Life has hellish this week so not as much time to sift through links to pull out the good stuff. Hopefully will do better next week! (Wish me luck!)
Contests/Giveaways
Shared by @ColleenLindsay - Win a full edit from Del Rey/Spectra, maybe even get published! (Ooo sweet!)
Conventions
Shared by @ColleenLindsay - Comic Con Registration opens Feb 5th!
Health
From @KristenLambTX - Gluten - the evil assasin! (I am thinking I suffer from this. And maybe my daughter!)
Science
From @NASA - NASA has aSolar Sail currently working out in low orbit. This could be super cool!
Writing Advice
From @GloriaOliver - Let's Talk Dialect. My guest post over at Obscure YA Authors.
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Part Book ad but also has lots of TRUTHs about writing.
Shared by @inkyelbows - How do you know if your writing is improving? Some helpful tips.
From @inkyelbows - How to read like a writer. Why reading can prove so good for you.
From @NathanBransford - How to use Twitter.
From @CandaceHavens - There's always more to learn as a writer. Continuing your author education.
Shared by @inkyelbows - Critique Groups - be informed - what to look for!
From @ChuckWendig - Writer Reality Check from HELL! (You do have to REALLY want it, guys.) :P
From @gailcarriger - What is Steampunk. Nice explanation and tons of sources where you can see it in movies, books, and more!
Have an awesome week! And happy reading!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Movie Review - The Rite
The Rite
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, and more...
Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom Written by: Michael Petroni - suggested by the book by Matt Baglio
Premise: Michael Kovak ran off to seminary school to get away from his father and the family business. From the start he only planned to go long enough to get a degree then leave before he has to give his final vows. However, after a strange accident, his superior tells him how he'd like him to go to Rome to take a two month course on Exorcism and then decide whether to become a priest or not. So having nothing to lose, Michael goes to Rome.
Review: If you want a scare fest film, this is not for you. Luckily for me, I hoped it would be something else and it was.
Colin O'Donoghue does a great job as the skeptic (with some heavy denial) in the film. Anthony Hopkins was awesome as the bone weary exorcist and then does what he does best later in the film. (Hey, you don't really want me to tell you, do you?) Heh heh. Marta Gastini was totally awesome and creepy as both a victim and a spirit.
Great view shots of Rome - from the Vatican to busy Rome streets to crumbling parks. Subtle but very nice special effects. The music by Alex Heffes was slow, sweet, and at times creepy as all get out.
This movie is about giving you the creeps rather than cheap scares. They do still shove in there a couple of 'jump in your chair' shots, but don't make it a habit. Mood and atmosphere are king here. And it was good. Plus all the little things they threw in there that screamed of wrongness.
There are no real surprises per say. Though having said that the accident toward the beginning of the movie will totally catch you off guard. It's really were we start to see that something might just be going on here. Which is of course why we're watching the movie in the first place. :P
I enjoyed it. If you go with the right expectation, I think you will too.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby says better for Matinee)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Colin O'Donoghue, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, Rutger Hauer, Marta Gastini, and more...
Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom Written by: Michael Petroni - suggested by the book by Matt Baglio
Premise: Michael Kovak ran off to seminary school to get away from his father and the family business. From the start he only planned to go long enough to get a degree then leave before he has to give his final vows. However, after a strange accident, his superior tells him how he'd like him to go to Rome to take a two month course on Exorcism and then decide whether to become a priest or not. So having nothing to lose, Michael goes to Rome.
Review: If you want a scare fest film, this is not for you. Luckily for me, I hoped it would be something else and it was.
Colin O'Donoghue does a great job as the skeptic (with some heavy denial) in the film. Anthony Hopkins was awesome as the bone weary exorcist and then does what he does best later in the film. (Hey, you don't really want me to tell you, do you?) Heh heh. Marta Gastini was totally awesome and creepy as both a victim and a spirit.
Great view shots of Rome - from the Vatican to busy Rome streets to crumbling parks. Subtle but very nice special effects. The music by Alex Heffes was slow, sweet, and at times creepy as all get out.
This movie is about giving you the creeps rather than cheap scares. They do still shove in there a couple of 'jump in your chair' shots, but don't make it a habit. Mood and atmosphere are king here. And it was good. Plus all the little things they threw in there that screamed of wrongness.
There are no real surprises per say. Though having said that the accident toward the beginning of the movie will totally catch you off guard. It's really were we start to see that something might just be going on here. Which is of course why we're watching the movie in the first place. :P
I enjoyed it. If you go with the right expectation, I think you will too.
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby says better for Matinee)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 1/26/11
Some awesome sunrise and sunsets this past week. And a couple of oddball pics. Plus more stuff shared by others.
From @NASA - Hubble shows two dramatically different views of "the Whirlpool Galaxy" - definetly gorgeous!
At the anime store a week or more ago, I can across the weirdest bottles ever! Evangelion has gone to yet another level.
I was afraid to ask if they were selling well. :P
From @NASA - Chandra views "starburst" galaxy M82, with stars forming at much higher rates than a normal galaxy
Baby blue and pink was the name of the game on this day!
Shared by @marthawells1 - Amazing Works of Art - talk about inventing new ways to make art. WOW
And for fun!
Shared by @torbooks - Map of the Star Wars Universe!
Let me leave you with one last sky shot. :) Look at those colors!
From @NASA - Hubble shows two dramatically different views of "the Whirlpool Galaxy" - definetly gorgeous!
At the anime store a week or more ago, I can across the weirdest bottles ever! Evangelion has gone to yet another level.
I was afraid to ask if they were selling well. :P
From @NASA - Chandra views "starburst" galaxy M82, with stars forming at much higher rates than a normal galaxy
Baby blue and pink was the name of the game on this day!
Shared by @marthawells1 - Amazing Works of Art - talk about inventing new ways to make art. WOW
And for fun!
Shared by @torbooks - Map of the Star Wars Universe!
Let me leave you with one last sky shot. :) Look at those colors!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Mind Sieve 1/24/11
Got a bunch of good stuff this past week. Even several contests!
So let's get started!
Contests/Giveaways
Shared by @DelReySpectra - Free Book contest from Ari Marmel
Shared by @torbooks - Steampunk Adventures is holding a writing contest. Submissions due March 1st.
Shared by @DeidreKnight - Chance to win $100 gift card. Share what's the riskiest thing you've done for love and win! (Not sure on when this expires! Doh!)
From @yabookscentral - Manga Giveaway at YA Books Central. One is even a How To!
Conventions
Shared by @tweetheart4711 - Mini A-kon in Feb! Denton, TX!
Fan Fun
Shared by @jimsissy - Colleen has been doing chemo and lost all her hair. She decided to have a contest for people to photoshop hair for her. Some of these were awesome. (Didn't see them on her blog. Hopefully she didn't just post them to twitter...Bah humbug...)
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Pandemic article at Wired. Multi media experiment at Sundance and beyond!
Games
From @ChuckWendig - Chuck's first days playing Minecraft - if you've ever played, this post is even funnier. Heh heh (Poor Chuck) Fun game, simple, but addicting in its weirdness :P (Do not be drinking when you read this. It will come out your nose! You've been warned! Heh heh)
Podcasts
From @WNDRWolf - Podcast Round Table Discussion with Odin1eye and Richard Green
Shared by @GloriaOliver - BroadPod - BroadUniverse January podcast with readings by author members
Science
Shared by @MichaelPata - The first Mammoth cloning experiment is officially underway - Cool!
Shared by @mattstaggs - 34,000 year old bacteria found ALIVE! And Kicking! Even reproducing! Totally amazing.
Television
Shared by @torbooks - New trailer for Game of Thrones! Sweet~!
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - The Character of the Successful Writer--A New Level or a New Devil?
Shared by @rachelcaine - The skinny on books being made into movies - misconceptions dashed!
From @ChuckWendig - Thoughts on Rejections and Reality - how to beat both!
Shared by @jafurtado - Are you a Moral author? by Richard Curtis - New contract clause at Harper Collins
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Reading aloud to edit - I need to do this more often myself!
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Parenting, Writing, Life! How do you fit it all in?
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Some tips on writing a Press Release that will get attention
Shared by @inkyelbows - #amwriting Website. Tons of resources and also explains what hashtags are and more! (I need to make a presence there!)
From @KristenLambTX - 1st in a series - Twitter Tuesdays. Twitter for Authors!
From @dknippling - How to play the Writer Lotto!
From @KristenLambTX - This is NOT the Blog You're Looking For -how to avoid being that guy...
From @ChuckWendig - Like the preachings of the Church of DBAA and Yard Dog Press - Don't be an asshole of a writer but still be yourself
Phew! That's an awful lot of good stuff I scrunched out of this week! Dang! Enjoy!
So let's get started!
Contests/Giveaways
Shared by @DelReySpectra - Free Book contest from Ari Marmel
Shared by @torbooks - Steampunk Adventures is holding a writing contest. Submissions due March 1st.
Shared by @DeidreKnight - Chance to win $100 gift card. Share what's the riskiest thing you've done for love and win! (Not sure on when this expires! Doh!)
From @yabookscentral - Manga Giveaway at YA Books Central. One is even a How To!
Conventions
Shared by @tweetheart4711 - Mini A-kon in Feb! Denton, TX!
Fan Fun
Shared by @jimsissy - Colleen has been doing chemo and lost all her hair. She decided to have a contest for people to photoshop hair for her. Some of these were awesome. (Didn't see them on her blog. Hopefully she didn't just post them to twitter...Bah humbug...)
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Pandemic article at Wired. Multi media experiment at Sundance and beyond!
Games
From @ChuckWendig - Chuck's first days playing Minecraft - if you've ever played, this post is even funnier. Heh heh (Poor Chuck) Fun game, simple, but addicting in its weirdness :P (Do not be drinking when you read this. It will come out your nose! You've been warned! Heh heh)
Podcasts
From @WNDRWolf - Podcast Round Table Discussion with Odin1eye and Richard Green
Shared by @GloriaOliver - BroadPod - BroadUniverse January podcast with readings by author members
Science
Shared by @MichaelPata - The first Mammoth cloning experiment is officially underway - Cool!
