Samantha Says

This week: Memoirs of a Geisha and Donovan's Greatest Hits

Hi all! I just got back from the beach and will be in North Carolina for about two more weeks. Hope everyone is enjoying the end of the summer!


Movie: Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
Based off the book by Arthur Golden
Genre: Drama

"A story of forbidden love"

On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best)...
Storyline/Screenplay: 3.5, A truly touching, and inspiring story of a geisha, Japanese "artist," and how she survives pre and post World War II. This movie adaptation of the book, however, is often slow-moving, hard-to-understand, and boring. The first time I watched this movie I fell asleep, and the second time I had to watch it in three viewings. The book is currently on my must reads, as I have heard it is much better than the movie (no surprises!).

Acting Ability: 4, These actors did a fairly good job becoming their characters. At times, I felt these characters lacked emotion. Thumbs up to female lead Chiyo/Sayuri played by Ziyi Zhang. She had the toughest role, dealing with the separation from her sister, forbidden love, and the difficulties of being a geisha.

Soundtrack/Visuals: 5, This movie was beautifully done and truly captured the essence of Japan (*won oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography and Costume Design). John Williams also took an Oscar for best musical score all 2006.

Overall: 4, This movie would have been perfect had the acting and storyline/screenplay stepped up a notch.


Artist: Donovan
Album: Donovan's Greatest Hits
Genre: Folk/Oldies

"A simple song never grows old"

Singing ability: 4, although some may disagree with me, Donovan's raspy voice represents the true folk voice, along with Bob Dylan. This singing is nothing fancy, but it tells a story :)

Musicality: 5, Donovan wrote his own music and played guitar, enough to please this reviewer. As stated, his songs aren't complex, but nowadays musicians are trying to "one up" each other and are forgetting the power of a simple folk song. Some tracks also include strings and flute, as in "Lalena"

Originality: 4, One might argue that a lot of Donovan's songs sound the same. One must sacrifice musical originality as a folk singer. He or she is telling the story, through music. Donovan's lyrics are original to each
song, as the music provides the same mellow groove or strum of guitar.

Overall: 4.75, Donovan is no Bob Dylan, but he can sure write a beautiful ballad.

Sounds like: Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Simon & Garfunkel

Favorite Tracks: "Catch the Wind," "Colours," "To Susan On The West Coast Waiting," and "Sunshine Superman"