#i actually enjoy the hobbit as well as the entire lotr trilogy but i would be here all night answering this question if i included quotes

[juniperusashei]

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien - 2/5

I have tried, and failed, to get through The Lord of the Rings once before. I read The Hobbit as a child, and was not terribly taken by its muddled prose and weak characterization! But I figured this time, if I am ever going to survive Tolkien’s entire trilogy, it’s going to have to be via audiobooks, which still took me three months to get through! I’m sorry but I just really do not get the appeal of LotR, and I think I only finished the trilogy (skipped the appendices because I was so close to giving up!) out of stubbornness, so I could tell the fans exactly why I dislike this series so much. Which I plan to do right here!

I think I just don’t understand the fanaticism over these books (and the movies, which is an entirely different conversation… they’re not good! With the instagram filter color grading and editing moments that look like a Slipknot music video!). I want to like fantasy but I feel like most fantasy ignores the actual interesting parts and instead focuses on boring worldbuilding... I feel like the literary landscape is this way solely because of Tolkien’s influence. I read this for a bookclub, and I made the point that the racial absolutism of Orcs being completely evil isn’t believable nor does it make for interesting character drama, and someone replied “I don't feel like a guy who invented like 4 languages while writing a story should be called ‘lazy’,” (if you read this blog sorry!! I mean no shade!). Which is true, but I feel like Tolkien’s interests were more in inventing languages and worldbuilding, not telling a compelling story. Most of it was fanservice, and I suppose people do eat that up, but it wasn’t a universe I felt was worth the cost of entry, unlike something like Dune which has similar levels of acclimation.

Why is it different? Dune tells the story of a local political conflict of limited consequence. Lord of the Rings attempts to tell every story in its universe, and it’s exhausting! What’s more, the whole time I could not tell what the actual consequences of Sauron getting the ring would be. I find these sorts of undefined, metaphysical high stakes completely unrelatable and therefore uninteresting (when contrasted with something like Star Wars, where the worst case scenario is a shitty president, something we can all relate to.)

What’s more, I found the pacing completely bizarre. My favorite volume was probably The Fellowship of the Ring, because the culture of the Shire was charming and interesting. The Two Towers was my least favorite, and I was baffled by the decision not to intercut the two volumes (which the film adaptation at least remedied). I completely zoned out during the entirety of the Rohan drama, with my attention regained a little when Gollum finally showed up. (Sidenote: the audiobook narration by Andy Serkis was absolutely incredible, and at times was the only thing holding my attention. He does every character’s voice different in a manner recalling Jim Dale’s Harry Potter, and at times it could be described more as “acting” than “narrating”!) The third book was somewhat baffling to me. I enjoyed Sam and Frodo’s bickering gay married couple dynamic (with Gollum giving adopted dog vibes) but the climax of the story appeared weirdly early, and the resolution was overlong. My conclusion is that Tolkien had no idea how to pace a story and was in dire need of an editor (which is how I felt about The Hobbit as well!) “The Scouring of the Shire” was probably the most interesting part of The Return of the King because the consequences were so much less cosmic.

In the end, having spent so much time with this book, it feels weird to leave it behind, but also a huge relief because the bad waayyy outweighed the good. It could have been amazing! I think I would have loved this series if they had somehow made it gayer and also shorter.

[willowser]

hi, what are some of your favorite books? :)

hi there :)

so i admittedly don't read as much as i should or wish i did, but these are the books that come to mind when answering this question:

gone girl, gillian flynn

“It’s a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters.”

“Give me a man with a little fight in him, a man who calls me on my bullshit. (But who also kind of likes my bullshit.) And yet: Don’t land me in one of those relationships where we’re always pecking at each other, disguising insults as jokes, rolling our eyes and ‘playfully’ scrapping in front of our friends, hoping to lure them to our side of an argument they could not care less about. Those awful if only relationships: This marriage would be great if only… and you sense the if only list is a lot longer than either of them realizes.”

“I often don't say things out loud, even when I should. I contain and compartmentalize to a disturbing degree: In my belly-basement are hundreds of bottles of rage, despair, fear, but you'd never guess from looking at me.”

“You are a man. You are an average, lazy, boring, cowardly, woman-fearing man. Without me, that's what you would have kept on being, ad nauseam. But I made you into something. You were the best man you've ever been with me. And you know it. The only time in your life you've ever liked yourself was pretending to be someone I might like.”

sharp objects, gillian flynn

“Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed.”

“The face you give the world tells the world how to treat you.”

“A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.”

“I'm here, I said, and it felt shockingly comforting, those words. When I'm panicked, I say them aloud to myself. I'm here. I don't usually feel that I am. I feel like a warm gust of wind could exhale my way and I'd be disappeared forever, not even a sliver of fingernail left behind. On some days, I find this thought calming; on others it chills me.”

frankenstein, mary shelley

“I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.”

“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”

“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.”

“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.”

“If I see but one smile on your lips when we meet, occasioned by this or any other exertion of mine, I shall need no other happiness.”

letters to a young poet, rainer maria rilke

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”

“I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

“So don't be frightened, dear friend, if a sadness confronts you larger than any you have ever known, casting its shadow over all you do. You must think that something is happening within you, and remember that life has not forgotten you; it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall. Why would you want to exclude from your life any uneasiness, any pain, any depression, since you don't know what work they are accomplishing within you?”

“In the deepest hour of the night, confess to yourself that you would die if you were forbidden to write. And look deep into your heart where it spreads its roots, the answer, and ask yourself, must I write?”

the hobbit, j r. r. tolkien

“There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.”

“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”

“There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”

invisible monsters, chuck palahniuk

“Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known.”

“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?”

“Don't do what you want. Do what you don't want. Do what you're trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.”

“You can only hold a smile for so long, after that it's just teeth.”

fight club, chuck palahniuk

“At the time, my life just seemed too complete, and maybe we have to break everything to make something better out of ourselves.”

“I’ve met God across his long walnut desk with his diplomas hanging on the wall behind him, and God asks me, “Why?” Why did I cause so much pain? Didn’t I realize that each of us is a sacred, unique snowflake of special unique specialness? Can’t I see how we’re all manifestations of love? I look at God behind his desk, taking notes on a pad, but God’s got this all wrong. We are not special. We are not crap or trash, either. We just are. We just are, and what happens just happens. And God says, “No, that’s not right.” Yeah. Well. Whatever. You can’t teach God anything.”

“Tyler lies back and asks, "If Marilyn Monroe were alive right now, what would she be doing?" I say, goodnight. The headliner hangs down in shreds from the ceiling and Tyler says, "Clawing at the lid of her coffin.”

[starstruckpurpledragon]

maybe you already know but there are various fanedits of the hobbit films that cut out the unnecessary parts and create a tighter storyline. i always watch those when i'm in the mood for a rewatch.

I actually have seen one of those fan edits. It removed some parts that I actually did enjoy, but made sense to edit out for making a more cohesive story line. And it removed the unnecessary romantic side plot that was shoehorned in for amatonormative reasons. Which was very much a relief and definitely the version to watch when I don't have the patience for Tauriel and Legorlando. (I've been calling him that since the first LotR movie came out and no longer remember how to spell the character's actual name unless I've read the books recently... which I haven't. I'm due a re-read.)

But ultimately it didn't really fix the biggest problem I have with the trilogy and the reason that I have to be in just the right mood for them or else I wind up feeling like it's a chore and have to stop. And it's, unfortunately, not something I think any fan editor really can fix. (Though, obviously, I'd love to be proven wrong.)

