"Mutual, I'm sure."

One of the best things about the Christmas season (besides Christ's birth, Christmas music, decorations, presents, and food) is CHRISTMAS MOVIES!

Here are some of my favorites:

Elf: One of the funniest Christmas movies ever with so many quotable lines. One of Santa's elves goes searching for his father and ends up in New York... And it has Zooey Dechenal (or however you spell her name) in it, and she's lovely.

Santa Clause 1, 2, 3: I haven't seen these for a few years, but I remember really enjoying them!

Home Alone: Another funny Christmas movie... a boy is left home alone at Christmastime when his family leaves on vacation without him (on accident)!

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, both versions: The Dr. Suess version is just a classic, and the new version isn't too bad either, plus it's got many a memorable face.

Charlie Brown: What holiday is complete without Charlie Brown?

Muppet's Family Christmas: A nice homage to Jim Henson's creations as the Muppets, the Sesame Street gang, and the Fraggles gather together to celebrate Christmas at Fozzie's mother's farm. As an added bonus, the Swedish Chef tries to kill Big Bird and cook him for Christmas dinner. Jim Henson even has a cameo role at the end.

White Christmas: The quintessential Christmas movie, and also one of my favoritest movies ever. My best friend growing up introduced me into a lot of the things I love now... namely: Frank Sinatra (and other crooners), musicals, the Disney Channel (okay, I don't love this now, but it was a fun time in my childhood. Ask me to sing the Hannah Montana, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, or That's So Raven theme songs and I could probably do it), Bitty Babies, and the next movie on this list. (And in return, I introduced her to God, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Trek, and Imagination Land.)
Anyway... we probably watched the beginning of White Christmas together two or three times before we actually got through the whole thing (often I would have to go home before they even reached Vermont!)
Not only does White Christmas feature Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye (two epic people), but it also features a wonderful plot and some of the best song and dance numbers EVER! With a score by Irving Berlin, of course it's going to be great! (Unless you are a Klingon who has had too much Romulan Ale. "Irving Berlin...")

AKA, the movie where Danny Kaye CANNOT make a normal face on any of the movie covers.

"Oo-oooo"

Plus, it features the gorgeous vocals of Rosemary Clooney, and the INCREDIBLE talent of dancer Vera Ellen.

Eloise at Christmastime: This is one of my other all time FAVORITE movies. And there is nothing that gets me in the Christmas spirit more than watching it.


 

What are YOUR favorite Christmas movies?

P.S. Thank you all for answering my questions in the previous post! If you haven't yet, please do so! I would still love to hear from you.

The Desolation of Smaug.

Thoughts upon first viewing:
Well, that was a good movie! When does The Hobbit start?
I had just finished the book the day before and could spot every single deviation from the plot. It was as if P. Jackson went into an old building, ripped out all the wallpaper, furniture, pictures, and fixtures, and replaced them all with new. The foundation of the building/story was still there, but all the decorations/details were changed.
I was a bit disappointed... It was a good movie, but it could have been so much better if they had added some parts from the book into it! There are countless brilliant parts in the book that would have been amazing if they had been put into the movie... Such as Bilbo yelling "attercop!" at the spiders. And Gandalf bringing the Dwarves in by two to meet Beorn (more on that a little later).
Other initial reactions... (these are to individual scenes)...

Balin (in the elf prison): "A deal was our only hope."
Me: "No! Obi-wan is your only hope!"

Gandalf: *is looking at an elven statue just inside the borders of Mirkwood forest*
My dad (whispers to me): "Is that a Sleeping Angel?"

Gandalf: *is in the tomb of the Nine Riders. He nearly falls off a ledge after sliding down a slope. He tries to get down to the tomb*
Me: "Where are the controls for the bridge?" "I think I just blasted them!"



Gandalf (this will be a rough paraphrase): "Radagast, promise to go away!"

Radagast: "Alright."

Me: "Rule no. 1 - the Doctor always lies!"

Radagast: *comes back*

Me: "I knew it!"

Radagast: "Wait, Gandalf! What if it's a trap?"

Me: "Luke, it's a trap!"

Gandalf: "Just go! It's undoubtedly a trap."

I obviously had Star Wars and Doctor Who on my mind that night, for no particular reason.

Thoughts upon second viewing: I enjoyed that much, much more! The additions aren't as horrible as I originally thought, and some of them are even pretty cool... though I still wish that some of the fun parts from the book had been added.

Smaug was absolutely AMAZING. I loved him! He was absolutely brilliant. Benedict Cumberbatch did an amazing job with the voice and also with the motion capture. He was also great as the Necromancer. I think that Smaug and Laketown were tied for my favorite things in the film.

