‘Star Trek Into Darkness’: The journey to friendship

I saw Star Trek Into Darkness on Sunday, and HOLY CRAP. That was a great movie. I’m not a huge Star Trek fan, but that’s not to say I don’t want to be. I haven’t seen the original series (yet), and I’ve only watched the first Star Trek movie once, but as I delve deeper into my passion for science-fiction, I appreciate smart, funny, and heartwarming stories like this.

And, man, was Into Darkness heartwarming. I mean, it had a lot of other stuff too. There was tons of action and surprises and humor and emotion and Benedict Cumberatch. Oh, did I say that out loud? Oops.

In all seriousness, my absolute favorite scene was between Kirk and Spock near the end of the movie. (Do I have to preface this with spoilers? It seems kind of silly considering this is a reboot of sorts. Well, consider this your warning anyway.) Kirk went into a chamber to save the ship and the crew from certain death. As a result, he took in vast amounts of radiation. His death was imminent, and Spock couldn’t do anything about it. If he opened the door to the chamber, the radiation would flood the rest of the vessel.

And so, there they were, a pane of glass separating them. One was dying and the other was free to live. Two people that definitely started off on the wrong foot, that constantly butted heads, that were literally complete opposites…now they were losing each other, and neither one of them knew what to do about it.

Kirk is a playboy and a rebel. He likes women and adventure. Preferably in the same night. He goes with his gut, he relies on chance and luck, and appears to actively enjoy breaking the rules. He’s a good person, even if he’s sometimes a loose cannon.

Spock is everything Kirk is not. He’s calm, controlled, and logical. He does not act without first thinking through every possibility and taking the best path for everyone. No matter the consequences.

Their differences are best summed up in the first scene of the movie. There is a planet with a race of inhabitants that will surely die if the volcano on their island erupts. These people are the last of their kind, and Spock cannot let them perish. So, he sets about being lowered into the volcano to freeze it mid-eruption, thus saving everyone.

But, of course, nothing goes according to the plan. Basically, Spock is willing to give up his life in order to save the planet. It’s the most logical choice. There’s no point in risking anyone else’s life to save him, and they don’t want the inhabitants to see their ship (they’re a primitive species, so it would be shocking to say the least). But Kirk will have none of that. He’s willing to risk everyone (which sounds horrible, but it’s with their consent) to get Spock back.

Hence the butting of their heads.

But when Kirk is dying at the end of the movie, they both let down their walls. Kirk admits that’s he’s afraid – something he’s probably never said out loud before. And you know what Spock does? He cries.

That sound? Oh, that’s just the noise my heart makes when it shatters into a million pieces.

As heartwrenching as this scene was, it was my favorite one – probably out of both movies. Kirk admits he doesn’t have all the answers, that everything might not be okay, and Spock finally let’s emotion rule him. To see them going from adversaries to best friends is one of the most beautiful storylines I’ve seen in film or on television. It was handled well, without sacrificing either of their personalities.

If you’re looking for a strong example of how to turn to characters from enemies to friends, go watch both Star Trek movies. You won’t be disappointed.

What was your favorite scene in Into Darkness? What other enemies-turned-friends storylines have you enjoyed seeing?

Why I fancy foreign fighting films

How was that for alliteration, eh?

I just recently watched Ong Bak, which is a great movie about a man named Ting who is forced to fight to get the head of a sacred statue back to his village. It stars Tony Jaa, who is an amazing martial artist, and incorporates one of my favorite fighting styles, Muay Thai. I recommend seeing the film for some grade-A fights, which is always helpful to watch if you have some fighting sequences in your novels.

But today I want to talk about why I love foreign fighting films. I’ve been trying my hardest to watch as many as I can on Netflix, and I found some that I have truly fallen in love with. I’ll watch pretty much anything Jeeja Yanin is in because I think she’s incredibly talented, and I always love seeing a girl doing her own stunts and totally kicking butt! I also recently discovered Tony Jaa, and I think he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see more of his movies.