So LotR and the Hobbit are, fundamentally, very different types of stories. LotR is a story about the horrors of war and the resulting trauma and it's meant for adults. The Hobbit is a much happier and hopeful story that is, in part, about self discovery; it was not intended to be a children's book, but it is definitely far more suitable for younger audiences than LotR is. And while the first Hobbit movie does a good job of hitting the tone of the book, the second and, moreso, the third feel more like a LotR movie and for all that most of the basic plot of the Hobbit is still in there... they are not really Hobbit movies.

The battle for which the third movie is named has no place in a Hobbit movie that honors the tone, and actual plot, of the book. Taken for what it is, the Hobbit trilogy is well acted by the main cast and an interesting look at what happens when an otherwise good person in a position of power becomes too enamored of that power. And it's a tragic story about a found family torn apart by greed and war. I'd probably like it a lot better if I'd never read the book because I do enjoy a good, tragic fantasy - they're cathartic. But in this case I have read the book and I can't help but feel like a significant part of the third movie is entirely disrespectful to the source material. It feels like the creative vision behind the movie was that of someone who didn't actually want to make a Hobbit movie, they wanted to make more LotR movies. And, honestly? That's basically what happened. And because of how integral the battle is to the film, I'm not sure there's any fan edit out there that is capable of excising it entirely without the end largely falling apart.

Which is a shame because the Hobbit would make a good movie or movie duology (or tv mini-series). And we almost had it. (Though any fan edit of the movies that tries to cut out the final battle is one I'd happily give a watch. Even if the ending is choppy, I'd give them credit for trying.)

[kinsey3furry300]

A very confused Star Wars Fan desperately tries to justify their belief that “Caravan of Courage” shows the way forward for the franchise. No, really.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve loved Star Wars. And I mean, all of it. The books, the games, the Lego, the spin-offs: I even enjoy the Holiday Special in a The Room so-bad-you-just-need-to-see-it sort of way.  But particularly the films. But here is when we run into the big problem: I’m just the wrong age. The original trilogy launched before I was born, the prequel trilogy hit cinemas when I was already a teen and while I went and saw them and enjoyed them, I was at that age where I was self-conscious about seeing a “kids” film, and hyper-aware of how silly and cringy those films were in parts. So my indoctrination, my inoculation with the Star Wars bug didn’t happen in the cinema, and it didn’t happen with any of the main franchise works. It happened on home video, on a skiing trip in the French Alps in the early 90’s. I’d have been about 6, and this was the first time I’d ever been abroad other than to see relatives in Ireland.  And I loved it: to this day I love skiing, but more than that, I have very, very fond childhood memories of this trip. This was shortly before I lost my biological mother to cancer, she’d have received her diagnosis just after we got back from the trip. This was when my younger sister stopped being an annoying screaming thing and became and became an actual person I could talk and play and share ideas with, this was before the combination my mothers long illness and my father having just launched his own IT start up meant I didn’t see him or her any more, despite the fact they were in the same house as me. This was this wonderful, nostalgic child-hood bubble when my family was intact, and nothing could ever go wrong. I skied all day with mum and dad, and would come back to the chalet in the evening. It was an English speaking chalet, I met my first real-life American there, and having grown up in the 90’s in the UK nothing was cooler than making friends with an actual American my own age. He had a hulk Hogan action figure with springs in the legs so if you put him on a hard surface and punched his head down, when you let go he’d jump really high in the air. We used to play with it together in the bath, back in that weird 90’s time-bubble when it was possible to convince two sets of parents that this kid you’d just met was you best friend in the world and of course shared bath time was, somehow, normal and appropriate. And fresh from bath time, tired from the day, the parents would give us some hot coco, dump us kids in front of the tv and grab the first shitty low-budget VHS they could find to keep us distracted while they went to the bar. In this particular time, in this particular place, that shitty low budget cartoon was the  complete set of the 1985 Lucasfilm/ABC Ewoks cartoon, plus the two spin off movies, and to this day that cheap, kitschy, kind of bad series has a special warm and cosy place in my heart. I remember being enthralled by the world, in love with the characters, applied by the bad guys and the injustice they caused (to this day I’m still irate about that time Wicket lost his set of beads documenting his progress towards becoming a full warrior and the older Ewoks basically said, tough, you need to re-earn all those merit badges from scratch. This struck me as exactly the sort of bullshit an adult would pull, and pissed me off) and on tenterhooks about what would happen to the characters.

It was also, by a coincidence, the first ever Star Wars media I was exposed to, and the above combination of events probably explains a lot about me.

So I was surprised, the other day, when scrolling Disney+, to find they’d added Caravan of Courage AND Battle for Endor to the roster in my region. Surely Disney wouldn’t want their slick, cool brand associated with this old trash? Surely there could be no place for this in the post-Mandalorian Star Wars cannon? Surely this is a horrible mistake some intern made, right?

Unless…. What if I’ve miss-remembered? What if it’s not just rose-tinted nostalgia goggles, and it’s, in fact, secretly really, really good?

I rushed to my comfy chair, got a blanket, dimmed the lights, made some coco (with rum in it, because why the hell not?) and sat down to re-examine this lost gem.

And wow: it’s every bit as shit as you’d expect.

It has aged exactly as poorly as you’d expect a cheap, mid 80’s direct to video spin-off to age. Caravan of Courage? More like Caravan of Garbage, am I right?

And yet… I still enjoyed every moment.

And it was sitting there, in my pyjamas, watching a cheaply made direct to video cash-grab from just before I was born, seeing it again for the first time in nearly 30 years, and I realised something.

It doesn’t really matter if this film is bad, so long as I enjoy it. And if it doesn’t really mater if this is bad, then I, like many Star Wars fans, wasted a huge amount of time and emotional effort on being butthurt about stuff I didn’t like about the Rise of Skywalker and it’s ilk. Because somewhere, right now, a tired and frustrated parent is putting Disney+ on to keep their kids quiet for two hours. And they won’t think too hard about what they put on, so long as it keeps little Timmy busy for a bit. Somewhere, right now, a kid is watching Rise of Skywalker, and it’s the first Star Wars media they’ve ever seen.

And that’s okay. Because we don’t know what that kids home life is like. We don’t know if it’s good or bad. Maybe it’s great, maybe it’s about to take a dramatic plunge like mine did, and this moment here will be the cosy, warm memory they look back on in 30 years time, and that’s beautiful.  They’re getting introduced to a fun, wonderful fantasy world that could be with them all their lives, through good times and bad, and as fans we should be happy about that.

Star Wars will never, die: it’s too darn profitable, Disney will never let it. And while I hope they learn from their mistakes and make sure every future Star Wars is a timeless gem of story-telling, statistically, if you keep making enough films, some of them will be bad. And while I’d like them all to be great, it’s still okay if they’re bad.

Because nothing can take away my memories of that week in that chalet. Nothing can take-away my memories of when they put the original trilogy on in cinemas for the special edition and I had my jaw hit the floor with how good it was on the big screen, not knowing or caring who shot first. Nothing can take away you memories of the Original Trilogy, the Prequels, or the Clone Wars. Nothing can tarnish the bits of the sequil trilogy that you like, and there are good bits in there.

But wait, what about continuity? What about the sacred, perfect written time-line that used to exist?