Speaking of Laketown... Wow. It was amazing. It reminded me slightly of City of Ember, except above the ground. Especially with the greedy Master of the city, and his sly helper-dude.

I love the idea of a city floating on the water. Isn't there something like that in C.S. Lewis' space trilogy? When Ransom first lands in Perelandra?

Peter Jackson portrayed Laketown wonderfully, and the people within it. I would have loved to live there in it's glory days - when the lake ran with gold and trade was good.

Anyway, Bard was wonderful. I loved his children too. In the book, he only has the one son (Bain), I believe... but the addition of two daughters were lovely. Especially because they were played by James Nesbitt's (Bofor - my favorite Dwarf) two daughters.

It was cool to see the inside of the Lonely Mountain too. Wow, what a lot of treasure! I thought that was done brilliantly too. Especially the bit where Bilbo is looking for the Arkenstone and she shushes the coins that are moving under his feet. Hee hee.

Another great part was the barrel scene. It's very different from the book. In the book there's no huge battle... but I liked the battle part. It was hilarious when Bombur went rolling all over the place, squishing all the bad guys.

Tauriel. I didn't mind her, and actually liked her. I don't like the reason she was added (just for a female character), but I did like her. She's got great hair, and I think she's got her head in the right place. But let me say this... if Kili dies defending her instead of Thorin... I am going to hunt Peter Jackson down and slap him upside the head with The Hobbit book.

I could mention a thousand small things that were "wrong" with The Hobbit movie... but I'm only going to mention the three biggest things that bothered me.

First: Gandalf. I had a huge problem with Gandalf in this movie. Partly in relation to Bilbo (which I'll talk about now) and partly in relation to Beorn (which I'll talk about in a moment).

In the book, Gandalf makes it known to the Dwarves that this is their quest. He doesn't want anything to do with it. But they want a fourteenth member, so they aren't an unlucky number. Gandalf provides Bilbo and at the first opportunity, leaves them (at the head of Mirkwood forest) to go tend to his own business (like taking care of the Necromancer).

In the movie... well, Gandalf takes much more interest in the quest. The opening scene of the Desolation of Smaug is Gandalf and Thorin talking in the Prancing Pony Inn. Gandalf urges Thorin to go and reclaim the mountain and to unite the Dwarves, but Thorin is wary because he doesn't have the Arkenstone, which is the thing that unites everybody. So Gandalf's like, "You need a burglar." Peter Jackson totally changed Bilbo's reason for being in the quest! In the book, it was more about getting the Dwarves their fourteenth member, and also getting Bilbo out his front door and on an adventure, to change him for the better. In the movie, he's there to steal the Arkenstone.

I didn't really appreciate that deviation... And when Gandalf says "Don't go into that mountain without me" I cringe because it totally goes against his character. In the book, he makes it very apparent that it is the Dwarves quest, not his. He doesn't want to take part in it. What happened to "The incident with the dragon? I was barely involved"?

So that bugged me...

The second thing that bugged me was that four of the Dwarves get left in Laketown while the others continue on to the mountain. What?! Why? Actually, this is how I figured out the above point. I totally missed it at both viewings of the movie... but then I was writing this post and I was trying to make it logical to myself that the Dwarves would need fourteen members, and then leave four behind, when I realized that the "fourteen" plot hadn't even really been relevant in the movie!

That made the leaving of four Dwarves behind a little more bearable... But still, I really don't think that they would leave each other behind. Did they leave Bombur (in the book) when he fell into the river in Mirkwood which made him fall into a deep sleep? No! They carried him with them, even though he's the heaviest of them all.

The third point is the biggest. It annoys me SO much. It has to do with Gandalf and Beorn. In the book, Gandalf is courteous enough to meet Beorn at his house, with only Bilbo in his company, and explain their reasons for being there. He starts telling the tale of their escape from the goblins under the Misty Mountains. Two Dwarves come around the corner every few minutes. The story gets interrupted and Beorn's curiosity is aroused. By the end of the story, all thirteen Dwarves are there and Beorn decides to help them, even though he hates beggars and people in general. He's a bit of a hermit.

In the movie, however... Gandalf bursts into Beorn's living and even locks the skin-changer out of his own house! He doesn't have any respect for Beorn's privacy. He comes in and tells everyone to get comfortable. Don't worry, your host might kill you when he gets home, but for now just get comfortable in his hay!

I think that's very rude and totally against Gandalf's personality. Sure, he's a wizard, the mighty Gandalf the Grey, who is always in the right... but that doesn't give him the right to go bursting into people's houses.

That's my biggest problem with the movie. I did, however, LOVE that they included Beorn's giant bees in the movie. I was watching for them. =)

Okay, one more complaint about the movie... What in the world was up with Thraduil and Legolas' eyes? Can you say creepy? If I met someone who just stared like this all the time...