The main reason why I love foreign martial arts films is because the fighting is almost always superior to American-made films. The sequences are more complex and more beautiful. It’s not just about throwing punches and who can take the most hits before they fall over, it’s about your skill set and your ability to adapt to your opponents’ style, to truly defeat them using your mind and your body.

I find the sequences to be far more realistic, both in how they play out (i.e. when someone gets punched, they don’t get knocked out cold for the rest of the scene, they actually get back up and try to keep fighting) and how they look. From the movies I’ve seen, a lot of the times these actors are taking real hits. It’s a lot more dangerous that way, but it also makes for some incredible shots.

Another reason why I love them is because they have far more respect for the art than most American films do. In so many of these action films we have here in the States, people get beat up and blown away by guns and no one really thinks about the impact it makes on a person. It’s just entertainment. And that’s fine. It really is. I love action movies, and I think they serve their purpose. But films like Ong Bak often portray the main character as a reluctant fighter, and I think that’s important. A lot of the time it isn’t about revenge, it’s about self defense. They have a respect for what they can do, and they know how dangerous even one punch can be. It’s something I’d like to see more of in all kinds of movies.

While the storylines aren’t always the greatest (for example, if I were to watching Raging Phoenix  again, I’d stop about three-quarters of the way through and pretend it ended there), that’s because the highlight of the film is the fighting. If you can get past the cheese and the silly dialogue and the not-always-solid writing and just focus on the talent of the actors and their skill sets, you’ll find movies like Ong Bak to be incredibly enjoyable and enlightening.

Do you like watching foreign martial arts films? Which ones have been your favorites? Least favorites? Do you have any recommendations for me? (Preferably something I can find on Netflix Instant!)

Finally, a superhero that’s actually human (or, I ‘loved Iron Man 3′)

This is a spoiler free review. It’s not even a review, per se, but my thoughts about why I loved what they did with Tony’s character in Iron Man 3.

Because, you see, they made him human.

Okay, yes. He was already human. But that’s kind of not the point. He acted human, and I think that’s something a lot of superhero movies forget to take into consideration.

There are a lot of superheros out there that aren’t fully human, not like you or me at least. Superman. Spider-Man. The Hulk. Thor. Any of the X-Men. The Fantastic Four. And, of course, a lot of their opponents — Magneto, Venom, Loki, Thanos, etc. etc.

There are fewer superheroes that can be called human. Batman is obviously a huge one. Tony Stark is too.

I think the recent Batman trilogy by Christopher Nolan did a great job of humanizing Bruce Wayne. Some of it was still a little out there, but you know what? It’s a superhero movie. It’s supposed to be.

But if you take a look at some of these other characters – the ones that are more human than, say, Superman – they sort of welcome their new powers with open arms, don’t they? Peter Parker decided to sew his own suit and run around catching bad guys. Someone like Rogue obviously struggled with discovering her power, but instead of being driven mad, she struck out on her own to try and survive away from the civilization that she knew would judge and persecute her.

Me? I’d probably go crazy if I realized I could shoot freaking spider webs out of my hands or suck the life force out of my boyfriend.

Not all superhero movies have the time to explore this theme, and that’s fine. I’m not complaining. I love these movies. But it’s nice to see a movie go down that road, make it a part of the storyline, and not have it detract from the awesomeness of the film.

So. Iron Man 3.

I loved it. I thought it had a little bit of everything – action, humor, emotion, sincerity, and a lot of Tony Stark. (Because you just can’t go wrong with Tony Stark.) And that’s about as much as I’ll say about the actual movie – just because I want to talk about something else in particular. If you want a real (spoiler-free) review, check out my friend’s over on Gamerscene or Mr. Sunday Movies (for a video review – also spoiler free). If you want a spoiler-heavy place to discuss the movie with fans, check out Hypable.

