Okay, well, it isn't Tolkien Reading Day anymore, but I'm never on time for anything except my college classes, so I'm posting this late. I hope you read an appropriately authored book, or at least excerpts of one, on the 25th! I read part of Farmer Giles of Ham to my younger siblings, along with my brother providing some of the voices. It was great fun. Oh, and my ten-year-old sister has recently been watching LotR for the first time--the condition in my family is you have to have read the books first and be at least 10 years old--and we finished up RotK today. I also put up the 'Maedhros' print I recently purchased from dA on my bedroom wall today. And now, before I go to sleep, I will begin reading 'The Hobbit' again, hopefully to continue into the Lord of the Rings and make a complete read of all four volumes before returning to college in the fall.
I might be overdue on posting chapters of 'The Outlaw's Hand' here. I'll try to remember to recount my written chapters tomorrow to make sure.
Showing posts with label i am happy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label i am happy. Show all posts
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A Spoiler-Free Review of "Tangled"
First of all, let me just say it right away: I LOVED this movie. It is now my third-favorite Disney princess film, after "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid". Perhaps even tied with "The Little Mermaid". There's only one thing holding it back from placing higher than Mermaid: the songs. They're fun, and sometimes beautiful, and fit just fine within the framework of the film, but they aren't Ashman/Menken quality. I'm still absolutely buying the soundtrack and have had a few songs stuck in my head the past few days, particularly "Mother Knows Best (Reprise)", "I See the Light", and one pricelessly hilarious line from "I've Got a Dream". I also was a little disappointed that the last shot of the film *MINOR SPOILER* was of a character other than the two protagonists, *END SPOILER* but I can forgive the film that because the rest of it was so splendid.
All right, now a brief summary of reasons why I loved "Tangled". I do mention a couple extremely minor spoilers, but have included warnings where they appear, so if you don't want to read them, you can easily navigate around them. They do not give away anything essential to the plot. :)
1. Rapunzel. Not much is really given away about her personality in the trailers. It was a surprise to me, therefore, to realize at the end of the film that she's somehow become my second-favorite Disney princess--yes, beating out Ariel! I think the difference between her and Ariel is while Ariel was willful, Rapunzel is sweeter, though no less brave. Rapunzel is both hilarious and heartwrenching to watch because she is constantly attempting to define herself throughout the film, having been trapped in her tower all her life without any way of connecting with other people, apart from being emotionally abused by the villain of the story, Mother Gothel. What I really liked about her is how often she acts not on rationalized thought, but instead upon intuition, a 'gut feeling', if you will. Interacting outside her tower is an entirely new experience to her, and sometimes she's scared, and sometimes she's confused, but she's quick and intelligent and even though she has to slowly gain confidence in herself, she never hesitates in moments of trouble to do what she instinctively feels she must. The entire movie she's basically making one leap of faith after another, and that's sometimes taken advantage of by other characters, but it also is what saves her and develops her. One of my favorite moments of the film *MINOR SPOILER* is where she starts an impromptu dance in a market square and ends the dance in Flynn's arms; there's this shot of her dancing with a blissful smile on her face, her eyes closed and face uplifted, which to me was pure poetry, and really summarized her character for me. After trying to meet him throughout the dance, she only manages it with her eyes closed, letting her feet carry her as they will. *END SPOILER* She's a wonderfully endearing, complex, sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious character.
2. Flynn. I can't say too much about his character without heading into spoiler territory, but it was very enjoyable to watch his character arc progress. He and Rapunzel basically make the cutest couple ever, and he's both a hilarious character in his own right and surprisingly easy to form an emotional attachment to considering how little backstory he gets in comparison to Rapunzel. After watching some trailers I was worried he would be obnoxious, but he wasn't at all, so no worries there.
3. Mother Gothel. Again, I cannot say too much about this villian without giving away important plot points. I will mention something I found very interesting, however; I thought she was an extremely wicked villain, and quite scary, definitely one of my favorite Disney antagonists now. My brother, however, wasn't that impressed by her; he prefers Frollo and Ursula. So what I'm wondering, is whether she was designed specifically to work better with a female audience? I loved her subtleties and sweet venom, but he didn't find them that interesting I think. I won't say more for fear of spoilering, so just let me know what you think, if you've watched the movie.