Shared by @mattstaggs - 34,000 year old bacteria found ALIVE! And Kicking! Even reproducing! Totally amazing.
Television
Shared by @torbooks - New trailer for Game of Thrones! Sweet~!
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - The Character of the Successful Writer--A New Level or a New Devil?
Shared by @rachelcaine - The skinny on books being made into movies - misconceptions dashed!
From @ChuckWendig - Thoughts on Rejections and Reality - how to beat both!
Shared by @jafurtado - Are you a Moral author? by Richard Curtis - New contract clause at Harper Collins
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Reading aloud to edit - I need to do this more often myself!
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Parenting, Writing, Life! How do you fit it all in?
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Some tips on writing a Press Release that will get attention
Shared by @inkyelbows - #amwriting Website. Tons of resources and also explains what hashtags are and more! (I need to make a presence there!)
From @KristenLambTX - 1st in a series - Twitter Tuesdays. Twitter for Authors!
From @dknippling - How to play the Writer Lotto!
From @KristenLambTX - This is NOT the Blog You're Looking For -how to avoid being that guy...
From @ChuckWendig - Like the preachings of the Church of DBAA and Yard Dog Press - Don't be an asshole of a writer but still be yourself
Phew! That's an awful lot of good stuff I scrunched out of this week! Dang! Enjoy!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Movie Review - Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travel
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, and more...
Directed by: Rob Letterman Screenplay by: Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller - based on the book by Jonathan Swift
Premise: Realizing his life is going nowhere, Gulliver tries to work himself up to asking out the girl he likes, but instead digs himself into a hole and ends up taking a writing assignment
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, and more...
Directed by: Rob Letterman Screenplay by: Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller - based on the book by Jonathan Swift
Premise: Realizing his life is going nowhere, Gulliver tries to work himself up to asking out the girl he likes, but instead digs himself into a hole and ends up taking a writing assignment
Movie Review - Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travel
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Catherine Tate, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, and more...
Directed by: Rob Letterman Screenplay by: Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller - based on the book by Jonathan Swift
Premise: Realizing his life is going nowhere, Gulliver tries to work himself up to asking out the girl he likes, but instead digs himself into a hole and ends up taking a writing assignment out in the Bermuda Triangle. While traveling to the spot for the article, he's swept away in a giant waterspout and ends up very far away from home.
Review: I'd seen the commercials for this film and seeing the kid humor displayed in them wasn't sure it was for me, despite the fact I like the tale and concept and that Catherine Tate (Donna Noble from Dr Who!)and other fun actors were in it.
While it did have some of the kid humor as shown in the commercials, however, I was glad I went to see it. The film had several things going for it that made it quite enjoyable above and beyond the gags.
The first major thing was that they played a short before the start of the film - Skrat's Continental Crack-up! Yes, Skrat from Ice Age did a short right before the movie! And it was one of the best ones yet. A wonderful explanation of the splitting of the original continent of Pangea :P Too funny. Poor little guy can never catch a break.
The second major thing was the awesome attention to detail in the film. When it begins they do a beautiful rendition of the city with overhead views and everything looks miniaturized. And not in the sense that things are far away and look small, but like made up models and toy cars even as real people walk about. It almost made the 'real' world seem fake, the fantasy, while the land of the Lilliputians the true world.
The costuming, the buildings, the mechanisms in Lilliput were very detailed. The tech all had a very awesome HG Wells feel about it. Pseudo steampunkish in a way. And though we didn't learn much about the society, there was enough there to make the Lilliputian way of life feel real and structured. In some ways their lives are too structured and strict, and here comes a strange visitor who drives all to loosen up a bit and have more fun, in a manner of speaking. The changes you see as the film progresses are interesting, some utterly fun, and a few a little sad.
Not everyone is happy about the changes Gulliver has brought about due to his presence though. Not happy at all!
I appreciated seeing how Gulliver brought with him the means to his own destruction - within himself and without. Of course in the end he comes through, but there were a couple of unexpected twists along the way I very much enjoyed.
Overall the film was entertaining and at times even humorous. And with Skrat doing the lead in, it was definitely worth seeing it.
Rating: 3.5 (4 with Skrat) out of 5 (Hubby: Matinee price w/o Skrat, Full Price with Skrat):P
Starring: Jack Black, Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet, Catherine Tate, Billy Connolly, Chris O'Dowd, and more...
Directed by: Rob Letterman Screenplay by: Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller - based on the book by Jonathan Swift
Premise: Realizing his life is going nowhere, Gulliver tries to work himself up to asking out the girl he likes, but instead digs himself into a hole and ends up taking a writing assignment out in the Bermuda Triangle. While traveling to the spot for the article, he's swept away in a giant waterspout and ends up very far away from home.
Review: I'd seen the commercials for this film and seeing the kid humor displayed in them wasn't sure it was for me, despite the fact I like the tale and concept and that Catherine Tate (Donna Noble from Dr Who!)and other fun actors were in it.
While it did have some of the kid humor as shown in the commercials, however, I was glad I went to see it. The film had several things going for it that made it quite enjoyable above and beyond the gags.
The first major thing was that they played a short before the start of the film - Skrat's Continental Crack-up! Yes, Skrat from Ice Age did a short right before the movie! And it was one of the best ones yet. A wonderful explanation of the splitting of the original continent of Pangea :P Too funny. Poor little guy can never catch a break.
The second major thing was the awesome attention to detail in the film. When it begins they do a beautiful rendition of the city with overhead views and everything looks miniaturized. And not in the sense that things are far away and look small, but like made up models and toy cars even as real people walk about. It almost made the 'real' world seem fake, the fantasy, while the land of the Lilliputians the true world.
The costuming, the buildings, the mechanisms in Lilliput were very detailed. The tech all had a very awesome HG Wells feel about it. Pseudo steampunkish in a way. And though we didn't learn much about the society, there was enough there to make the Lilliputian way of life feel real and structured. In some ways their lives are too structured and strict, and here comes a strange visitor who drives all to loosen up a bit and have more fun, in a manner of speaking. The changes you see as the film progresses are interesting, some utterly fun, and a few a little sad.
Not everyone is happy about the changes Gulliver has brought about due to his presence though. Not happy at all!
I appreciated seeing how Gulliver brought with him the means to his own destruction - within himself and without. Of course in the end he comes through, but there were a couple of unexpected twists along the way I very much enjoyed.
Overall the film was entertaining and at times even humorous. And with Skrat doing the lead in, it was definitely worth seeing it.
Rating: 3.5 (4 with Skrat) out of 5 (Hubby: Matinee price w/o Skrat, Full Price with Skrat):P
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 1/19/11
Let's start this weeks picture-rama with super cute!
Ran across this scene by pure accident at my brother's home. It was too cute not to grab a pic and share. :)
Now for something scary. Shared by @marthawells1 - An ice covered lighthouse You'll catch a cold just looking at this thing! Brrrr
Then back to something awe inspiring! Shared by @BadAstronomer - Milky Way's (almost) identical Twin. (Real nice Galaxy pic!)
Tiny footprints in the snow! We had a White Christmas on 1/9/11 (Sickness, travel, and other issues forced my side of the family to have a late get together) and we found these little foot prints. Thought they might be the squirrels, but then saw these tiny black birds with white bellies actually moving by hopping around rather than flying. Too cute!
From @ChuckWendig - I swear his Chihuahua is saying "How chu doing?" Brows rising and falling. Hee!
From @Nasa - Green Glob Space Oddity! Or a Space Frog!
Shared by @torbooks - Ghost Busters Wedding Cake! For reals! So cool!
Subaki and Mythril sleeping and propping each others with their heads. Adorable!
And speaking of cats... Shared by @torbooks - How to Steampunk Your Cat! Steampunked kitty drawings and pics
Shared by @petapixel - Deep Space photos taken from a backyard. Totally awe inspiring!
And because we can NEVER have enough CUTE! Shared by @JaneLebak - It's so tiny! Cutest baby possum EVER!
The sunset looked like a rainbow. Not sure that the camera caught that though. :(
From @Nasa - Triungulum Galaxy! Pretty!
On a sadder note... Shared by @petapixel - Queensland, Australia flood pics. Way way too much water. Reminds me of the floods in New Orleans after Katrina. Brrrrr.
And last but not least...the train that got in my way after work. :P
Have a great day! Feel free to share some of the pics you've taken or been impressed by in the comments section.
Ran across this scene by pure accident at my brother's home. It was too cute not to grab a pic and share. :)
Now for something scary. Shared by @marthawells1 - An ice covered lighthouse You'll catch a cold just looking at this thing! Brrrr
Then back to something awe inspiring! Shared by @BadAstronomer - Milky Way's (almost) identical Twin. (Real nice Galaxy pic!)
Tiny footprints in the snow! We had a White Christmas on 1/9/11 (Sickness, travel, and other issues forced my side of the family to have a late get together) and we found these little foot prints. Thought they might be the squirrels, but then saw these tiny black birds with white bellies actually moving by hopping around rather than flying. Too cute!
From @ChuckWendig - I swear his Chihuahua is saying "How chu doing?" Brows rising and falling. Hee!
From @Nasa - Green Glob Space Oddity! Or a Space Frog!
Shared by @torbooks - Ghost Busters Wedding Cake! For reals! So cool!
Subaki and Mythril sleeping and propping each others with their heads. Adorable!
And speaking of cats... Shared by @torbooks - How to Steampunk Your Cat! Steampunked kitty drawings and pics
Shared by @petapixel - Deep Space photos taken from a backyard. Totally awe inspiring!
And because we can NEVER have enough CUTE! Shared by @JaneLebak - It's so tiny! Cutest baby possum EVER!
The sunset looked like a rainbow. Not sure that the camera caught that though. :(
From @Nasa - Triungulum Galaxy! Pretty!
On a sadder note... Shared by @petapixel - Queensland, Australia flood pics. Way way too much water. Reminds me of the floods in New Orleans after Katrina. Brrrrr.
And last but not least...the train that got in my way after work. :P
Have a great day! Feel free to share some of the pics you've taken or been impressed by in the comments section.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Mind Sieve 1/17/11
More fun stuff I've run across to share with you this week. Enjoy!