The absolute best thing about this movie is the way they portrayed Tony. He’s out of his suit quite a bit. He has to make due without his fancy gadgets at some point, and it makes him vulnerable. It also makes him scared.

Tony has to deal with anxiety attacks in this film. And after what happened in New York City in The Avengers, it should come as no surprise. But it was surprising, because Tony’s always been cool. He’s always been calm and cocky. And so many other superheroes face down the supernatural and keep going on with their lives. Captain America is a great example of this. Sure, he’s sort of super human, but he’s still very much a man of the ’40s. And yet he faced the Red Skull, became a capsicle for 70 years, and woke up to a completely new world in which there’s Norse gods and giant green men and aliens coming out of a wormhole in the sky?

It’s actually a wonder he didn’t just jump back in the ocean.

Tony dealt with it while it was happening. It’s not like he really had a choice. But once he got home? Once the adrenaline receded and he could relax? He was a changed person. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop building Iron Man suits. He couldn’t function in society. He had anxiety for the first time in his life, and – in my opinion – that made him an even better character.

It’s always been hard to relate to Tony. He was never really a true underdog, was he? He always had the money and the cars and the gadgets and the girls. You obviously feel sorry for him, and you like him, and you root for him, but he doesn’t exactly represent the masses, does he? Someone like Cap will always have more of an underdog origin story.

But in Iron Man 3, Tony finally becomes a pleb. He’s finally one of us. He’s scared and vulnerable and he doesn’t have his suit to protect him every step of the way. He’s desperate, and I think that’s the first time he’s felt that way since he had to find a more permanent (and convenient) way to stay alive than hooking up a car battery to his heart. And even that didn’t last long. He went on living life in mostly the same way.

Until New York happened.

Now he’s different. He’s paranoid and he’s angry and he’s so, so scared. This is how a normal human being would react to everything Tony’s gone through, and it’s finally made Tony accessible to the rest of us.

Who knows if there’s going to be an Iron Man 4. Who knows where Tony is going to go from here after everything that’s happened in this movie, but whatever does happen, I hope he stays this way. I love the old Tony, but I love this one too, and the writers showed us that they can balance hilarious one-liners with heartfelt emotion.

If we get more of that in a sequel, I say bring it on.

Have you watched Iron Man 3 yet? What did you think? Do you like the changes that Tony went through, or do you prefer the old Tony? (Note that the comments may contain spoilers!)

Ten movie cliches I can’t stand

Just about every movie or TV show is filled with some sort of cliche. And, you know, it’s not always a bad thing. One or two movie cliches seems to be the norm per flick, and sometimes you just have to put them in there to get from point A to point B, or to show what you need to show in terms of character development.

But, most of the time, they’re just annoying.

Hence, my list of ten movie cliches that I can’t stand (in no particular order):

1. When a character rips his shirt open. This only works when you’re the Hulk. Other times, it’s just an obvious ploy to get the main character shirtless. Most of the time I don’t complain. But usually it’s just unnecessary.

2. When a character looks up and yells, “Noooooo!” Look, if my best friend died in my arms, I probably wouldn’t even be able to speak. There’d be tears and snot and general disgustingness. I wouldn’t look up and yell at the heavens, shaking my fist at the universe. This also wouldn’t cause me to get up and seek revenge. I’d probably spend the next six months confined to my bed wondering if I would ever function normally again.

3. Super obvious product placement. You know the kind I’m referring to. It’s when the camera lingers just a moment longer on a bag or a piece of technology and you can clearly see the logo. Now, I totally get why product placement is necessary – especially for low budget TV shows. But, come on. There are better ways to do it than the main character not-so-subtly holding out the iPhone for everyone to see a text message that they could’ve read out loud for more dramatic effect. Get creative, people.

