Depressing Hobbits

Okay, so I went to go see the Hobbit, and life of Pi and I plan on going to see Les Mis as well but thats to come.
And whilst listening to music from Lord of the Rings and the hobbit, I thought I'd share with whoever's out there, why the Hobbit is so close to my heart.
when I was younger I remember reading the Hobbit, and not a lot of it stuck with me bar the troll scene and that fact there was a very long journey involving a dragon.

The whole world of Lord of the Rings is important to my mum because her dad read her the Hobbit,  when she was younger, it's his favourite book in the world, he actually sat down and drew out the map from it, sitting at the table for hours. She bought him the Lord of the Rings for him one year.
So naturally, I associate Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit with my mum and my grandad.

I also remember buying the Hobbit game on game boy advanced but there was a bit I got stuck and I've hated it ever since.

When I was older, I found a copy of the Lord of the rings in a old book store and bought it for myself, this was around the time the films came out and I loved tham to pieces.
Samwise was always my favourite character, and I have a feeling he always will be, he has a sense of loyalty one can only dream of possessing.
I also love potatoes, and it got to the point if ever potatoes were mentions, my dad would put on his best Gollum impression and go "Mmmm...Potatoes, Fat Hobbit." It was more of an insult than a nickname but surely enough it kinda stuff.
And it even helps when your Dad gets drunk and starts talking about he calls you Fat Hobbit to the rest of the room.
Thanks, Dad.

There was also a period of time I would watch one of the trilogy everynight.
I say watch very loosely, I can't sleep without sound so I used to put on one and drift off to it.

But basically, when I heard they were making a film based on the Hobbit, I was elated, I couldn't remember  uch of it but it still meant something to me, especially the troll scene, which was something I would always remember.

And in February 2012, my Grandad died.

Dramatic, I know, but it was such a shock to everyone, no one had an inkling it was going to happen.

I remember this day well, as any person would.
But part of it was that, I'd been out drinking and dancing the night it happened, eating Subway and getting in at 4am.
And when I heard the next day I remember hyperventilating, grabbing my dressing gown and running to my friend's room down the hall.
I knocked three times before I just walked in and she saw my face covered in tears and hardly breathing and she was like "What's wrong?!"
I'm not surprised she sounded shocked, I must have looked a state.
But yeah, she looked after me while I choked on sugar puffs and sobbing and it was horrible to have to say to people afterward, "My grandad just passed away."

But I digress.
Well, I don't cause this is basically about that.
Of course the Hobbit still reminds me of my grandad, it's like impossible for it not too.
So when the time for the release of The hobbit neared, I decided that I'd take my mum to see it.
And by that, I mean, we went with her boyfriend and his two kids, so I went to sit next to my mum only to have her up and move to sit next to her boyfriend.
Well.
Bugger you.

Didn't want to watch it with you anyways :(

As soon as the music started at the beginning I only went and started crying. Only a few tears, I promise but it was still a bit depressing.

I soon cheered up and went on to enjoy the rest of the film, which I loved by the way.
My friend implanted the idea of a relationship between Bilbo and Thorin, I didn't believe it, but when I watched the film it was all I could see! Quite hilarious, in my opinion, and on Tumblr too it seems.

And yes, I feel that the Troll scene was more than adequate.

Sadly though, my favourite riddle is from the Hobbit, and it's made it so famous, I'll never be able to say it again without someone knowing.

"Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still."

 

 

"What ever possessed me to write something like this?" I hear no one wonder.

Whilst finishing coursework, I was listening to the Hobbit soundtrack, thinking of my grandad and thinking of how proud he might be of me and how much he would have loved my deerstalker hat.

Til next time.



 



Perks of Being a Wallflower

Okay, okay, I'm always so late in reviewing stuff, it's never relevant, but right after this I'm reviewing Skyfall and Rise of the Guardians, slightly more current.
 So I wasn't particular about going to see this film, but my friend was and I thought "Well it couldn't be bad."
 And thankfully it wasn't.
 It's a lovely coming-of-age story about a boy names Charlie, played by Logan Lerman, nervous about his first day at high school.
Bless 'im.

 So, within a few days he makes friends of two seniors, Sam, played by Emma Watson and Patrick, played by Ezra Miller, a step-brother and sister. Charlie kinda gets taken in by them and their friends,from trying cannabis brownies, unbeknownst to him, doing Secret Santa and watching and performing in a theatrical version of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

 From dealing with awkward issues such as dating, first kisses, first loves and coming to terms with suicide, homophobia and sexual abuse. There are laugh out loud moments, embarrassing moments and just times where your aches with sadness for the characters.