Book Releases
From @ChuckWendig - Where he celebrates the Release of IRREGULAR CREATURES - giving info, a sales pitch and GUILT! Bwahahahaha! (Potentially not safe for work!)
From @rclementmoore - Paperback Release of Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore.
Contests/Giveaways
Shared by @rclementmoore - A ton of free books up for grabs at YA Outside the Lines
Shared by @inkyelbows - Literary Manuscript Agent Contest!
From @NovelNovice - Big CONTEST! EPIC Prizes but you'll have to work for them. :P
From @Suzanne_McLeod - Book Giveaways starting with The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
From @ElanaJ - Celebrating the launch of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
Conventions
Shared by @AKon_Convention - AA has discounts for peeps buying airline tickets to come to A-kon! How cool is that?!
Fan Fun
Shared by @torbooks - Han Solo in carbonite in Firefly episodes! Yes, see if you too can spot the elusive Han Solo! (A lot like Pineapples in Psych! Heh)
Games
Shared by @ChuckWendig - MINECRAFT an addictive little game! (Family has been playing it for several weeks. Fun time sink!)
Manga/Anime/Cartoons
From @examinercom - Young Justice - new superhero fodder on Cartoon Network (Saw the premier in late 2010 and this was fun!)
Personal Help
From Kathy Sullivan - Loners and lonely - what's the difference? And what does it mean to you?
Science
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Bees are dying - And we may know exactly why. (Mind boggling that they can get away with this stuff...)
Shared by @mdbenoit2 - Sonic Black Hole ho! Interesting article on how they hope to study Hawkins particles
Weird & Creepy
From @examinercom - Dead birds in the thousands fall from the sky in Italy (I believe since then there's been even more flocks of birds dying all over the place. Eek)
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - Writing Productivity - how to get it!
Shared by @ixtumea - Negativity can keep you from success. And not necessarily from where or what you'd normally expect.
Shared by @ChuckWendig - JM Tohline presents a list and explanations for the biggest mistakes writers make when querying literary agents (these come straight from agents too!)
Shared by @sfwa - Practical bits of useful info for young and old writers.
From @ChuckWendig - Major Reality Check!Why you might not get published (NSFW)
Shared by @KristenLambTX - (NSFW) Editing the Chore, the Challenge, the Misconceptions!
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Discussion on whether or not Cold Queries work
Shared by @inkyelbows - Giving Characters Character! Make them Pop off the page
That's it for this week. If you found some way cool stuff you'd like to share, tack it on in the comments!
Book Releases
From @ChuckWendig - Where he celebrates the Release of IRREGULAR CREATURES - giving info, a sales pitch and GUILT! Bwahahahaha! (Potentially not safe for work!)
From @rclementmoore - Paperback Release of Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore.
Contests/Giveaways
Shared by @rclementmoore - A ton of free books up for grabs at YA Outside the Lines
Shared by @inkyelbows - Literary Manuscript Agent Contest!
From @NovelNovice - Big CONTEST! EPIC Prizes but you'll have to work for them. :P
From @Suzanne_McLeod - Book Giveaways starting with The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
From @ElanaJ - Celebrating the launch of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
Conventions
Shared by @AKon_Convention - AA has discounts for peeps buying airline tickets to come to A-kon! How cool is that?!
Fan Fun
Shared by @torbooks - Han Solo in carbonite in Firefly episodes! Yes, see if you too can spot the elusive Han Solo! (A lot like Pineapples in Psych! Heh)
Games
Shared by @ChuckWendig - MINECRAFT an addictive little game! (Family has been playing it for several weeks. Fun time sink!)
Manga/Anime/Cartoons
From @examinercom - Young Justice - new superhero fodder on Cartoon Network (Saw the premier in late 2010 and this was fun!)
Personal Help
From Kathy Sullivan - Loners and lonely - what's the difference? And what does it mean to you?
Science
Shared by @ChuckWendig - Bees are dying - And we may know exactly why. (Mind boggling that they can get away with this stuff...)
Shared by @mdbenoit2 - Sonic Black Hole ho! Interesting article on how they hope to study Hawkins particles
Weird & Creepy
From @examinercom - Dead birds in the thousands fall from the sky in Italy (I believe since then there's been even more flocks of birds dying all over the place. Eek)
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - Writing Productivity - how to get it!
Shared by @ixtumea - Negativity can keep you from success. And not necessarily from where or what you'd normally expect.
Shared by @ChuckWendig - JM Tohline presents a list and explanations for the biggest mistakes writers make when querying literary agents (these come straight from agents too!)
Shared by @sfwa - Practical bits of useful info for young and old writers.
From @ChuckWendig - Major Reality Check!Why you might not get published (NSFW)
Shared by @KristenLambTX - (NSFW) Editing the Chore, the Challenge, the Misconceptions!
Shared by @KristenLambTX - Discussion on whether or not Cold Queries work
Shared by @inkyelbows - Giving Characters Character! Make them Pop off the page
That's it for this week. If you found some way cool stuff you'd like to share, tack it on in the comments!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Movie Review - Green Hornet
Green Hornet
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, and more...
Directed by: Michael Gondry Written by: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Premise: After the death of his father, rich playboy, Britt Reid, meets his father's genius auto mechanic, Kato. While playing a trick on the statue of the man they both loved/hated and never truly understood, they find themselves helping a couple being mugged and are so pumped after the adventure, they decide to take it further.
Review: We went and saw the Green Hornet in IMAX 3D. While the 3D piece didn't have much to do with the film except for a couple of fun, key scenes and the end credits, seeing the fast paced action in the crisp IMAX was great.
If you're a fan of the original show with Bruce Lee and Van Williams you'll find plenty of fan service. But this isn't a cookie cutter of the original. Several things are shaken up and twisted on their ear. Though it did totally retain the two best parts of the original - Kato and Black Beauty. The film is totally worth it just to watch those two. (The green headlights so rock!) :)
The hero is definitely flawed and slowly learns his lessons even if it's the hard way. A lot of the bumbling when they first start out might jar but made it even more precious for being realistic. We see the true origins of their partnership before they became a suave and well oiled fighting pair.
Britt Reid is working through a lot of issues, some which he's been carrying for twenty years or more. In Kato he finds a confidant and someone to aspire to. For Kato, Britt is someone who sees and understands his potential and by doing so makes him push to be even more so, to be all that he can be.
Of course, they're both kids at heart, so egos start to get in the way when things get tough.
Christopher Waltz was a hoot, and disturbing. He's a bad guy that only wants to be bad. And feared. So he can't understand when he's not. His confusion is so child like it's kind of sad and you almost feel sorry for him. (Personally I thought his original coat was pimp!) Fun stuff from this guy!
Not a young kids movie. The violence is not extreme but you definitely see dead people. Bad guys get shot, crushed, or flung from high places. So be advised.
Action sequences are pretty good. The big battle showdown has car chases, gun battles, elevator fu, rockets, explosions, and more. Some cool effects. Lots of verbal jokes and double meanings.
Overall, it was a fun flick and well worth it. Even a mystery reveal!
Rating: 3.75 to a 4.0 out of 5. (Hubby rated it - worth full price of admission)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, and more...
Directed by: Michael Gondry Written by: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Premise: After the death of his father, rich playboy, Britt Reid, meets his father's genius auto mechanic, Kato. While playing a trick on the statue of the man they both loved/hated and never truly understood, they find themselves helping a couple being mugged and are so pumped after the adventure, they decide to take it further.
Review: We went and saw the Green Hornet in IMAX 3D. While the 3D piece didn't have much to do with the film except for a couple of fun, key scenes and the end credits, seeing the fast paced action in the crisp IMAX was great.
If you're a fan of the original show with Bruce Lee and Van Williams you'll find plenty of fan service. But this isn't a cookie cutter of the original. Several things are shaken up and twisted on their ear. Though it did totally retain the two best parts of the original - Kato and Black Beauty. The film is totally worth it just to watch those two. (The green headlights so rock!) :)
The hero is definitely flawed and slowly learns his lessons even if it's the hard way. A lot of the bumbling when they first start out might jar but made it even more precious for being realistic. We see the true origins of their partnership before they became a suave and well oiled fighting pair.
Britt Reid is working through a lot of issues, some which he's been carrying for twenty years or more. In Kato he finds a confidant and someone to aspire to. For Kato, Britt is someone who sees and understands his potential and by doing so makes him push to be even more so, to be all that he can be.
Of course, they're both kids at heart, so egos start to get in the way when things get tough.
Christopher Waltz was a hoot, and disturbing. He's a bad guy that only wants to be bad. And feared. So he can't understand when he's not. His confusion is so child like it's kind of sad and you almost feel sorry for him. (Personally I thought his original coat was pimp!) Fun stuff from this guy!
Not a young kids movie. The violence is not extreme but you definitely see dead people. Bad guys get shot, crushed, or flung from high places. So be advised.
Action sequences are pretty good. The big battle showdown has car chases, gun battles, elevator fu, rockets, explosions, and more. Some cool effects. Lots of verbal jokes and double meanings.
Overall, it was a fun flick and well worth it. Even a mystery reveal!
Rating: 3.75 to a 4.0 out of 5. (Hubby rated it - worth full price of admission)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Picture Kaleidoscope 1/12/11
As threatened, here is the first of my picture blogs. Heh heh. Some I took others are links to awesome pics shared through different means I thought you might enjoy.
Took this one on the way home from work. The colors are amazing!
This is from earlier in the year. One of our rose buds. The wind was not letting the camera or flower cooperate.
Yes, I have some ways to go before doing good pics on the phone. lol. Work in progress.
From @petapixel - First Solar Eclipse of 2011 - some truly awesome pics!
Cloud Tsunami! Texas is flat so when we get a cloud bank like this, it's really a little scary looking! :) (That is not a mountain range or hill, that gray background is all cloud!)
From @starwars - Rare backstage photo of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher
Fiery sunset...
From @JerryJDavis - Nice joke for a cold picture
This is a picture of some of the most fabulous bread EVER! It's called White Chocolate Orange Royale. It's sweet and super yummy! Found it at Whole Foods.
Looks at the trees on this one. Those are not leaves, they're mostly birds! Like something out of the old Hitchcock movie. Hee!