4. When a character just has to get in that one-liner right before they kill someone. This drives me bonkers. I’m sorry, but no. You’re not going to hesitate before you shoot the guy that murdered your entire family just to say something witty. You’re going to put a bullet in his brain and be done with it. With that being said, the only time I’ve ever actually enjoyed this was on Buffy. It works on this show because it’s actually part of Buffy’s personality, and the dialogue often pointed it out and made fun of it. That sort of self-awareness makes it okay in my eyes. Plus, Joss Whedon.

5. When someone has to crack their knuckles before they get into a fight or begin torturing someone. What? Is this supposed to make them look tough? Like, all of a sudden it makes them more badass? Sorry, but it doesn’t work that way. And it always makes me look at the bad guy as the dumb brute hired to be the muscle. You’ll notice the people with brains don’t usually do this.

6. Insta-love. And, in addition to this, trusting someone the minute you meet them. It’s hard to pull off an on-screen relationship that runs at the right pace. On the one hand, one of the major focuses of the story is probably the romance between the two main characters. You don’t want to drag it out too long because your audience wants to get to the good stuff. However, making two strangers fall in love at first sight is super unrealistic. And it’s been done before. A million times. In the past five years. Literally. It’s hard to find balance, but I usually like to err on the side of slow-burn rather than insta-love.

7. When someone is dying, they have enough time to say something witty or heart-wrenching, but not enough time to tell you highly important secret information. I mean, come on. My first objective if I was riddled with bullets would be to tell you who shot me, not to apologize for whatever I did that got me into that situation in the first place. Screw forgiveness. I’m dead. I don’t need it anyway. Avenge me!

8. The “ugly girl” is never ugly. Like, seriously. I enjoy makeover movies like Jawbreaker and Mean Girls, but those girls are not awkward and ugly. And a little bit of makeup always transforms them into super models. Obviously nothing much can be done when you’re working with beautiful or high-profile actresses, but a little bit of normalcy would go a long way with the plebs (ie. me).

9. Saying “I love you” brings the main character back to life. They’re dead. They’ve flatlined. You’ve given up hope. Banging on his chest and shaking him back to consciousness hasn’t worked. As a single tear falls from your eye and onto his face, you whisper, “I love you.” That final admission, that thing you had been holding inside this entire time, has seeped out. His eyes flutter, he coughs, and says he love you too. …………Yeah, right.

10. Good guys rarely get shot…no matter how many times they’re shot at. Okay, really? You’re an FBI agent in a firefight with members of a notorious gang, all armed with semi-automatic weapons. You’re dodging bullet. You’re rolling on the ground. You’re jumping from one place to the other. And you never get shot. Yet, you manage to take them all out one at a time. Life is just not that clean. It’s actually one of the reasons why I respect Firefly so much. Those guys get shot and cut and beat up all the time. And the doctor has to fix up their wounds. It’s realistic. Plus, you know. Joss Whedon.

What are some movie cliches that really bug you? Any that you’ve seen pulled off well, like those witty one-liners in Buffy?

‘Warm Bodies’ movie review: Better than the book

Bottom Line:

Watch it.

Details:

[No spoilers.]

Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed the book, but there were some things that I thought took away from the story line. If you’ve read it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Zombie marriage? Yeah, weird. Or all that going in and out of Perry’s memories, and then interacting with him while R was dreaming? It was confusing because you couldn’t always tell what was real and what wasn’t.

I still liked it, but I enjoyed the movie even more.

It kept the tone of the book, which was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. It was humorous and actually kind of uplifting, but it was also real and – yeah, I’m going to say it – kind of believable. It wasn’t cheesy and it had the whole theatre laughing. By the end of the movie, you were smiling from ear to ear.

And then you remembered. You just walked out of a zombie film.

Kind of strange, but it works. Now, if you’re not a fan of zombies (and I won’t blame you if you aren’t), I’d still suggest giving this movie a try. There were maybe three parts that were actually kind of gross, and it didn’t last long. Most of the movie is not focused on zombies eating people. Instead, it’s focused on how R is changing and becoming more and more human.

