Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow Part I

I actually had the good fortune to see Deathly Hallows on Wednesday night.  This is the first time in my life I've ever had the opportunity to see a movie before it is released and what a great movie for such an opportunity.

Anyway, I loved Deathly Hallows.  When I first heard it was being broken up into two movies, I wasn't sure how I felt about that.  But having seen Part I,  I"m glad they did.  It enabled to keep so much more in line with the books which has always been a problem in the other movies.  So many details tend to lost.  But Deathly Hallows kept quite in line with the book, though some details that got taken out of the other movies were inserted, like Bill and Fleur, to make it make a little more sense.  I think the movie did a great job of building the tension of the book  The sense of waiting and waiting for something to happen was definitely there.  And the bang!  There it was.  The group dynamic was really great between the trio and they did a nice job with the Hermione and Ron relationship. I can't say I'd really change anything about it.  I can't wait for the next movie though!

cross posted with The Little Bookworm

Howl's Moving Castle (Movie)

I also love Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.  And I love the anime of the book.  The story is almost completely different which normally would bother me, but it is a great movie on its own.  Sophie is still cursed by the Witch, but for a different reason.  The Howl/Calcifer relationship is mostly the same, but Sophie's sisters and their subplot are almost eliminated as are several other characters.  Some characters and plot elements from the book are combined or eliminated to create a much simpler and more streamline story.  I realized this had to be done because there is a lot going on in the book that would be too busy for a movie.  Still it is a lovely movie, both in plot and in looks.  The voice acting for the dubbed version is great.  Billy Crystal plays Calcifer and that gives him more of a comedic tone so that was an interesting choice.  It's not as successful as Phil Hartman in Kiki's Delivery Service, but it still works.  The only problem I had with it (*spoiler for the book*) is the removal of Sophie's magical powers.  I love that part of the book and I wished they could have included it.

Howl's Moving Castle (book)

Sophie is put under a curse by the Witch of the Waste and made into an old woman.  When she sets out to break the curse, she finds herself at the moving castle of the Wizard Howl, a wicked man who is said to eat the hearts of young girls.  But as Sophie begins to work for him, she discovers more about Howl and his fire demon, Calcifer and how to break all their curses.

But there was this method to her remorselessness: she calculated that she could not clean this thoroughly without sooner or later coming across Howl's hidden hoard of girls' souls, or chewed hearts - or else something that explained Calcifer's contract.  p.68

I love Diana Wynne Jones.  I was obsessed with her Chrestomanci books when I was younger and that lead me to Howl's Moving Castle.  I hadn't read it in at least 10 years, but the other day I was watching the movie and I decided I need to read it again.  It is a slower moving book, less action than some books especially in a fantasy, but it is such a good book.  I thoroughly enjoyed it as much as an adult as I did when I was a child.  Sophie is such a funny, plain girl, but after she becomes an old woman she gets really feisty and funny.  Howl is very selfish and odd, but he can be kind as well and the scenes with the two of them are great.  Calcifer, though, is one of my favorite characters (I must have a soft spot for demons (I'm looking at you, Bartimaeus.)) and I like the whole story of the Witch of the Waste and where Howl originates from.  It makes it more fun.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Yesterday afternoon I saw Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton.  I must say that I enjoyed it.  The visuals are beautiful and the story is pretty good.  Alice the book is very hard because it isn't really a story, just a girl wandering from one weird situation to another.  But this movie isn't a straight telling of the book.  It is a reimagining where Alice is grown up and is facing a big decision in her life.  I won't go into too much detail about the plot but there is an attempt to make the plot elements more cohesive with the upward time movement of the story.  It works as much as any attempt to make Alice in Wonderland cohesive and it was nice to see more of two of my favorite characters, The Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.  Johnny Depp does a great job as that character as does Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

I would have like a little more back story for a lot of the plot.  I would have like to understand what the Hatter was saying a lot of the time too, but we don't always get what we want.  Anyway, it is a beautiful movie, sweet and moving and the costumes were amazing.  So thumbs up from me.


cross posted with The Little Bookworm

A Little Princess (Book Review)

weet, rich Sara Crew is sent to boarding school by her father.  When he dies and loses their fortune, she is made to be a servant by the headmistress of the boarding school.  But Sara combats the drudgery and hunger of this new life with her imagination.