And last but definitely not least...
From @Nasa comes the Andromeda Galaxy from Nasa's Image of the Day. (Totally Awesome!)
Enjoy!
Took this one on the way home from work. The colors are amazing!
This is from earlier in the year. One of our rose buds. The wind was not letting the camera or flower cooperate.
Yes, I have some ways to go before doing good pics on the phone. lol. Work in progress.
From @petapixel - First Solar Eclipse of 2011 - some truly awesome pics!
Cloud Tsunami! Texas is flat so when we get a cloud bank like this, it's really a little scary looking! :) (That is not a mountain range or hill, that gray background is all cloud!)
From @starwars - Rare backstage photo of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher
Fiery sunset...
From @JerryJDavis - Nice joke for a cold picture
This is a picture of some of the most fabulous bread EVER! It's called White Chocolate Orange Royale. It's sweet and super yummy! Found it at Whole Foods.
Looks at the trees on this one. Those are not leaves, they're mostly birds! Like something out of the old Hitchcock movie. Hee!
And last but definitely not least...
From @Nasa comes the Andromeda Galaxy from Nasa's Image of the Day. (Totally Awesome!)
Enjoy!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Mind Sieve and More!
Okay. I need to blog more. Problem is I'm BORING! I lead a somewhat orderly and mundane life. So what to do?
Well, after much thought, I think I've finally come up with a thing or two I can do on a regular basis thus creating a steady flow of posts. Better yet, it might even be interesting and whatnot! Even helpful! *gasp*
I'll continue doing the movie reviews, as we normally see one every week. Maybe throw in some TV reviews as well. Will probably do con reports on those weekends I'm not able to go to the movies due to being at a con. Will also add Mind Sieve posts and Picture Kaleidoscope posts! (Those two I am hoping to make regular features.)
For the Mind Sieve posts I'll list links and small descriptions for cool content and blog posts I've run across and RT'd on Twitter. This will give me a chance to better share these things since Twitter is so very NOW and blogs don't roll away as fast.
For the Picture Kaleidoscope I'll share whatever weird phone pics I took for the week but also present the cool stuff people have Tweeted or shown on Facebook that I've run across. Hopefully I will trip over enough material to keep all of us happy. And it's always nice to link back and forth anyway. The more the merrier! (Now if I could only figure out when the best days to post these things regularly would be...)
Well, let's get this party started shall we?
*drum roll please*
CONTESTS
From @mybookishways - Copy of Rachel Caine's Ghost Town up for Grabs!
From @orbitbooks - Win a ton of books! Jim Butcher Fans unite!
From @yabookscentral - Submitting reviews could earn you a Box of Books!
Fan Fun
From @rclementmoore - If you enjoyed Rosemary Clemment-Moore's Splendor Falls (fun book!) you can now become a fan at FaceBook!
Shared by @HuffingtonPost - BIG NEWS! David Tenant (Dr Who) is engaged!
And to no other than the Doctor's Daughter (who really is a Dr Who Daughter!)
From @Rob_Thurman - Rob Thurman has a new website! Music, audio samples, manga pics, banners and more!
Gadget Help
Shared by @BacklisteBooks - Useful article on how to add ebooks to your iPhone, iPad and iTouch
Manga/Anime
Shared by @dailycartoonist - TRON will have an animated series in the summer!
From @debaoki - 2011 Manga Previews - 82 New Titles!
Personal Help
Shared by @Ginger_Clark - Some tips on how to help overcome shyness for authors!
Science
Shared by @JerryJDavis - Organic life on Mars!
Television
Shared by @torbooks - 11 SF/Fantasy shows coming in 2011! YES!
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - Ways to sell a ton of books!
From @ChuckWendig - (NSFW) Using the News to kick in a new angle to get your book picked up - humorous!
Shared by @CandaceHavens - Guest Blogger Kristen Lamb talks about the differences between Social Media Gurus and Authors
From @NathanBransford - Writing blog comments the right way can make for more traffic to your own blog
From @ChuckWendig - (NSFW) What the HECK is a Writer's Platform and how do I get one?
From ">@KristenLambTX - Persistence is good for an author, but when is it too much?
From @Kid_Lit - Being Patient is hard to do, but as writer's we've no choice
Writing Opportunities
Shared by @EvilWylie - Submission Guidelines for Writers Without Borders
HAH! That should keep ya'll busy for a bit. :P Enjoy!
Well, after much thought, I think I've finally come up with a thing or two I can do on a regular basis thus creating a steady flow of posts. Better yet, it might even be interesting and whatnot! Even helpful! *gasp*
I'll continue doing the movie reviews, as we normally see one every week. Maybe throw in some TV reviews as well. Will probably do con reports on those weekends I'm not able to go to the movies due to being at a con. Will also add Mind Sieve posts and Picture Kaleidoscope posts! (Those two I am hoping to make regular features.)
For the Mind Sieve posts I'll list links and small descriptions for cool content and blog posts I've run across and RT'd on Twitter. This will give me a chance to better share these things since Twitter is so very NOW and blogs don't roll away as fast.
For the Picture Kaleidoscope I'll share whatever weird phone pics I took for the week but also present the cool stuff people have Tweeted or shown on Facebook that I've run across. Hopefully I will trip over enough material to keep all of us happy. And it's always nice to link back and forth anyway. The more the merrier! (Now if I could only figure out when the best days to post these things regularly would be...)
Well, let's get this party started shall we?
*drum roll please*
CONTESTS
From @mybookishways - Copy of Rachel Caine's Ghost Town up for Grabs!
From @orbitbooks - Win a ton of books! Jim Butcher Fans unite!
From @yabookscentral - Submitting reviews could earn you a Box of Books!
Fan Fun
From @rclementmoore - If you enjoyed Rosemary Clemment-Moore's Splendor Falls (fun book!) you can now become a fan at FaceBook!
Shared by @HuffingtonPost - BIG NEWS! David Tenant (Dr Who) is engaged!
And to no other than the Doctor's Daughter (who really is a Dr Who Daughter!)
From @Rob_Thurman - Rob Thurman has a new website! Music, audio samples, manga pics, banners and more!
Gadget Help
Shared by @BacklisteBooks - Useful article on how to add ebooks to your iPhone, iPad and iTouch
Manga/Anime
Shared by @dailycartoonist - TRON will have an animated series in the summer!
From @debaoki - 2011 Manga Previews - 82 New Titles!
Personal Help
Shared by @Ginger_Clark - Some tips on how to help overcome shyness for authors!
Science
Shared by @JerryJDavis - Organic life on Mars!
Television
Shared by @torbooks - 11 SF/Fantasy shows coming in 2011! YES!
Writing Advice
From @KristenLambTX - Ways to sell a ton of books!
From @ChuckWendig - (NSFW) Using the News to kick in a new angle to get your book picked up - humorous!
Shared by @CandaceHavens - Guest Blogger Kristen Lamb talks about the differences between Social Media Gurus and Authors
From @NathanBransford - Writing blog comments the right way can make for more traffic to your own blog
From @ChuckWendig - (NSFW) What the HECK is a Writer's Platform and how do I get one?
From ">@KristenLambTX - Persistence is good for an author, but when is it too much?
From @Kid_Lit - Being Patient is hard to do, but as writer's we've no choice
Writing Opportunities
Shared by @EvilWylie - Submission Guidelines for Writers Without Borders
HAH! That should keep ya'll busy for a bit. :P Enjoy!
Friday, January 07, 2011
Movie Review - Season of the Witch
Season of the Witch
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Ulrich Thomsen, Claire Foy, Robert Sheehan, Christopher Lee and more...
Directed by: Dominic Sena Written by: Bragi F Schut
Premise: A veteran crusader and his fellow knight desert their duty after their latest skirmish sanctioned by the Church involves the massacre of women and children. They're found out during their travels and are given a choice: serve the Church one last time or be killed for desertion. Though at first Behmen refuses, despite the fact he will be killed, as he learns more about the mission and those involved, he changes his mind.
Review: I'd been looking forward to this film for a while. It didn't look like your typical fare. But what we ended up with didn't go far enough.
Most of the characters are minimally constructed. No real depth. (Which could have been resolved with a little more movie time - the film is short at only 95 min) Only the good acting skills of the cast actually drive it along despite the lack of character development. Cage and Perlman have a good rapport, even switching buddy roles as true buddies are bound to do. (One acts out while the other is calm, then vice versa.) Claire Foy looked to have fun in her multifaceted role, which came across well most of the time. Did disturb me though that the farther the movie went along the cleaner she got though it should have been the other way around.
Despite the fact we're in 1344 the language was very anachronistic. "Hello. Is anyone home?" just rang of glaring 20th Century. Overall it's not too noticeable, yet for the one scene with the above it glared and glared hard. :P
Beautiful scenery with some CGI enhancements. The sand dunes for the Crusades looked pretty fake though. The far off monastery (I believe it is a real place) was gorgeous! (Filming locations were Hungary and Austria).
The film is creepy in places. The special effects and makeup people did some outstanding work. The plot tries to keep you guessing about the girl, but not too hard. The opening sequence with the women accused of being witches was good. There's even a hint here of what will turn out to be the film's main mystery/shocker bit. That actually worked pretty well, until they had to do the physical flashbacks to show the audience (who'd be too stupid to put it together or remember, right...) the bits the characters are talking about as they reach the important conclusion.
The fight scenes were mediocre. They used a filming style for them which I think is sad, where they shimmy the action so you can't quite see what's going on. I'm sure they feel it ratchets up the tension, but to me it just comes across as lame. If you do a good fight, the action will ratchet its own tension up just fine! Heh.
Overall it was entertaining. The costumes and locations really added to the overall medieval feel.
Rating: 3.75
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Ulrich Thomsen, Claire Foy, Robert Sheehan, Christopher Lee and more...
Directed by: Dominic Sena Written by: Bragi F Schut
Premise: A veteran crusader and his fellow knight desert their duty after their latest skirmish sanctioned by the Church involves the massacre of women and children. They're found out during their travels and are given a choice: serve the Church one last time or be killed for desertion. Though at first Behmen refuses, despite the fact he will be killed, as he learns more about the mission and those involved, he changes his mind.