4. The music. Alan Menken can do no wrong? Eh, maybe. There were moments where I missed the chillingly powerful beauty of "Beauty and the Beast"'s score, sure. But the more I think on the music in this film--a slightly more intimate, fun feel pervaded most of it--, the more it seems to fit it. And there were plenty of chill-inducing moments, too *MINOR SPOILER*; watch for the dancing scene, a beautiful moment involving Rapunzel's parents, and many of the darker scenes in the film, as well as one sweet romantic moment too. *END SPOILER* The magic is still there, definitely. The track 'Kingdom Dance' on the soundtrack is one of my favorite pieces of music ever.
5. The animal characters. I don't really have a peeve against animal sidekicks like so many people seem to, but whatever. These guys don't talk, but their facial and body language is plenty eloquent enough. I was worried they'd distract from the human story, but overall they enhance it, so yay :)
6. The animation. I watched "Tangled" in 3d, and I would say it is definitely worth spending the extra money for. The animation is astounding. The characters are as expressively and gracefully animated as hand-drawn characters from the Disney Golden Age, and that old artistic feel of 2d is somehow apparent in the scenery and location designs too, but all with the added warmth and detail and vibrant color of CGI. I honestly don't know how they did it. This is a CGI film that feels 100% fairytale, and I thank Glen Keane for that fervently. Rapunzel's hair is gorgeous, and speaking as a girl with very long hair I really liked watching how it moved and how it looked when it was wet, etc. All very well done. I no longer can really say I wish it was in 2d, hand-drawn animation, which I suppose is the highest praise I can bestow.
7. The story. Obviously I can't say anything about this really. But let's just say that I'm a sucker for romance, adventure, and self-sacrifice, and this story had them all.
All right, so that's all I'm going to say right now! I might have been able to think of more earlier, but I'm tired now and it's late so I'm just going to end here and get back to NaNoWriMo-ing. If you have watched "Tangled", comment and let me know what you thought! And if you have not watched it--what are you waiting for? Go ASAP; this is not a film you want to miss.
All right, now a brief summary of reasons why I loved "Tangled". I do mention a couple extremely minor spoilers, but have included warnings where they appear, so if you don't want to read them, you can easily navigate around them. They do not give away anything essential to the plot. :)
1. Rapunzel. Not much is really given away about her personality in the trailers. It was a surprise to me, therefore, to realize at the end of the film that she's somehow become my second-favorite Disney princess--yes, beating out Ariel! I think the difference between her and Ariel is while Ariel was willful, Rapunzel is sweeter, though no less brave. Rapunzel is both hilarious and heartwrenching to watch because she is constantly attempting to define herself throughout the film, having been trapped in her tower all her life without any way of connecting with other people, apart from being emotionally abused by the villain of the story, Mother Gothel. What I really liked about her is how often she acts not on rationalized thought, but instead upon intuition, a 'gut feeling', if you will. Interacting outside her tower is an entirely new experience to her, and sometimes she's scared, and sometimes she's confused, but she's quick and intelligent and even though she has to slowly gain confidence in herself, she never hesitates in moments of trouble to do what she instinctively feels she must. The entire movie she's basically making one leap of faith after another, and that's sometimes taken advantage of by other characters, but it also is what saves her and develops her. One of my favorite moments of the film *MINOR SPOILER* is where she starts an impromptu dance in a market square and ends the dance in Flynn's arms; there's this shot of her dancing with a blissful smile on her face, her eyes closed and face uplifted, which to me was pure poetry, and really summarized her character for me. After trying to meet him throughout the dance, she only manages it with her eyes closed, letting her feet carry her as they will. *END SPOILER* She's a wonderfully endearing, complex, sometimes sad, sometimes hilarious character.
2. Flynn. I can't say too much about his character without heading into spoiler territory, but it was very enjoyable to watch his character arc progress. He and Rapunzel basically make the cutest couple ever, and he's both a hilarious character in his own right and surprisingly easy to form an emotional attachment to considering how little backstory he gets in comparison to Rapunzel. After watching some trailers I was worried he would be obnoxious, but he wasn't at all, so no worries there.
3. Mother Gothel. Again, I cannot say too much about this villian without giving away important plot points. I will mention something I found very interesting, however; I thought she was an extremely wicked villain, and quite scary, definitely one of my favorite Disney antagonists now. My brother, however, wasn't that impressed by her; he prefers Frollo and Ursula. So what I'm wondering, is whether she was designed specifically to work better with a female audience? I loved her subtleties and sweet venom, but he didn't find them that interesting I think. I won't say more for fear of spoilering, so just let me know what you think, if you've watched the movie.