 I advise you to read the book, by Stephen Chbosky, it's not that much different though you do get a different feel from the main character and I believe the film captures it quite well. Of course there are things that are different, there will always be things that get missed out or added to films.

 In terms of acting, this was one of Emma Watson's first films after the Harry Potter series and I think she does an outstanding job as smart flirty Sam. Ezra Miller first big breaks was We Have to Talk about Kevin where he chilled people with his character, but thankfully in this he plays a lovable character, serious when he needs to be but always trying to keep a smile on his face.
 And lastly Logan Lerman who plays the main socially awkward lovable Charlie, by the end of the film you've gone through some major things in his life with him, cringed at all of the humiliating moments and awww'd at the most heart-wrenching scenes.

 So I've leave you with that, I guess, that and go watch it. I loved it, and I'll leave you with my friend's favourite quote from it.

 "We accept the love we think we deserve."

 Til next time, peeps.

Judgement Time for Dredd 3D

So yes, I nearly forgot about this post, but here I am typing it away.

 I love Judge Dredd, and I think it comes from the fact my dad collects comics and at one point he had a few figurines of Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson, so I was so very happy when she appeared in this film. If people don't know what the plot of Dredd 3D is, let me enlighten you.
 There's a drug going around called Slo-mo, where the taker experiences time going by reallllllyyy slowly. So basically, everything is in slow motion. Judge Dredd, our hero, is assigned to evaluate a rookie, Judge Anderson, who has psychic abilities. First job of the day and they take on a triple murder case at a 200 storey apartment block, which is controlled by drug-lord Ma-Ma.
 Can you guess what she sells?
 Slo-mo?
Don't be silly..yeah it's Slo-mo.
 Who knew?
 So floor by floor, they have to rise to the top to take down Ma-Ma and her huge clan of badasses.

 Think The Raid: Redemption" with more futuristic elements.
 I was looking forward to this film anyway, because I love Karl Urban and I loved Lena Headey in Game of thrones.
 Now in my previous post, I might have mentioned that a jawline has never been so sexy. True to the comic books, Dredd never takes off his helmet. And his face is in a constant frown. Not that you can see it but it's basically like :( which doesn't even begin to start at how moody he is.
 Full of actions, drugs, violence and mentions of prostitution, Dredd is definitely not one for the kids, in every scene at least one person dies and it's never in a pretty way. Either way, I'd highly recommend it even if you don't know anything about the comics,just because it's a bloody kick-ass film.
 I kinda zipped past Dredd a little bit, mainly because I want to talk about the new Star Trek coming out. I'm kinda linking it in with Karl Urban.
 So yeah, Star Trek into Darkness, JJ Abrams is directing again, which I'm happy about, I don't think it would have quite been the same without him.
All the old cast is back with the exclusion of Eric Bana but the magically inclusion of a Mr. Benedict Cumberbatch, who is playing the villain. We still don't know exactly who he's playing but there have been pictures of him wearing a torn star ship uniform and also resisting the legendary Vulcan Death Grip *gasp* 
It's due out on the 17th of May 2013, and has anyone seen the budget?! $185 Million! then again, I bet they need it for all of those Lens Flares.
 It'll also be a good opportunity to update my Star Trek poster :D
 Someone I also love in this film is Anton Yelchin, (Fright Night, Charlie Bartlett, The Beaver) and once again he's playing Pavel Chekov, I must say he's one of my favourite characters in the Original series too, but in this he's just plain adorable.
 So altogether I'm looking forward to the cast getting together, the 17th of May and Anton Yelchin.. And Karl Urban.. And Chris Pine... And Star Trek in general.

Back to University :3

So it's been a while, again.
I'm back to uni after a torturous summer away from all of my friends and I'm trying to remember what films I went to see if I did.
Dark Knight Rises after a Nolan Batman Marathon (Twice)
Brave in 3D for my mother's birthday.
And I've recently been to see Dredd in 3D. Oh...my god. I loved it. But I will talk about that in a separate post x3 and I can talk about Star Trek at the same time.

So lets get discussing.

Dark Knight Rises

Yes. My Lord, yes!
I've heard a lot of bad things about this film but it depends where you're looking at it.
No, there wasn't a lot of actual Batman, but Yes, there was Bane and a good storyline.
I loved Tom Hardy as Bane, even though there were a few plot holes, if that,s what you call them. It didn't actually explain what happened to Bane which made him use the mask, and they altered his appearance from the comics, which I don't mind so much cause people took him more seriously I think.
And I was also so veeery happy that the Scarecrow made an appearence
So Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. I was a bit iffy about it when I heard as I can't think of her being in another action role in the past, but she really pulled it off, it didn't go too much into her story but I still enjoyed her interactions with Bruce Wayne.