Review: I'd been looking forward to this film for a while. It didn't look like your typical fare. But what we ended up with didn't go far enough.
Most of the characters are minimally constructed. No real depth. (Which could have been resolved with a little more movie time - the film is short at only 95 min) Only the good acting skills of the cast actually drive it along despite the lack of character development. Cage and Perlman have a good rapport, even switching buddy roles as true buddies are bound to do. (One acts out while the other is calm, then vice versa.) Claire Foy looked to have fun in her multifaceted role, which came across well most of the time. Did disturb me though that the farther the movie went along the cleaner she got though it should have been the other way around.
Despite the fact we're in 1344 the language was very anachronistic. "Hello. Is anyone home?" just rang of glaring 20th Century. Overall it's not too noticeable, yet for the one scene with the above it glared and glared hard. :P
Beautiful scenery with some CGI enhancements. The sand dunes for the Crusades looked pretty fake though. The far off monastery (I believe it is a real place) was gorgeous! (Filming locations were Hungary and Austria).
The film is creepy in places. The special effects and makeup people did some outstanding work. The plot tries to keep you guessing about the girl, but not too hard. The opening sequence with the women accused of being witches was good. There's even a hint here of what will turn out to be the film's main mystery/shocker bit. That actually worked pretty well, until they had to do the physical flashbacks to show the audience (who'd be too stupid to put it together or remember, right...) the bits the characters are talking about as they reach the important conclusion.
The fight scenes were mediocre. They used a filming style for them which I think is sad, where they shimmy the action so you can't quite see what's going on. I'm sure they feel it ratchets up the tension, but to me it just comes across as lame. If you do a good fight, the action will ratchet its own tension up just fine! Heh.
Overall it was entertaining. The costumes and locations really added to the overall medieval feel.
Rating: 3.75
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Movie Review - MOON
(Didn't go to the theater this week, but did catch a little known movie on STARZ. A total GEM I must share with you! So here I am.)
MOON (2009)
Starring: Sam Blackwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligot, Kaya Scodelario and more.
Directed/Written by: Duncan Jones. Screenplay: Nathan Parker
Premise: Sam Bell has been under contract to be on the Moon for the last 3 years maintaining equipment and sending shipments of H3 back to earth. His contract is almost up and he's about to go home when there's an accident. He wakes up in medical only to find out he's been restricted to base, despite the fact one of the machines is not functioning and he needs to go repair it. Feeling stubborn, Sam creates a problem so he's able to convince GERTY, his semi AI computer companion, to lift the restriction. Going out to the harvester, he finds a wrecked buggy and someone inside - and he's alive.
Review: This isn't your typical SF movie. But it is a more typical SF short story! And that's one of the things that makes this movie totally awesome. It doesn't try to be super exciting, or overwhelm you with special effects or action (though all that is there is very well done). What it is is a well told story, with great acting, great props, and an awesome starry sky.
Sam Blackwell did a great job, even more so when you consider that he's just about the only character in the movie (97% all him!). There is a lot of subtlety in the script and it is made of awesome. Human nature is shown in many levels and I loved the visible differences between Sam in 3 years. (I'm trying not to give too much away! It's so hard! You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it!)
Kevin Spacey as the voice of GERTY was a blast. Dead pan forte! I loved how they made the computer a unit with independent arms and how the main console and its arm pieces rolled on ceiling grid tracks. Even more fun was the small screen on the computer's front side. It would show different smiley faces for the emotions it was trying to emulate. At first it seemed a little silly, but the longer I watched the movie the more poignant those smiley faces became. Kudos for that!
Many significant moments were beautifully underplayed. They were the type of thing that on their own would mean nothing, but when placed in the context meant so much more than you'd ever imagine. When Sam pulls off the "kick me" sign off the back of GERTY's unit, I teared up. Such a simple sign of affection and new found respect. Yet something the computer itself would never be aware of and there for us to notice or miss on our own.
The movie might seem a little slow, but it is only to allow the watcher to digest each layer as the veil is slowly but inexorably peeled back. Well worth it. There are several things the characters never says but they are obvious in the showing. Even the ending you pick up from reports spoken but unseen, as if that result truly is nothing when compared to the realizations made on the Moon itself.
Make sure to look out at the sky whenever Sam goes out driving. It's gorgeous! And exactly what you'd see without atmosphere clouding out the stars. Movie is worth it for that view alone! Heh heh
If you love Science Fiction and the social aspects it brings into question, this movie is totally for you!
Rating: 4.25 out of 5!
MOON (2009)
Starring: Sam Blackwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligot, Kaya Scodelario and more.
Directed/Written by: Duncan Jones. Screenplay: Nathan Parker
Premise: Sam Bell has been under contract to be on the Moon for the last 3 years maintaining equipment and sending shipments of H3 back to earth. His contract is almost up and he's about to go home when there's an accident. He wakes up in medical only to find out he's been restricted to base, despite the fact one of the machines is not functioning and he needs to go repair it. Feeling stubborn, Sam creates a problem so he's able to convince GERTY, his semi AI computer companion, to lift the restriction. Going out to the harvester, he finds a wrecked buggy and someone inside - and he's alive.
Review: This isn't your typical SF movie. But it is a more typical SF short story! And that's one of the things that makes this movie totally awesome. It doesn't try to be super exciting, or overwhelm you with special effects or action (though all that is there is very well done). What it is is a well told story, with great acting, great props, and an awesome starry sky.
Sam Blackwell did a great job, even more so when you consider that he's just about the only character in the movie (97% all him!). There is a lot of subtlety in the script and it is made of awesome. Human nature is shown in many levels and I loved the visible differences between Sam in 3 years. (I'm trying not to give too much away! It's so hard! You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it!)
Kevin Spacey as the voice of GERTY was a blast. Dead pan forte! I loved how they made the computer a unit with independent arms and how the main console and its arm pieces rolled on ceiling grid tracks. Even more fun was the small screen on the computer's front side. It would show different smiley faces for the emotions it was trying to emulate. At first it seemed a little silly, but the longer I watched the movie the more poignant those smiley faces became. Kudos for that!
Many significant moments were beautifully underplayed. They were the type of thing that on their own would mean nothing, but when placed in the context meant so much more than you'd ever imagine. When Sam pulls off the "kick me" sign off the back of GERTY's unit, I teared up. Such a simple sign of affection and new found respect. Yet something the computer itself would never be aware of and there for us to notice or miss on our own.
The movie might seem a little slow, but it is only to allow the watcher to digest each layer as the veil is slowly but inexorably peeled back. Well worth it. There are several things the characters never says but they are obvious in the showing. Even the ending you pick up from reports spoken but unseen, as if that result truly is nothing when compared to the realizations made on the Moon itself.
Make sure to look out at the sky whenever Sam goes out driving. It's gorgeous! And exactly what you'd see without atmosphere clouding out the stars. Movie is worth it for that view alone! Heh heh
If you love Science Fiction and the social aspects it brings into question, this movie is totally for you!
Rating: 4.25 out of 5!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Movie Review - True Grit
True Grit
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and more.
Directed & written by: Joel & Ethan Coen
Premise: After her father is killed, Mattie Ross comes to Fort Smith to collect her father's body. Seeing that no one is pursuing the murderer to bring him to justice, she decides to take matters into her own hands and hires a local marshal to go after him.
Review: It's been forever since I saw the original True Grit with John Wayne so I can't make any valid comparisons with the original, so I won't. I can only say what I felt about this film on its own.
Hailee Steinfeld was spectacular! Prim, proper, with a core of iron yet still showing a vulnerability on occasion that was great to behold. She fired her dialogue with just the right amount of confidence and sharpness that made her such a fearsome force to deal with. A guided missile on a mission! One that would not be stopped.
Jeff Bridges was a total hoot as Rooster Cogburn. He was gritty, quirky, funny, rough and watching him deal with Mattie and also LeBoeuf was a hoot. Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger was prissy and stiff and a wonderful foil to clash with Rooster. Like two sides of the same coin, one shiny, one scarred both stubborn.
Beautiful cinematography. You truly felt these people were out in the middle of nowhere. Everything was desolate. The multiple layers of desolation for the landscape, the people, and their cause, it made a very nice image both visually and subliminally.
The film was a lot of fun especially in the beginning. Then as things move along it grew grimmer as they knuckle down to the task at hand. All actions have consequences. And when you push past where you should, be prepared to pay the price.
In someways that was the scariest thing about the film. Mattie Ross grew up in many ways though she was already mature beyond her years during this adventure. But the biggest lesson learned and one she wore like a badge of honor - was that all actions have consequences. There is always a price to pay and you have to want it bad enough and pay it. She did and I can't say she was ever sorry for doing it though at the time she felt some regret but there was way to take it back. It was a very poignant thing watching her come to realize the price she would pay for that one moment of triumph. A price she'd never expected and could do nothing about since it was too late. But eventually resolved there was no point crying over spilled milk. What was done was done. A lesson you got the feeling her two companions already knew quite intimately themselves.
And while you'll hold it together throughout, it's the ending years later that gets you. It's where you see just how much that short period of time made a difference in a young girls life. (Tearing up just thinking about it. I am a sucker! Heh)
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and more.
Directed & written by: Joel & Ethan Coen
Premise: After her father is killed, Mattie Ross comes to Fort Smith to collect her father's body. Seeing that no one is pursuing the murderer to bring him to justice, she decides to take matters into her own hands and hires a local marshal to go after him.
Review: It's been forever since I saw the original True Grit with John Wayne so I can't make any valid comparisons with the original, so I won't. I can only say what I felt about this film on its own.
Hailee Steinfeld was spectacular! Prim, proper, with a core of iron yet still showing a vulnerability on occasion that was great to behold. She fired her dialogue with just the right amount of confidence and sharpness that made her such a fearsome force to deal with. A guided missile on a mission! One that would not be stopped.
Jeff Bridges was a total hoot as Rooster Cogburn. He was gritty, quirky, funny, rough and watching him deal with Mattie and also LeBoeuf was a hoot. Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger was prissy and stiff and a wonderful foil to clash with Rooster. Like two sides of the same coin, one shiny, one scarred both stubborn.