...I would turn around and walk the other way very quickly!

Let me post something less-scary to leave you with:

Anyway, I really enjoyed the Desolation of Smaug. I thought it was a great movie... I just wish they'd had more of The Hobbit in it. I'm curious to see what's in store for the next movie.

Live long and prosper!

"Another!"

After watching Thor with my friend tonight...
"I like these movies. Another!"

I can thank my friend for getting me into this mindset. Her enthusiasm for the Avengers fandom/franchise is contagious and I'm just glad that she's taking me along for the ride. =D So long we've seen Avengers and Thor together... with hopes to watch Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor 2 together.

Now what I'd like to see is a Hawkeye movie... What's his back story? Does he have a back story that's explained somewhere that I just missed? He's very curious.

Live long and prosper!

Sink meh, I've been watching movies!

The first is Rise of Guardians.

This is a great movie based off of a series of books, I believe. The movie is about a group of legends... Santa Claus, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost. The first four are Guardians - they make sure children are happy, and that they believe in the legends. Jack Frost is a mischievous guy who doesn't remember his past, and who wishes to be seen.
When Pitch, the author of nightmares, starts making the world black, the Guardians must join together and save the children of the world!
I really, really enjoyed this movie. It was very sweet and well done.

Second movie: The Avengers!

This one I can talk more about since I saw it last night, as opposed to two weeks ago (when I saw Rise of the Guardians).
Eep! It's as good as everyone says! I really enjoyed it! I can see how many people love this franchise so much - it's so intertwined! Especially with all it's prequel movies and stuff. And I know I'm not the only one out there wondering what happened in Budapest.
I was really impressed that the movie could be such a perfect mix of character, plot, action, and funny lines. For example, the funny lines helped the plot along, rather than taking over. "I'm listening."
So who is my favorite Avenger? That's a hard question. Let's look at each one...
Captain America: Because he's just cool. He's from WW2. Which is cool. But, he's not my favorite.
Thor: He's from a different planet, has a super cool hammer thing that comes to him when he uses the force, and wears his mother's drapes for Shakespeare in the park. Plus he's Captain Kirk's dad in Star Trek 2009 and he has a cool accent. But he's not my favorite either.
Iron Man: He holds a special place in my heart, I must admit. Mostly because the first Marvel movie I saw (about a month ago) was Iron Man 2. Plus, I just think it's cool that he has a cool circle-heard thingy in his chest. And he has his own tower. He's not my favorite either, though he comes close.
Black Widow: She is sooo cool. I love her interrogation tactics. And she has amazing hair. And it seems like she has a really cool backstory. Is that ever explored anywhere else? If not, I think she needs her own movie. But she's not my favorite either.
Hawkeye: Oh my goodness he's so cool! I loved his character. He rocks. But, he's not my favorite. He comes close, though...
So who is my favorite? Well, without seeing his movie and basing it only on my knowledge of him from this movie...
Bruce Banner - the Hulk. His backstory and introduction were my favorite (other than Black Widow's... her intro was pretty cool. But Banner's was tied for first). Plus, the actor did an AMAZING job portraying the inner turmoil Bruce Banner must be feeling.
Anyway, as a friend pointed out, this is kind of the big kid version of Rise of the Guardians. Both movies were wonderful, some of the best coming out of recent years. Go see them!

The next two movies are older... Both from the 1980's, I believe.
The first I saw on Saturday morning... very early. Both my mom and I couldn't sleep to we go up to watch TV and The First Great Train Robbery was on. It stars Sean Connery (Indiana Jones' dad) and Donald Sutherland (another distinguished actor). They, along with a woman, decide to make the first train robbery England has ever seen in the 1850's. They devise a plan and over the course of a year, put it into play.

Oh my goodness... This movie was so hilarious! In order to break into the safe (which is on the train) to get the gold bars, the two guys have to steal four keys, kept in three different places. And then they have to get on the train. How do they do it? Well, there's a dead cat and a very Tintin-like stunt of running on top of a moving train involved, I'll tell you that much.
This is a great movie. And the music really adds to it. Jerry Goldsmith was the composer; he also did music for Star Trek.
There is, of course, some bad stuff... Mostly references to females who sell themselves.

The final movie is one that I have seen before... The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Anthony Andrews!