Poor Alfred, when he was talking at the end, I did cry, I'll admit, I just felt so sorry for him.
And I have to admit I also enjoyed the ending with Robin 'John' Blake, and I will forgive Nolan even if he didn't make a Nightwing film or whatever, because I loved the Dark Knight Rises that much.

Brave

I walked into the cinema, sat down. Then realised I didn't know a thing about the plot of Brave.
I'd seen the trailers, but I didn't get much plot from them, just that the heroine, Merida, was being forced into marrying someone she didn't want to and that there was a magical forest and a big-ass bear!

After watching the film, I just decided I loved it. I'd gladly go see it again, I adored the storyline (when I realised what it was), the characters, the animation, everything!

And yes, I cried.

And yes, I know I cry way too easily.

I also want to mention the pre-animation that Pixar are quite famous for, it was La Luna this time and it was beautiful, just saying :)

Avengers and Prometheus after a long time in Stasis

Lets seen then, new post.
What have I been doing with my life?
I've finished my first year of University. w00t w00t.
I've been to see a few films:
Avengers (Twice)
Prometheus (Twice)
and if I seen anything else I can't really remember. Mirror Mirror too, I think.

So I'll talk about these films for a bit.
Avengers.
Ooft.
I love Marvel movies, even enjoyed the Incredible Hulk when I actually sat down and watched it.
So come the 26 of April, I had a bad day, coursework got on top of me and dragged me down into the dumps.
Then my friend walked into my room and was like "Wanna go watch Avengers?"
I was up and on top of the world, sitting in the cinema with a Gin and Tonic in hand, ogling the people who had come dressed up as said Avengers.
Needless to say, the movie was amazing. No doubt it wasn't going to be.
Well, I was a bit worried that because of the huge hype about it, it would be a slight let down.
God, I was wrong. If the action didn't do it for you the comedy sure did, a majority of it one liners but still absolutely amazing. The Hulk stealing a huge part of the show in his "Puny God" scene with Loki.
And have you heard the avengers theme?
I love it. I like soundtracks and scores and this film had both.
The soundtrack was more rock based with bands such as Silverstein, Buckcherry and Shinedown's songs being selected.
I think my favourites are "Even if I could" from Papa Roach, "I'm Alive"from Shinedown and "Unbroken" from Black Veil Brides.
Well worth a listen.

As for the Score, written by Alan Silvestri, who's famous for doing scores such as Back to the Future, Predator and Forrest Gump, he also did the score for Captain America: The First Avenger.
A majority of the soundtracks takes elements from the main Avengers theme, an amazing ring of trumpets over the top of the track.
One piece of music from the score I can listen to forever, is "Assemble" from the Avengers Score.
It takes a few minutes but then you get the recognizable trumpets singing over the top.
And Boom, here it is:

Okay, and now for Prometheus.
I wanted to see this, so I sat down and had my own like Alien marathon (Cause no one would watch them with me)

But I really liked them so it was all good, the best I think being the first Alien, cause it was hilarious. Just the classic chest-bursting scene, I laughed so much, though it did freak me out a bit, the way the thing downs down the throat, it makes my own throat feel all clogged and scary.

So of I went to see Prometheus, merrily along with my friend, in 3D cause it wasn't being shown in 2D.
Well the thing is, I went to see it twice, cause I went to see it with my friend, then went for my friend's birthday.
It was harder to sit through the second time, but about 45 minutes to the end it just picks up and rolls on so smoothly, I think it's cause I knew what was going to happen so it was like "Get on with it!"
I can't rally pick my favourite moment, but it might be the beginning scene with David, the android, walking around the ship whilst everyone else is in stasis.

"The trick...is not minding that it hurts."

That, and the end. If you've seen it, you know what I'm on about. 
I'm not kidding when I say, I think an Alien is adorable.
If it was in front of me, maybe a bit more scary, but whilst it's on screen, I can love it all I want.