4. The music. Alan Menken can do no wrong? Eh, maybe. There were moments where I missed the chillingly powerful beauty of "Beauty and the Beast"'s score, sure. But the more I think on the music in this film--a slightly more intimate, fun feel pervaded most of it--, the more it seems to fit it. And there were plenty of chill-inducing moments, too *MINOR SPOILER*; watch for the dancing scene, a beautiful moment involving Rapunzel's parents, and many of the darker scenes in the film, as well as one sweet romantic moment too. *END SPOILER* The magic is still there, definitely. The track 'Kingdom Dance' on the soundtrack is one of my favorite pieces of music ever.
5. The animal characters. I don't really have a peeve against animal sidekicks like so many people seem to, but whatever. These guys don't talk, but their facial and body language is plenty eloquent enough. I was worried they'd distract from the human story, but overall they enhance it, so yay :)
6. The animation. I watched "Tangled" in 3d, and I would say it is definitely worth spending the extra money for. The animation is astounding. The characters are as expressively and gracefully animated as hand-drawn characters from the Disney Golden Age, and that old artistic feel of 2d is somehow apparent in the scenery and location designs too, but all with the added warmth and detail and vibrant color of CGI. I honestly don't know how they did it. This is a CGI film that feels 100% fairytale, and I thank Glen Keane for that fervently. Rapunzel's hair is gorgeous, and speaking as a girl with very long hair I really liked watching how it moved and how it looked when it was wet, etc. All very well done. I no longer can really say I wish it was in 2d, hand-drawn animation, which I suppose is the highest praise I can bestow.
7. The story. Obviously I can't say anything about this really. But let's just say that I'm a sucker for romance, adventure, and self-sacrifice, and this story had them all.
All right, so that's all I'm going to say right now! I might have been able to think of more earlier, but I'm tired now and it's late so I'm just going to end here and get back to NaNoWriMo-ing. If you have watched "Tangled", comment and let me know what you thought! And if you have not watched it--what are you waiting for? Go ASAP; this is not a film you want to miss.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
LIBRARY!
I went to the library today! Yes, this means I finally have a plethora of new reading material. I've been beaming all day.
I discovered a fantastic webcomic last week called "The Dreamer", available here: http://thedreamercomic.com
In brief, it's a gorgeously drawn and very well-written story about a 21st c. era girl who seesaws between living a normal high school life in the 21st century, and living during the American Revolution. The conceit is that whenever she falls asleep, she dreams vividly of her Revolution-era existence, but when she is awake, she is in modern times. Of course, the question is, are they really just dreams? Both lives seem very real, and are both filled with compelling characters, not the least of which is an American soldier who claims he has known her since childhood and who is in love with her. I really like the story's style: the cameos by historical figures like Alexander Hamilton, the complicated but sweet romance, the deftly alternating moments of humor and pathos and action. I'd really recommend it. The author/illustrator's name is Lora Innes, and she is obviously in love with history, for her illustrations are lively and accurate and her characters are all very endearing but appropriate to their respective times. I have a banner link to her site on the right hand sidebar of this blog now. Check it out!
As a person who really likes learning about Revolutionary War/Civil War history myself--and who likes the clothing styles of those times, too--this has really restoked my own interest in the time period and the people who lived then. This is reflected in the reading material I picked up at the library today.
So, complete list of books I have to read now:
I also borrowed "The Amulet of Samarkand" audiobook, since I've been wanting to give it a listen for years. I'm currently listening to Chapter 6, and the reading is very good so far.
At last I have more reading material! I've been floating on air all day because of it. I even have proof:
See? That is my happy library face being happy.
So if you don't hear from me for a few days, it's not because I'm in trouble; I'm just reading and reading and reading. Oh, and "Fringe" and "Supernatural" both return next week, so that might have something to do with it too ^_^
Ta!
I discovered a fantastic webcomic last week called "The Dreamer", available here: http://thedreamercomic.com
In brief, it's a gorgeously drawn and very well-written story about a 21st c. era girl who seesaws between living a normal high school life in the 21st century, and living during the American Revolution. The conceit is that whenever she falls asleep, she dreams vividly of her Revolution-era existence, but when she is awake, she is in modern times. Of course, the question is, are they really just dreams? Both lives seem very real, and are both filled with compelling characters, not the least of which is an American soldier who claims he has known her since childhood and who is in love with her. I really like the story's style: the cameos by historical figures like Alexander Hamilton, the complicated but sweet romance, the deftly alternating moments of humor and pathos and action. I'd really recommend it. The author/illustrator's name is Lora Innes, and she is obviously in love with history, for her illustrations are lively and accurate and her characters are all very endearing but appropriate to their respective times. I have a banner link to her site on the right hand sidebar of this blog now. Check it out!