Sink meh, if it isn't Sir Percy!
I watched this movie awhile back, after hearing so many great things about it on multiple blogs. I really, really enjoyed it the first time around. And now on second viewing, I am finding even more to appreciate. This time around, I'm noticing how amazing an actor Anthony Andrews is.
The story is wonderful - set during the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel rescues French aristocrats who are being beheaded by Madame Guillotine.
Not only do we get to see Sir Percy rescue several aristocrats, and devise a plan to save the Crown Prince, but we get to see the troubled state of Sir Percy's marriage. He believes his wife has sent a family to the guillotine - she must not know the he is the Pimpernel. It drives them apart.
It's wonderful to see both storylines intertwine, and to see the inner turmoil Sir Percy feels.
This movie also, is based off of a book (actually, the Great Train Robbery is based off of a book by the same man who wrote Jurassic Park), though I've heard it's different than the book. It makes me wary to read the book, in case It spoils the movie... Yet, I can't help but want to read the book, for the story is so wonderful! Not to mention, Sir Percy is quite the hero.
Also, this movie has Gandalf in it, only he's 30 years younger, and the evil bad guy.

I've talk long enough! Odd's fish m'dear, it's time for me to be off!

Live long and prosper!

My first introduction to Marvel.

Yesterday, while I was recuperating on the couch from two consecutive migraines and the resulting trip to the ER for dehydration (not being able to keep anything down for 14 hours leaves one a little dry), I found Iron Man 2 on TV.
Some people grew up with the Marvel comics, or the TV shows. Some people now are growing up with the new Marvel movies, like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Avengers. Since I'm not big into superheroes, I haven't seen any of these movies. Until last night. I was flipping through channels on the TV and there was Iron Man 2! So I watched it.
I can see why people like these movies so much! It was very well done and visually a treat to look at.
In addition to the way it looked, the plot was cool. Basically, what I gleaned in my drugged and half-asleep state, was that Tony Stark told the world he was Iron Man and now the United States is expecting him to either protect everyone, or hand over his technology so that they can protect the public. Also, his company is in shambles because he's not taking care of it properly, and there's this guy with electronic whips that wants to kill him.

Some other cool stuff happens, like a Grand Prix, and a court scene, and some of the characters I've heard so much about are introduced/brought back.
The characters were pretty cool too. I liked Pepper Potts' name. And I was impressed by the wide array of famous actors/actresses that were in this movie...
Robert Downy Jr. AKA Sherlock Holmes.
Gwyneth Paltrow AKA Emma Woodhouse.
Samuel L. Jackson AKA Mace Windu.
Oh yeah, and that one guy whose name I don't know... But he played Mr. Hammer:

 

And I couldn't take him seriously throughout the whole movie because I kept expecting this to happen to his head:

 

What's the President of the Galaxy doing on Earth anyway? He already has Trillian er- Trisha McMillan.

Well, that was my first experience with Marvel. Will I go back for more? Maybe. I'd still like to see the Avengers eventually.
Now I'm off to do some schoolwork!

Live long and prosper.

A quick post on how absolutely amazing the Tintin movie is.

Watching it at my friend's house today further inspired my love for this film and Tintin in general.

 

This is one of those movies where every time you watch it, you notice something different (especially if you are a fan of the books and can catch all the references).
If you look carefully... there is actually a mini-side-plot during the whole Bagghar scene. If you aren't watching closely, you can easily miss it. And I think that this little side-plot thing perfectly captures Herge's writing. It's something he totally would have done in his books.
It starts out when Tintin and Captain Haddock are walking through Bagghar.... You see these signs in the background:

 

The people of Bagghar are suffering from a water shortage. Yet, later on in the film, you see this outside the home of Omar Ben Salaad (their wealthy leader):

 

A big, beautiful lake! Soon after, Captain Haddock shoots the dam that was keeping the water from Ben Salaad's people.

 

The people of Bagghar are very happy to have their water back.

They are so happy, in fact, that they don't even care that Tintin and his friends are destroying their city (something that I hate in movies... they did that in National Treasure to - destroy London and then leave without taking care of the damage).
It's kind of fun to watch the water in this scene (and all the different people trying to collect it)... In the background (right before Tintin rides through the spices and makes everything orange and dusty) you can see the water, which has been travelling through the city, down towards the ocean, pop up out of a fountain (showing that it is still, indeed, travelling down towards water, just like Tintin and his friends. They are all going down and end up in the same place. So does that one tank that is stuck in the hotel).

Herge deals with a lot of political things in his books, and a lot of morally unjust things. This little background plot in the movie fits with both of those criteria, and I think that Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg, and the writers did an excellent job of portraying that part of the Tintin books - and all in the background as well! Not one comment was made about it by the characters. I think that's pretty cool.

Live long and prosper!

Top Tuesdays: Top Star Trek films.

There are twelve Star Trek movies. Six of them feature the Original cast, four of them feature the crew of the Next Generation, and the last two are JJ Abrams new Star Trek movies.
So, here they are, my least favorite-favorite! And just a side note.... I do love all these movies. But if I had to watch any Star Trek movie, the ones near the bottom would be the first ones I would run to.