While I've read The Secret Garden many time, I've never read A Little Princess before.  I'm not sure why except maybe I never liked it when Sara loses her fortune and everyone is really mean to her.  She is an expectational sweet child, very modest and good and wonderful.  She has a wonderful imagination and I liked that part of the story.  It is so horrible how Miss Minchin treats her and Becky, the scullery maid and Sara puts up with it wonderfully.  She is, admittedly, a little too nice and sometimes I wanted her to lose her temper, but I suppose that would negate the point of the story which is be nice and wonderful things will happen, I guess.

cross posted with The Little Bookworm

Harriet the Spy (Book Review)

Harriet loves to write in her notebook.  She takes notes on anything that she sees and writes down all her thoughts.  But when her notebook is read by her class and they see some of the things she thinks about them, they decided to start a Spycatcher's Club.

I read Harriet the Spy along time ago and, though, I thought it was good, it was never one of my re-reads as a kid.  There are so many elements that made me uncomfortable that I could never bring myself to read it again.  Some of that still hits home as an adult.  When I was a kid, I also felt sorry for Harriet.  Her classmates read something that was private and made her miserable and they turned on her so quickly without giving her a chance to explain.  They played mean tricks on her.  And she is so sad after the loss of her nurse, Ole Golly, which adds to her general misery after being ostracized at school.  So I could never stand to read about her depression.

As an adult, I see all of that and I still feel sorry for Harriet.  Because she really was depressed. But the thing I wonder about are the adults of the story, specifically Harriet's parents and Ole Golly.  I really wonder if they thought Ole Golly could leave and Harriet would just move on.  I'm assuming that Ole Golly did most of the caretaking and so it would be like your mother just one day saying Bye.  Have a nice life.  I mean I know Golly loved her and was sad to go.  I can see more of that now that I'm older.  But Harriet is not the most mature or introspective child and so she couldn't recognize the depression that followed Golly leaving.  And the adults really did nothing to help that.   And then to add to Harriet's misery her friends find her notebook and turn on her.  They really don't do too much to her, but then ignoring her I think is the worst.  Harriet though cannot understand why they are mad and if she would have just ask an adult I think they could have explained it to her.  Also her parents take away her notebook which was the worst decision they could have made.  I was glad when they finally took her to a psychologist because she really should have gone much earlier.

Harriet as a character is funny and insightful and brutally honest but she is also a pain in the neck and shouts too much and is very sassy.  In other words, she is very much like a lot of 11 year olds.  I think she was a good friend to Janie and Sport and out of all of the kids those two should have given her a chance to explain.  But then, I guess, when your best friend says mean things about you, you would take it the hardest.  Though someone needs to explain to the children that we all have uncharitable thoughts about others at one time or another.  Harriet just make the mistake of writing them down.

The Princess and the Frog

I've seen The Princess and the Frog twice now.  Once I bought the little man to see it and my mom came and then the second time, we went with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law.  I enjoyed it both times though I think Bub got tired halfway through the second time.  Of course, it was naptime.
I thought it was really well done and I enjoyed all the characters.  I know there was controversy about her being the first black princess and all that it entailed, but I'm not going to comment on that.  Although I will say that instead of the princess being saved, she was the one doing the saving.  But it wasn't so overt and in your face like some movies try to do.
It is a shame that she spends so much time as a frog though.  I enjoyed her character and I liked that both main characters needed to learn lessons before they could get out of their predicement.
And since I'm from South Louisiana, I will say that the Cajun characters were extremely awesome.  I liked Ray the firefly a lot.  Some of the stuff he says is so dead on and most of the accents were perfect.  It is so rare to find a movie with good Louisiana accents (with the exception of Charlotte.  I loved her character, but her accent ... not so much).  There are a couple of jokes that I don't think people will find funny though outside of Louisiana and some things that are very regional.  New Orleans and the bayou are amazingly drawn and dead-on.  My MIL, who is from New Orleans, said it looked like NO she grew up in, not how it looks now.  And the music was so great.  It's not classic like Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid, but it fit the tone of the movie really well.  The zyedco number was wonderful.  So all in all, a great movie.