It’s also not scary. That was a concern of mine. I’m just about the biggest wimp you could ever hope to meet, and I only jumped once (and that was just because I was so into the movie and there was a gunshot and it took me by surprise!). But there really aren’t any zombies that jump out. (Whew.)

As I said, the film smoothed out the storyline quite a bit. They kept in all the parts I enjoyed the most, and took out the ones that I didn’t like. They added some newer scenes, and this actually helped to transition the story from one story line to another. Not only that, but the added bits at the end were a lot more satisfying than the ending of the book.

The acting was fabulous. I felt terrible for Nicholas Hoult – who is a great actor – because he spent most of the movie just grunting and groaning. Teresa Palmer (Julie) was a wonderful mix of being tough and vulnerable, which is something I enjoyed immensely about the character when I read the book. She captured her personality beautifully. Analeigh Tipton (Nora) wasn’t quite so prominent, but she had a lot of great lines and really caught your attention every time she was on screen.

All the supporting actors were wonderful as well. Rob Coddry as M got in most of the funny lines, and it was cool seeing him transform into a more human character as a side effect of what R was going through. John Malkovich always draws my attention when he’s on screen (I just love the way he delivers his lines), and he played an intelligent and intimidating leader without going over the top. Dave Franco played Perry, and although his part was small, he essentially had to play the same character at vastly different parts in time, so it was almost like playing two different characters all together.

In the end, this was a rom-com that just happened to feature zombies. It wasn’t over done, it wasn’t cheesy, and it wasn’t gory. It was a nice mix of everything, and I can’t wait to watch it again. It you want to watch something unique and refreshing, I highly recommend you go see Warm Bodies!

Have you seen it? If so, what did you think about it? If not, do you think you might give it a try?

Why you have to kill your darlings, with that one guy from that one movie

Here’s the next post in this series where I discuss TV shows and movies and the knowledge that we can gain from watching them. We can apply that knowledge to our writing. As always, I never pretend to be an expert. I just like exploring my own thoughts on the matter as I write these blog posts! I welcome all comments and would love to hear what you think about this topic.

Make sure you check out my previous post, titled, “How to write a dynamic character arc, with Caroline Forbes.”

WARNING: This post contains spoilers for both The Avengers and the Firefly follow-up movie Serenity.

As writers, we often fall in love with our own characters. It’s not hard to do. After all, you spend so many hours with them, and you know each and every one of their secrets. You know exactly the type of person they are underneath the face they present to the world. That type of raw honesty and understanding is hard to resist.

So, when the time comes to kill one of your characters, it can be one of the hardest decisions you make. Sometimes they feel like your children, or your lovers, or your best friends. And you’re the one that has to drive a stake through their heart.

It’s not easy.

But it’s necessary.

The best example I can think of is in The Avengers when Phil Coulson dies. Up until this point, each of the superheroes was only looking out for themselves. They weren’t trying to work as a team. They didn’t see the bigger picture. They just wanted to prove they were the better man.

And then Phil died.

Phil was just about the one thing they all had in common. He held a place in each of their hearts, no matter how small that place that was. He had a relationship with each one and each of the heroes liked him. It wasn’t like Fury, who was obviously connected to each one as well, but was also the boss and, in some scenes, the antagonist. It was different with Coulson.

So why did Joss Whedon kill off Coulson? Because he had to. It was the spark that ignited the fire underneath the Avengers’ butts. It got them angry. It made them determined. They’d win the war for Coulson, because he died believing in what they were a part of.

Coulson’s death was the catalyst. It’s actually what moved the movie forward and into that final act. Not all deaths are like that, but it’s important to note that even though Coulson was important and loved (especially by fans), he had to die. It had to happen.