12. Star Trek The Motion Picture.

 

To be fair.... I've only seen this movie once, maybe twice. I don't remember much of it.... but what I do remember.... dullllll..... There's a scene where they circle the Enterprise for, like, ten minutes. The wormhole was pretty cool, though, as was McCoy's entrance. That was funny.

11. The Search for Spock.

 

Again, I've only seen this twice, and I don't remember much of it.... I don't particularly care for this movie. Maybe it's Saavik.... maybe it's the whole Spock growing up thing.... I don't know. But I did enjoy it more the second time than the first, so that's a plus. And McCoy with Spock's katra is pretty funny sometimes.

10. Star Trek 2009.

 

I'm just not a huge fan of this movie.... It has it's good moments. But I'm more of a character person, not an action-let's-blow-every-thing-up person. Action is great. Except when it fuels the plotline. Which I feel it kind of does in this movie.

9. Nemesis.

 

The final Next Generation movie.... Picard meets his clone, and Data finds a third brother. Riker and Troi's wedding takes place at the beginning which is one of my favorite Star Trek scenes EVER. Mostly 'cause Data sings. Also 'cause Wesley is there for some unexplained reason. It's a sweet scene.
But I'm not too fond of the clone plotline.... and a certain thing at the end of the movie makes me very, very sad, which is why this one is at #9.

8. Star Trek Into Darkness.

 

See note on the 2009 movie. But I liked this one better, I think. Although I really could do without all the blowing up of everything/showing bodies being thrown about. And there was way too much swearing in my opinion.... But I loved how they reimagined one of the other Star Trek movies. I thought that was very well done. And Benedict Cumberbatch is in it... so that definitely makes it higher up on the list. :P

(Here's where we really start to get into my favorites)

7. Insurrection.

 

The third Next Generation movie. This one has the crew of the Enterprise-D (although I think by this time, it's the Enterprise-E) watching a planet of developing people who haven't discovered technology yet (I think), but seem to never grow old or get sick. There are also some weird aliens.... and a bunch of stuff happens. Haven't seen this one in awhile - and the score is very sappy - but it's pretty good.

6. The Undiscovered Country.

 

The sixth movie featuring the Original cast. I'm not sure why I like this one so much. I always end up watching it, though. Maybe it's the Klingons. Christopher Plummer (the dad from The Sound of Music) plays a Klingon that recites Hamlet. That's pretty cool. And if my memory is right, this is also the one where the gravity gets turned off and a bunch of Klingons get shot and their blood is pink (and floating in little balls, like in Tintin). Yeah, pretty gross. This one also has a weird shape-shifter lady and the guy who played Odo!

5. The Final Frontier.

The fifth movie starring the Original cast. This one has one of my favorite beginnings. Kirk and McCoy take Spock camping and hilarity ensues. They try to get Spock to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat." The crew is on shore leave.... Sulu and Chekov pretend to be caught in a snowstorm. It's hilarious.
Then everyone is called back to the Enterprise.... Spock meets a relative... Scotty bumps his head.... It's pretty fun.

4. The Wrath of Khan.

 

Despite the scene where Khan sticks a bug in Chekov's ear..... This is a really great movie, in my opinion. Khan is such an amazing bad guy. Plus the red uniforms are just so crisp and nice. And, gah, it's just good. A classic in Star Trek.

3. Generations.

 

This is the first Next Generation movie and a MUST SEE if you are a fan of Star Trek. The movie starts out with Scotty, Chekov, and Captain Kirk helping out with a cadet drill (or something). The cadets are supposed to bring the ship out, circle around Mars, and come back. But they receive a distress call and go out to rescue a ship of fugitives. While rescuing them, a strange phenomenon occurs and both ships are almost lost. Kirk, who was helping to do something or other is lost, pulled out of an airlock, vanished.
Years later, Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D receive a distress call from a space station. They go there and find everyone kidnapped by Romulans, except for Dr. Soran - who just happens to be one of the people that was found on that ship of fugitives. They pick him up and try to figure out what happened.
These two, seemingly separate storylines, fit together in the end and it's a brilliant end to an era/starting of a new one.
Plus, it's very funny in some parts. Data is experimenting with an emotion chip (being an android, he doesn't have any emotions).

One of my favorite scenes.