Now the thing I was most impressed with with Prometheus, was the trailer. The David 8 one.
http://www.weylandindustries.com/david, you can watch it here.
Now, I love Michael Fassbender, I loved him in X-Men:First Class, Inglourious Basterds. And I still want to watch Shame which I will do sometimes.
But just him as David. Wow, I went to see it again, pretty much just for him. But the detail, they go into on the Weyland Industries website, like how he's made and just little details which means they  obviously thought a lot about advertisement and such. And even then on the site you can make David act out emotions. Now to be fair, his face doesn't move much. But he still looks dayum good.
Am I right, or am I right?

As for Noomi Rapace. This beautiful Swedish actress and has charmed some of us from The Millennium Trilogy, the original version. However for some people I'm betting she didn't appear on screens til Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, which she was AMAZING in.
In Prometheus she is on a completely different level.
I'm in awe of her, she's still like one of my favourite actress', next to Scarlett Johannson and maybe Rachel McAdams.
And in Prometheus, she must have worked like hell because she did  hell of a lot of running, sooo much running, I felt tired just watching her.Running towards this, running away from that, running towards this, rolling away from that. Completely kicking ass every step of the way.

Singing Detectives

So whilst watching The Singing Detective (2003) film, I decided to check my DeviantArt, and in the notices there was this:http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Sherlock-Holmes-The-Ever-Evolving-Icon-290385112 .
So me, being me, clicked on it and read through the journal entry and some things stood out at me.
I think it was the way it started with "Ever Evolving", when you think about how many differennt adaptions of Sherlock Holmes' adventures there are, it's incredible. Sherlock Holmes holds the record for being the 'most portrayed movie character', and according to the World Records site, he's been portrayed in over 238 films, played by over 30 actors right back since 1900, and even now more adaptions are being made. And that's not including people on stage and the parodies of people on YouTube.
That's  over 100 years of Sherlock Holmes, in movies alone. TV series, radio series, comics books, video games.
Now I guess, with all of those adaptions, we do have favourites somewhere in it all. I mean, over 30 actors and we're meant to love them all equally? I've not seen a majority of them. I've seen the BBC's Benedict Cumberbatch, Granada's Jeremy Brett, and Guy Ritchie's Robert Downey Jr. They all bring something different to the table but each play the brilliant detective, I can't choose.
I think it's because they all play Sherlock Holmes and I love Sherlock Holmes in general.

Now back to this Journal entry I found, Techgnotic adds some questions for the reader. Which I loved and enjoyed answering.


Does it bother you when the depiction of a favorite fictional literary character is radically altered in film or on TV over and over again? Or does it all depend on the quality of the depiction and the story?
I think in some way it bothers me that people will get bored of the idea of Sherlock Holmes, and I pray to god that they don't because the stories are amazing and I think they should be shared in any way possible.
But for whether I like a portrayal, depends how well they do it and whether I find the whole adaption enjoyable.

2 Most of the muscle-bound comics superheroes beginning in the 1930s-40s also seemed to possess great intellects along with their dominating physiques. Do you think this was because of being influenced by the Holmes character of 30 years before? Or just a coincidence – since if as character has a super-strength body, why not a matching super-strength brain?
This is a good question, I had to think for a while but then I thought, what's the point of brawn if you don't have the brains to use them? Hence the 'super strength brain' bit, but whereas I believe Sherlock Holmes is more about puzzles with action and lot of superheroes seem to be about the fighting action with little puzzles. 


3 Which Sherlock Holmes novels or short stories have you read?

I have this huge book of the Complete Stories but I've only read few a few of them, A Study in Scarlet, Sign of the Four, Scandal in Bohemia and a few others, but I'm slowly making my way through them in my spare time :D

4 In which way do you prefer your adventure story hero to achieve his/her final victory:

1. His/her superior intellect; puzzle-solving skills.
2. Physical strength and fighting skills, and a little good luck.
3. A mix of both brains and brawn.
4. Through lone wolf personal action; breaking of rules & protocol.
5. Through leadership of a team of relative equals.
6. Other -  Please Elaborate. I would love to know which story ending achievement tropes I might have left off of this list

I think maybe 3, mostly puzzle based but they should be able to get out of a bad situation. Maybe thinking of something like Artemis Fowl where he's clever but weak and pretty much always needs help.  But then I do like the idea of them having a sidekick ( I do love Watson.)

5 Who was/is your favorite Sherlock Holmes -- and why?

• Basil Rathbone
• Jeremy Brett
• Peter Cushing
• Christopher Lee
• Robert Downey, Jr.
• Benedict Cumberbatch
• Other

 Eeeek. If I had to choose from the few I've seen, as I've said I'm working my way through them, either Jeremy Brett or Benedict Cumberbatch, but then I pretty much on watch that one for Martin Freeman. 

