recognising and identifying the problem, accepting the problem, tolerating and overcoming the problem as well as information on self esteem and motivation.
Shelved at 362.2HEW

Girls' Guide to Feeling Fabulous by Barbara Sheen
This book coveres everything from healthy eating and fitness to setting and achieving realistic goals. It also provides useful information on sleep and the female body. With excellent factfiles, checklists and quizzes to help you learn, the colourful and informative book provides girls with all the information they need for healthy living.
Shelved at 613.0424SHE



Further Reading in the Information Store:

Check out our display of Feel Good Books by the Information Store issue desk. There are books on stress, happiness, yoga, fitness, healthy eating, feeling happy, anxiety, love and massages as well as a few sneaky DVD's to make you laugh!

On this Day: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

On this day, November 22^nd 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was shot three times; once in the neck, once in the back and the fatal shot was to his head.  He was on his way to resolving some conflicts in the Democratic party and while riding in the Presidential limousine he was murdered.  The suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswold, was originally arrested for killing a local police office on the same day as the Kennedy assassination. Detectives concluded that he was the lone assassin and arrested him for the crime. However, before he could be trialed and charged he was murdered by Jack Ruby two days after the Kennedy assassination. This has led many people to believe that the assassination of John F Kennedy is part of massive conspiracy as Oswold denied killing anyone and an actual trial never occurred.

During JFK’s Presidency, some of the world most historic events occurred, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the initiation of the Apollo programme, the early stages of the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and the construction of the Berlin Wall.  He served in the US Army between 1941 and 1945 as a Lieutenant and was on active duty through the Second World War.  Upon his election as President in 1961, he was the youngest man to ever preside over the United Sates. He preceded President Dwight Eisenhower and was succeeded by President Lyndon B Johnson.

The conspiracy surrounding the assassination of JFK stems from the inconsistencies in the case against Lee Harvey Oswold as the gunman. However, in a recent poll by Fox News, 66% of Americans believe there was a conspiracy to murder President Kennedy, while 74% believe it be a cover up. The main conspiracy being that there were two gunmen. Some conspiracy theorists and dedicated researchers of the case write how witnesses to the murder were threatened by FBI agents not to reveal what they had observed on the day, one such witness a colleague of Oswold’s at the Texas Book Repository. According to further investigations, many of the witnesses of the crime conveniently died shortly after the threats from the FBI and, according to some theorists, were murdered to prevent them uncovering what they knew about the crime.

USA Today cites 6 different conspiracy theories which point to specific organisations or individuals as being behind the murder. They include the CIA, the Mafia and the Soviets as well as Vice President Lyndon Johnson and as mentioned above the two shooters theory. Some more far out conspiracies include aliens and a mysterious man with an umbrella, although these have largely been debunked.

There are many theories associated with the JFK assassination and whether or not Lee Harvey Oswold was solely responsible will remain a complete mystery. Investigation and theories are always bubbling under the surface but the truth may always be kept a secret.

Further Reading in the Information Store

JFK: The Making of a Modern President – Book Zone – Shelved at 973.922

Apollo: Race to the Moon – Book Zone – Shelved at 629.45

The Moon Landing – Book Zone – Shelved at 520

The Vietnam War – Book Zone – Shelved at 959.7043

The Berlin Wall – Book Zone – Shelved at 943.086

The Civil Rights Movement – Book Zone – Shelved at 363

The Information Store's Top 5 Spookfests!

Rather than frightening you all with one horror film this year, we thought we would give you FIVE of our spookiest films  to chill you to your bones.
 

Ghostface in Scream

5. SCREAM (1996)

So strictly speaking, Scream is more of the horror spoof genre than an actual horror, but it is still packed with enough jumps, blood and gore to warrant a spot in our list. Scream has one of horror’s greatest opening sequences as a young girl is harassed on the phone by the murderous ‘Ghostface’ who murders her boyfriend and mutilates her in her own back garden.  Word gets around the school and young Sydney, a student, is reminded of her awful past and her mother’s brutal murder. However, it becomes clear that Ghostface’s intentions are to bring about a swift end to Sydney’s life as her friends are gut wrenchingly murdered one by one, will she be able to uncover the person beneath the mask?
 

Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette & Courtney Cox

Best line: “Movies don't create psychos. Movies make psychos more creative!” – Billy



The Headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow

4. SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999)
A genuine horror film this time, as creepy as the name suggests and sure enough to raise the hairs on your spine at least once. Ichabod Crane, played by Johnny Depp, is sent to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to investigate three beheadings, the culprit of which is the legendary Headless Horseman who haunts the nearby forest.  With the body count rising as the Horseman continues to massacre the village inhabitants, time is running out for Crane, who fears he could be next. With romance, comedy, peril, danger, mystery, magic and horror it’s a Halloween classic!

 Starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci and Christopher Walken

 

Best line: “Villainy wears many masks, none of which so dangerous as virtue...” – Ichabod Crane

The Biker Gang of Vampires in The Lost Boys

3. THE LOST BOYS (1987)

Again, like Scream, we have wandered into Comedy/Horror territory with our third place film. However, The Lost Boys is the perfect mixture of genuinely scary and subtly funny. It’s a cult classic about a gang of vampires who terrorise a small town in California. A series of unexplained deaths and strange goings on lead two of the towns newest inhabitants, two brothers to investigate further. One befriends a pair of so-called ‘vampire hunters’ and the other joins a biker gang who sleep all day and party all night…will they manage to uncover the towns gory secret? As scary as it is funny and gruesome enough to turn your stomach, this is the perfect example of how a vampire movie should be.

Starring Corey Haim, Keifer Sutherland and Corey Feldman

Best line: “What, you don't like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?” - David

Stabbing its way into second place:

Norman Bates in Psycho

2. PSYCHO (1960)

Last year’s blog entry for Halloween was all about Alfred Hitchcock’s creepy, suspenseful and terrifying Psycho so I won’t go in to too much detail.  Norman Bates is the owner of the secluded Bates Motel which is visited by a woman on the run. The heavy rain forces her to pull in and she famously meets her end while showering in her room. The mystery unravels in pure Hitchcockian style as more people fall to the same fate, but who is wielding the dreaded knife? From ‘The Master of Suspense’ Psycho is a classic horror movie with a gasp-inducing final twist.

Starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins

Best line: “We all go a little mad sometimes” – Norman

Screaming into first place is:

A terrified Wendy in The Shining

1. THE SHINING (1980)
Based on Stephen Kings legendary novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick took a classic text and turned it into something else, something more twisted, creepy and frightening than King could have predicted.  The Shining is a terrifying, psychological story of a family who offer to take care of The Overlook Hotel during the winter months when the road to it is closed off and the hotel is void of any guests. Jack and Wendy Torrance along with their strange son Danny travel up there for a peaceful, secluded winter in the mountains, but little do they know, the hotel has other ideas. Plagued with the terrifying memories, the hotel unleashes hell upon Jack and Danny who both receive strange visions and meet apparitions of it’s former inhabitants. The hotel takes a hold of Jack and he spirals into madness taking an unexpecting Wendy with him.  By far, my all-time favourite horror movie, it will stay with you for days.  What’s REDRUM backwards?

Starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Scatman Carruthers

Best line: “Redrum. Redrum. REDRUM!” – Danny Torrance
 

Further Reading the Information Store:

Come and see our HALLOWEEN display of books and DVD's. Its packed full of scary films, horror novels, books about ghosts, witches and hauntings! Plenty to scare you silly this Halloween!

DVD Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

This week in the Information Store we are displaying various resources to do with dyslexia and celebrating the work of some very famous and successful people who have dyslexia. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley both suffer with dyslexia but have had very successful acting careers and starred together in this week’s DVD review Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl!

Since the released of the first instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series in 2003 there have been three more films and a fifth to be released in 2016. It’s become a massive franchise and although the subsequent films have been increasingly poorly received, the immense popularity of the characters, especially Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp is undeniable.  

The story goes a little something like this. Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) the daughter of a Governer is kidnapped by Captain Barbosa, of the Black Pearl ship as he needs her piece of Aztec gold and her blood to lift the curse set upon his currently un dead crew. Jack Sparrow (Captain) was marooned on an island by the same crew after Barbosa lead a mutiny against him. He meets a young Will Turner, who is head over heels in love with Elizabeth Swann and he and Jack team up to save her and to help Jack become Captain of his ship once more. Will young Mr Turner be able to save his true love from being sacrificed? Will Jack Sparrow be able to stop drinking rum long enough to overthrow Barbosa and regain control of his ship? The Curse of the Black Pearl is a fast paced, swashbuckling adventure full of sword fights, swagger, rum, romance and of course, pirates!

Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow is the main contributor to the film’s success. His appearance oozes cool and his mannerisms resemble those of a drunk Londoner as he very camply staggers around looking for his ship. The funniest lines in the film come from Jack and he is the perfect anti-hero to the clean cut, good boy Will Turner. All Jack cares about is his ship and drinking rum, he makes himself out to be this magnificent pirate, but in actual fact he is just a lazy drunk. He is very entertaining to watch and Depp carries the film throughout. Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner provide a heart-warming side to the adventure and the romance comes from their time on screen together. Will Turner looks like a Disney Prince and is ever girls dream hero,  when he scoops the vulnerable and beautiful Elizabeth up in his arms he simultaneously creates a chorus of ‘Awhhh’ from all the women in the room.  

It’s a great adventure film and an entertaining watch from start to finish. Knightley and Bloom are great, but it is Johnny Depp who really steals the show. Why not have a look at our display and find out which other famous people have dyslexia? For instance, did you know, the genius scientist Albert Einstein was dyslexic?

Further Reading in the Information Store:

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Directed by Gore Verbinski – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Directed by Gore Verbinski – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End Directed by Gore Verbinksi – DVD ZONE – 791.43 P

The display by the desk also has loads of great books about dyslexia, why not come and have a look?

Oo, arr me hearties!