Alice in Wonderland (Disney 1951)

One of my favorite movies growing up, I was happy to revisit Alice in Wonderland for the challenge.  It has held up pretty well.  The songs are lively and it still makes me sad when Alice cries in the forest.  Not a true adaption of Alice in Wonderland, but a combination of elements from both Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. 

Alice is bored with her tutor and decides that a world of nonsense would be fun.  When she sees the White Rabbit, she follows him and falls down a rabbit hole.  There she encounters the locked door, a cake labeled "Eat Me," and a big problem.  After drinking she grows to a large size and cannot fit through the door. So she cries huge tears and then spies a bottle labeled "Drink Me" and she shrinks right into the bottle!  Alice is carried away through the doorknob and meets many crazy creatures including Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter and March Hare, the Cheshire Cat (my favorite), and the Queen of Hearts.  After almost losing her head to the Queen of Hearts, Alice is awoken by her tutor and goes off to have tea.

Actually a good portion of the movie is from Through the Looking Glass, but Disney picked the parts that are least terrifying.  There's no Jabberwocky in this movie, though the Cheshire Cat sings the Jabberwocky poem.  My favorite parts are the flower garden and the Walrus and the Carpenter.  I always like the white rose since she is so beautiful and I felt sorry for the little oysters even though they are stupid.  So it was nice revisiting Disney's Alice in Wonderland.  I watched it with my little boy, but he was bored by most of it so it's not quite up to 2 year old standards. Maybe one day...

Ponyo

So the little man and I went to see Ponyo recently.  It was the first time I took him to the movies alone and I was nervous that he wouldn't pay attention and we'd have to leave.  But I wanted to see Ponyo and he has liked all the Miyazaki movies that we've watched.  So off we went and I have to say it was a most enjoyable movie.  The boy watched the whole thing and wasn't bored once although he did try to have a conversation about the movie with the boy in the row in front.  The animation looked a little different than his other movies, rougher in places, more fluid in others.  The storyline is a take on "The Little Mermaid."   Ponyo is a little goldfish who falls in love with Sōsuke, a five year old boy.  Defying her father, she goes to Sōsuke and tries to stay with him.  But her father, a sorcerer, does not wish for her to be human so he enlists her mother, a sea goddess, to get Ponyo back.

It was such a sweet movie with a nice message about saving sea life.  Like I said, the animation seemed rougher/sharper in some places like for the sorcerer, but was very fluid and soft for Ponyo and the water scenes.  It was a nice choice since it showed the character of each scene.

I was also impressed with Noah Cyrus (Ponyo) and Frankie Jonas (Sōsuke).  Both did a great job on the voices.  I was afraid because sometimes the voice over actors are awful (Castle in the Sky), but everyone did a fine job.  Other voices include Tina Fey (Sōsuke's mom), Matt Damon (Sōsuke's dad), Liam Nelson (Ponyo's dad), Cate Blanchett (Ponyo's mom) and as the old ladies in the nursing home: Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman & Betty White.  It is such an amazing cast!

It was definitely worth our time to see Ponyo and I'm glad we got to see it in the theaters.  And it was enjoyed by both the under 5 and the over 25.

Catching Fire Poetic Review

For the Take a Chance Challenge, one of the task is a poetic review.  Here are my attempts at this for Catching Fire.

Haiku

Katniss survived
The Capital seeks vengeance
Katniss prepares

Limerick

There once was a girl named "Catnip"
who caused the President pique.
While revenge he contrived
she tried to stay alive.
Of entertainment the Capital wasn't deprived.

