Darker – Christian’s POV

Hello there, lovely ladies 🤗

Just woke up to this bit of delightful news….

And much earlier than the originally indicated 2018 date! Yay! 🎉

I sincerely hope it’s not just a regurgitation of mirrored words again. 

Let me know what you think, girls. Are we stoked or not? 

Between the covers book club + SPOILER-filled Darker review

Hello there, lovely ladies 🤗

Well, what a week it’s been. With the movie premiere here in Brisvegas, and a house full of guests, my free time for reading went out the window. Aww, well. Perhaps this week things will return to normal. 😜

Before I start with my review, let’s take a look at the news:

• If you want to see MORE of the glamorous L.A. Darker premiere, check out this link from Sharon on the Any Second Now site.
• USA Today reports on 7 secrets from the set of Darker.
• Marie Claire features 11 behind the scenes facts about the film.
• And if you want a vacation package to make your kinky Fifty fantasies come true, see what Cosmo has to say about this “clothing optional” resort in Mexico. Oh my…

The final clip is not related to FSOG, but I couldn’t help sharing this absolutely ESSENTIAL training app that will get your man up to speed on his lingus technique – lickety split!

Wahahahahaha! 😂😂 Thank you, Sharon for making me spray tea all over my phone! Though I’m a little concerned about the hygiene of this tongue-in-cheek (or is it somewhere else??) app, I do appreciate a man that can give a good tongue lashing! 😉

Okay then, let’s get on to the main event of today’s post: the Fifty Shades Darker movie review. I made an effort NOT to read any reviews before the film or before I posted my own. I didn’t want anything to influence my thoughts while I took in Erika’s vision. The only bits I caught was of the ladies raving in general about the L.A. premiere.

Again, if you DO NOT WANT TO SEE EVERY STITCH AND DETAIL UNRAVEL, skip this bit! Also, this review reflects my personal opinion only. Please feel free to disagree, but as I mentioned last week, let’s play nice 😉 

  

So, I’ll start with the things I DID like. This time around the movie was MUCH more accurate, the flow and events treated with a sensitivity that reflected Erika’s wish to do right by the fans. Little details like clothes choices, etc. might not have been strictly adhered to, but as far as the BIG details were concerned, it was true to the book. And if I had to venture a guess, the folks who did not read the book would probably find this movie more appealing than FSOG.

I enjoyed Ana’s smart mouth, her quips often funny and a great replacement for her inner goddess.

Also, I think her hubby did a great job adapting the book to the screenplay. Naturally there are a lot of things that can be done in writing that won’t translate to film, and with the first movie, I felt that some of those additions took away from the general veracity. This time, I didn’t sit in my seat, slack jawed and outraged at sudden new scenes that seemed senseless in its place. The one scene that did leave me frowning, (and this brings us to my list of grievances), was the masquerade ball bit: in the book as well as the movie, when Ana prepares for the night, she looks through her sexy new undies and selects a fetching number that leaves CG speechless. The Ben Wa balls follow, and then, off she goes to be the belle of the ball with a side helping of sexual frustration that leaves her breathless and achy. Later, when Christian buys her for the first dance auction and they steal away to his childhood bedroom, he strips her of that silver dress, but in the movie, she’s wearing nothing underneath. It made the whole flow seem ridiculously pointless. Why get dressed in heartstopping lingerie, only to take it off before you slip on your dress? Strange. (And yes, I could tell that the undies she wore wouldn’t fit underneath the cut and style of the dress, but the two acts are one in the book. A little finer planning would have gone a long way to ensure continuity here).

Personally I felt that CG came across as unlikable, an asshole even, in the first movie, something that I NEVER thought of him in the books. I understand that he was closed-off and broken, but his beauty – inside and out – shone through even in the earliest of chapters. I also understand that in Darker he came around to “the light” – as Ana calls it, but he NEVER became Mr. Straight-Laced-Vanilla-Nice-Guy. Certainly he had moments of playful, boyish charm and a sense of humour, but Fifty ALWAYS lurked in the background, whether it was in the sternness of a command, a searing look, his mercurial mood switches, or his jealous growls. And further, I get that they had to find a visual way to portray his transformation, however, THIS movie painted him as an all-round teddy bear, a picture perfect boyfriend. It’s probably the part of the movie I disliked the most. Where was our Dom, not the belt wielding one, but the one that LOVED with his domination rather than hurt? I missed the dark looks, the brooding pouting, his trademark distraught hands shoving through his unruly hair in exasperation, and that sexy, OTT jealousy. Over and over he tells her that he’ll never change, that his controlling, overbearing nature will always keep her on her toes. And we see that in the book too, even in moments where they are blissfully happy. In Darker they fight so much as they forge their way, as they come to grips with loving each other in the infancy of their relationship, but the film shows them resolving conflict too easily, like a well-adjusted couple with years of compromising experience. It took so much away in terms of the chemistry between them, the anger, the passion, the deep; new feelings that they both struggled to deal with. You have to ask yourself if the outrageous cries of abuse from the ill-informed public steered their decision to make him sweet as apple pie.

