Favorite Screen Characters Tag

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baroness emma orczy, bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, being professorish, c.s. forester, captain america, doctor who, horatio hornblower, i'm jamming my tagging system but i don't care, j.r.r. tolkien, movies, star wars, television, the lord of the rings, the scarlet pimpernel, wow what a lot of bbc stuff around here

Hey, everyone. So I was nominated for this one by Sarah, my fellow superhero. Go check out her blog! 🙂

Basically, the idea is to name your top ten favorite characters from movies and TV (and like Deborah, I agree: Ten is far too few.) I’m also limiting myself so I never do too many per franchise.

I also apologize in advance, especially to my American fans, as this list will probably be largely dominated by the BBC. (British Television, people.)

10. Sir Percy Blakeney/Marguerite Blakeney. I had to include the husband-and-wife duo from A&E’s The Scarlet Pimpernel movies, because they are both brilliant, amazing actors, and a force to be reckoned with, saving lives and defying death during the Reign of Terror.

9. Jack Frost (from Rise of the Guardians) because, why not? Jack is the Guardian of Joy, so that people like him would make perfect sense. (Also, his story is MUCH better handled than Elsa’s and he became immortal while saving his little sister’s life.)

8. Merlin (from BBC’s Merlin.) Merlin is charming, hilarious, and a little bit clumsy. Added to that, he has the most awesome bromance with the other side of the coin, Arthur (who is, to use Merlin’s word, a bit of a prat.) These boys broke my heart. Also, Gwaine died (spoilers!) But anyway,

7. Sherlock (specifically from the BBC show Sherlock… I told you it might be BBC-dominated!) Sherlock is truly a hero, though he doesn’t actually believe that. He can be unfeeling, even brutal, at times, but he is committed to John’s (and, by extension, Mary’s) safety, and is a true friend.

6. Hiccup (from How to Train Your Dragon, but you knew that. :-P) Hiccup is the most unlikely hero you could imagine, but when he does find something to fight for, and remembers that his father loves him, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Also, sarcasm. 😛

5. If I have to pick just one character from the Lord of the Rings… Faramir. He’s a good man and a wise one. (I also love Sam, Frodo, and all the rest, but Faramir doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves.)

4. Horatio Hornblower. Need I even start? Horatio is intelligent, a brilliant tactician, and always tries to be a good man. I sort of feel a connection to him because I’ve got the same sort of constant mental commentary coming after me, and sometimes I hate myself over some decisions I’ve made. Also, awesome swordfighting… need I say more? 😉
Horatio is a unique character because, instead of being addicted to adrenaline or totally fearless, he’s actually really nervous before going into battle, and sometimes struggles with relating to people. He’s a bit more logical in his approach to fights and such, and I find that unusual.

(These next three are actually about equal in my mind. I’m just ranking them this way because of how often I watch the movies featuring them and

3. The Doctor. I know you’re probably all fed up with how far I’ve gone into the Doctor Who fandom by now, so I’ll keep this short. I just think that the Doctor is amazing, and both incarnations I’ve seen so far were incredible. (Christopher Eccleston was brilliant and hilarious, and David Tennant… um. The word “precious” comes to mind–you know, in the sense of a small child… I’ll stop talking now. Oh look, Merlin quote!) Intelligent and funny, I think the Doctor is an intriguing character because he uses ridiculousness as a weapon, like Sir Percy Blakeney, who should also be on this list somewhere. Oh great, I just obfuscated again…
Um. Anyway, basically, the Doctor uses his sometimes-a-little-childish behavior and attitude to make the bad guys underestimate him.
The two main things you need to know about the Doctor: a) he sometimes behaves like a small child. b) he has some inner darkness going on, sort of a deep-seated cold rage. (The most murderous species in the universe calls him “The Oncoming Storm.” How’s that for credentials?!)

2. Steve Rogers. Do I even need to start? Loyal, selfless, and a tactical genius, but you wouldn’t know it if you were just casually talking with him. He has a homey sort of side that’s very appealing. Also an example of how you don’t have to have the sort of intense training Black Widow does or even a particularly tragic childhood to be a superhero. It’s the heart that matters. It’s the man that makes the superhero, and Steve is probably the BEST example of this. (Steve is in this slot on the list because I’ve been a fan of him for a little while–not as long as Horatio–but I rewatch the movies featuring him pretty often.)

1. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan is my all-time favorite character from any movie. He’s brave and kind and intelligent and doesn’t need to be the “Chosen One” to be brilliant and the absolute best. (I have a whole theory that in a fight between Sidious and Obi-Wan, Sidious absolutely would not walk away from it, even if Obi-Wan was killed as well. But I’m not going into that here.) I may stray from fandom to fandom, but Obi-Wan is one character I’ll always come back to.

I probably forgot several of my favorite characters. *sigh* Like I said before… only ten?! Is that even possible?

And because I keep forgetting about this, I’ll tag Iris and WriteFury (I don’t think either of them has done it…) and Proverbs31teen. Also the Professor, because I would love to find out who his favorite characters on screen are… 😉 Good luck, people!

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Movies with the Best Sound Design

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big hero six, captain america, disney, dreamworks, how to train your dragon, j.r.r. tolkien, kung fu panda, marvel, movies, music, reviews, sound design, star wars, the lord of the rings

A little while back, I listed the movies with, in my opinion, the best movie soundtracks. This list will be a bit shorter, mostly because I’m listing movies with sound design that really made them stand out. In order from the last to the first in place. Please keep in mind that this is limited to movies that I have seen, and it has to be absolutely memorable and unique to get a place on the list. (I’m narrowing it down, due to the sprawling mess I had last time.) Here we go!

7. The Lord of the Rings (and possibly The Hobbit.) There were so many different, unique sounds in this fantasy staple that it was impossible to leave it off the list entirely. However, unlike any other entry, the real reason why it’s on this list is almost entirely due to the way actors’ voices were modified, whether on stage or during post-production, and the mind-shuddering realism and grittiness of the sounds. (Trust me, Legolas sliding down the stairs in a silent Douglas Fairbanks movie would not have been nearly as exciting.)

6. Big Hero Six. (Ha, it places right at its name…) I couldn’t possibly narrow this down to one signature sound, unless it was the subhuman squealing sound of the microbots in motion, especially under the control of the man in the kabuki mask. Also, the slashing hum of the magnetic-contained laser swords that Wasabi uses. Still, the second has sort of been done before, so we’re down to the microbots–which means this one only places at number six on the list. (Oh, and then there was the sounds of Honey Lemon’s chemistry experiments, and Go-go’s electromagnetic hyperspeed suspension, but still. This one didn’t stand out enough to go any higher. Sorry, Disney, but Dreamworks beats you out for originality.)

5. The Star Wars franchise. Star Wars is on this list mainly due to its ground-breaking sound design. Star Wars was ground-breaking in so many ways that that’s almost not fair to the rest of the entries on this list, so I’ll elucidate. The real reason why Star Wars is on this list is due to its ability to branch out and and continue to astonish with both its originality and variety. For instance, while there was not much that we had not heard before in The Phantom Menace, they invented the bizarre language of the insectoid Geonosians in Attack of the Clones, and who didn’t shudder at the vile sounds of the poisonous centipedes that were used in that assassination attempt on Padme? Moving on, the Clone Wars animated television series of 2008 (which also had some pretty sweet original music, beginning especially around the end of the second season–Boba Fett’s Conflicted Innocence theme, anyone? {If it doesn’t begin at 19:27, which it should, then just skip to that point–that’s where the music in question plays.}) entirely re-invented the sound of the blaster for Aurra Sing and introduced us to the wholly unique sound of a holocron being opened and/or used.

4. The Rise of the Guardians. Some of you might be shocked by the inclusion of this entry, but it really deserves this slot. The sounds of this movie, combined with the soundtrack, make the action seem so much more. There is the soft humming whir of dream sand, the brisk crackle of Jack’s ice… and sadly I can’t go much further without giving spoilers. While not nearly as auditorially stunning as it was visually stunning, it still has a unique sound feel to it, which is also necessary to the plot, given that it goes to places we, as the audience, have never seen before. As much as it redesigns the North Pole, it also redesigns the sound of reindeer bells.

