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Had I known Taylor Swift was in this movie, I might have been less enthusiastic about the film, however, I can promise you that any Taylor Swiftness on posters and in promo is all a marketing ploy. She has a tiny – if important – role in the film and has very little screen time. The real star of the show is Brenton Thwaites as Jonas and he's really quite lovely in his role as the compassionate and curious Receiver.

The Giver film is competing against franchises like The Hunger Games, Divergent and even The Maze Runner. In order to give The Giver more teen appeal and to capture The Hunger Games/Divergent audience, the movie tried to be a lot that the book was not. The movie – despite being adapted from the predecessor of the modern dystopian trend – feels a little too familiar and cliché because it tries a little too hard to fit in aesthetically and tonally with the other YA adaptations. I wish the film had foregone the shiny technology additions and stuck with the utilitarian world-building of the book. I can also understand why the film producers chose to up the age of the protagonists and up the angst as well, but I'm not sure it really added all that much to the overall story except making it feel like another teen movie when it should've been so much more than that.

Where the film did excel was in the cinematography and use of black&white and color. This is described well in the book, but the visual medium of film really brought this to life. I do think they could've done even more with that, although I think they were trying to stay true to the book here. I was also hoping for more of an emotional impact from certain scenes between the Giver and the Receiver in the film. Some of those scenes in the book are brutal and really broke my heart for Jonas. It didn't have quite the same impact for me in the film – perhaps because the character was older.

The ending of the book disappointed me but the film managed to deliver a very similar ending in a way that stayed true to the book while also providing a greater sense of closure. Where I think the book meandered into allegory, the movie developed the plot and made a more compelling story overall, even if some of the 'science' of how all this was possible is dubious at best.

A major highlight from the film for me was seeing the usually uber sexy and seductive Alexander Skarsgård playing a nurturing father figure who worked in the nursery with newborns while his wife – played by the petite Katie Holmes – was involved in politics. Seeing 6'4 Eric Northman – sorry, Alex Skarsgård – so tenderly caring for tiny babies really highlighted the gender dynamics and theme of equality in the book. It was a very clever casting choice.

Overall, this movie was fine but not amazing. Given the source material and how beloved this story is I felt they could've done much more with it.

In the wake of The Normal Heart - which is still affecting me! - I didn't think another AIDS story would or could get to me the way this mini-series did. Set refreshingly in Stockholm, TATUH tells the story of two young gay men who come from very different yet similarly oppressive backgrounds: Benjamin is a Jehovah's Witness from Stockholm, Rasmus is a country boy from Värmland who goes to study in Stockholm and discovers the gay scene.

Having only recently learned about how much more liberal and accepting the Swedes were of gay people in the 1980's, this series still shocked me and showed many parallels to what was happening across the Atlantic in the States when it came to understanding and dealing with the disease.

In true Swedish fashion, this series is beautifully shot with a sometimes bleak cinematography that gives additional meaning to the metaphors and symbolism used throughout the series for added gravitas.

Despite the subject matter and coming from a culture where sex and nudity is not scandalous, I found the love scenes in TATUH quite tame and tasteful, some even beautifully rendered to illustrate the love between the characters.

I strongly recommend this series to anyone who wants to explore what the LGBT scene was like outside of the US during the AIDS crisis.

I'm a sucker for musicals. I grew up on the classics like Camelot and Show Boat, My Fair Lady and Oliver so the musical aspect of this film is what intrigued, despite my lack of affection for The Beatles.

Across the Universe blew my mind! The way the story is woven around the themes of Beatles songs, borrowing not only lyrics for dialog but characters from the songs was pure genius.

Aside from the clever and multi-layered story line, this film delivers exquisite scene after exquisite scene particularly once we head in the more psychedelic segments of the film. The cinematography impressed and enthralled me throughout - the strawberry fields sequence is particularly noteworthy! The guest stars featured in certain sequences were also a great treat and lent the film that little something extra.

The performances here blew me away. I've liked Evan Rachel Wood since I saw her in Thirteen, but I never imagined she could sing and sing well. Another surprise was Joe Anderson who had little to no voice training prior to doing this film. Jim Sturgess though, steals the show as scruffy Jude. His voice is raw and honest and just right for the style of music.

Sure, some of the plot was contrived and tropes abounded, but ultimately this film captured the essence of the Beatles as well as the spirit of the era in a movie that dazzles the eyes as it ensorcells the ears. This is one movie I will never get tired of watching.