Well, what about it? Have you seen any other big, epic fantasy universe before? They’re all a mess. A work of fiction, particularly fantasy, can be extensive, or tightly written, but not both. Harry Potter is only seven books, and the last two feel, tonally, like they’re from an entirely different series. I love them, but the grim-dark kicked in so fast you’ll get whiplash. The Hobbit is a perfect written self-contained novel, and LOTR is *The* big boy high-fantasy trilogy: fast forward 50 years, and Christopher Tolkien is desperately squeezing every last drop of money out of his father’s corpse by finishing and publishing every unfinished note JRR ever wrote right down to his shopping lists. Even Dune goes of the rails with sequels. I can only think of four fantasy works that are both extensive and consistently tightly written, Song of Ice and Fire, Wheel of Time, Malazan: Book of the Fallen and Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. And even then, the prequels and spin-offs mess with the timelines: the Dunk and Egg novella’s change some character’s canonical ages and timelines, Wheel of Time was going slowly off the rails even before the Jordan died, Forge of Darkness made what was a good metaphor for the creation of it’s world into a literal war deep in the past, and Sanderson’s first Novel Elantris got a re-write to bring it more in line with the rest of the shared universe. The MCU, oft held up as the modern example of tightly planned, well thought out ongoing storytelling, is a lie: it was never as pre-planned out as Disney wants us to think; the first Iron Man, apparently, barely had a script, with Downey ad-lib-ing most of his scenes. None of the MCU films are direct sequels to each-other other than Infinity war and Endgame. There are three Iron Man films, and Three Thor films, and none continue an ongoing story line across multiple films, and the Cap films barely continue an arc, but only where Cap’s relationship with Natasha and Bucky is involved.  Much like these, Star War’s cannon is a complete, nightmarish, confusing, tangled, illogical mess. And it has been since 1984, as Caravan of Courage proves. It was never consistent and well planned.

And that’s okay.

I used to care about plot holes. I used to care about which works were cannon in Star Wars lore. I’m over that now. I’m happy to imagine the books, films and games not as a blow-by-blow historical account of a galaxy far far away, but as campfire stories from within this fun, imaginative world that we’re all invited to listen to. Stories that are in-universe myth and folklore, that we can all snuggle up and listen to while drinking highly alcoholic rum and remembering better times, knowing that wherever the future throws at us, no matter how the world goes to hell around us, we’ll still have the memories, and the ability to make our own new stories in the wonderful Star Wars world we all share.

And that’s okay. No, more than that: that’s beautiful.

Also Star Wars is completely unambiguous on the fact we’re allowed to kill fascists no matter how many times they keep coming back with a new logo, so that’s timely I guess.

So, there’s my hot take two-years after everyone else stopped caring about this stuff, as per bloody usual. Tell me why I’m wrong below, and does anyone else have any truly awful spin-off shows that they kind of have a nostalgic soft spot for?

[uozlulu]

@sestet tagged me to post seven of my favorite movies, so I looked at a grid view of my top rated movies and asked myself which ones would I drop everything and watch right now if I came across them on TV, because I have too many favorites and was having trouble choosing.  I ordered this list by premiere date, because again, too many favorites. Hard to order things when everything is tied for first place for different reasons. 

Robin Hood (1973) - My favorite Disney movie even moreso than the princess movies tbh. I’ve always been a fan of historical fiction even as a kid. I can’t remember a time I didn’t love this movie. 

Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977) - This is my favorite Star Wars movie mostly because it’s straight forward, honest, fun, and the flashing effects aren’t HD so I can actually watch it without worry. I love all the characters and it doesn’t frustrate me in places like some of the other Star Wars movies do. 

Jurassic Park (1993) - Hot nerds, on point anamatronics, and dinosaurs, what isn’t there to love about this movie? I also like how it’s a horror movie in a way that doesn’t overdo the horror, and has the element of the actual evil is human greed rather than animals acting on instinct while also giving us the benefit of seeing the creatures through the entirety of the movie. That said, I would be 2000% into seeing a reboot that applies modern dinosaur science to reimagine the entire scenario and creatures, though making a bunch of animimatronics with proto-feathers might get more expensive. 

Dil to Pagal Hai (1997) - Wonderful, catchy soundtrack, bright colors, and a good ending. I’m always down to watch this movie and I enjoy it every time. There’s tension, drama, and a love triangle but like nobody’s actively trying to hurt anyone, so the lack of a villain is a definite plus. 

Shrek (2001) - The story is fun, straight-forward, and engaging. The ending is on point. The music elevates everything. I just love this movie so much. I also like that the CGI doesn’t give me a migraine or make me dizzy like a lot of modern CGI movies have lately. 

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) - Part of why I love this movie is because the siblings in it have a similar age difference to my sister and me. It’s very rare I find stories in which I get to see that kind of relatable dynamic. Another reason I love this movie is again there really isn’t a villain to it, just the antagonism of a father’s pig headed stubbornness, which is also relatable. I really love the soundtrack as well. Overall, it invokes a lot of emotions from me and I enjoy the ride every time. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - This is my favorite of both the LotR and Hobbit movies. It’s so inviting and captures such a great tone and pace. It also integrates the musical elements of the story nicely, which was missing from the LoTR trilogy. That said, I am also always ready to watch the LoTR trilogy at any given moment. It’s a shame though that this doesn’t really look like I imagined it as a kid reading the books, but that’s a qualm I’ve had with all the adaptations I’ve seen since no one who’s been in charge of character design so far I think imagined that the elves must be able to blend into the trees. 

[levelofdepth]

Tag! Get to know me!

Rules: Always post the rules. Tag 11 new people you’d like to know better!

Tagged by @opalxempress

Tagging (with no pressure to do it): @haospart, @hoiist, @toomanyoperatives, @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond, and @lanabenikoisagodess. Sorry if any of you were already tagged.

1. Dogs or Cats?

It doesn’t matter to me as long as I can cuddle it and it will cuddle me back.

2. YouTube celebrities or normal celebrities?

I enjoy the curated content on Youtube, but I think @opalxempress put it quite nicely: “Don’t put people on pedestals, they will inevitably fall off and crush you if you’re standing too close.”

3. If you could live anywhere where would that be?

By my girlfriend’s side.

4. Disney or DreamWorks?

I like to mouth off about the conglomerate mouse

5. Favorite childhood TV show?

The Last Airbender as well as its successor, The Legend of Korra. However, there are a lot of shows I enjoyed when I was younger. Funny, since I don’t really watch any shows anymore.

6. The movie you’re looking forward to most in 2020?

Like shows, I don’t watch many movies. I’m going to cheat a little and say The Rise of Skywalker, because it’s practically 2020. It’s also the only movie I’m probably going to go out and watch for the next year.

7. Favorite book you read in 2019?

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. I’m a leader in my school’s club for “social justice” (for lack of a better way to describe it), so this book has been incredibly helpful and enlightening in educating myself and others on how to talk about racism with white people.

8. Marvel or DC?

Marvel

9. If you choose Marvel favorite member of the X-Men? If you choose DC favorite Justice League member?

Rogue, Jean, or Storm. I also kind of like Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique. 

I watched the X-Men movies a lot when I was younger with my dad, and the themes of these young adults/teens struggling with their identities in the face of societal oppression (essentially) hit close to home for me. I haven’t watched any of the movies in awhile, and I never finished the Wolverine series, but I still get that warm feeling one experiences when they wax nostalgic.

10. Night or Day?

Any hours outside of school hours are friends of mine. Except the entire day of Sunday. 

Sundays give me anxiety.

11. Favorite Pokemon?

I never really got into Pokemon. Walking around and suddenly getting stopped to fight really pissed me off. I liked riding the bike around in Diamond and Pearl though.

Anyways Snorlax.

12. Top 5 bands/artists:

I have a niche music taste, but...

Tesseract

Bring Me The Horizon

Nightwish

Gorillaz

Phantoms

The top three I listen to religiously. The rest just happen to be bands I listen to consistently; most of the music I enjoy is just a song I liked and saved to my library or added to a playlist of similar songs.