As a person who really likes learning about Revolutionary War/Civil War history myself--and who likes the clothing styles of those times, too--this has really restoked my own interest in the time period and the people who lived then. This is reflected in the reading material I picked up at the library today.
So, complete list of books I have to read now:
- "The Dreamer: The Consequence of Nathan Hale", by Lora Innes (the first issues of her webcomic have been combined into a print copy, so I'm more re-reading this!)
- "The Fortune of War"
- "The Surgeon's Mate"
- "The Ionian Mission"
- "Treason's Harbor"
- "Desolation Island"
- "The Mauritius Command"
- "HMS Surprise", by Patrick O'Brian (not in that order. I'm returning to the Aubrey-Maturin series in a big way, folks!)
- "The American Revolution", by Bruce Lancaster
- "Voices of the American Revolution", by Kendall Haven (I prefer reading about history from contemporary sources whenever possible, hence my liking for Rousseau and the Federalist Papers)
- "Nathan Hale", by M. William Phelps (Biographies! I also love reading good, thick biographies)
- "Alexander Hamilton", by Ron Chernow (Hamilton has fascinated me ever since I was small, so it's about time I read a book entirely devoted to him, even if it's . . . *checks* . . . 700+ pages long!)
I also borrowed "The Amulet of Samarkand" audiobook, since I've been wanting to give it a listen for years. I'm currently listening to Chapter 6, and the reading is very good so far.
At last I have more reading material! I've been floating on air all day because of it. I even have proof:
See? That is my happy library face being happy.
So if you don't hear from me for a few days, it's not because I'm in trouble; I'm just reading and reading and reading. Oh, and "Fringe" and "Supernatural" both return next week, so that might have something to do with it too ^_^
Ta!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
:)
Okay, yeah, I'm feeling better now. See, I told you I'd cheer up eventually. I've discovered the television show "Supernatural" and have been seriously creeping myself out and laughing as well. I've also been reading "Robots of Dawn", which is awesome so far. Add some strawberry guava juice and homework getting completed to the mix, and I'm definitely one happy camper again.
I'm also pretty tired. So tonight I'm going to just sleep and make sure to empty my mind of all stress and schoolwork related subjects. Who knows, maybe I'll actually have some interesting dreams for once--I used to have awesome dreams but they've just been weird or boring lately. I think it has something to do with my stress levels and sleep deprivation. Anyhow. Type to you all again later!
I'm also pretty tired. So tonight I'm going to just sleep and make sure to empty my mind of all stress and schoolwork related subjects. Who knows, maybe I'll actually have some interesting dreams for once--I used to have awesome dreams but they've just been weird or boring lately. I think it has something to do with my stress levels and sleep deprivation. Anyhow. Type to you all again later!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
"The Eleventh Hour"--Welcome, Matt Smith!!
If you have not yet watched "The Eleventh Hour", please go watch it. It's available on Youtube now (HERE is one link), so many thanks to our friends across the pond for not making us wait two more weeks!
Okay, so I'm too tired (it's late at night here) to write a full review, and anyways I don't see what the point of that would be. So to sum up: "The Eleventh Hour" is fantastic. The alien spaceship was pretty cheap and not very impressive, but I didn't care because of the following:
1) The Doctor. Matt Smith is BRILLIANT, as I had expected and hoped him to be, but it's still a relief that he WAS. He is already joining my favorite Doctors pantheon (that means he's joining 2, 5, and 10, in case you were wondering, haha), and it's only his first outing. I thought the episode would, at least on some level, be sad to watch. But to be quite honest . . . I did not miss Tennant. Which is a relief. I was afraid that I'd watch scenes and wonder how he would have played them, but Smith plays them so well, I simply relax and enjoy his performance and don't think about other things. So huzzah for the Eleventh Doctor, and I can't wait until next Saturday!
2) Amy Pond. Another Scottish accent! Anyway, I loved her character too; she's very real but very entertaining to watch, and her character is fleshed out and has depth already, even though it's only the first episode! She also works very well with Smith; their interactions were great. This is definitely a winning TARDIS team, and a companion who's story and welfare I can care about.
3) The music. It's different, but I really enjoy it. Apart from the opening theme, which I'm not so keen on . . . it's not horrible, really, but it's not good. The new opening visuals however are much more enjoyable than I had anticipated.