3. The Captain America movies. As we see Cap using his shield in more and more innovative ways (this isn’t a one-use tool, people!), so the sound design team over at Marvel Studios has upped the ante in creating the sounds that the shield makes. (I actually have a theory for this one–since vibranium absorbs vibrations, the slight humming sound you hear is actually the utter stillness of the air around the shield. It’s a little like the ringing you hear when there is no real sound.) It really sounds like something out of science fiction, and even the most mundane clunking sound will tell you that this is neither aluminum nor steel, this is something else entirely. It’s frighteningly beautiful. Also, from the clips, the Winter Soldier’s prosthetic. Oh. My. Goodness. It has a sort of mechanical scream all its own.

2. The How To Train Your Dragon movies. One sound. The scream of the Night Fury. This sound is totally unique and, while it can be approximated by the human voice, it can not be really imitated. (It’s unsurprising that there are so many animated movies on this list–sound is a major way that they use to approximate a fictional world.)

And, in the number one spot:

1. The Kung Fu Panda movies! Being essentially based as a parody of the kung fu genre, this movie relies on its unique sound design to fuel its chi… *coughcough* *giggles* Anyway, as a kung fu movie, they kind of had to push the bill, and Kung Fu Panda‘s sound design does not disappoint. The sound–especially the soft ringing in the slowed-action sequences–lends a sense of stylized yet powerful realism to the movie. Top marks, Dreamworks. Though the TV series was utterly ridiculous and extremely untrue to its source material, when it comes to movies, Po is one I’m definitely coming back to see.

So there you have it–my list of the top seven movies with the most impressive sound design. Overwhelmingly in favor of Dreamworks. So what? Disney doesn’t seem to do that many movies which have truly outstanding sound design, even if they do now own Skywalker Sound… oh, good grief, this is giving me a headache… *snaps a rubber band at Disney and boos*

Was there a movie you think should have been on this list? Did I shortchange someone? Or did a movie that wasn’t all that spectacular, sound-wise, end up placing? Please, tell me! I want to hear your opinions!

As always, thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Setting the Stage: Color and Mood

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captain america: the first avenger, captain america: the winter soldier, color, j.r.r. tolkien, lighting, marvel, movies, peter jackson, setting a scene, story dynamics, the avengers, the lord of the rings, tricks and tips, worldbuilding, writing

Color is a tool.

Watch any well-made movie, and you’ll see what I mean. Some movies (such as Star Wars) use color to define a character’s alignment and/or leanings towards another side. Aladdin notably uses color to hint at danger, greed, or corruption. Military units use color as an identifier.

Color is a hint to character. Humble, soft-spoken characters will often prefer muted colors; browns, dark reds, navy, royal blue, gray, forest green. Vivid, vibrant characters love the jewel tones. And if you have a sweet little girl, princess or otherwise, she’s almost certain to like pastels.

However, color isn’t just useful in reminding the reader what sort of character he or she is dealing with at the moment. It’s also handy in setting a scene, adding to a mood. (Watch “The War Was In Color” if you don’t believe me. Then again, listen to it anyway. Even if you’re not a fan of the movie-from-which-the-fanvid-was-made. I could’ve found another one that would have also worked, but this is more fun.)

If you have not watched The Lord of the Rings, then you won’t be able to relate, but Peter Jackson masterfully uses color saturation and lighting to set the scenes, highlighting a progression through the story in a way that characterization might be able to convey, but never in the exact same way as Tolkien’s words do. However, Jackson is able to reasonably emulate Tolkien’s literary style through an art style, visual cues, and lighting.

In the Shire, the light is warm; the most common colors are green and bright yellow, and the lighting feels natural, like bright summer sunlight. As the travelers leave the Shire, the lighting moves towards grays and blues; still natural, but more like the light of a cloudy day. Rivendell is fittingly full of fall colors, as a refuge of the Elves that may be compared to their eternal autumn; the lighting is, again, natural, warm, but softer, full of memory; “sunbeams” and avenues shot with frequent lights are commonly seen in Rivendell. Upon leaving Rivendell, we are again exposed to a similar winter light. Moria’s strategically placed beams of white light against the overall dimness create a greater impression than mere blackness could, and Lothlorien is filled with a soft silver radiance, colder and purer than any other light in the whole set of movies, symbolizing the eternal refuge of the Elves in which the world is forever young.