13. Top 10 books.

I’m gonna be honest, I read more fanfiction than I do books, however some books/series that I enjoyed were

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell (read these concurrently with my father when I was younger, those were fun days)

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

Things Fall Apart/The African Trilogy Chinua Achebe

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

1984 by George Orwell

The Terrorists Son by Zak Ebrahim

14. Top 4 movies

In no particular order

Rogue One

The Hobbit

The LotR Series (all of them yes)

Toy Story 1-3 (I have not seen 4)

and because im a sucker for melodrama i liked revenge of the sith

15. US or Europe?

Ask me again after 2020.

16. Tumblr or Twitter?

Don’t even have a Twitter.

17. Favorite vacation destination?

My family is big on Disney World.

18. Favorite YouTuber?

Lindsay Ellis. She makes very engaging video essays on media, particularly movies and shows. I’m not a film lit student, and yet she manages to bring me back for all of her videos, and then some! 

19. Favorite author ?

I look at authors like I do music; I like books, and if I happen to click with a particular author, they’re an outlier. However, Cressida Cowell paved the road for my reading habits to take off on for many years as a child, and I love how much I bonded with my father over her books.

20. Tea or Coffee?

Coffee all the way.

21. OTP?

Not counting ships with OCs (sorry SWTOR), and the order is intentional

Rizzles - I believe there might be some controversy with this ship, but I never actually watched the show. A long time ago, I stumbled across a fanfic author named colormetheworld who captured my little, lesbian mind with her rendition of this ship, so it’s a bit personal, to be terse.

Clexa - Again, I never watched the show. There wasn’t really a single author that got me interested in this ship, but Lightning Only Strikes Once 

Whiterose - I’m just a fan of the opposites attract trope.

Wayhaught - It’s nice to have positive representation (knock on wood).

Bumbleby

22. Do you play an instrument/sing?

I can play the guitar, piano, drums, though I’m incredibly rusty at the latter two, and unfortunately I had a run in with the recorder back in middle school.

Also “unfortunate run in” would be a good descriptor for my singing voice, because that would be an accident. Or just a straight up disaster.

[redspiderling]

What really upsets me is that Natasha is only going to get her film AFTER her onscreen death? I am worried too--that the only thing worse than NO Black Widow movie is a BAD Black Widow movie, and what if they ruin it completely? :(

Heya!

Well, I have some form of reassurance for you, but before I get into that I do have to stress that, unfortunately in film-making, more than in any other art form, you can never guarantee a good result. 

The producer has a script that has been worked on extensively. They then hire a director (on whose vision of what the script can become) they place their trust on (sometimes it’s the other way around as well, a director can approach a producer with a good pitch but since this is Marvel, that’s not the case we’re here to extensively analyse). The cast and crew and the entire production team works on that vision for a specific amount of time and, hopefully, it turns out well. 

The more experienced the people, the more likely to get a good result. But everyone in the film-making business knows, it’s always a gamble, with varying odds, to be fair.

It’s in those varying odds where we can place our trust. I’m placing the rest under the cut, because it’s a long rant.

Factor 1: The Script. 

While one would assume all film productions begin with a good script, one would be incorrect. Many times they have a draft, or a final script that they don’t have faith in but, since the production has taken way and the company presses them to do it, they do it and hope for the best. 

Bad example: Speed 2 didn’t have a finalised script even after shooting began. Fox had pressed the creator of Speed 1 to come up with an idea for a sequel, the man had no idea what to do because it was completely unexpected, they had him under a tight deadline and he half-assed it all the way through. And look what happened.

Good example: I’ll go for the obvious, Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, the director and screenwriter of LOTR respectively, had been working on the script for LOTR for over a decade. When they pitched it, they pitched it directly for a trilogy, or no film at all. Fox said yes, and they released a masterpiece for the world to enjoy until the end of time.

What about the Black Widow movie?

Well, to be fair this is the most worrisome part of my entire rant here, so if you can stomach this know that hope lies ahead.

The issue with Black Widow, as with all Marvel films, is that, it belongs to a franchise. A Disney franchise. The amount of restrains, necessities, and dictations that have nothing to do with the characters and everything to do with the studio (marketing, brand, future projects etc) is uncanny. Which is probably the reason why Marvel hasn’t had an easy time finding a director (they interviewed over 60 female film-makers!).

The bad side: Disney’s control is probably the reason why the script has been in various stages of stasis and re-writes for years. We know they’ve gone through a lot of ideas and edits, which is not necessarily bad, but it is what has kept this film from happening, and given the rest of the factors, the only thing that might keep it from flying.

The good side: The actual credited writers for this film, are legit. They have both written feature films and Ned Benson specifically, has made a very original and sweet film in the past.

Also, given the fact that Scarlett Johansson herself, has stated many times that “this film will happen under the correct circumstances”, makes me think that given the explosion of female presence on the media, the success of previous projects (Wonder Woman AND Thor:Ragnarok, another creative “gamble”), the loosening of narrative restrictions (hello multiverse!), and the reality of Natasha’s character in 2019, the Black Widow movie, while not outside Disney’s firm hold, might be allowed the freedom it needs to be good. As in, while falling into Marvel’s story structure, it will have its own uniqueness and work in expressing Natasha’s character and story accurately for once.

Factor 2: The TeamHaving a team of experienced professionals goes a long way to tell us that, while we can never be sure of the results, at least it’s a group of people with a good knowledge of what they’re doing. 

And I’m not talking about the technical aspect, because that’s the least worrisome in terms of control (if you know what you’re doing in FX you can’t mess it up). I’m talking about the heads of the production, the people who can screw up everything or make everything better, i.e. Producers and Directors. 

We all know of the make it or break it influence a studio can have over a project, look what Fox did for LOTR, and then look what Fox did to the Hobbit. I’m not here to talk about the production companies because they give me nightmares, but I’ll talk about the people because those are the elements that offer the variety in this instance where we talk exclusively about Marvel Productions.

The Producer: Even though it’s one of Scarlett Johansson’s first attempts at producing, I’m feeling quite confident in the fact that she will have a definite positive influence over the project. 

She has been in more than half a dozen Marvel productions and knows the drill well, not to mention knows how to negotiate the ugly parts.

She knows her way around the industry, having been a part of it for practically all her life, which means she will have no problems overseeing the production or creating a good team/positive environment.

Her previous attempts at producing are good in terms of content: One was the now infamous Rub & Tug, and the other is a sweet documentary about killer whales.

Most importantly, she is in the unique position to have both a great level of personal investment in this project, having dedicated a decade of her life’s work in this character’s story, as well as a well-rounded knowledge of the character’s evolution and history, which means that not only does she know what’s good for Natasha, she wants this film to succeed and not just because it’s her job.

The Director: Cate Shortland. The reason I cried real tears when Marvel announced the director for Black Widow.

Cate Shortland is a really good director. I love her work. Her films are unique looks into people’s lives. Her characters are strong, awesome women. Her films make you think. I saw Lore at a film festival when it came out in 2012 and to this day, I think about it.

Given the fact that Shortland is an indie film-maker, and that SJ has a long standing love for indie films, and that she chose to work with her on the BW film, I think they share the same ideas over how they want to tell Natasha’s story and what they want to talk about, which brings them miles ahead of most film productions, to be honest. Also, given the fact that Marvel interviewed over 60 women for this film, I think it’s safe to say that Shortland knows what she’s gotten herself into, even though she didn’t necessarily need it, she has a film career already, so I guess, she’s either on board with whatever they’ve cooked with the script, or she’s allowed enough freedom to fix it. Either way counts as a win for me.To conclude, while this film being bad is, of course, a possibility, I think there are enough positive elements that should reassure us for the time being, including David Harbour’s latest comment in regards to it. 

