{Movies} The Hobbit (s)

I finally watched the final Hobbit last night. So it's now time for me to gather together my thoughts in an unorganized manner and share them.



First of all, I'm pretty attached to the book. We listened to it for the first time when I was about nine. We usually listened while we cleaned...and it was a TAPE :) I was excited for the movie.

When I heard it was going to be in three parts...I became very skeptical. Three parts? How are you going to turn that story into three parts? Are you going to ADD to the story?

Yes, you are.

I know a lot of what goes on comes from Tolkien's other works (I've never read all of the Silmarillion or the Children of Hurin). But the movie is called The HOBBIT, and I wanted it to be like The Hobbit.

Oh, well. The added story line didn't bother me that much. Except Taurie. Wasn't too fond of her. When I listened to the book as a pretty young girl I cried when Fili and Kili died, just because they died with their king, protecting their uncle. I didn't need there to be a girl in there. Was it sweet? Yes. Did I like it? No. (What happened to Tauriel, anyway? Did she just go back to the woodland realm?)

But moving on. There's two things I really didn't like about the Hobbit movies. (Then I'll tell you what I did like!) For starters, I felt like it was very slow. The last one was better, definitely. But to me, the first and second ones were very slow. I actually fell asleep watching the second movie. I have never fallen asleep watching a movie for the first time, but that one did it. The second thing I did not like was the style of the movie. By that, I mean how bright and (dare I say) fake looking it was. I know, I know, it's Middle Earth, and it's not real. But the movies were SO bright and fantastic (the river scene with the dwarves, when Bard rolled the cart down the city street over his children). Some of the colors were just a little too much for me as well, like Legolas' eyes.

But, c'mon, it's a movie! I definitely like parts of it. When the dwarves sang in Bag End. Yes, just YES! I loved that! And when Billy Boyd sang at the end. That was pretty great too (*shivers* I like his voice!) I loved Martin Freeman as Bilbo. And I loved all the first part with the dwarves in Bag End. I also liked all the reconciliations between Thorin and the company at the end.

Now, you should obviously listen to this song. Don't blame me if you cry. It's a bit sad. Good sad, and beautiful!

{List} Movies, Books, Characters

THIS, EVERYONE IS A COPYCAT POST. FOR THE ORIGINAL IDEA GO HERE, TO CHLOE'S VERY CREATIVE BLOG :)

Please note: this may contain book spoilers!
These will mostly be from books I listen to often, or are family favorites.

Who is a character you really like?

• Edward Pevensie. I especially like how Edward developed in the Prince Caspian movie. Trust me, there's not much else I liked about that movie, but his character was certainly a high point in my opinion. 
• Mrs. Gardiner. Pride and Prejudice. I think she has got to be the best aunt character ever. Not only is she a kind character, she is very realistic in my opinion. I really liked her role, and found her character very lovable. I think it's a good thing when I find a character lovable!
• Halt. The Ranger's Apprentice Series (by John Flanagan). Old, rough, grisly, harsh, totally a softy on the inside. And sarcastic to boot!

 Who is a character you want to slap?

• Isabella. Northanger Abbey (by Jane Austen). OH MY WORD. She is inconsistent, inconsiderate, and just BEYOND annoying in my opinion. I skip over her dialogue when I'm reading this book sometimes, just 'cause I can't handle it! 
• Frank Churchhill. Emma (by Jane Austen). He is rude. Really rude and unthoughtful, even to the point of taking unnecessary pains to tease the girl he's engaged to. "Inconceivable!" :)
• Barat. The Brotherband Chronicles (by John Flanagan). He's really not a lead character, at all, but he's around long enough that I absolutely got to despising him. Overbearing, to say the least!
• Opal Koboi (Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer). Especially wanted to slap her in "The Time Paradox"!

What is a book or movie you thought was just strange?

• Rebecca (by Daphne De Maurier, I believe). I listened to this, and found it just strange. Somewhat like Jane Eyre, which I also thought was just a little weird!
• Jane Eyre... 
• The Series of Unfortunate Events (by Lemony Snicket). My dad loved listening to these. None of them end well. I mean, he purposefully ends every book with his characters in more trouble than they started. The whole series is like that. It's not just cliff hangers, Lemony Snicket is just a little odd about his writing!

What is a couple you thought was just perfect?

• Will and Alice. (Ranger's Apprentice) Horace and Evelyn (Ranger's Apprentice). These are coming up a lot, but my family has really enjoyed them! :)
• Amy and Laurie (Little Women). This just made me happy.
• Lydia and Mr. Wickham. I'm not saying I liked these two. Um, no far from it. BUT, my evil self says "They TOTALLY deserved each other!"
• Anne and Gilbert. It was MEANT to be! 