Probably Jeremy Brett, I find him hilarious, in one of his first episodes he's like "And why is Sherlock Holmes cheerful?"

And Watson, David Burke, replies "Sherlock Holmes is cheerful, so Sherlock Holmes must have a case." And Jeremy Brett is all "HA! I have a case!" It was brilliant.

6 If Sherlock Holmes and Liara T'Soni are the District 3 Tributes in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Who survives and why?
I'm just sat here thinking "Well...neither, Katniss and Peeta does." But if I had to choose. Sherlock, cause I don't know who Liara T'Soni is....Mass Effect, I think? But then, in the 74th, they both could win considering the changed rule and I'm sure they'd figure out how to both survive between them.

And Speaking of Sherlock Holmes, I leave you with this parody video my friend sent me after she saw me with my deerstalker.

So that's me done for another blog-day.
Happy reading and I'll see you next  time.

The Hunger Games

So whilst bored one night, my friend suggested I read the Hunger Games, some of you may know the series, quite recently picked up due to the film of the first book being released.

The Book:
So, published in 2008, The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy about post-apocalyptic North America, written by Suzanne Collins.
Basically, there are 12 parts to the country, or Districts, as they're called, each with their own produce specialties, such as Mining, Agriculture, Live Stock, Textiles, Transport etc. And every year a boy and a girl from each Districts is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games.
Which is, put quite simply, a fight to the DEATH.
The contestants get trained a bit, put in a arena and left to their own devices to slaughter each other in anyway possible. And these kid's age ranges from 12 to 18, and they're just picked up and killed for the rest of the world's entertainment.
Think Battle Royale, but...no it is just Battle Royale. And there was a lot of controversy about how similar it was but Suzanne Collins said she'd never even heard of  Battle Royale before.
AND on top of all that, it's been banned! It's on the 'Top Ten most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010.
"5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
 Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, and violence"
Back to the story line:
The main character, Katniss, from District 12, the poorest District there is,  volunteers herself to replace her 12 year old sister who gets picked. Understandable, of course, and the male volunteer is a boy called Peeta, they know each other, being the the same age, but never really spoke, apart from once when he gave her some burnt bread.  
That's Love right there.

Now I won't spoil the ending for those who've not read it yet, but I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys romantic, bloody, post-apocalyptic teen novels.
It must be kinda good, it's getting a Movie and it's own game.

The Movie:
Katniss is played by the lovely Jennifer Lawrence, who also played Mystique in the new X-Men First Class, and did a good job of it too, playing Peeta is Josh Hutcherson, who's been in...Zathura, Bridge to Terabithia, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)  and Cirque du Freak (which was terrible).
The cast also includes Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Banks.
So all in all, sounding very good. And apparently they've signed on to do the remaining films also, so I hope the don't mess up the first or it's down hill from here.
It was originally going to be rated 15 however due to the audience of the books, it's been knocked down to a 12A which was done by removing a few (LOADS) of blood splash marks on the set and on weapons.

It's out sometime this March so I look forward to dragging my boyfriend to go and see it :D
And for those who've not seen it; here's a trailer.

 

Ohhh look at it on it's own mini screen. And I have to say, those last four notes, the whistle, gives me goosebumbs most every time.

Others: 
There's actually a game on it. Now don't get too excited. It's a Facebook game from what I've heard, basically like Farmville or Frontierville where you perform tasks and share items amongst friends. I think I'd prefer a game it if it was out on an actual console, PS3, Xbox, PSP, PC. And where you can control Katniss or another character and go through the game, like the Harry Potter games, that'd be awesome.
And of course there'd be a online multi-player but where you can play against people from all over the world in a epic, bloody gore fest to the death.
But that's me dreaming. Still, I hope they do it.

They've also got out a nail varnish collection. Every so often you get one of these. OPI have done movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Muppets. But this series, Capitol Colours, is being done by China Glaze and there are 12 to represent the 12 districts, each with their own cooky little name. As seen here: http://chinaglaze.com/products/index.php?coll=57
Now most of those colours look bloody lovely. But I don't really like glittery things so I think I might skip out on these lovely varnishes and their probably expensive price tag.

So like I said, go check out the Hunger Games, I highly recommend it and I can't wait to read the next two books to find out the conclusion of this thrilling world that Suzanna Collins has created for us (whether or not she did rip off Battle Royale).


Till next time, Have a nice day.


References
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (2010) Top ten most frequently challenged books of 2010 [WWW] Available from: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2010