P.S. I agree that killing Natasha in Endgame, before she could get her film, is a disgusting move, but, again, we don’t know what they will do with the Black Widow film. it can fix it, it can make it better, and of course, it could make it worse. I’m using all the information mentioned above to keep my head wrapped around the first two instances, hopefully, after this rant, so will you.

Have a good day!

[nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui]

To be fair.. At one hand I am really excited about the lotr series, and really looking forvard to it.. But on the other hand I dont really want it to be too famous, like the GoT-level-mainstream-famous, I dont know why, I just like the (not that)"small" and nerdy fandom, and it will expand. (By a lot, if they make the series that good)

It will certainly expand (whether the series is good or not, perhaps), in the same way that it expanded and got mainstream-level popular during the hot phase of PJ’s LotR and Hobbit trilogies. Presumably, now as then, some of the new fans are going to stay, while a lot of them will eventually “grow out of it” and move on when the series ends - just as the fandom grew smaller and nerdier between ~2004 and 2012, and has again grown nerdier after The Battle of the Five Armies faded from mainstream memory. In the meantime, yes, there will be a wave of new fans, just as there will be a wave of (hopefully) excellent visuals and soundtrack music and costume and set designs.

To some extent, I get the worry. I came into the fandom via the books shortly before the first LotR movie hit cinemas, a youngster among the “old guard”, and I can’t deny I was – well, not a gatekeeper, but certainly a book purist and proud to have been there (just barely) before the movies. And to some extent, I still am! I have my issues with the movies (the Hobbit more than LotR, but that doesn’t mean the latter is perfect), and I have my issues with some of the discussions and interpretations these movies have sparked. I feel a bit wistful whenever I see fanart that’s purely movie fanart. I roll my eyes at the popularity of Orlando Bloom!Legolas. I get downright pissed off when people blame Tolkien’s storywriting for one of PJ’s more questionable choices because it actually makes sense in the book and if only you’d actually read the damned thing — ;) I scrolled past a lot of fan content produced for the Hobbit trilogy, simply because I didn’t care - and of course there was a lot to scroll past during its hot phase, which can feel annoying at times. So yeah, to some extent I, too, enjoy the feeling of a somewhat exclusive, reasonably small community.

Nonetheless, I can’t deny that a lot of awesome fandom people have been brought in (or back) specifically by one of the movie trilogies. Some of them feel like old-timers who’ve been there forever now! But that’s because FotR’s cinematic success was 18 years ago, which for plenty of younger fans is their entire lifetime! But these people, too, once came into the “small and nerdy” fandom because it had suddenly become mainstream, watched mistrustfully by people who had themselves joined the fandom in the 1990s or 80s or 70s or 60s or even earlier, and fandom would be a lot poorer without them. And while a lot of the new fans may just be there for the hype, because it’ll suddenly be cool to know who Celebrimbor or Tar-Aldarion or whoever is, because this actor is soooo hot and that actress is soooo sexy… there will be awesome new people, too.And, as I said, we will hopefully be getting awesome new visuals.

Presumably, you’ll have to curate your fandom experience a bit more (depending on whether you follow any general fannish tags right now), simply to not be exhausted by the sheer amount of new material and to avoid being exposed to the kind of “mainstream” interaction with the story that you personally don’t enjoy. (For example, I have very little to do with the Hobbit movie fandom, except when Silmarillion fanfolk that I follow also occasionally post Hobbit content; and I also stay out of certain corners of Silm fandom that I simply am not interested in.)That way, you’ll create your own small and nerdy corner from which you can cautiously venture into the flood of new material - or not - as you like.

Things will change, just as they’ve done before.

What I’m really afraid of is a bad series full of GoT-style sexualised violence and grimdark plot twists that will make me feel embarrassed by association! I do hope they’ll care to preserve the tone of the original.

[the-darklings]

[lets talk about writing]

Thank you so much to my lovely girls @deviantramblings & @thedragonkween for tagging me, this was a little different but I really enjoyed answering these! 

(putting answers under the cut because I got carried away ayyy)

–

short stories, novels, or poems?

Novels. This is purely because I like stories building from the ground up and getting completely sucked into a different world. I could spend days upon days reading novels tbh. Short stories have recently grown on me though. They can really pack a punch and take a lot of skill to do well. Poems...everyone has very different opinions on what is actually considered “poetry”. 

what genre do you prefer reading?

I’m huge on Fantasy. Throw in some Romance (rarely on its own though), Sci-Fi, Mystery and we’re good to go. I enjoy the richness of fantasy worlds because it takes a really good author to do good world building/magic systems etc. Also, I’m a sucker for political manipulations and magic. 

what genre do you prefer writing?

Depends on my mood. I suppose at the core of my writing is Romantic fluff/angst. Though I also really enjoy writing Sci-Fi (though, again, I’m nowhere near intelligent enough for hard Sci-Fi lol).

are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

I used to be a chaotic writer. Never planned anything and suffered for it tbh. Now I certainly plan more but I’m also a very big mood person so it’s a mix between the two truthfully. 

what music do you listen to while writing? 

I have entire playlists built for certain characters and had music inspire me while I’m writing lots of times before. It’s like air to me. But the actual content of these playlists varies because some songs might be there for a certain reason? Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it’s very upbeat or dark. Each song usually corresponds to certain fics/scenes etc.

fave books/movies?

We’re going to be here a while ayyyy:

Books: Harry Potter, The Book Thief, The Poppy War (is it duology? series? dunno but the first book alone is worth a mention), Misborn Series, Shades of Magic Series, Vicious, The Grisha Trilogy/Six of Crows Duology, The Hunger Games, Alice (and many, many more)

Movies: The Shawshank Redemption, Inception, Beauty and the Beast, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Gladiator, LOTR/The Hobbit trilogies, Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron, Rise of the Guardians, the majority of Marvel movies (and many more yet again.)

any current WIPs?

Too many to count ayyy. But I’m currently slowly writing my first Arthur Morgan x Reader fic. It’s at 3.5k so far. 

if someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Black jeans, white/black/white/red or grey shirt, leather/denim jacket and sneakers. 

create a character description for yourself:

A (poorly) multitasking idiot addicted to coffee and complex characters that will never be real. 

do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

Rarely. But fun fact, in by the grace (of hatred in my veins) the criminal that kidnaps the Reader? He was based on my former best friend lol. 

are you kill-happy with characters?

Depends on the situation. I typically dislike unhappy endings because I want shit to work out in my fiction, ya know? Make me suffer but gimme a happy ending. That being said, as all of you know by now, I’m fine with hurting/killing characters if the narrative requires it. I do what needs to be done lol. 

coffee or tea while writing? 

Both. Tea more often than coffee because I do most of my writing later in the day but yes. 

slow or fast writer?

Again, depends. I can write anywhere from 200 a day to 4k a day. Depends on the day/time I have available to me, and most importantly, inspiration.  

where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

I’m a very visual person. I have Pinterest boards, writing inspo tag etc. photography, quotes, they all inspire me a great deal. Music as well. They’re all crucial to my creative process. 

if you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

Assassin. Because I would be out to get all that ass and get rich obviously. Bonus points if I get cool superpowers. 

most fave book cliche? least fave book cliche?

Fave: enemies to lovers or just power couples in general. Nothing more brilliant that two people who hate each other and through circumstances come to realise that they are more alike than they ever imagined. Terrifying separately, a pure nightmare together. Shout out to mutual pining, and slowburn too. 

Least fave: cookie cutter “chosen one”. I’ve seen this trope done really well but most of the time it irks me so much. Especially in fantasy books because I feel like I’m reading the same character over and over again. 

fave scenes to write?