However, it is not until The Two Towers that the lighting really takes on a role all its own. The blue, pale lights of Frodo’s journey, washing out the hobbits’ faces and making them seem paler, almost sickly, contrasting Frodo’s hair still more strongly with his skin and eyes, the drab, gooey look of the Dead Marshes, and the sickly, greasy light of the Morgul Vale reflect the growing darkness and danger of Frodo’s quest, and the poisonous lure of the Ring. Of course, it leads to the pass at Cirith Ungol and Shelob’s lair, which was nearly impossible to convey through film as written; with the dirty gray-and-white look in the movie, Jackson did a fair job. The journey culminates in the red-and-yellow-saturated Sammath Naur on Orodruin, the lighting underscoring the crux of the quest. The remaining scenes of The Return of the King have a soft, distant, dream-like quality, which is best summed up by Frodo’s quote: “We set out to save the Shire, and it has been saved; but not for me.”

The two Captain America movies and The Avengers use a similar progression of color, though more subtly than Jackson’s use in The Lord of the Rings. In The First Avenger, many of the scenes are cast in warm sepia tones, like a haven from the horrors of war; the entire film has a charming vintage-yet-unexpected look. The Avengers expertly uses shadow and light to convey a mood, while many of the scenes from The Winter Soldier (which I still have not yet seen) appear to be cast in a bluish, cloudy winter light, similar to some scenes from The Two Towers.

However, these colors are not all mutually exclusive. The First Avenger uses the chilly, cloudy natural light to hint at forebodings of ill-fortune, while certain deleted scenes from The Avengers make use of a similar sepia cast, and the forest confrontation scene uses a nighttime moonlight that is reminiscent of the blue cast from The First Avenger. While I can not say much about The Winter Soldier, I think it is safe to assume that it follows the same trend, using sepia to highlight memory or safety, pale blue light for foreboding or the realization of a horrible fate, and a chiaroscuro theme for the uncomfortable truths that will come to light (no pun intended.)

So should it be with your stories.

Not that you can pick a color scheme to symbolize every last thing in your story, but you can at least use a color scheme to evoke an emotional response in the reader, and reusing those color schemes is just a bonus to help keep the reader interested. (Readers like repeated imagery and symbolism, because it makes them feel good because they’ve been paying enough attention to notice it when it first appeared.)

Think of yourself as a filmmaker. Pick a color palette and stick with it. Use color effectively.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Reasons Why I Loved “Captain America: The First Avenger”

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authors, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, characters, confusing nonsense, cressida cowell, editor, how to train your dragon, marvel superheroes, movie reviews, movies, nazi germany, rambling musings, redwall, science, science fiction, small rants, star wars, story dynamics, theoretic science, world war II, writer, writing

Hello, dear readers, and sorry about the absence. I really shouldn’t have an excuse and if I do have one, it’s 1) college, 2) rough transfers, and 3) poor time management. So, really my fault this time, and I hope you enjoy the post.

Now, on to the point! I’ve probably told everyone about how I saw Captain America: The First Avenger on Sunday and absolutely loved it. I’ll probably review it once I have the chance to see it twice (I make it a rule not to review anything until the second watching, for obvious reasons; not that the second watch often changes my initial opinion), but for now I’m making a list of reasons why I loved it and why you should go see it if you haven’t yet. 😉 So, without further ado (and in no particular order):