What books made you laugh?

• The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (and I don't know the author). These were the goofiest books I've ever read. In a "What was the point of that?" kind of way. But I liked it nonetheless!
• The Willoughbys (also, don't know the author). This was another, "I have no idea why I liked that, but it was really funny" books. The story was BEYOND unrealistic, but I still liked it!
• The Fairy's Mistake (by Gail Carson Levine, I think). This was a whole series of goofy fairy tale retellings. Emphasis on goofy. But still funny!
• Hank the Cowdog (by John R. Erickson). << Family favorite audio books. Told from a dog's point of view, and completely laughable. Featuring titles like "The Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve" and "The Case of the Booby-Trapped Pick-Up". :)

What is a book you just didn't like?

• Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl. This is supposed to be a must read. I did think it gave eye-opening information into the hardships of Jewish families, BUT knowing the thoughts of a teenage girl? Nobody should have to go through that! Trust me,  I know! ;)
• Where the Red Fern Grows. My mom TRICKED me into listening to this by saying, "Oh, I know you'll like it, it's all about dogs!" I was like EIGHT! I loved every minute of this wonderful story... UNTIL the dreaded last bit. I sat by the radio ('cause yes, this was back when I listened to books on the radio) and cried and cried. I've never trusted her book suggestions again. :)
• Fortunately, The Milk. Three Men in a Boat. Both books suggested by my dad. Apparently, he thought they were hilarious. But they weren't. They were actually pretty ridiculous! I'm starting to question his book suggestions, too! :)

Okay, that was really fun! I think I could've gone on-and-on! :)

{Movies} "Epic" Review

My family actually sat down all together and had a movie night Sunday. We watch movies often, but not all together. We actually rented it off Amazon instant video. It was so fun! We watched Epic, and I'm going to share my opinions :)

Epic is an animated children's movie about Mary Katherine, or as she likes to be called, M.K. The audience gathers from the beginning of the movie that her parents separated when she was young, and M.K. lived with her mom.  Now that her mother has died, however, M.K. is going to live with her dad. She obviously has some worries over what her life is going to be like. Her dad's house is out in the middle of nowhere. (As the cab driver says:" That's not a house, it's termites holding hands.") When M.K. arrives, he isn't even home. When he comes in, he's in a rush over some activity his cameras mounted around the woods picked up, and doesn't even notice M.K.

As it turns out, he's spent his whole life trying to find enough evidence to support his claim of an "advanced civilization of tiny people" in the woods. To M.K., this sounds delusional, and crazy. So she plans to run away (she points out that she is almost "old enough to be on my own"). Just as she's leaving, her dog runs off into the woods. While trying to find "Ozzie", M.K. sees something falling through the air. When it lands, she curiously peers at the small-- human! The tiny person hands her a small flower pod, which changes M.K. into an equally tiny person.

The rest of the story is an adventure, er, epic about the chivalrous and noble "leafmen", M.K., evil "boggans", and the importance of the small flower pod. The leafmen are the knights of the forest civilization. They're good, kind, and amazing in battle. Boggans are evil villains living in a black tree stump, who blacken and kill everything they touch. M.K. is trapped in a tiny body, trying to help save the forest creatures. The flower pod is the only hope to stop the black poison of the boggans from taking over the whole forest.

Epic has the usual evil villains, and noble knights. Although it was very predictable, I still enjoyed it. I got into the story a lot, surprisingly. When our TV stopped the movie to load RIGHT DURING THE BIG ACTION, our living room erupted in "NOO!" and "AWWW!" "Why just NOW?!"

I really enjoyed the animation and forest-people costumes. The leafmen warriors have green, leaf armor that was just awesome for my fantasy-loving brain. And they rode hummingbirds...(My littlest brother, who is big into Narnia-like battles with swords, shields, and bows, really enjoyed the leafmen/boggan war.) The queen also had a dress that was flower petals :)

The humor of the story was courtesy of a slug and a snail. (Mub and Grub) There was definitely some fun parts. Some quotes to add to our "movie quote library".

I would recommend Epic if you're looking for a fun family movie. There was some combat between the leafmen and boggans. Because we don't have really little kids at our house, I wouldn't be able to say if it would be too scary for little kids. I think it really depends of the person.  There was also a small romance-y bit between one of the leafmen and M.K.

The idea of team work (The leafmen's motto is: " Many leaves, one tree. We're all individuals, but we're still connected. No one's alone.") , and, in the end, M.K. and her dad's relationship was a big theme in the movie. It had a sweet ending, of course.

We aren't going to put it on our family's "to buy" movie list, but Epic is a fun.... epic.