2. First Contact.

 

Oooohhhh my goodness. I LOVE this movie. It is the second Next Generation film and one of the best. The Enterprise-D is told of a Borg attack on earth and - even though they are told to stay at the Neutral Zone - they disobey orders and go to earth to help. The Borg Cube is destroyed, but it sends out a small sphere which somehow goes back in time. The Enterprise-D follows it and they find themselves in the year 2063, just after the Third World War has ended, and just before earth's first contact with aliens (Vulcans, to be exact).
The Borg are planning to sabotage earth's first contact, and assimilate them into the Collective.
So, of course, Picard and his crew must defeat them. And Picard must overcome him emotions from when he was assimilated into the Collective.
This is a great movie. They run into Zephram Cochrane (who created warp drive) which is funny... and Barclay makes an appearance, which is funny... And The Doctor (from Voyager) shows up! Even though it isn't really The Doctor... It's just another EMH. He bravely fights off a number of Borg. "I'm a doctor, not a doorstop," he says as Dr. Crusher escapes the medical bay with her patients. Then, as the Borg break through the door, "Those implants look inflamed. I can prescribe some cream...." The Borg don't seem too thrilled with that.

 

1. The Voyage Home.

 

The One With The Whales.
This is the fourth movie with the Original series.
It's another time travelling movie. And probably the most random and funny Star Trek movie ever.
It starts when a strange alien probe comes towards earth. It is broadcasting strange noises that are identified as the noises of the now-extinct humpback whales. The probe is obviously looking for something, because it is disrupting earth's communications with the rest of the universe. So, the crew of the Enterprise (in a Klingon Bird of Prey, because the Enterprise was destroyed) go back in time to get some humpback whales to communicate with the probe.
It's SO funny. Although there is a bit too much "colorful language" for my taste....
By far my favorite.

Live long and prosper!

P.S. I apologize... you get me started talking about Star Trek and I will go on for hours. And hours. And hours.

A post about a whole bunch of random stuff.

Books first.
I finished seven books this month, although two of them were the same book.... (I read The Great Gatsby twice, as I mentioned before). Three of the books I finished yesterday! The Old Man And The Sea, which I did not particularly care for.... Kailey (and American Girl Doll book. It wasn't all that long. Neither was Old Man and the Sea). Also, A Hero for WondLa, the second book in the WondLa trilogy. I didn't like it as much as the first one. I think it was because of the weird Mother thing in the middle of the Wandering Forest. That was just weird. And Loroc is so creepy! But cool. He makes a cool villain.
Finishing all those books meant that I was only reading two books - and we can't have that! So I started two more. Fever Crumb, by the VERY talented Mr. Philip Reeve. I just finished chapter 5 and I'm really enjoying it! I also started A Year Down Yonder, which is the sequel to A Long Way From Chicago (both by Richard Peck). They are AMAZING books! Super funny... with a trigger-happy grama and illegal cat-fishing and small town charm... go read them.

Now onto writing:
My goal for this month was to edit Part One of After the Twelfth Night.
Done! Yay! I actually finished ten or twelve days ago, so I decided to read through it again, just in case I caught anything else.... and BOY I'm so glad I did. Here's a few of the typos I found....

Pirates are attacking and Matthias says: "Quick! We need a plant!" Instead of 'plan.' I guess a plant could work too... FIGHT THE PIRATE SHIP WITH THE RUMOR WEED! MWAHAHAHAHA. *ahem*
Then, possibly the worst typo EVER! "I'm going to accompany her to Illyria because I don't want her to go alive." Instead of 'alone.'

 

Anyway, Part One is now done for now. I also decided to make the book three parts, instead of two. Because otherwise, Part Two would be TONS longer than Part One. Plus, each part has its own set of characters and its own different location. Now I'm hoping that the parts will be more even in terms of word count/pages.
ALSO I emailed my editors. You know who you are. Some of you have replied... but some of you haven't. I would really like a reply as soon as possible. If you didn't get my email, tell me in a comment and I'll send it again.
Basically I was asking how you like to edit and if you wanted me to send each part separately (so it doesn't look like you have so much work to do :P).
A couple of you said yes, send it in parts. So if the rest of you want me to send it in parts... great! Part One is finished, as I keep on saying; and I wouldn't mind getting it sent off sometime in June, while I'm busy at work with Part Two and Three.

Which brings it to my June writing goals:
Edit Parts Two and Three with my mom and get them sent off to editors by July 14 (when we go camping). This is going to be a bit hard... Because several parts in Part Two need re-writing (aka, just expanding on the idea... showing, not telling the reader). It probably won't be that hard... but I really don't want to do it. I just need to sit down a GET TO IT! But I'm also a bit worried that I won't get Parts Two and Three done by July 14. After all, I took a month to do Part One... Of course, I wasn't editing every day.... procrastination. Heh heh. I also have to change some plot stuff so it corresponds with Part One.
To clear up some trouble: I haven't really made it clear what After the Twelfth Night is. It is basically the continuation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Maybe I'll do a post on that later... But yes, it can be seen as a sequel of sorts with Shakespeare's characters and my own characters mixed together.