1. Because underdogs. Everyone cheers for an underdog in a story, though it’s sometimes different in real life (because people in real life want to be on the winning side. Why else would Italy change sides halfway through WWII?) But more than just having an underdog-becomes-awesome story, The First Avenger also gives us a few reasons why it’s an underdog story. Because, as the nice scientist whose name I can’t remember states, a weak man appreciates what strength can do and, if his heart is in the right place, he won’t misuse it.
2. It has a good portrayal of hero vs. villain. Rather than having all Germans be the bad guys, it is a German scientist who didn’t agree with Hitler (they don’t mention anything about him being Jewish, which in my opinion adds to the character dynamic) and fled the country who first sees something in the young Steven Rogers. Also, to be historically accurate, there were cowardly followers and Nazis who were the spawn of darkness (because. They were.) If this movie lacked anything, it was the nice Goring brother. 😛 (Yes, Herman Goring had a brother who could not agree less with his philosophy! Look it up! 😉 )
3. Patriotism. And what’s more, a balanced portrayal of patriotism vs. nationalism. The Nazis were not patriotic. They were nationalistic. And the guys who repeatedly talk about killing Nazis? They’re nationalistic, too. Also ethnocentrist, but that’s occasionally justified. Steve just wants to get out there and fight for his country. And he’s not just fighting for his country, but he’s fighting for an ideal, which is basically what patriotism is and why patriotism is a Christian virtue. There have always been Americans who were also America-haters out there, but Steve puts these guys to shame. He’s not just fighting for his country. He’s fighting so that Nazi Germany can’t enslave more places (which is also technically ethnocentric, but this is one of ethnocentrism’s proper places, since the Nazi “ideal” was wholly evil.) He’s fighting for those back home. He’s fighting for those who can’t fight, too–especially since, at first, he was one of those.
4. This brings me to reason #4. Here we have a guy in the public spotlight after becoming a folk hero, being used as an advertising gimmick. Basically, he has attention, but he doesn’t want it. We know that he really hates this and only goes along with it because it’s for the war effort. He really wants to be over there with the soldiers who are fighting and dying. He’s a symbol, and he never particularly wanted to be one. He’s also bad at keeping up the troops’ morale (when he’s not on the field). Yet, when he gets the chance to fight, he’s not disobeying the people higher up until his friend’s life is at stake.
5. This movie is pretty darn funny! It’s great to watch, has humor, and can make you cry in places. It’s pretty well-balanced, in my opinion.
6. The protagonist feels pretty helpless around girls. 😛 I think it’s charming, and pretty funny, but it does lead to some awkward moments. Basically what I’m trying to say here is he’s not a flirt, which in my opinion is the bane of the new Spiderman movies.
7. Steve is really against violence. This is made, in my opinion, pretty clear when he makes the distinction between fighting for his country and killing Nazis. Not only is he against violence, but he also understands that sometimes–sometimes–violence is the only way to protect yourself, your friends, and your country. Also, in this occasion, he’s protecting others around the world from being overrun by Nazi Germany. (I believe C.S. Lewis made the point why he wasn’t a pacifist, and that’s what I’m talking about here.)
8. Last, but certainly not least, he has a shield. No, I’m not going to rave about superhero weaponry… okay. Maybe a little bit. Because you’ve got to admit, that buckler of his is pretty darn cool. It operates on a similar principle to a bulletproof vest, for goodness’ sake! Anyway, though a shield can be used as a weapon (thank you, Roughnut and Toughnut, for that marvelous exhibition), it’s primarily a defensive one. You use it to keep arrows, pikes, lances, and swords (and in this case, bullets and knives) from hitting you. Though it can be thrown like a discus, the edges aren’t sharp like the edges of Racketty Tam MacBurl’s buckler, so it’s mainly used to stun rather than to kill. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi choosing to use Soresu rather than Ataru later in life, Captain America’s fighting style and weaponry are the ultimate statement of his life philosophy. Be ready to defend yourself when necessary; do not attack when not provoked. As Obi-Wan puts it, “There are alternatives to fighting.”

(More about the shield. Apparently, rather than hardening up to absorb impacts, thus spreading the impact around a larger area, like a bulletproof vest or liquid armor do, vibranium actually absorbs the kinetic energy of anything coming at it, keeping shock waves running through the shield virtually nil. For instance, if the shield were somehow merely hard enough to stop bullets and other objects at high velocity from penetrating it, the vibrations throughout the shield would be enough to actually break the bones in Cap’s arm and hand. However, since vibranium actually absorbs those shock waves, this is not a problem at all. This is one incidence in which I will not question Marvel pseudo-science, because though this has not theoretically been proven possible yet, it pushes the boundaries and is innovative, like good science fiction should be. I will, however, question the portrayal–if vibranium really absorbs all the kinetic energy, then why do things make noise when they hit it? And why does Steve sometimes stagger backward upon an impact? I know this is to make it look realistic in the film, but it does call the physics into question a little bit, doesn’t it?!)

The one thing that I did not particularly care for was the wording that the scientist uses to describe what happens to the personalities of those who receive the serum he created. Though I suppose we could attribute it to English being (probably) his second language. 😛 I don’t think the serum actually changes someone’s personality, per se. It merely underscores, magnifies, or works on what is already there. It gives a good man the opportunity to do great things, and gives a bad man the power to do worse evil. I don’t think it changes people’s personalities. In my experience, most of the time it’s only time and circumstances to do that, and with the serum, time is a factor that doesn’t really play in, since the transformation is relatively quick.