Beautiful cinematography. You truly felt these people were out in the middle of nowhere. Everything was desolate. The multiple layers of desolation for the landscape, the people, and their cause, it made a very nice image both visually and subliminally.
The film was a lot of fun especially in the beginning. Then as things move along it grew grimmer as they knuckle down to the task at hand. All actions have consequences. And when you push past where you should, be prepared to pay the price.
In someways that was the scariest thing about the film. Mattie Ross grew up in many ways though she was already mature beyond her years during this adventure. But the biggest lesson learned and one she wore like a badge of honor - was that all actions have consequences. There is always a price to pay and you have to want it bad enough and pay it. She did and I can't say she was ever sorry for doing it though at the time she felt some regret but there was way to take it back. It was a very poignant thing watching her come to realize the price she would pay for that one moment of triumph. A price she'd never expected and could do nothing about since it was too late. But eventually resolved there was no point crying over spilled milk. What was done was done. A lesson you got the feeling her two companions already knew quite intimately themselves.
And while you'll hold it together throughout, it's the ending years later that gets you. It's where you see just how much that short period of time made a difference in a young girls life. (Tearing up just thinking about it. I am a sucker! Heh)
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Movie Review - Tron: Legacy
Tron: Legacy
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, and more
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Premise: Sam's father disappeared twenty years ago. As Sam continues trying to deal with the abandonment and pushing his father's legacy along on in his own way, he's told an old friend got paged from a phone that's been disconnected for almost as long as his father's been missing. With a little prodding, Sam goes to check it out and his adventure begins.
Review: Hubby and I saw the original Tron way back in the day. We were some of the privileged few who got to see it with the stagnant then energy infused apartment belonging to Yori when she meets secretly with Tron. So you could say we've been somewhat looking forward to this sequel.
Visually, the new film is stunning. Absolutely MUST be seen in the IMAX 3D. All the old vehicles are there with a makeover, looking shiny and new. Though no tanks were seen shooting (major bummer) and only glimpsed from afar. There were all sorts of new personal vehicles to watch being played with though - like personal fighters and wing backpacks. The planes even leave the same deadly trails as the motorcycles (though I wasn't sure that made much sense as it was not in a game scenario). The motorcycle game went multi level, but they removed the 90 degree turns that proved so deadly in the original.
Jeff Bridges and Tron (who we saw very little of per say) were taken back to their original youth by utilizing digitized renditions taken from the original film. This works, for the most part.
Plot wise, they went a weird direction. In many many ways the new film follows the same steps as the old one. Clash and shenanigans with Encom (they had the HUGE door from the original that led to the lab. I so enjoyed that!). Dillinger's progeny is there though he has nothing really to do, just a gimme of sorts - I figured since they'd bothered to bring him in they'd do something with him, but no. Dumont's name is flashed around as fan giggle fodder. Once Sam is unwillingly sucked in to the grid he is promptly captured and thrown to the games (Very nice and mechanical seeming scene where his clothes get taken and him changed: like an assembly line) - first discs and later cycles just like his father. And more. If you've seen the original film, keep an eye out and you will see what I am talking about. (Don't want to give all away!)
As if to make up for the deleted room scene in the first film, you'll get a nice long look at Flynn's place in the digital world. Though it's been humanized. They make up for this later when you see Programs bumbling about looking at the strange things he's made. (Almost like Flynn had made his own programs for his furnishings like you can in Second Life Online.
While they keep the lingo from the original film, it is used a lot less and almost thrown in as an afterthought. I was somewhat bothered by the introduction of a bar in this digital world. Somethings were turned too much into normal human things - while it fit Flynn and his home, it did not fit in the grid. These are Programs. There should have been more originality in how they differ from us in their downtime and general life IMHO.
They introduce ISOs but really don't give you much about them. (Really it's but a crutch to give us a specific turnout at the end.) Also the falling out that turned everything so nasty was very vague. Just because your interest shifts does not mean betrayal or that you aren't looking towards that end anymore. It felt lame?
So while visually fulfilling, story wise it was a little lacking. Oh, and there's no BIT. You see him as a firework and as a couple of toys, but no BIT. Was really hoping they'd have BIT in there! :P
So overall, it was entertaining and beautiful if not totally satisfying.
Rating: Visuals 4.5, Story 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby rating: worth full price of admission)
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, and more
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Premise: Sam's father disappeared twenty years ago. As Sam continues trying to deal with the abandonment and pushing his father's legacy along on in his own way, he's told an old friend got paged from a phone that's been disconnected for almost as long as his father's been missing. With a little prodding, Sam goes to check it out and his adventure begins.
Review: Hubby and I saw the original Tron way back in the day. We were some of the privileged few who got to see it with the stagnant then energy infused apartment belonging to Yori when she meets secretly with Tron. So you could say we've been somewhat looking forward to this sequel.
Visually, the new film is stunning. Absolutely MUST be seen in the IMAX 3D. All the old vehicles are there with a makeover, looking shiny and new. Though no tanks were seen shooting (major bummer) and only glimpsed from afar. There were all sorts of new personal vehicles to watch being played with though - like personal fighters and wing backpacks. The planes even leave the same deadly trails as the motorcycles (though I wasn't sure that made much sense as it was not in a game scenario). The motorcycle game went multi level, but they removed the 90 degree turns that proved so deadly in the original.
Jeff Bridges and Tron (who we saw very little of per say) were taken back to their original youth by utilizing digitized renditions taken from the original film. This works, for the most part.
Plot wise, they went a weird direction. In many many ways the new film follows the same steps as the old one. Clash and shenanigans with Encom (they had the HUGE door from the original that led to the lab. I so enjoyed that!). Dillinger's progeny is there though he has nothing really to do, just a gimme of sorts - I figured since they'd bothered to bring him in they'd do something with him, but no. Dumont's name is flashed around as fan giggle fodder. Once Sam is unwillingly sucked in to the grid he is promptly captured and thrown to the games (Very nice and mechanical seeming scene where his clothes get taken and him changed: like an assembly line) - first discs and later cycles just like his father. And more. If you've seen the original film, keep an eye out and you will see what I am talking about. (Don't want to give all away!)
As if to make up for the deleted room scene in the first film, you'll get a nice long look at Flynn's place in the digital world. Though it's been humanized. They make up for this later when you see Programs bumbling about looking at the strange things he's made. (Almost like Flynn had made his own programs for his furnishings like you can in Second Life Online.
While they keep the lingo from the original film, it is used a lot less and almost thrown in as an afterthought. I was somewhat bothered by the introduction of a bar in this digital world. Somethings were turned too much into normal human things - while it fit Flynn and his home, it did not fit in the grid. These are Programs. There should have been more originality in how they differ from us in their downtime and general life IMHO.
They introduce ISOs but really don't give you much about them. (Really it's but a crutch to give us a specific turnout at the end.) Also the falling out that turned everything so nasty was very vague. Just because your interest shifts does not mean betrayal or that you aren't looking towards that end anymore. It felt lame?
So while visually fulfilling, story wise it was a little lacking. Oh, and there's no BIT. You see him as a firework and as a couple of toys, but no BIT. Was really hoping they'd have BIT in there! :P
So overall, it was entertaining and beautiful if not totally satisfying.
Rating: Visuals 4.5, Story 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby rating: worth full price of admission)
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Movie Review - Black Swan
Black Swan
Staring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Ksenia Solo, and more...
Premise: Nina finally gets her big break with the ballet troop when she is chosen to play the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. And she wants her performance to be PERFECT.
Review: I will try to review this without giving things away. First of, I will never be able to listen to the music of Swan Lake without recalling this movie! Never!
I was totally fascinated by this film on a multitude of levels. One is the look behind the curtain of the world of ballet. About the last ten years or so I've become more aware about the long term effects of doing ballet. It is a truly arduous profession that normally causes long term damage if you get good enough to go professional with it. As much or more so than expected of professional football and baseball players. You catch a tiny glimpse of that here. Of the commitment, the hours, the damage. And how catastrophic an accident could be.
Another is the pressure to succeed. The power plays, the rivalries, the politics, all the things you normally get with a group of any size where there lands a pecking order are there to be seen. Even other darker glimpses like of worship, ridicule, backstabbing, and even the force of others trying to live vicariously through their children.
The last was the complicated story of Nina herself. Someone who on the surface seems to have the talent, support, and good life, but only if you're only looking at the surface.
There were moments when the camera work options chosen were not the best in the first quarter of the film (like over the shoulder moving shots), but beside those, it just got better and better the further the film went. This is also a movie you don't expect the need for a lot of CGI or special effects work, but there is. And those were fabulous. Make sure to look at faces, at mirrors, and more. Don't blink!
The choreography and the hard work by Natalie Portman and others was outstanding. Several of the practice dance scenes have such close motion between her and her partners it was amazing to behold. Like watching jet pilots when they do their graceful weaving in the skies. Just amazing but easy to overlook or forget the amount of skill involved.
Natalie Portman deserves a nomination for an Oscar if not more. You'll see, trust me. But can't say more.
The story begins with a punch. A dream that is a harbinger of things to come in several levels. Then the film slowly, ever slowly simmers upward. Little flashes and bits get doled out and if you blink you'll miss some of them. Then the whole thing builds to a crescendo to a scene that literally had me break out in goosebumps all over. And then it swoops down for a couple of more punches in the gut. WOW! (The Black Swan sequence was beyond Superb! And then there was more!)
There is a lot of sexual matters alluded to or shown though there is no real nudity, but still not a kids' movie! The deeper aspects of it are probably not for kids either. Yet the allusions to sex and even a well dressed pervert in the subway also gave it a strange dimension of reality in a way.
The film even made fun of itself by showing some people who don't like ballet. A clash of two different worlds coming together. A definite problem that would be had by these young women if they tried to date outside their circles.
My husband came because I picked the movie and he had no better preference, but he came out of this happy that he came to see it. Yes, it was that good! (He's not into ballet at all.) It's a very visual film.
This is not a feel good movie. But it will stay with you. Perhaps even haunt you. I know it will haunt me.
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Staring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Ksenia Solo, and more...