Angst and romantic tension scenes. Kisses are fun too because you really poke around the sensations/thoughts/feelings of a character. 

most productive time of day for writing?

I try to do as much writing as possible during the day but it rarely works out because I’m typically really busy during the day. Evening time is when I sit behind my computer properly so I try to dedicate it to the blog (like answering your questions etc) but I now take a more chill approach and write more during the evening time. But again, my productivity depends on my mood/health. 

reason for writing?

Enjoyment (despite how painful it is). The idea of others liking my writing is amazing though. I’ll be honest, I also find people really fascinating? I like thought process/construction of characters and these wild stories you are able to tell through words alone. Writing is just pure creation? I love it. My friends would probably tell you that I also have a lowkey God Complex lmao. 

–

tagging: @drmsqnc // @connorshero  // @deviantcrimes  // @thirium-ink // @deviancy-wasteland  // @deviantsupporter // @the-kryomancer // @shadows-echoes & @negotiator-on-site and anyone else who decides they’d like to try it!!

[mithrilhearts]

1, 14 & 15 for all your fandoms 🤭

FOR ALL OF MY FANDOMS???? so just the two I post about, GOT IT.

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

- LOTR, Aragorn/Eowyn. Maybe I don't look at ships enough in the fandoms I'm in, but this was one that bugged me anyway. I love both characters separately, but I just can't get behind this one. Is this an otp among fans? I have no idea, but it's a no from me.

- HOBBIT, Bilbo/Smaug, this will always be my big no ship. I can't honestly say I know anyone who ships this, but I've seen it and I don't like it, I don't want it, but you do you, fam. If this is what you wanna ship, go for it and that's all fine by me. Just don't expect me to. To each their own!

- WWDITS, honestly...? I don't think there's a true OTP in here I don't enjoy? I only really look at the 2 big ones on here Nadja/Laszlo and Nandor/Guillermo, but I'm sure there's plenty of lil ships in this fandom that would make me go KSDFLKDJFSLKFSD.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

- LOTR, TTT WAS BORING. Yeah, come at me again. This is my least favorite movie of the entire franchise. Helm's Deep was sick, but it stretched on forever. There were some great moments in this movie, just as there were some big snooze fests for me. I think that's a common thing with middle movies? As DOS is my least favorite of the Hobbit trilogy as well. But this one....eesh, it just isn't for me.

- HOBBIT, THE 👏 HOBBIT 👏 MOVIES 👏 WERE 👏 GOOD. Need I say more? I can't stand the amount of shit they get, though I've noticed over the years it's become less and less, but even STILL. I think they're just as good as the LOTR movies (and I actually prefer the hobbit ones over the lotr, sue me.) Not that it's an unpopular opinion or anything, but I will defend my company and their funky lil hobbit dude until I die.

- WWDITS, again, I'm not super deep into the FANDOM side of this show? Aka, I haven't interacted with enough people to really know what is and isn't a popular/unpopular opinion. I will say, for as much as I'm very pro NANDERMO, I am really enjoying the hella slow burn. There are so many details within the show that eventually make their way back around to become relevant. Certain shots, or certain lines and bits of information, it's amazing and I can't wait to see where they go with it. Yes, throw me on the "they need to kiss now" train, but also, stringing it out like this is so much fun.

15. Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

Ahhhh, how do answer this one? I don't have one for this, I'm sorry loooool. For show, see WWDITS above!

[rptv-tolkien]

Lord of the Rings: Why Viggo Mortensen's Aragorn Didn't Return For The Hobbit

Peter Jackson's Hobbit movies brought back Legolas from Lord of the Rings, but Viggo Mortensen declined to reprise his role as Aragorn.

by Craig Elvy June 27, 2020

https://screenrant.com/hobbit-movies-aragorn-viggo-mortensen-not-return-reason/

________________________________

Why didn't Viggo Mortensen decide to return as Aragorn in The Hobbit? Peter Jackson made cinematic history with his groundbreaking The Lord of the Rings trilogy and despite many Tolkien purists taking exception to some of the changes made in translation, the movies are largely faithful to the source material, certainly in comparison to Jackson's more recent adaptation of The Hobbit. Derived from only a single, modest volume, Jackson spread The Hobbit over an entire trilogy and incorporated ideas from elsewhere in Tolkien's canon that built towards major events in The Lord of the Rings, such as the Necromancer.

As part of The Hobbit's Jacksonification, several familiar faces from The Lord of the Rings were drafted in to further bind the two trilogies together. Aside from Gandalf, Elrond and Gollum, who all appear in the original novel anyway, the Hobbit trilogy also included Cate Blanchett's Galadriel and Christopher Lee's Saruman as members of the White Council. By far the most jarring film-only addition to The Hobbit, however, is Orlando Bloom's Legolas. Legolas' presence in The Hobbit arguably makes logical sense since he's the son of Thranduil and dwells in Mirkwood, but others might suggest the presence of a major Lord of the Rings character made for an unnecessary addition and a transparent marketing ploy.

In The Battle of Five Armies, Thranduil asks his son to search for a ranger by the name of Strider, referencing Viggo Mortensen's character from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but plans were initially afoot to physically include Aragorn in the Hobbit movies. According to Mortensen himself, an unnamed Hobbit producer approached the actor in 2008 to sound out a potential return for Aragorn. Mortensen declined by simply saying, "you do know, don't you? Aragorn isn't in The Hobbit."

Since this exchange occurred in 2008, the idea to bring back Aragorn can't necessarily be attributed to Peter Jackson. Although Jackson was involved at this early stage, Guillermo Del Toro was still in the director's chair and contributing to the script. With that said, the fact that Mortensen wasn't approached by Del Toro personally might suggest the Aragorn plan wasn't his doing either. A more likely explanation is that producers were exploring ways to ride on the coattails of Lord of the Rings' success and casually sounding out actors potentially willing to return. Orlando Bloom's presence in the Hobbit trilogy proves the notion was never dropped.

Even though many viewers were critical of Legolas' inclusion in The Hobbit, the elf is easier to integrate into the story than Aragorn due to the Mirkwood connection. If Mortensen had agreed to come back, his appearance would've likely generated even more controversy than Bloom's. In theory, Jackson could have altered the date Aragorn met Gandalf and delved into that duo's early dealings in addition to the Necromancer material, but this would've spawned a completely separate narrative, whereas at least Legolas could be worked into the central journey of Bilbo and the Dwarves.

Mortensen's respect for Tolkien's books and desire to be authentic to the source material would no doubt have earned him the admiration of many Middle-earth fans, but also highlights the vastly differing attitudes among Lord of the Rings cast members. While some were happy to expand and adapt their characters in ways original to the big screen, others were sticklers for fidelity. For example, Christopher Lee was an avid Tolkien fan and became famous for carrying copies of the books on-set for reference. Although he no doubt would've received a bumper payday, Mortensen might've recognized that his character's return in The Hobbit would not be well received and risked tarnishing Aragorn's cinematic legacy.

________________________________

For his second trilogy, Peter Jackson (pictured) greatly expanded The Hobbit (which included story lines and characters that were never in the book)

-

This included adding LOTR characters who were not in The Hobbit (such as Galadriel, played by Cate Blanchett)

-

.... But Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen) was also in the running at one stage

-

Viggo Mortensen turned down the offer, citing Aragorn’s absence in The Hobbit book.  The offer came while Guillermo del Toro (the original director) was still attached to the project (although it is not clear whether it was his idea or not)

-

Guillermo del Toro

-

Aragorn would have been harder to integrate into The Hobbit than Legolas

-

________________________________ 

RPTV comment: I completely agree with Viggo Mortensen.  As much as I enjoyed Orlando Bloom (as Legolas) and Christopher Lee (as Saruman) in LOTR, it was a mistake to include them in the Hobbit. It felt like a cheap marketing ploy, the sole purpose of which was to get people into the theater (rather than adding anything meaningful to the story).  It also took attention away from the dwarves, who play a vital role in the original story.  Their significance in the story is somewhat diluted by the addition of LOTR characters.