So there you have it, a quick critique and a short post on theoretic science all in one. ;-P

That much said, go watch the movie! 😛

Teens Can Write Too!: Books or Movies?

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a&e, alice in wonderland, baronness emma orczy, bbc, bbc sherlock, c.s. forester, c.s. lewis, courageous, disney, dumas, film, filmmaking, fireproof, horatio hornblower, hornblower, independent films, iris, j.r.r. tolkien, james fenimore cooper, jane austen, joe morlino, lewis carrol, movies, navis pictures, novels, pixar, plans of trust, pride and prejudice, seaward, sherwood pictures, star wars, steven graydanus, susan cooper, t.h. white, tangled, teens can write too blog chain, the chronicles of narnia, the last of the mohicans, the lord of the rings, the once and future king, the scarlet pimpernel, the sword in the stone, the three musketeers, the war of the vendee, through the looking glass

First of all, I’d like to say that if my books ever get published, and if I ever get a proposal to make movies based on my novels, I definitely want to be in on the process. Not only do I want my books to stay at least reasonably like the books–I don’t mind characters who don’t look like they did in the books so much, as long as they act like the characters in the books–and not only have I seen too many movies where the essence and messages of the books were lost, but I’m also fascinated by all things filmmaking. 😉 See Plans of Trust. Also see The War of the Vendee, from Navis Pictures, and the Sherwood Pictures films. All of these movies are done by independent groups and have more charm and in most cases better acting than Hollywood movies. I have not seen Plans of Trust yet, but Vendee, Courageous, and Fireproof are among my favorite films of all time. Thank you, Mr. Morlino! And I know that was off-topic… In the case that I have passed away by the time my books catch the eye of some director, then I hope my estate will definitely be consulting. (My de facto, informal will at this time is pretty much that Iris inherits all my writing stuff, including unfinished texts, with the hopes that she will continue them. Also, anyone else may build on my work with Iris’ permission. The rights to my completed poems and novels go to my family, to help support them.)

Wow, I just got really off track. I’ll blame it on my cold. (The same cold that Obi-Wan also caught and is still recovering from… *sigh*)

Now, I think that it’s only fair if we judge the movie by its own criteria and not by the industry in general. There have been marvelous adaptions (aka, The Lord of the Rings and the Hornblower series,) and there have been bad ones (Alice in Wonderland… *shudder* Frankly, I’ll take my chances with the Balrogs and mumakil. I don’t want to face a Jabberwocky or a Mock-Turtle. Ever again. But maybe I’m unfair, even if the movie sucked. The books was almost as creepy… Sorry, I just can’t read Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, or any of the book clones *cough* Seaward *cough* without suffering nightmares. The book destroyed my childhood, and the movie freaked me out.)

The adaption of The Lord of the Rings is a great movie, but it does play free with certain parts of the books. And yet, at the same time, it goes very well as an adaption of the books. It can stand alone, yes, but it also ties in very well with the books, if we can stay our bookish-snobbishness for the time being as we watch the movies. The only thing that really annoys me is if someone takes only what happens in the movies as “canon”. To me, the books will always be the only canon. People love to hate on The Lord of the Rings for eliminating Tom Bombadil, having other elves than Legolas at Helm’s Deep, the too-early deaths of Sauruman and Wormtongue and Frodo telling Sam to go home on Cirith Ungol (yes, those last two are my own private pet peeves), but frankly it’s probably the best book adaption out there if you use both epicness and true-to-the-book-ness as your measure.

The A&E adaption of The Scarlet Pimpernel, starring Richard E. Grant, is another really good adaption, if you can temporarily suspend your sense of disbelief and/or your booksnob attitude. True, it plays free with the situations, historical accuracy, and (to an extent) Chauvelin’s appearance and character, but if you like action and historical movies, this is your cup of tea, courtesy of the BBC. (To balance out the blah-history-ness in the third movie of the trilogy, Mademoiselle Guillotine, I highly recommend The War of the Vendee, above. Also, this same movie has the best villainess I have ever seen in any movie! She almost beats Lady De Winter from The Three Musketeers for sheer evil and disgustingness and oh-heaven-I-so-want-to-slaughter-her!)