Premise: Nina finally gets her big break with the ballet troop when she is chosen to play the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. And she wants her performance to be PERFECT.
Review: I will try to review this without giving things away. First of, I will never be able to listen to the music of Swan Lake without recalling this movie! Never!
I was totally fascinated by this film on a multitude of levels. One is the look behind the curtain of the world of ballet. About the last ten years or so I've become more aware about the long term effects of doing ballet. It is a truly arduous profession that normally causes long term damage if you get good enough to go professional with it. As much or more so than expected of professional football and baseball players. You catch a tiny glimpse of that here. Of the commitment, the hours, the damage. And how catastrophic an accident could be.
Another is the pressure to succeed. The power plays, the rivalries, the politics, all the things you normally get with a group of any size where there lands a pecking order are there to be seen. Even other darker glimpses like of worship, ridicule, backstabbing, and even the force of others trying to live vicariously through their children.
The last was the complicated story of Nina herself. Someone who on the surface seems to have the talent, support, and good life, but only if you're only looking at the surface.
There were moments when the camera work options chosen were not the best in the first quarter of the film (like over the shoulder moving shots), but beside those, it just got better and better the further the film went. This is also a movie you don't expect the need for a lot of CGI or special effects work, but there is. And those were fabulous. Make sure to look at faces, at mirrors, and more. Don't blink!
The choreography and the hard work by Natalie Portman and others was outstanding. Several of the practice dance scenes have such close motion between her and her partners it was amazing to behold. Like watching jet pilots when they do their graceful weaving in the skies. Just amazing but easy to overlook or forget the amount of skill involved.
Natalie Portman deserves a nomination for an Oscar if not more. You'll see, trust me. But can't say more.
The story begins with a punch. A dream that is a harbinger of things to come in several levels. Then the film slowly, ever slowly simmers upward. Little flashes and bits get doled out and if you blink you'll miss some of them. Then the whole thing builds to a crescendo to a scene that literally had me break out in goosebumps all over. And then it swoops down for a couple of more punches in the gut. WOW! (The Black Swan sequence was beyond Superb! And then there was more!)
There is a lot of sexual matters alluded to or shown though there is no real nudity, but still not a kids' movie! The deeper aspects of it are probably not for kids either. Yet the allusions to sex and even a well dressed pervert in the subway also gave it a strange dimension of reality in a way.
The film even made fun of itself by showing some people who don't like ballet. A clash of two different worlds coming together. A definite problem that would be had by these young women if they tried to date outside their circles.
My husband came because I picked the movie and he had no better preference, but he came out of this happy that he came to see it. Yes, it was that good! (He's not into ballet at all.) It's a very visual film.
This is not a feel good movie. But it will stay with you. Perhaps even haunt you. I know it will haunt me.
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Movie Review - The Warrior's Way
The Warrior's Way
Starring: Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, Tony Cox, Lung Ti, and more...
Premise: As an assassin reaches his goal of 'greatest fighter ever', he comes to realize that reaching it means nothing. Rather than kill the last survivor of a rival clan, he let's the girl child live and escapes with her to America to start a life with more than just fighting in it.
Review: The story of Yang is related to us as a spoken story. Like those told over a campfire or while snuggled by a fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa. So in the telling the story reaches a bigger than life quality. Which is then presented to us that way visually.
So a desolate town seems ever much more so. The sunrise and sunsets, even the night sky, are wider, bigger, more colorful. The feats by individuals and groups faster, grander, more impossible than normal. Dark is darker, color rare and brighter. The fight of light vs dark both a visual and moral thing. And it works beautifully!
Tons of battles. Guns, swords, leaps, bounds. And the greatest use for a half finished ferris wheel ever!
No, you won't find a very complicated plot here, though it does end up having several layers, but then that's not why you chose to see this film anyway. And it does spring a couple of fun surprises on you along the way, which was awesome. The great work by the cast doesn't hurt either. And unlike most American films, don't expect a all is wonderful happy ending. Yet it is one that fits the premise very well.
Overall, it was a totally fun ride. If you want to see gun fights, sword fights, assassin fu, destruction and more - this film's for you. It even had a touch of creepy thrown in - when the ship goes to America with its second cargo - some real nice imagery there. Eek! Definitely worth it for the visuals alone. Fun stuff!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Starring: Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, Tony Cox, Lung Ti, and more...
Premise: As an assassin reaches his goal of 'greatest fighter ever', he comes to realize that reaching it means nothing. Rather than kill the last survivor of a rival clan, he let's the girl child live and escapes with her to America to start a life with more than just fighting in it.
Review: The story of Yang is related to us as a spoken story. Like those told over a campfire or while snuggled by a fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa. So in the telling the story reaches a bigger than life quality. Which is then presented to us that way visually.
So a desolate town seems ever much more so. The sunrise and sunsets, even the night sky, are wider, bigger, more colorful. The feats by individuals and groups faster, grander, more impossible than normal. Dark is darker, color rare and brighter. The fight of light vs dark both a visual and moral thing. And it works beautifully!
Tons of battles. Guns, swords, leaps, bounds. And the greatest use for a half finished ferris wheel ever!
No, you won't find a very complicated plot here, though it does end up having several layers, but then that's not why you chose to see this film anyway. And it does spring a couple of fun surprises on you along the way, which was awesome. The great work by the cast doesn't hurt either. And unlike most American films, don't expect a all is wonderful happy ending. Yet it is one that fits the premise very well.
Overall, it was a totally fun ride. If you want to see gun fights, sword fights, assassin fu, destruction and more - this film's for you. It even had a touch of creepy thrown in - when the ship goes to America with its second cargo - some real nice imagery there. Eek! Definitely worth it for the visuals alone. Fun stuff!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Movie Review - Tangled
Tangled
Staring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, MC Gainey,Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F Tompkins, Richard Kiel and more.
Premise: Rapunzel has been wanting to see more of the world than just the inside of her tower, specifically the lights she sees flashing in the sky once a year on her birthday. Though her mother has cut derailed her desire, she can't resist once a stranger unexpectedly climbs their tower and makes it inside. This might be her one and only chance to get to see the lights up close. So she takes it.
Review: This movie was a blast! Witty, funny, exciting. And while all the speaking parts were great, the extra fun totally came from the two non-talking characters, Pascal the chameleon and Maximus the horse.
Pascal has great facial expressions and for a non-talking little creature very easily makes his emotions and opinions felt. He's like the 'heavy' in the duo of Rapunzel and her best friend.
Maximus is the ultimate horse! More like a Horse Hound as Max exhibits many traits of hunting dogs (including the urge to scratch with the back leg when someone scratches him behind the ear. Of all of Flynn's many enemies, he's the one to watch out for! lol.
There were several points about the story that surprised me. Loved watching Flynn's scheme to get Rapunzel to give up and go home so he could get what she hid from him faster and also how it totally backfired. Also Rapunzel's reactions when she first made it out of the tower were hilarious and more realistic than I expected.
The whole Mother angle was evil, insidious, and so well done! (Gave me chills, too, but for other reasons, will explain after review)
Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore have a good rapport that comes out clearly in the film. And the animation of both, especially Rapunzel's big green eyes do much for quiet moments.
I think even knowing what you've seen on the previews, you'll be surprised by all that goes on.
Of course, some of the things you may have seen in the previews never made it to the movie. Rapunzel's hair falling to hit Flynn and Maximus laughing his head off. Rapunzel's hair attacking Flynn like fists. (Could be the hair was semi self aware at that stage of development? And they decided to make it more static? Didn't lose by not having/doing it, still, I find previews that are not in the film rather annoying! lol)
Overall, totally worth it! GO see it!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
P.S. Now for why I freaked a little watching this movie. If you've not noticed by this point I'm an author. My book "Willing Sacrifice" is about a young woman raised in isolation, supposedly for her protection (like Rapunzel), being manipulated and told things to keep her in line (like Rapunzel), stubborn to a fault (ditto), who paints to keep occupied (ditto), fascinated by the outside world (more ditto), meets a young man who's interest at first has nothing to do with the girl herself (ditto), she's faced with the realization he might not even see her as a person (oh ditto yeah), one single moment of clarity forces her to see the truth that's been veiled from her all these years. And in many ways 'Mother' resembled my Viscount. Some of their goals totally the same. It was almost like seeing my book on the screen! YES! (Except I have no cool Pascal or Maximus. Heh heh)
Staring: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, MC Gainey,Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F Tompkins, Richard Kiel and more.
Premise: Rapunzel has been wanting to see more of the world than just the inside of her tower, specifically the lights she sees flashing in the sky once a year on her birthday. Though her mother has cut derailed her desire, she can't resist once a stranger unexpectedly climbs their tower and makes it inside. This might be her one and only chance to get to see the lights up close. So she takes it.
Review: This movie was a blast! Witty, funny, exciting. And while all the speaking parts were great, the extra fun totally came from the two non-talking characters, Pascal the chameleon and Maximus the horse.
Pascal has great facial expressions and for a non-talking little creature very easily makes his emotions and opinions felt. He's like the 'heavy' in the duo of Rapunzel and her best friend.
Maximus is the ultimate horse! More like a Horse Hound as Max exhibits many traits of hunting dogs (including the urge to scratch with the back leg when someone scratches him behind the ear. Of all of Flynn's many enemies, he's the one to watch out for! lol.
There were several points about the story that surprised me. Loved watching Flynn's scheme to get Rapunzel to give up and go home so he could get what she hid from him faster and also how it totally backfired. Also Rapunzel's reactions when she first made it out of the tower were hilarious and more realistic than I expected.
The whole Mother angle was evil, insidious, and so well done! (Gave me chills, too, but for other reasons, will explain after review)
Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore have a good rapport that comes out clearly in the film. And the animation of both, especially Rapunzel's big green eyes do much for quiet moments.
I think even knowing what you've seen on the previews, you'll be surprised by all that goes on.