Not to mention the new characters were very distracting (especially the wizard Radagast the Brown, who not only was NOT in The Hobbit book, but who was barely in the LOTR book, and played an extremely minor role**. And of course Tauriel the elf does not exist at all in any of the books and was simply an invention of Peter Hackson).

(**To be fair, the same thing can be said of Arwen the elf, but I have to admit that Peter Jackson did an excellent job of expanding her role in LOTR.  In this particular case, it actually worked).

None of this was a big surprise to me. When I heard Peter Jackson might be making a Hobbit movie, I was not at all optimistic. It sounded like nothing more than a cash grab, and I suspected the worse (that he would mess it up). I was right.  And apparently many others felt the same way, which is why Jackson’s hobbit trilogy was not as well received as his LOTR trilogy.

And which is why (besides the Rankin/Bass Hobbit and Return of the King) these are the only DVDs I have in my collection:

[misfit-among-the-angels]

Do ALL the questions!!!! 😇

1. describe yourself.I hate to doing this because every time I have job interview they ask me pretty much the same :/ So yea, I’m not gonna do that sorry :c

2. if you could go anywhere for a week all expenses paid where would it be?Bavarian Alpes 

3. do you have siblings?Yep, 7 years older sister

4. what is your favorite constellation, why?I don’t think I have one

5. favorite color.Black, red, green, purple

6. what kind of music do you listen to?Metal, classic rock, industrial, neo-folk, 80s pop, darkwave 

7. favorite flower. (you can name as many as you want cause flowers are awesome)Tulip, forget-me-not

8. if you could do magic, what is the first spell you would learn?Hmmm, first spell, probably the spell that would help me to learn all languages that I wanna learn

9. favorite childhood memory.Countless trips all around my hometown with my grandma

10. have you ever been cheated on?Yep

11. if you could describe your perfect room, what would it be?Lots of posters on the walls, guitar in a corner, comfy bed, lots of CDs on the table. Idk, this sucks sorry

12. favorite animal.Wolves, big cats, horses

13. what was the last photo you took of?

14. do you believe in soul mates?Yep

15. do you hang toilet paper over or under?Over

16. your go to place to eat & your favorite thing to get there.Express pizza. Always ordering the spiciest pizza they have

17. do you believe everything happens for a reason?Kinda. Some things indeed happen for reason

18. guilty pressures?Idk if I even have them

19. favorite mythical creature, why?Dragons, because they are so damn awesome and powerful

20. something most people don’t know about you.People on tumblr probably know everything about me at this point lol. Idk, I guess some people don’t really know that 8 years ago I became a metalhead, but I discovered my first metal band 11 years ago

21. where did you grow up, what was it like?I grew up in the second biggest city in Lithuania - Kaunas. Idk, I barely remember things from my childhood 

22. do you believe aliens exist?Ayye

23. what was your last google search? “phantom of the opera“

24. what did your last relationship teach you?Perfect relationships exist. Also long distance relationships suck ass

25. would you relocate for love?It would depend, but I guess yea 

26. do you hold grudges or forgive easy?It depends what that person has done to me

27. favorite book.LoTR trilogy and tbh every J.R.R. book, It by S. King, The name of the Rose byU. Eco and many more

28. do you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert?Extrovert with some introvert traits

29. have you ever kept a journal, do you now?I have kept it when I was a teen, now I only have travel journal

30. top 5 favorite movies.LoTR/The Hobbit trilogyAtomic BlondeKill BillAs above so belowInterstellar

31. do you believe that everything happens for a reason?same question and same answer

32. what is your greatest fear?Spiders

33. favorite alcoholic beverage.Wine, beer, mead, whiskey 

34. most embarrassing thing you’ve done.Wrote all those really creepy thirst tweets about Rammstein back when i had obsession over them

35. do you believe in ghosts?Yep

36. what is the best and worst part of your personality?Best - I’m out-going and I’m always ready to helpWorst - I can be really stubborn 

37. should you split the dinner bill?Idk, should you?

38. are you a good liar?I guess yea

39. what keeps you up at night?My mind and my love for night

40. would you rather go without your phone or music?Phone

41. do you believe in god?I believe in gods

42. how do you relax when frustrated?Well, it depends on how I’m frustrated, but I usually listen to music or watch some vids on youtube

43. what’s something that offends you?Sexism  

44. favorite foodPasta!

45. if you were on a 10 hour flight and could sit and talk to any person the entire time, who would it be?I wanted to write a very specific person, but let’s leave that person for another time. I think it would be Tuomas Holopainen from Nightwish

46. when do you feel the most confident?When I’m with my favorite outfit, or when my makeup is cool, or when my mind let’s me feel confident, or when I’m wearing something sexy

47. what do you do on your free time?Listen to music, watching films/tv series, tumblr, sleeping, fangirling, going to concerts/fllm festivals, traveling, photography, being with friends, being in nauture

48. is there anyone who has completely lost your respectYep

49. have you ever broken someone’s heart?Yep, unfortunately 

50. did/do you play sports in school?I used to play sports in elementary school

51. when are you happiest?When I’m traveling or in a concert, or being with friends, or doing something creative, or being in nature

52. coffee or tea?Tea

53. what is one possession you own you wouldn’t want to live without?My camera (and my copy of Moonglow artbook)

54. what is the first thing you notice about a person?Their eyes, sometimes their hands

55. what is your favorite season, why?Autumn and winter. It’s just perfect weather and it makes me feel alive

56. what makes you laugh?Idk how to even answer this lol Good jokes, stupid/adorable things

57. are you a clean or messy person?Messy

58. what is important for a successful relationship?Trust, loyalty, being open and honest

59. what was your upcoming like?I don’t really understand the question tbh

60. favorite holiday?Christmas probably 

61. what is the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?Buy all the stuff I need 

62. what’s the best pizza topping combination?Anything, as long as it is spicy 

63. favorite outdoor activity.Going around the city or being in nature

64. how are you? honestly.I dunno, kinda good but kinda bad

65. would you rather go camping in the woods or stay at a beach resort?Camping in the woods of course

66. what is the most beautiful thing in nature?EVERYTHING! 

67. favorite type of candy?Chocolate lol

68. if your life was a book, what would be the title?“I need to read what the shit is this” - or smth stupid I said once lol

69. what movie quotes do you use of a regular bases?I barely use them tbh, tho I do use “precious” a lot

70. what was cool when you were young but not cool now?Being emo

71. what’s the craziest conversation you have ever eves dropped on?I honestly can’t remember 

72. what’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched?Metal evolution 

73. what’s the worst hairstyle you’ve had?I suck at describing things but nooo, i’m not gonna post a picture even tho I think I have few, but let’s say it was pretty bad

74. what do you like to cook?Pasta or basically anything that I can or want at that moment

75. what’s the coolest animal you’ve seen in the wild?Moose

76. what’s the funniest tv show you’ve ever seen?The Simpsons I guess

77. do you usually follow your heart or your head?Heart

78. what is your favorite quote? “Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft are written by men.” - Good omens

79. what’s the weirdest crush you have ever had?Idk, I don’t think I had any really weird crushes

80. what’s your love language?I actually went and did a test about this and so my love language is physical touch. I actually agree on this

81. do you ever feel alone?Almost always

82. ever been bullied?Yep

83. are you usually early or late?Sometimes bit early sometimes late

84. what kind of art do you enjoy most?Books, films, music, photography

85. what do you wish you knew more about?I wish I’d know more about filmmaking, photography

Thank you!!!! And sorry that my answers suck ass..