Other examples come to mind, like Wash from Serenity. His death didn’t work in quite the same way as Coulson’s did, but it was still important and still noteworthy. Sometimes death occurs because that’s the next logical step. Sometimes it occurs because other characters need to know what it feels like to lose someone they are close to. Characters are only interesting when they change, and sometimes they can only change when something drastic happens.

So, kill your darlings. Take those beloved characters, chew them up, and spit them out. It’s sad and horrible and will leave a bad taste in your mouth, but it’s so important to do it. It’ll effect your reader, and that’s a good thing. The more emotions they feel, the more invested and attached they are to your book.

These are just two tiny, tiny examples in a world of beloved characters that had to bite the bullet. Just in Harry Potter alone I can name ten people off the top of my head who also fall into this category. In fact, the death  of loved ones was the driving force behind all seven books. It’s horrible what Harry went through in his life, but (from a writing standpoint) it was so, so necessary.

And on that note, I’ll also say that if you do kill off a character, stick with it. You can bring some characters back to the dead, surely, but it depends on the circumstances. Most of the time, dead is dead and it’s better that way. You’ll lose the impact of death in your stories if you backtrack too many times. I love a good death (which sounds weird, but is true). I love to cry and be angry and hate the writer(s) for taking a little piece of my soul. But it’s cathartic and sometimes feels that way actually makes you feel better.

What is the most heart wrenching character death you’ve ever experienced in someone else’s work? Have you ever had to kill off a character you loved?

What is it about Cowboys and Aliens?

Cowboys represent a golden age in American history. Sure, life was tough. But it was also good. You had to work hard to make a living, but you could also sleep under an open sky and live your life exactly how you wanted to. The only rules that mattered were those of honor and respect. Men removed hats in the presence of women and a handshake meant a promise you kept for a lifetime.

Aliens, on the other hand, represent something bigger, vaster. There’s the penultimate question of whether or not we’re alone in the universe. The unrestricted idea of dreams gone wild. The sky isn’t your limit, the whole universe is. Spaceships. Galaxies. Life on other planets.

So what in God’s name do these two things have in common?

Well, you might be surprised. But, first, let’s take a look at a couple of example of when cowboys and aliens meet face to face.

We’ll start with the really obvious one, the movie Cowboys & Aliens (I did a review of it in January). I didn’t particularly like this film, but I didn’t hate it either. It had an interesting concept, but the actual storyline just sort of fell flat for me. The basic idea, if you’re unaware, is that in 1873 a spaceship lands to take over the world (they’re always doing that, aren’t they going to learn?). The cowboys and local Arizona natives are all that can stand up against them.

Next up, we’ve got Firefly, which takes everything that is awesome about cowboys and everything that is awesome about space, and mashes them together into the perfect recipe for a television show. The premise is that there is a band of misfits traveling through space aboard the ship named Serenity. Sometimes they do honest work, and sometimes they don’t. But it seems as if they’re always running from somebody.

Lastly, there’s Doctor Who. The Doctor deals with aliens far more often than he deals with cowboys, but in the upcoming season 7 trailer we get glimpses of a cowboy-centric episode titled “A Town Called Mercy.” The Doctor flies around in his TARDIS throughout time and space, going on adventures and saving our planet more times than we could possibly count. One of the characters, River Song, has a very cowboy-esque feel about her. On top of that, this new Wild West episode will seemingly have the perfect balance of guns, leather, and people with weird things on their faces.

These three examples are certainly not the only ones that exist out there, they’re just the ones that I happen to be most familiar with. We’ve been mashing these two seemingly opposite genres together for years. But why? Is it because they’re so completely different that it’s interesting to see what would happen when we put the two together? It’s possible, but chew on this:

How exactly are they different?

Okay, cowboys are from Earth and aliens are from outer space. One is human and the other is probably an interesting shade of green. Cowboys spend their days on ranches looking over their livestock, while aliens (usually) spend their days trying to invade our planet.