As far as the sex was concerned, there was definitely more, but with markedly less skin. I didn’t mind the more tasteful version of the bedroom antics, but, I’m sad to say, it contained little heat. In fact, the audience in the movie theater giggled through so many of the sexy scenes because the acts seemed stilted in their heavily edited state. And having been edited so harshly, it left no time for you to feel the connection between them, to see the desire building into the beautiful crescendo that is their strong bond. We saw a LOT of Ana’s reactions, and, in my opinion, way too little of Christian’s, especially considering that the movie’s demographic is overwhelmingly female. One of the most appealing things about him is the way he turns her on with just a look, the intensity of his desire evident in those deep, gray depths. Those heated gazes are, instead, replaced with playful smirks that yet again hint at well-adjusted guy, rather than the broken MAN using his exceptional skills to win his girl ANY way he can.

The sex scenes were not the only parts of the film that bent under the pressure of time constraints. At a supposed 118 minutes, I was hopeful that MORE time would give us, well, MORE, but the fact of the matter is that it went by in a blink of an eye. One of the biggest criticisms of the first movie was that it lacked some pivotal scenes. This time the director took that to heart and decided to include EVERY crucial moment, but – and this is a big BUT – it left the movie feeling like a reel of highlights, a montage of clips, a photo album of the book, rather than the full story itself. Rushed does not begin to describe the unnatural jumps from act to act. Vital, story-changing scenes like when Christian admits that he loves Ana, the bit where he goes full Dom on Leila to get her to heel, and then, the most important one of all, where CG lets Ana touch him for the first time, was devoid of emotion because they felt so abrupt. If you didn’t have the book as reference I have no idea how you would interpret these flash-card moments as significant. It is my understanding that more than expected landed on the cutting room floor (including the pool table shenanigans that we saw in more than one trailer), however, personally, I could have lived with less in terms of sequential accuracy, but more of their love and connection.

Wow, looking back at all that gabbing, I suspect you think that I hated it, but that’s not the case. I just wish that they would stop to think about the true essence of the story rather than the blatantly obvious charms. Would I go see it again? For sure, if only in hope of seeing some new insights and perspectives. Perhaps now that I know what to expect I might see the MORE that I crave.

And for those of you curious about the Easter Egg at the end of the film: if you stayed until after the roll of credits, you would have gotten a tiny taste of Freed! It was a lovely teaser showing bits of their wedding and honeymoon.

————— END OF SPOILERS —————

Currently I’m reading:

Raw Deal by Cherrie Lynn, book one in the Larson Brothers series. Don’t mistake my snail’s pace for disinterest. I just had NO time to read this week.

Let me wish you well for the coming week with a VERY naughty pic from Katherine:

I don’t know how many of you are old enough to remember Morph, but my version obviously missed something vital! LOL! 😂

Between the covers book club

Hello there, lovely ladies 🤗

How was your week? With my hollies at an end, I went back to the ol’ ground stone. Aw well. I guess holidays won’t be as much fun if you didn’t have to slog too. 😜

But I do have some happy news… As you know, I’m seeing Darker on the 8^th of February, compliments of Universal Pictures and their Launch Preview here in Brisbane, but this time, they are also offering a fun prize to 2 lucky Australian readers. Yay! 🎉

Whether it’s wickedly delicious, heart stoppingly beautiful, or coloured with many shades of intensity, share your favourite scene from reading Fifty Shades Darker here on the blog, then tell us why it made you swoon, or cry, gasp, melt, scowl or drool. Up for grabs are 2 double passes (one double pass for each winner) valid at all Australian cinemas screening the Fifty Shades Darker movie from February 9, 2017.

Get your sneaky peeks of the film on the Fifty Shades Movie site.

“Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson return as Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele in FIFTY SHADES DARKER, the second chapter based on the worldwide bestselling “Fifty Shades” phenomenon.  Expanding upon the events set in motion in FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, which has grossed more than $560 million globally, the film will again become the motion-picture event for Valentine’s Day 2017, in Cinemas February 9, tickets on sale now!” – Universal Pictures

For competition rules: see the end of this post.

Then, if you’re keen to hear the Darker soundtrack, check out this clip:

And if you’re not in the mood for a reread of FSD before it hits the cinemas, let Marie Claire remind you of the best bits. 😋

Before I start with the book club section, I’d like to share a link Sharon sent me.