The Hornblower movies, also from A&E, are perhaps the only franchise about which I will ever say “I actually liked the movies better than the books.” The C.S. Forester classics, while good reading, can be very dark and a little depressing at times, not to mention the blood. C.S. Forester is nothing if not honest. Not necessarily family-friendly material. However, if you ignore the four-letter words (which, let me promise you, is pretty much limited to just ‘hell’ or ‘damn’), you find yourself in the middle of a movie just about everyone can like. If there is one disappointing thing about this series, it’s that it didn’t follow the course of all the books and take the unfinished one–Hornblower During the Crisis–which would have had Horatio as a spy *swoons*!–into the cinema world as a full blown story.

And I need not even mention Sherlock, which is sheer brilliance!

Now, for the not-so-good.

The Chronicles of Narnia (the old BBC adaptions.) While these were charming movies and re-created the charm of the books quite well, they weren’t all that imaginative, and they cut some of my favorite scenes from the books. Also, the series was discontinued, leaving the count at The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair. And… *cough cough* I would like to see anyone try to make a movie of The Last Battle. It could never be as awesome as the book!

…Ahem.

The Sword in the Stone. It is a cute family movie, but let’s face it–except for bits of the face-off between Merlyn and Madame Mim (Yes, I spelled Merlyn right! This is how he’s spelled in the T.H. White-verse–probably to differentiate from the falcon species… which does appear in the book…), this movie is absolutely nothing like the book. It lacks the book’s charm and humor and incredible detail. It cuts out chunks (the more interesting ones) from the book, it completely mutilates Kay… I could go on and on. Not that I have any particular hate for this movie. Like I said before, it’s a nice little family movie. It’s just not… all that memorable. Unlike the book. I’m glad they stopped there rather than trying to make the whole Once And Future King cycle into animated movies. It’s a movie about Merlyn educating the Wart. It’s not a movie about the Wart, the Wart and Kay, or even the Wart and Merlyn. It’s not exactly character-oriented, which is probably why it’s less than memorable. (Though Archimedes was adorable. Which is almost sacrilege, to a fan of the books… No spoilers. >:-D)

The Last of the Mohicans. (The animated one.) It’s another charming family movie–and not really forgettable–it might even be a cult classic–but it’s just not the book. Characters were different. Different people died. (More people die in the book, which gives it a more complex aspect. No spoilers. :-3) Again, recurring theme here, it lacked much of the humor of the book, such as SPOILER Major Heyward trying to impersonate Hawkeye END SPOILER.Now, the book might be both sexist and racist, but let’s face it–almost anything could be labeled sexist or racist in one way or another. And it’s a classic, and a good read besides. Need I say more?

But about the movie, I did rather like it. But if I’m looking for entertainment when I’m not absolutely worn out by Raya’s antics, I’m going to the book.

Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. Most Austen movies tend to be very close to the books, but this one… All I can say is pretty much… meh. The acting may be good, but the story is pretty much insipid–at least to someone who’s seen the version with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Its only advantage above the latter movie is that it’s shorter–and some people wouldn’t call that an advantage. (I only do because I’d really rather read Austen than watch Austen. No offense, people.)

This movie is also fairly good, but next to the A&E version… it does not stand a chance.

I would like to present a new set of criteria for judging movies (and especially book adaptions) as a whole, which is based on the way Steven Graydanus breaks down the good and the bad in his film critiques. It is based on systematic evaluation of the message, the way it executes the story, and the divergences, which should be justified. While critiquing any art form is in itself an art, this should at least simplify it for people who don’t have much experience with critique. Be forewarned, though, it takes a little math, and some familiarity with negative values.

1. Message. Is the message true to the book? On a scale of one to five. How good or bad is it? (Yes, add points to score; no, subtract points from score. If the message is virtually unrecognizable or mangled into a twisted dark clone of itself, subtract up to ten points.)
2. Trueness to the book. (Yes, +0points; no, -1point unless it’s really really bad. Then -3points.)
3. Diversions from the book. (Yes, +0points; no, -1point. Come on. It’s a movie. It is a separate entity. And if it has no diversions, it’s unimaginative.)
4. Execution of diversions from book, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -points.)
5. Execution of book canon portions, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -points. Superbly done; +7 to 10 points. Extremely badly done; -7 to 15 points. Yes, I’m a cynic. The real question is… are you?)
6. General inventiveness, on a scale of one to five. (Well done; +points. Poorly done; -0points. Unless it’s completely unimaginative, in which case -up to 5 points.
7. For Christians, believers in moral absolutes, and concerned parents only! Moral value, on a scale of one to five. (Moral value positive: +0 points. Moral value extremely positive: +5 points. Moral value negative: -up to 7 points.)
8. Special effects, on a scale of one to five. (Good; +0points. Poor; -1point. Poor but ignorable; -0points. Poor for a reason–such as to emulate another era or style of film– +1point.)
9. Other. For depressiveness, euphoria, simple beauty, etc. + or – up to 5 points.