But I think these two types of beings are more similar than we give them credit for. Stories of cowboys and stories of aliens both revolve around the unknown. For cowboys, the unknown was the Wild West. It was uncharted territory. Same with space. It represents the unknown. It’s uncharted territory.

Cowboys invaded the west and took land from natives, just like aliens often take over whole planets. Men in the west often captured and tortured locals for information. Sound familiar? Aliens have their infamous laboratories where they supposedly probe and dissect human beings in order to learn more about us.

There are countless stories of “pale faces” and local tribes meeting. Sometimes they fight and sometimes they learn that they’re not so different. The same could be said for any alien landing on our planet for the first time. There’s an opportunity there, between both groups, to learn and grow from their experiences.

And what do stories about the Wild West and stories about space travel teach us? That there’s more out there than we know. That good and evil exist. That honorable and decent beings will always come out on top.

So, are cowboys and aliens really that different after all?

Can you think of any other ways in which these two seemingly different things are similar? Are there any other genres or types of characters that are at odds with each other that you would like to see in a single story? My first thought was Disney princesses and vampires – that would be interesting!

Movie Review: Gnomeo and Juliet

Bottom Line:

Watch it.

Details:

[Minor spoilers.]

It’s been quite a long time since I’ve done a movie review. It’s also been a while since this movie came out. But I think it’s a great film, so I’m glad to still share my thoughts on it.

So, I didn’t really want to watch this movie when it first came out. I thought it was going to be kind of cheesy and definitely for little kids. It just didn’t seem to appeal to my usual animation loving self, so I didn’t go to the theatre. I didn’t rent it from RedBox. But when I found out it was on Netflix, I decided to give it a try.

The end result? Moderate surprise. Intellectual stimulation. Laugh-out-loud hilarity.

Let’s take that one at a time.

First of all, the moderate surprise. The movie starts out telling you exactly how many times Romeo and Juliet has been told. And how this is not that story. Wow. One point for the home team. I was glad it wasn’t a rehashing of the Shakespearean tale. I mean, granted, yes this is really based on Romeo and Julie, but they take it out of context and apply it to a different kind of character, who lives in a different world, with a different set of rules. Oh, and there’s a happy ending. Thank goodness. (I mean, this is Disney, after all.)

And the intellectual stimulation? Okay, maybe stimulation isn’t the right word, but this movie is smart. As the movie begins, you notice that the human characters that own the warring gardens live at 2B Verona drive. Both mail boxes have 2B written on them, but one of them is crossed out. Ha. Nanette, the frog and Juliet’s best friend, grabs a sock for Juliet to disguise herself with. As she heads down from the clothesline, we see a shirt with a picture of Kermit the Frog on it. Double ha. The laptop is not an Mac (Apple), but a….banana. HAHAHA.

*Ahem*

Lastly, we have the laugh out loud hilarity, as glimpsed above. Above anything else, this movie was funny. My favorite part was when Gnomeo was chatting with the statue of William Shakespeare, who was telling him all about Romeo and Juliet. Gnomeo told him it had a stupid ending and ran off to make sure that he and Juliet could be together. One of my favorite characters was Featherstone. He was so adorable and I loved his accent! The best part was when his legs popped off and Gnomeo was surfing him all the way to the fence gate. And what about the ridiculousness of the entire movie? How there was a toilet in the middle of Montague’s garden, or that the gnomes had to freeze whenever a person looked at them, or even the fact that they raced on lawn mowers?

So, yes, I highly recommend this movie. It’s great for kids – they’ll enjoy the music and the likeability of the characters. But I think parents and adults will like this as well. It’s fun to see how many Easter eggs you can spot!

Have you seen this movie? What did you think of it?