Love – true, deep, accepting love, is a beautiful thing. Finding the one you’re meant to be with is magical, a thing capable of transforming your life, lifting you up. I may be a little old fashioned, but personally, I like well defined male and female roles. I like to know where I stand in a relationship, and what is expected of me. Beyond that, I want to know that my man burns for me, that he encourages me, wants what’s best for me, but can firmly rein me in when I need to be anchored. In my humble opinion, these traits are what made Christian so appealing. The Elephant Journal features an article extolling the virtues of finding a love like that. The short piece is worth the read, not only to melt your heart, but to remind you that you deserve to be loved – hard.

❤️

“Because baby, when you and this warrior of yours meet and collide—it’s going to be a love set on fire.”

*swoon*

This week I read:

Commander in Chief by Katy Evans, book two in the White House series. What a strange book this was. I feel like I somehow skipped the crucial chapters. There seemed to be some sort of buildup, I could sense the author setting it up, but it simply never came. No climax, no pivotal moment, just pages and pages of their life in the White House, glossy overviews of what could have been something. I get that a writer wants to draw a reader to a follow-on book, but why on earth would I read the third? And it’s not even going to be a sequel, but supposedly a standalone, taking place in Matt’s second term, not a continuation of this story. Huh. Like I said, strange.

Currently I’m reading:

Egomaniac by Vi Keeland. I always enjoy her books, and now, 2/3 in, I suspect that this will be another of hers going on my good-book list.

😂

Phew! That was a long one! As always, it is a pleasure sharing with you, girls. And if you’re an Aussie reader, don’t forget to enter the comp!

Rules: tickets are for use in Australia only. You have to be over the age of 18 to enter. Enter as many times as you like by commenting on any blog post on this site. The competition closes on the 5^th of February, 2017. The winners will be announced on this blog. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash. The winners will need to supply a postal address via (private) email in order to claim their prize. The prize is issued by Universal Pictures, and the author/blogger is not responsible for any loss or damage relating to the prize.

Between the covers book club

Hello there, ladies 🤗

So? How many times have you watched the new trailer by now? See anything you love/hate? The Laters, Baby! site posted these (and more on their page) great new stills for us to moon over.

 

Personally, the scene where Christian breaks down, finally offering himself to Ana’s touch, is the one I look forward to seeing the most:

In other movie news this week, Taylor Swift dropped a hint that saw the Twittersphere explode. Marie Claire picked up the story of Darker’s newest song: Taylor Swift and Zayn Malik’s duet, I Don’t Want To Live Forever.

I found this lovely pic with the song lyrics on Facebook. Seems pretty fitting, huh?

And, if you still want MORE of Christian, Funko Pop! just launched their Christian Grey doll. These figurines are usually reserved for superheroes and the likes, but I guess, to us, CG is exactly that!

Adorable! 😉

Then, Sharon sent me this: Buzzfeed shares more cringe-worthy sex scenes hailing from the written word. Again I selected my favourite…

Eeeeeeeek! 😂

Before I start with my reading week, and in keeping with my current festive season theme, I thought I’d share a little bit of what Christmas is like for us here where we NEVER see snow (or even cold) in December:

“Bro’s glistening… ” Whahahahaha! 😂😂

This week I read:

Womanizer by Katy Evans, book four in the Manwhore series, I gave a reluctant three stars. Following her recent, renewed success with Mr. President, I was very disappointed in the not only the shoddy editing (again), but the lacklustre story. This whole series, so far, has been a miss for me. 😔

Currently I’m reading:

 

Breathe by Kristen Ashley, book four in the Colorado Mountain series & ShutterGirl by C. D. Reiss, book one in the Hollywood Project series.

As no Christmas is complete without Santa, I reckon Charlie would make a pretty good one…

😋

That’s all from me, girls. Let’s talk books and movie!

Best one I’ve seen so far….

Hello, ladies 😉

This is so utterly adorable. I laughed so hard I could barely breathe! Thank you, Susan for sharing this little gem. 

Is there ANYTHING that FSOG hasn’t touched??? LOL!

Not that THIS has something to do with FSOG, but hey, I’m sure you won’t complain 😉

 

Have a great week, girls 😉

Between the covers book club

Hello, lovely ladies 😉

Again, an early book club post as the latest Spanish chapter is up. Thanks, Kereny for chapter 33 🙂

I know the release of One night Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas was later in the US than it was here in Aus but I’d love to get some feedback from you. I’m still reeling from my disappointment. 

This week I read:

The Saint by Tiffany Reisz. This is book one in the White Years series and the follow on book to the Original Sinners series. Wow, what a mind-f@ck this was. Just like Søren, Tiffany is a brilliant literary sadist and she tortured my emotions through the whole book, right up to the very last pages. An awesome read and, just like the others in the series, I think deserving of my Best of the Best award.