Of course, some of the things you may have seen in the previews never made it to the movie. Rapunzel's hair falling to hit Flynn and Maximus laughing his head off. Rapunzel's hair attacking Flynn like fists. (Could be the hair was semi self aware at that stage of development? And they decided to make it more static? Didn't lose by not having/doing it, still, I find previews that are not in the film rather annoying! lol)
Overall, totally worth it! GO see it!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
P.S. Now for why I freaked a little watching this movie. If you've not noticed by this point I'm an author. My book "Willing Sacrifice" is about a young woman raised in isolation, supposedly for her protection (like Rapunzel), being manipulated and told things to keep her in line (like Rapunzel), stubborn to a fault (ditto), who paints to keep occupied (ditto), fascinated by the outside world (more ditto), meets a young man who's interest at first has nothing to do with the girl herself (ditto), she's faced with the realization he might not even see her as a person (oh ditto yeah), one single moment of clarity forces her to see the truth that's been veiled from her all these years. And in many ways 'Mother' resembled my Viscount. Some of their goals totally the same. It was almost like seeing my book on the screen! YES! (Except I have no cool Pascal or Maximus. Heh heh)
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Movie Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt 1
Staring: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Helena Bohnam Carter, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, and many many more...
Premise: The whole of the magic world has come to see and admit that Lord Voldemort has returned. Terror strikes the land as evil once more covers the world and people start turning up dead, imprisoned, or worse as Voldemort starts putting his stamp on all again. Those left of the Brotherhood of the Phoenix attempt to keep Harry and his friends safe as Voldemort places all his assets into finding him. Harry catches glimpses of a secondary goal of Voldemort's and tries to find out more about it even as he continues to search for more of He Who Shall Not Be Named's horcruxes.
Review: Did try not to get too excited, though I must admit as many people insisted on Friday the movie was fab I couldn't help doing so just a bit. Would have been better if I hadn't.
Beautiful cinematography! There is some truly breathtaking scenery that looked even more amazing in IMAX. Special effects were top notch as usual. The polyjuice scenes with Harry and later all three principals were especially fun.
All three actors are maturing in their craft and it totally shows. Especially for Mr Radcliffe. Which is great since these last two films will have a lot of darkness and emotional scenes.
The biggest problem, for me anyway, was the pacing and some of the bits they hung over. Wherever there were more than the three kids, those scenes flowed fast and furious. Which meant you saw a lot of characters we've come to know over the years, yet only got a glimpse if that much of them. The parting Duddley scene in the book where he finally acknowledges Harry wasn't shown. And I felt this did a great disservice to the books and the things JK Rowling was trying to show in them. It was a major point showing a change on a problem that had been existent since book one -- Duddley maturing and actually making his own conclusions - becoming his own man.
The scenes with just the three of the principals sometimes moved like molasses. They were off and on the run and on their own for months but there's no real feeling of that passage of time. I think if they'd taken thirty seconds to show the tent and little things about it changing/moving or locales flickering past in fast motion and even the characters moving at speeds, it would have done a lot to let the audience see that. (And then given more time to spend on other things! :P)
John Williams did not do the score for this film (I heard there were timing issues) but Alexandre Desplat did quite well. So nothing was lost in that area. Yay!
The three actors acting as polymorphed Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the Ministry were a blast! Especially the one for Harry. His walk and manners were especially a hoot. (That whole section was too much fun!)
The part where we're told the story of the Deathly Hallows was totally fantastic! The animation and dark slant of it was great.
Doby was back! And at least he didn't get belittled and had his proper moments. They changed a little of what was done with Hedwig but it made things more poignant and better in my opinion. so definite kuddos for that.
Ending spot was perfect. Just the right amount of despair as evil takes the upper hand! Bwahahahahahaha
Like I said before, there were some truly great sections to the film. Others, not so much. Worth watching, just not quite where it should have been...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Staring: Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Helena Bohnam Carter, James Phelps, Oliver Phelps, and many many more...
Premise: The whole of the magic world has come to see and admit that Lord Voldemort has returned. Terror strikes the land as evil once more covers the world and people start turning up dead, imprisoned, or worse as Voldemort starts putting his stamp on all again. Those left of the Brotherhood of the Phoenix attempt to keep Harry and his friends safe as Voldemort places all his assets into finding him. Harry catches glimpses of a secondary goal of Voldemort's and tries to find out more about it even as he continues to search for more of He Who Shall Not Be Named's horcruxes.
Review: Did try not to get too excited, though I must admit as many people insisted on Friday the movie was fab I couldn't help doing so just a bit. Would have been better if I hadn't.
Beautiful cinematography! There is some truly breathtaking scenery that looked even more amazing in IMAX. Special effects were top notch as usual. The polyjuice scenes with Harry and later all three principals were especially fun.
All three actors are maturing in their craft and it totally shows. Especially for Mr Radcliffe. Which is great since these last two films will have a lot of darkness and emotional scenes.
The biggest problem, for me anyway, was the pacing and some of the bits they hung over. Wherever there were more than the three kids, those scenes flowed fast and furious. Which meant you saw a lot of characters we've come to know over the years, yet only got a glimpse if that much of them. The parting Duddley scene in the book where he finally acknowledges Harry wasn't shown. And I felt this did a great disservice to the books and the things JK Rowling was trying to show in them. It was a major point showing a change on a problem that had been existent since book one -- Duddley maturing and actually making his own conclusions - becoming his own man.
The scenes with just the three of the principals sometimes moved like molasses. They were off and on the run and on their own for months but there's no real feeling of that passage of time. I think if they'd taken thirty seconds to show the tent and little things about it changing/moving or locales flickering past in fast motion and even the characters moving at speeds, it would have done a lot to let the audience see that. (And then given more time to spend on other things! :P)
John Williams did not do the score for this film (I heard there were timing issues) but Alexandre Desplat did quite well. So nothing was lost in that area. Yay!
The three actors acting as polymorphed Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the Ministry were a blast! Especially the one for Harry. His walk and manners were especially a hoot. (That whole section was too much fun!)
The part where we're told the story of the Deathly Hallows was totally fantastic! The animation and dark slant of it was great.
Doby was back! And at least he didn't get belittled and had his proper moments. They changed a little of what was done with Hedwig but it made things more poignant and better in my opinion. so definite kuddos for that.
Ending spot was perfect. Just the right amount of despair as evil takes the upper hand! Bwahahahahahaha
Like I said before, there were some truly great sections to the film. Others, not so much. Worth watching, just not quite where it should have been...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Movie Review - Skyline
Skyline
Staring: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, David Zayas, Donald Faison, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed, and more.
Premise: While in LA to celebrate the birthday of a friend, Jarrod and Elaine become witnesses to an alien invasion.
Review: The special effects and imagery for this film were awesome. It had many stunning visual moments. As the principals, Eric Balfour (SyFy's Haven) and Scottie Thompson (Dinozzo's one true love in NCIS) did a great job as did the rest of the cast. On the most part, their reactions were believable for the amazing circumstances they find themselves in.
Where the movie had issues was with the story and presentation of events. First they fell to the cliched 'Let's give the audience a taste then slam them back hours/days before the event'. recently it seems movie and TV peeps don't think the audience has the patience for a story to get started at the beginning. 'Walking Dead' premiered a few weeks ago using the same gimmick. Personally, I think it's a crutch and overused. But that's just me.
The aliens and their odd tech was fascinating. Loved that they sneaked in to take a sampling of humans to test them and see if their nervous systems and brains would work for what they had in mind. The characters have no science backgrounds, so the audience is left to its own devices to figure out why things seem to work as they do. All the hints are visual cues. And for the most part worked great.
The physical changes to humans when they saw the light was also great. Good visual cues too for when Jarrod grew a slight resistance to it. The whole concept of the light worked beautifully for me.
Where they truly seemed to lose it was at the end of the film. Either they should have stopped at the spot it originally seemed to - we can live with the bad guys totally winning every once in a while, right? Or they should have tacked on another ten minutes to the five minutes they added to what felt like the ending spot. (I actually liked where the extra five minutes took us - giving us hope and inside the ship- but they didn't take it far enough.) As it was, the extra minutes made the end awkward. Worse, they did just a little more with figurines during the credits and if you weren't looking at it, you'd miss it. Made it feel like they'd run out of budget or something and just tacked on what they could. Did not do themselves any favors here.
Rating: Acting/Special Effects 4 out of 5. Script/implementation 3 out of 5. As hubby likes to say, probably better on cable. :(
Staring: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, David Zayas, Donald Faison, Brittany Daniel, Crystal Reed, and more.
Premise: While in LA to celebrate the birthday of a friend, Jarrod and Elaine become witnesses to an alien invasion.
Review: The special effects and imagery for this film were awesome. It had many stunning visual moments. As the principals, Eric Balfour (SyFy's Haven) and Scottie Thompson (Dinozzo's one true love in NCIS) did a great job as did the rest of the cast. On the most part, their reactions were believable for the amazing circumstances they find themselves in.
Where the movie had issues was with the story and presentation of events. First they fell to the cliched 'Let's give the audience a taste then slam them back hours/days before the event'. recently it seems movie and TV peeps don't think the audience has the patience for a story to get started at the beginning. 'Walking Dead' premiered a few weeks ago using the same gimmick. Personally, I think it's a crutch and overused. But that's just me.
The aliens and their odd tech was fascinating. Loved that they sneaked in to take a sampling of humans to test them and see if their nervous systems and brains would work for what they had in mind. The characters have no science backgrounds, so the audience is left to its own devices to figure out why things seem to work as they do. All the hints are visual cues. And for the most part worked great.
The physical changes to humans when they saw the light was also great. Good visual cues too for when Jarrod grew a slight resistance to it. The whole concept of the light worked beautifully for me.
Where they truly seemed to lose it was at the end of the film. Either they should have stopped at the spot it originally seemed to - we can live with the bad guys totally winning every once in a while, right? Or they should have tacked on another ten minutes to the five minutes they added to what felt like the ending spot. (I actually liked where the extra five minutes took us - giving us hope and inside the ship- but they didn't take it far enough.) As it was, the extra minutes made the end awkward. Worse, they did just a little more with figurines during the credits and if you weren't looking at it, you'd miss it. Made it feel like they'd run out of budget or something and just tacked on what they could. Did not do themselves any favors here.
Rating: Acting/Special Effects 4 out of 5. Script/implementation 3 out of 5. As hubby likes to say, probably better on cable. :(
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