Fan-fiction on a Whole New Level: Fan-made Videos

On Friday we talked about fan-fiction and whether or not it was a form of flattery or a form of infringement. If you haven’t seen that post yet, please go check it out and add your voice to the comments. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Today, I just wanted to share a couple of videos with you. This is fan-fiction on a whole new level – it has gone from the written word to the spoken word. Below you’ll find two videos, both of which are based off of The Hunger Games. The first is about Annie and Finnick, while the second details what happened during the second Quarter Quell (the one that Haymitch was a part of). (WARNING: The second one is a little graphic in spots. Nothing horrible, just a good dose of fake blood, but I thought I’d warn you anyway!)

 

 
I have a few questions. First, would this be considered fan-fiction? We know that these things happened, though the specific actions and dialogue were obviously made to fit Collins’ vision, even if they weren’t written specifically by her.

Secondly, do we enter a new territory here? Is this a similar form of infringement (if you consider fan-fiction to be that, of course), or do you think it’s somehow worse? (I have no basis for that argument, I just want your opinion!)

Lastly…what did you think!? I really like these videos and I think they did a fantastic job. The Quarter Quell one is beautifully done. It’s really neat seeing something like this come alive for a fan. You know that this happened, but you don’t get all the details from the original source(s). This way, we can read about and/or visualize what actually went down, step-by-step. It’s just one more way to continue to live in a world that enjoy reading about so much.

Do you have any fan-made videos that you enjoy watching?

Movie Review: Serenity

Bottom Line:

Watch it.

Details:

[No spoilers]

So, last week I shared my thoughts on the TV show Firefly. This week, I’m here to talk about Serenity, the follow-up movie that was made in 2005. As I mentioned before, Firefly only made it through the first season before it was taken from the air. Joss Whedon decided to make a movie to tie up loose ends and give loyal fans of the show some closure.

Whereas Firefly was a show about Mal and his crew, Serenity was very much a movie about Simon and River. River was the driving force behind the plot in Firefly in a lot of ways. It was because of her that the crew had to keep running from the Alliance – more than usual, anyway. But in the movie, River is the plot. She begins to act out, sometimes in dangerous ways, and Simon has to find a way to control her before Mal is forced to kick her off the ship. All this goes down while they have an intelligent and deadly assassin right on their heels.

So, how did this movie shape up against the show? Fairly well, actually. I watched it a few days after I saw the season finale of Firefly and I didn’t notice any major discrepancies. It felt exactly the same – just like an extra long episode. There were some things that threw me off a little bit, but I wasn’t sure if that was because I wasn’t paying attention, or because the movie didn’t do a good job of explaining it.

I definitely liked knowing a bit more about River and what it was like to be inside her head. She’s an incredible character with such a rich and complex personality. Summer Glau had a lot of time to shine in this movie, and she definitely delivered. Simon was also a bit more fleshed out, which was nice to see. I especially liked seeing some of the more lighthearted moments that they both brought to the table this time around.

I also liked some of the development with the other characters. Certain relationships came to a close. I’m happy with all of them, even if they all didn’t get a happy ending (and that’s as much as I’m going to say about that).  I’ve come to terms with it, and regardless of my personal feelings, it was good storytelling.

Also? Best tagline ever.

I also want to point out that River is not someone I’d want to mess with. She had some pretty action-packed fight sequences in the movie, and I was so, so happy to see that. Again, Summer Glau was just incredible and there was some beautiful choreography here.

So, what didn’t I like? Well, I didn’t like that it was over. These characters are so realistic and well thought out that you end up investing a lot of time and emotion into them. It’s sad to think that we might never get something new from this world.

It also left a few questions open. One in particular was Book’s backstory. It wasn’t a necessary thing to know, and maybe it was Joss’ way of leaving room open for a sequel of some sort, but I would’ve liked to have known who he really was.

Have you watched Firefly yet? What about Serenity?  What did you think of them? Was there anything in Serenity that didn’t sit well with you?

Please note that the comments section is NOT a spoiler-free zone. Feel free to talk about anything to do with Firefly and Serenity, as I’d really like to have a good discussion with other fans of the show. If you haven’t seen either one yet, proceed into the comments with caution!