4) The story. It was not an amazing story, but was elevated by the quality of the actors' performances. The time travel plot within the story (without giving too much away) added the depth to the story that was needed, so the aliens were really only background to me against which I could watch and judge my first impressions of the Eleventh Doctor and Amy. And the story wasn't bad anyway--it was clever, and had satisfying moments of creepiness.
5) Nods to previous Doctors/episodes. Nothing really blatant. But they were there, subtlely enough to be entertaining for Classic Who fans. At the moment when video footage showing brief glimpses of each past Doctor flashed on the screen, that in combination with the awesome music and the context literally made me jump up and cheer, which was pretty much my reaction to the whole episode. I had the somewhat surreal experience of watching "The Waters of Mars" right after I finished watching "The Eleventh Hour" (there was a "Doctor Who" marathon showing all the DT specials on the telly); it's one of my favorite "Doctor Who" episodes. It was interesting; watching it I instantly identify with Ten, but coming back to Eleven, I instantly recognize Eleven as the Doctor too. Not a continuation of Ten, but a continuation of the Doctor. Smith's portrayal is natural, not an aping of Ten, for which I am relieved. It shows that the character is still in good hands, evolving and yet staying the same for yet another regeneration.
6) Script. There were some madly funny moments, some powerful moments, some poignant moments, and even some shivers-down-your-spine moments. So that's all in good hands.
The verdict: I am thoroughly pleased with this new era of "Who" as based upon what I saw in this one episode. The Doctor and Amy Pond are just about perfect. So go run off and watch it if you have not already, and then let me know what you think!
And so much for writing only a short review. Oops.
Okay, so I'm too tired (it's late at night here) to write a full review, and anyways I don't see what the point of that would be. So to sum up: "The Eleventh Hour" is fantastic. The alien spaceship was pretty cheap and not very impressive, but I didn't care because of the following:
1) The Doctor. Matt Smith is BRILLIANT, as I had expected and hoped him to be, but it's still a relief that he WAS. He is already joining my favorite Doctors pantheon (that means he's joining 2, 5, and 10, in case you were wondering, haha), and it's only his first outing. I thought the episode would, at least on some level, be sad to watch. But to be quite honest . . . I did not miss Tennant. Which is a relief. I was afraid that I'd watch scenes and wonder how he would have played them, but Smith plays them so well, I simply relax and enjoy his performance and don't think about other things. So huzzah for the Eleventh Doctor, and I can't wait until next Saturday!
2) Amy Pond. Another Scottish accent! Anyway, I loved her character too; she's very real but very entertaining to watch, and her character is fleshed out and has depth already, even though it's only the first episode! She also works very well with Smith; their interactions were great. This is definitely a winning TARDIS team, and a companion who's story and welfare I can care about.
3) The music. It's different, but I really enjoy it. Apart from the opening theme, which I'm not so keen on . . . it's not horrible, really, but it's not good. The new opening visuals however are much more enjoyable than I had anticipated.
4) The story. It was not an amazing story, but was elevated by the quality of the actors' performances. The time travel plot within the story (without giving too much away) added the depth to the story that was needed, so the aliens were really only background to me against which I could watch and judge my first impressions of the Eleventh Doctor and Amy. And the story wasn't bad anyway--it was clever, and had satisfying moments of creepiness.
5) Nods to previous Doctors/episodes. Nothing really blatant. But they were there, subtlely enough to be entertaining for Classic Who fans. At the moment when video footage showing brief glimpses of each past Doctor flashed on the screen, that in combination with the awesome music and the context literally made me jump up and cheer, which was pretty much my reaction to the whole episode. I had the somewhat surreal experience of watching "The Waters of Mars" right after I finished watching "The Eleventh Hour" (there was a "Doctor Who" marathon showing all the DT specials on the telly); it's one of my favorite "Doctor Who" episodes. It was interesting; watching it I instantly identify with Ten, but coming back to Eleven, I instantly recognize Eleven as the Doctor too. Not a continuation of Ten, but a continuation of the Doctor. Smith's portrayal is natural, not an aping of Ten, for which I am relieved. It shows that the character is still in good hands, evolving and yet staying the same for yet another regeneration.
6) Script. There were some madly funny moments, some powerful moments, some poignant moments, and even some shivers-down-your-spine moments. So that's all in good hands.
The verdict: I am thoroughly pleased with this new era of "Who" as based upon what I saw in this one episode. The Doctor and Amy Pond are just about perfect. So go run off and watch it if you have not already, and then let me know what you think!
And so much for writing only a short review. Oops.
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