Free Verse

Smart Girl
Hungry Girl
Plays the Games to save her sister
Wins by a trick
By a "love"
By a deception

Smart Girl
Confused Girl
Off on her Victory tour
Waits for the Capitol's anger
For their vengeance
For her own revenge

cross posted with The Little Bookworm

Pushing Daisies

Yes, I know this show has been canceled for a while now.  But I always manage to miss shows when they are on (see here).  So I've been getting the second season through Netflix.  God, I love this show and I am so sad that it is canceled.  Beautiful, funny, quirky, Pushing Daisies was a show right up my alley.  And, of course, somehow I managed not to watch it on TV.

I love Lee Pace. I loved him in Wonderfalls and I love him here.  He is so gorgeous and funny and sweet as Ned.  Chi McBride is so awesome and amazing as Emerson and I like his sense of humor and delivery.  I love Kristen Chenoweth.  She is so small and cute and funny as Olive and I like when she sings.  The rest of the cast is made of win as well.  I love the bright colors and the beautiful locations.  The clothes are so amazing.  I wish I owned some of those clothes.

I haven't finished with the season yet, but I have a feeling that I'm going to be very disappointed that some of the bigger mysteries aren't going to get wrapped up.  I hate ABC.  They always cancel the good shows (like Fox) and leave the crap.  I don't want to see more reality TV.  I want to see awesome TV like Pushing Daisies.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (book)

Welcome to the town of ChewandSwallow where the food rains down and you never have to worry about your next  meal.
That is until the weather starts acting wacky and giant food comes crashing down, crushing buildings and schools.


I know that the movie is coming out this summer and it doesn't look remotely like the book.  It's been years since I read it.  It was one of my favorites growing up.  I always loved the idea of all the food coming down and everything looked so yummy on the page.  I especially liked the giant pancake on the school and the hamburgers in the sky.  Now some 20 years later, I still like those things, but I also kept thinking how sticky and messing everything would be and how much it would smell.  It's a little long to read to the 2 year old right now, but it is definitely one we will be reading to him later.  I hope it becomes one of his favorites too.

The art is very simple and line with strong lines.

I love the art work in this book.  It is so pretty and I like the pictures a lot.

The Dark Crystal

From IMDB:

Another planet, another time. 1000 years ago the Dark Crystal was damaged by one of the Urskeks and an age of chaos began. Now the time of the great conjunction of the three suns is near. If the crystal is not healed now the control of the evil Skeksis will last forever. Jen the last of the Gelflings nearly exterminated by monsters controlled by the Skeksis starts his dangerous journey to find the missing shard of the crystal. Will he be able to heal the crystal and restore order on the planet? Written by Matthias Scheler

It's been at least 20 years since I've seen this movie. The animation and puppetry are, of course, laughable in today's age of CGI but still impressive nonetheless. I remember being so scared of the Skeksis and so sad when the Master died. I don't know if I really understood the dual nature of the Skeksis and the Mystics. I know it's explained but I'm not sure if I grasped the full understanding back then. There was a lot I didn't remember. I remembered the landstriders but forgot that they died. I didn't remember that Kira got stabbed and I forgot how annoying the stupid little dog thing, Fizzgig, was. And the noise that the Skeksis Chamberliain made, I will never forget that. Anyway, it is still a beautiful little movie even if it is still a little scary. My husband, who had never seen it, asked if it really was a kid's movie. Yes it is, but the little boy got bored so maybe only for older kids. I hear there's a prequel in the works. I'd be intersted in seeing that. In fact, I wouldn't mind if they redid this one with better effects. I'm surprised they haven't.

James and the Giant Peach

After his parent's are killed by a charging rhinoceros, James goes to live with his two detestable aunts. They beat him and treat him horribly. One day he meets an old man who gives him some magic things to make his life better but James trips and loses them. The next day, the old peach tree grow a giant peach and James' adventure begins as he rolls away in the giant peach with the company of some giant insects.