In other news... Jack tagged all her followers! It's that elevensies tag again... where you have to do 11 random things about yourself, then answer 11 questions, then make up 11 questions, then tag 11 people.
I'm not going to do it that way.
Instead I'm going to do one fact. I got a new bookshelf today! Which is good because my other one was overflowing:

 

Things were stacked on top of each other, on the floor, and behind each other (which I personally HATE!)
My new bookshelf is much wider and taller (six shelves instead of five!) and nearly fits all my books.....

 



At the top is the Vancouver Sun classics, and some other classics (like The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, some Robert Louis Stevenson, Robin Hood, Pride and Prejudice and Swiss Family Robinson).
Second shelf is Tolkien, then C.S. Lewis, then books I enjoyed when I was younger (and still enjoy!), then my mini E. Nesbit collection, and some more classics (Uncle Tom's Cabin, To Kill A Mockingbird, and The Great Gatsby).
Third shelf is mysteries (Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and the No Place Like Holmes books) then some dystopian-ish stuff (The Alliance and The Freedom Factor by Gerald N. Lund and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury) and then some random stuff (Inkheart, Princess Bride, Watership Down....) then my Steampunk (Miss Jack Lewis Baillot, Behemoth and Goliath, and Larklight which I found at the thrift store the other day!).
Fourth shelf is comics (Tintin, Calvin and Hobbes, and Garfield) then some Christian books (Do Hard Things, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Crater) and finally, my collection of Shakespeare stuff.
Fifth shelf has all my Warriors books in chronological order (yay! I'm happy about that). There's also Varjak Paw on the fifth shelf, which is also a book about cats that live in gangs as opposed to the Warriors who live in the woods.
The last shelf is my American Girl books.
Whew!
My Grama commented once, "Our school librarian once said.. you always have a friend if you have a book. My, you have a lot of friends. And keep getting more!"
Books really are my friends! And if I can continue to get them cheap at the thrift store, I'll continue buying them. =)

Sometime in the near future we're going to move my desk (erm, my thing to stack other things on top of) out my room, and move my other bookshelf back in. I'll have to do some more rearranging then.

 

For Jack's 11 questions, she did something different. She did 11 movie quotes. The people tagged have to guess which movie they came from!

Here I go... wish me luck....

1. "Whew! I thought you were dead!"
I have absolutely no clue. I feel like I should know, though. It isn't Star Trek, is it?

 

 2. "Look! I've found a place where you can put things! It's called a cupboard!"

Is this from Merlin? I haven't seen Merlin... but I think I remember once that you put this quote up your blog and said it was from Merlin. Either that or a saw it online as a picture. My guess is Merlin. Or Psych. Those are my two guesses. Psych and Merlin. I feel like the Spanish Inquisition.

 

 

 3. "Helloooo! I can hear you!"

TINTIN!

I don't know if that's right or not... But in the Castafiore Emerald, Captain Haddock (I think), Iago the parrot, AND Castafiore herself says it.

Whenever I see/hear "hellooooo! I can hear you!" Tintin is the one I think of.

 

 4. "If you had killed Watson you would not have left this room alive."

This one is easy. Sherlock Holmes! The Three Garridebs.

 5. "You're saying I look like a toad?" "Yes. Maybe you will be magically turned into a handsome prince. But since magic is banned it probably won't happen."

I don't know this one either... I'm just gonna randomly guess the new Princess/Frog Disney movie... or Enchanted.

 

 6. "I told you, it will keep and keep and keep and keep!"

Nor this one.

 

 7. "Here's your pan, here's your frog."

Tangled? I think it's from Tangled.

 

 8. "Dishonour on you! Dishonour on your cow!"

Another easy one. Mulan!

 

 

 9. "Should we be hysterical?!" "YES!" "NO!" "Maybe!"

This is another one I feel I should know.

 

 10. "Your mother was a computer and your father an encyclopedia!"

And another one! This one wouldn't happen to be from Arthur would it? Fern's Slumber Party? The scene where she "invents" a supercomputer...

 11. "They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally they became heroes."

This sounds superhero-ish. But since the only super hero movie I've ever seen is The Incredibles, I don't know.

 

I'm not tagging anyone.

 

How about you guys? How do you store your books? Nicely on shelves? In boxes? Do you have your own bookshelf? Does it bug you when you have to stack your books one on top of the other on the shelf when there isn't any room left? Does it bug you when you have to put them one in front of the other to make them fit (like, double rows)?

And editors: don't forget to answer my email!

 

 

Crickey mate!

I was going to do a post about characters for Jack's giveaway thingy (whether she decides to actually enter me in the giveaway is her choice - since I've already read the book).
Buuutt then I decided to do something more fun. Movie review! =D

When I was eight or nine I first saw The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, at my friends house.