I’m loving the fabulous-book streak I’m on at the moment. Yay!

Currently I’m reading:

Rogue by Katy Evans. So far the sexy intensity is keeping me enthralled like only Katy can.

On my shelf I have:

Betting On Grace by Nicole Edwards.

Ha! Finally the truth! 😉

I hope you have a beautiful, blessed weekend and I look forward to hearing all about your reading highs and lows!

Monique xx

😉

So cute!

Hello, breathless housewives – not that we’re all housewives, or even wives for that matter, but breathless? I think so 😉 LOL!

I hope you’re having a good week so far 🙂 Here’s a little “extra” scene added to the trailer that’s sure to make you giggle….

 

And as we’re into the bizarre, check this out!!!

Book club and MORE of the trailer…

Hello, lovely ladies 🙂

I hope you’re all still on a high from watching the trailer and lucky us, now that it’s hit cyberspace, there’s a whole slew of fan made delights to titillate us even more:

This is a short clip of an interview with Jamie and Dakota talking about the steamy scenes in the movie. I think it went much better than the pre-trailer interview.

All clips thanks to the Laters Baby UK facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/latersbabyuk?fref=nf

Also, Sharon shared this:

Like her, this pic gives me hope that just maybe Jamie will be able to pull off the darker scenes that will come from Christian’s tortured confessions during the unfolding of their beautiful story. 

Then, I’m posting the book club post now because Kereny sent me the updated Spanish chapter early. Find chapter 32 in the sidebar, girls 😉 Thanks, Kereny!

This week I read:

Tamed by Emma Chase, book three in the Tangled series. I enjoyed it. The first two featured Drew and Kate’s story and this one is written from Drew’s buddy, Matthew’s POV as he pursues Dee-Dee. It was cute but a little more serious than the first two.

Currently I’m reading:

One Night Promised by Jodi Ellen Malpas. I absolutely adore her This Man series, and I was so keen to get to this new creation of hers but so far, (and I’m about eighty percent through), I’m disappointed. I really dislike giving negative reviews and I would love to get feedback from you guys on this one. It’s left me a little stumped, actually. Frankly, I’m only finishing it because I’m hoping the final twenty percent will shed enough light on the way the male protagonist acts to make me forgive him being such an a-hole.

One my shelf I have:

The Saint by Tiffany Reisz.

And of course Katy Evans’s new book, Rogue will be here shortly. I can’t wait! 😉

You’ve gotta’  love pre-ordering a book and one-click-buy! 😉

Sharon is also responsible for our book club joke this week and ain’t it the truth?

Thank you for your wonderful support of the countdown and all the great feedback and discussion surrounding the trailer. It was fun sharing it with you.

Have a wonderful weekend mooning over the smokin’ trailer and all the spin-offs that YouTube spoils us with 😉

Come on, girls; share your best reads with us!

Monique xx

😉

Trailer analysis

Wow, so I’ve blown up your inbox with all my posts, and I guess we’ve all seen it like; fifty thousand times now, and have nit-picked it to death. I’ve finally managed to get it onto my YouTube channel and I’m sorry that the downloading link doesn’t work for overseas viewers. Can any Aussies tell me whether it worked for them? Here’s my YouTube link:

Also, I found this. It’s not official but beautiful nevertheless:

Okay, so, here’s what I think; negatives first: Dakota, though beautiful, has an edginess to her that doesn’t sit well for me with the wide-eyed innocence I always pictured Ana to have. She seems worldly to me, playing at coy rather than being so naturally. I would have preferred a more wholesome, girl-next-door look for her. Jamie on, the other hand, I feel is too cute. That pretty-boy face doesn’t have the depth of character of a man who’s been through hell and back as Christian has, but I might just be persuaded to forget all about that when he parades around in those low-slung jeans 😉 For me; I wanted to see a darker, more rugged Christian.

Having said that, I’m absolutely thrilled with EL James involvement in the movie; that she didn’t just sell the rights and left it there. I LOVED that what I saw in the trailer was an accurate representation of the book and those deliciously seductive lines that CG delivers so smoothly. I cannot wait for him to say, “Keep still,” or “Come for me.” Lastly, I can easily overlook my concern about the actors provided the movie is true to their all-consuming chemistry and that love that just blindsided them. In short, I want to see the SPARKS fly between them, not just sexually, but the way their fragile love CONSUMED them, even when doing the plainest things and I think the trailer delivers a hint of that. Overall I’m much happier than I thought I’d be. I’m honestly excited for the movie.

I say, roll on February! 😉

 

Download your very own trailer…

I hope this works, ladies, but click the link to view the HD trailer from a beautiful portal and you can click the link below to download it onto your PC and watch it as many times as you like! 😉

http://www.universalpictures.com.au/50shadestrailer/trailerplay.html