I'm a big Roald Dahl fan but oddly I'd never read James and the Giant Peach before. It was cute and had some nice insect lessons. The aunts are typical Dahl adults, abusive and stupid and they get theirs in the end (they are crushed by the giant peach). They weren't really in the book that long. It was a pretty straightforward adventure after that with a message about the usefulness of bugs. James and his friends encounter sharks and escape by tying a bunch of seagulls with webbing and flying off. Then they are attacked by "cloudmen" and escape from them and then get stuck on the Empire State Building in New York. I liked it although it's not my favorite Dahl book. I still like Matilda the best.

I also watched the film version of James and the Giant Peach. It is a combination of live action and stop motion animation. The beginning and the end are live action. The aunts look so horrible and mean (they are) although they don't die like they do in the book. After the man gives James the crocodile tongues (the green things) and he goes into the peach, it becomes stop motion. All the insects look really cool. The story is about the same except that James is afraid of the rhino. There are no real sharks but one giant metal shark, but they trap the seagulls the same and fly high into the air. Instead of "cloudmen" they go somewhere cold and there are ghost pirates (one who looks like Jack Skellington), but they escape those and travel to New York. The aunts arrive in New York too and try to take James, but are prevented by the insects and taken away. I thought there'd be more songs since there are quite a few in the book, but there included some of them so it was cute. It was fairly faithful to the book and definitely had a Dahl feel to it. I liked it and so did my 2 year old so good job.

cross posted with The Little Bookworm

Pride and Prejudice - BBC mini-series

Well, this weekend I spent some a lot of time and watch the classic 1995 BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Oddly, I had never seen the whole thing, just bits and pieces. It is the most comprehensive version I've seen. It is basically the whole book with few changes. I enjoyed it. Colin Firth makes a most excellent Darcy and Jennifer Ehle is fun as Elizabeth Bennett. The thing that bothered me is that Jane is suppose to be prettier than Elizabeth, but personally I don't find Susannah Harker nearly as pretty as Jennifer Ehle. And everyone looked so old for their characters, especially Lydia (Julia Sawalha and yes I know she was like 25 at the time). And that bothered me.

The scenery and houses were beautiful. And I love that they include everything just as described in the book. It's like the book gave to life. Everyone did a great job with their characters. The Bennett house was nicer than I had pictured and Mr. Collins was a little more oily. The costumes were wonderful. I love the dresses so much. It was a really pretty and authentic movie.

I enjoyed Anna Chancellor's Miss Bingley. Lydia didn't aggravate me nearly as much as she usually does. But near the end I wanted to shake Mrs. Bennett and make her shut up. Her screeching make my ears bleed a little, I swear.
Something I also found awkward was the ending. When they declare their love for each other, it was so matter of fact. Yes, I love you. Well, I love you. Let's walk on. I know that's what happens in the book. But I've been involved at this point for a long time, people, let's see some action, a kiss or something!

Anyway, it was good and I will watch it again one day when I have a lot of time on my hands. (Ha!) But is it bad that I prefer the 2005 version and that Darcy and Elizabeth more? Because I do. I kept making comparisons between the two while I was watching and the romance tension is more believable between Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. I like Colin Firth, but his Darcy does not invite the kind of yuminess that Matthew Macfadyen does with his bedroom eyes and earnestness. *sigh*

cross posted with The Little Bookworm

Tantalize & Eternal

New book review up at The Little Bookworm for BEDA today. It's a 2-fer for the books Tantalize and Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith, some of the best books I've read in a while.

Need Book Review

I posted a review of Need by Carrie Jones over at The Little Bookworm. It a good book about pixies and other scary magical creatures.

The Graveyard Book Review

For my BEDA today, I put up a book review for The Graveyard Book over her at The Little Bookworm. I was trying to post over there every Friday but I am behind so here ya go. Tomorrow will probably be Lost.

Wondrous Strange Book Review

I have a book review up over here for Wondrous Strange, an excellent urban fairy tale. Enjoy!