 

This movie stars Steve Irwin, better known as The Crocodile Hunter, his wife Terri, and a whole bunch of other people (including the guy who played Faramir! I was watching and going, 'that guy looks so familiar... where have I seen him befor-FARAMIR!!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!' It was pretty exciting).

 

Like I said, my friend introduced me to this movie. We watched it together and laughed SO HARD. Especially when the lady toots and the barn explodes....

After watching it with her, I got it out of the library very, very often. It was probably my favorite movie.

Then, in 2006 when I was ten, Steve Irwin was killed (by a stingray, I think). I severed all my connections with him. I was sooooo sad. I haven't seen Collision Course - that favorite movie of mine - since before he died. It was just too painful.

Now, seven years later I am finally brave enough to watch it again.

So I did, tonight. Because we bought it at the thrift store yesterday.

It was as good as I remember. But I did get sad at the end. I have to not think about his death so much, otherwise I get sad.

 

So now the review!

 

Here is what the movie is about:

A space shuttle explodes and a small ball of importantness falls into the Australian Outback. For some reason, the American government wants to get it back so they send two guys (which remind me a LOT of the two government guys in Eva Ibbotson's Journey to the River Sea) to retrieve it. There's also a girl who is trying to get it as well.... I'm not sure if she's working for America or not (to tell you the truth, I wasn't paying that much attention to the actual plotline).

Anyway, a crocodile ends up eating the important ball thing. It happens to be the same crocodile that an angry rancher is trying to shoot because it keeps eating her cattle. Of course, it is illegal to kill crocodiles because that is poaching. That's where Faramir comes in. He's a police guy who tries to keep the angry rancher lady in line.

So all these seemingly separate plotlines are going on... Steve and Terri Irwin are catching all sorts of animals. Then they find the croc and try and get it to a safe place.

Then all the characters intersect and there is a whole bunch of action including a cat/boat/plane chase.

 

It's a wonderful movie. But, of course, there's some content... A few bad words. A couple Australian swear words and then a few d- and h- words. And there are a whole bunch of scary scenes.... Mostly having to do with Steve catching animals. He wrestles with several crocodiles, two poisonous snakes, and a poisonous spider. Yeaahh... It's kinda scary.

 

Other than that, it's a wonderful movie!!! Very funny and fun..... It's like a documentary mixed with a plotline. I LOVE movies like that.... The gods Must Be Crazy is another movie like that. It actually reminds me a lot of Collision Course. Also two Beatles films... Help! and A Hard Day's Night are kind of documentary with a plotline.... I guess it could be described as satire. Which I love. The Princess Bride is the same kind of thing.

 

And now I should go to bed.... You know your tired when you type "The Princess Bride is the kind same of thing" and then stare at it going, 'something is wrong here....'

 

Tomorrow my review of Elementary will be up! And on Friday I might do my character post.... But I'm going to see a certain movie -

 

 

 

 

- with my mom's friend. (Funny story... she came over to so she and my mom could talk fabric - because they like to sew - and then she came in and said to me, "I want to go to the movies on Friday. What are you doing?" And I said "Nothing." So she said, "I want to go see Star Trek. Do you want to come with me?" I thought about it for .0000001 seconds and said, "YES!" So we're going to see Into Darkness of Friday. Even though my Star Trek skirt isn't finished yet.... Maybe I'll have to wear my red shirt instead. Orrr not..... That might be slightly embarrassing. Not to mention dangerous.

Anyway, Friday or Saturday my character post will be up. I might have to do an Into Darkness review as well.

Live long and prosper!

 

P.S. Don't forget to check out my last post - 300th!



Top Tuesdays: Top favorite movies (in no particular order)!

PUSH THE BUTTON MAX!

Jack Lemmon (the crazy laughing one) and Peter Falk (MAAAAAAAAXXXX!!!!) in The Great Race, one of my absolute FAVORITE movies ever!
Music by Henry Mancini - of course it's genius! (Fun fact: He also did the Pink Panther music, the music for The Great Mouse Detective, and music for Breakfast at Tiffany's!)

Live long and prosper!

At the ocean!

My mom and I took a somewhat impropmtu trip to the ocean with a friend this weekend.
Last night, since I was still feeling under the weather (and very, very tired) I watched Doctor Who the whole night through. Then to bed!
This morning, after sleeping in, I had a cup of tea (because everyone deserves tea).

 

Then we went for a walk on the beach! Er, landing strip.

 

Tintin even came along.

A sailor went to sea sea sea, to see what she could see see see, and what did she see see see, the bottom of the big blue sea sea sea!

 

 

Now I'm watching Pride and Prejudice. AKA, Colin Firth makes weird faces.

Live long and prosper!