Bear in mind, this system is not perfect. Different people will most likely get different scores on the same movies. Lord of the Rings scored 20 (17 without morality points), and the BBC show Sherlock scored 27 (24 without morality points), due to its sheer inventiveness and addictiveness. Alice in Wonderland, on the other hand, scored a -11, or a -13 without morality points. *shudders* I really, really dislike that movie.

So, in general, I am a connoisseur of movies, and a lover of books, but I have my limits. And some things (such as blatant departures from book canon without any justification, or book canon so badly done it doesn’t even recall the book canon,) just drive me nuts. In general, I’m not as hard on fairy tale adaptions as I am on book adaptions (Tangled scored a princely 23, 22 without morality points–yes, I only gave it one morality point, because she runs away from the only parent figure she’s known and disobeys and rebels–she got the point because she’s a peacemaker and willing to sacrifice herself), but that’s mostly because folk tales belong to everyone and sheesh, I know what it’s like to slave and suffer over a book for months and years and then realize it’s not what you want and overhaul it and spend blood from your paper cuts and tears from your text cuts on it! A book is a little piece of the author’s heart. With something that personal, it needs respect. Just as movies are little pieces from the hearts of everyone who worked on them.

I hope you enjoyed the post. Be sure to check in for the other bloggers’ posts in this blog chain!

5th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

6th – http://theloonyteenwriter.wordpress.com/

7th – http://sammitalk.wordpress.com/

8th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

9th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/

10th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/

11th – http://charleyrobson.blogspot.com/

12th – http://taratherese.wordpress.com/

13th – http://theweirdystation.blogspot.com/

14th – http://fairyskeletons.blogspot.com/

15th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

16th – http://novelexemplar.wordpress.com/

17th – http://magicandwriting.wordpress.com/

18th – http://mirrormadeofwords.com/

19th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/

20th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

21st – http://eighthundredninety.blogspot.com/

22nd – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

23rd – http://aaronandtamarabooks.blogspot.com/

24th – http://www.butterfliesoftheimagination.weebly.com/

25th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

26th – http://turtlesinmysoup.blogspot.com/

27th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

28th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ – The topic for July’s blog chain will be announced.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless! 🙂

Monsters University

Tags

disney, disney fairies, monsters inc, monsters university, movies, pixar, reviews, the pixie hollow games

You have missed out if you haven’t seen the movie Monsters, Inc.

And now it’s gone the way of movies and spawned a prequel.

Huzzah.

Monsters University is supposed to tell the story of how the infamous duo–Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (does the P stand for Patrick? The world may never know…) and how they got where they are in Monsters, Inc. It’s kind of funny, and you get to see a different side of the two protagonists, but if you ask me, it’s not very enjoyable, if you’re a hard-core Monsters, Inc. fan. It’s disorienting…

Mike is the determined team leader who desperately wants to be a scarer; he’s less selfish than he was in the original movie. Randal has glasses and just wants to be everyone’s friend. Sully is the rich, obnoxious kid who thinks he can get away with not studying.

Seriously?! What the…. *coughs* happened here?!

Now, for the parts I liked: Mike as a little, lonely kid. But the story struck me as just a tad underdeveloped, though I thought that Sully tampering with the simulation so Mike could win was a great plot twist. And the climax was great, though the action leading up to it could’ve been better.

Also, the plot reminded me suspiciously of The Pixie Hollow Games.

But, all in all, it was a fair movie, though I wouldn’t really call it great. I watched it once, but I’d have to be bored to tears before I watched it again–and even then, I’d be watching it for the other characters, not the main ones. I might not even watch it unless I had no other choices.

So, I’m giving it 2 out of 5 stars. But if you enjoyed it, what the heck! Go ahead and enjoy it! This is just my opinion, not a dictate to the universe in general. ;-P

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!