[the-dan-in-high-castle]

The Lord of the Rings: Were some film changes justified?

Hi there, peeps. So this is the first time I’ve done something like this, but I thought I’d dig into something a little juicy and which often provokes a lot of debate in the literary sphere: whether or not the changes made from the original LOTR books to the film trilogy by Peter Jackson were justified or not.

Every book-to-movie translation features changes, and I mean every single one. We see it all over, with movies like the Harry Potter franchise, The Golden Compass, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and perhaps most famously with Lord of the Rings. 

The reasons for these changes vary greatly. Some directors choose to erase aspects of the source material to shorten the overall length of a film, or to stop a film becoming clustered with too many plotlines or characters. Others may change a certain scene, location or character to better suit their vision of the adaptation, and some go as far as re-writing the plot to end differently altogether. For this post, I’m going to split LOTR changes into three categories:

The erasure of characters included in the novels

The change of characters included in both the novels and the films, either in actions, context or personality

The alteration of certain plot-lines and stories

Character removal

Yes, we will be talking about Tom Bombadil here to start with. The singing, dancing forest-lurker introduced in Chapter VI of Fellowship of the Ring, Tom acts as a seemingly random inclusion into the story, guiding the four Hobbits through the Barrow-downs and saving them from the undead Barrow-wights, while gifting the Hobbits the Númenorean daggers, one of which Merry uses to help kill the Witch-King in Return of the King. Bombadil has become the butt of many jokes among fans for his spontaneous appearance in the storyline, his apparent lack of significance in the plot as a whole, and simply because all he does is sing to trees and dance around his house. With this in mind, it makes sense entirely that Tom isn’t included in the films. He doesn’t appear for the rest of the films, he has minimal impact in the overall story, and he’s a bit of a joke character.

One more aggravating removal is that of Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, as well as the Grey Company. The Grey Company, a group of elite Dúnedain soldiers led by Aragorn’s close friend, Halbarad, appear first in Return of the King, following Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead and helping him reclaim Pelargir and then the Pelenoor Fields. Elladan and Elrohir accompany the Grey Company, though also appear earlier in Rivendell in Fellowship of the Ring, and are also responsible for re-forging Anduril for Aragorn. The characters did not diminish at all from the overall story, with the Grey Company allowing Aragorn to show his leadership and control before his eventual succession to the throne, while Elladan and Elrohir gave more representation to the Elves, while also furthering the family of Elrond further, as in the books. Erasing them not only removes the Dúnedain from any mention save a conversation between Aragorn and Eowyn, but also erodes Elrond’s two eldest children from existence. 

There are other exclusions which do make some sense, in my opinion. Quickbeam, an Ent that befriends Merry and Pippin, is quite a humorous character in the books, but also does little to the story and would simply take up time and budget. There is also no mention of Bill Ferny, the corrupt Northmen who tells the Nazgul of the Hobbits being in Bree, though he wasn’t necessary in this regard either. Finally, there is the absence of Glorfindel, though I’ll explore that one when we look at the next section.

The alteration of characters

Faramir. Good grief, how they annoyed me with the depiction of Faramir in the films. Book-Faramir is genuinely one of the most noble and generous characters in the entire trilogy. He shows care and attention to Frodo and Sam, and while he is suspicious of Gollum, he never abuses him as is shown in the movies. More importantly, Faramir never attempts to take the Ring from Frodo, identifying it immediately as a source of evil. However, most significant is that Faramir aids Frodo in his journey by giving him food, as well as advising him not to trust Gollum nor to pass through Cirith Ungol. The contrast with Movie-Faramir, who at first acts out of greed and desperation to bring the Ring to Gondor, while also mistreating and abusing the trio travelling to Mordor, is a crude corruption of the noble Captain seen in the novels. Faramir’s actions seemed only to justify the scenes in Osgiliath, though these would much eagerly be replaced by the scenes involving the Window of the West in my opinion, which featured some of the best settings and dialogue in the entire trilogy.

Next, we move to Arwen. Arwen is one of the few characters to actually receive a greatly expanded role in the movies. Not only do we see her far earlier in Fellowship of the Ring, bearing Frodo to Rivendell, but we also see her struggles with journeying to Valinor and her romance with Aragorn, which is only ever mentioned in the books. Arwen’s expansion does help give some depth to one of the few female characters in the series, but also comes at the expense of other characters. Not only do the scenes detailing her inner turmoil and her relationship lead to the removal or cutting down of some characters, but her inclusion in some parts usurps the role of other characters, such as when Glorfindel rescues Frodo in the novel. Arwen’s changes are 50/50, as while the exploration of a character we know little about is somewhat appreciated, part of her appeal in the novels was her mystique, if Frodo’s perspective tells us anything, and her expansion comes at the cost of many other side characters.

Other character changes are somewhat minimal. The age of the Hobbits is greatly reduced, with Frodo being shown as a young adult, even though he is middle-aged in the books, though this comes down to a narrative change. Denethor is slightly differed also: while the books present him first with cunning and wit, which gradually descends as the story progresses, the movie presents him from the start of Return of the King as a man already lost to grief and madness, denying the audience the chance to see why he became the twisted and desperate man we see in the novels.

Alteration of the plot

In respect to Jackson, he did a far better job than most book-to-film directors in keeping to the plot of the trilogy (more than I can say for the Hobbit cough cough) but he is not without his blunders.

Remember the Scouring of the Shire? Peter Jackson doesn’t. One of the final chapters of Return of the King, the Scouring of the Shire was the takeover of the Shire by brigands loyal to Saruman (no, he didn’t fall off Orthanc at the start of RotK) and their subsequent defeat by the rebellious Hobbits, with Saruman being murdered by Wormtongue in the aftermath. The Scouring is definitely an usual addition, seemingly placed in the novel to close out Saruman after his escape from Orthanc. It did make some sense to cut out the Scouring, since it would have taken up time in an otherwise lengthy movie, and Jackson does well to allude to it with the Mirror of Galadriel in Fellowship, but getting to see an army of Hobbits beat up a bunch of bandits and thugs to round out the trilogy would have certainly been entertaining. Still, it makes sense to cut it.

What doesn’t make sense is the inclusion of Frodo, Sam and Gollum in the Battle of Osgiliath in Two Towers. Why were they there? The inclusion was practically nonsensical, since not only did it draw out the scenes where the audience was met with an (unsuitably) arrogant Faramir who they weren’t growing to like, but the battle scene never even included the other three characters fighting. If you want to add in a battle, go ahead, but don’t add a battle that nobody takes part in except extras. The battle wasn’t even that special, with the battle scenes themselves being clunky and the inclusion of the Nazgul being completely unnecessary, since we had not only seen them not long before over the Dead Marshes, but would later see them rip everything up in Minas Tirith. It’s a clunky addition that also deprives us of the scenes of respite that the novel chapters with Faramir provide. The last thing we really need at this point is turmoil and battle, and it only adds to the cluster of action going on at the end of the film.

Some smaller changes connect to the past two categories, such as the Grey Company coming to aid Aragorn and the complete removal of the Old Forest or the Barrow-downs, as well as the scenes in Buckland we see in the book where the reader learns that the Hobbits are being spied on. One of the more egregious changes in my personal opinion is the removal of the meeting between the Elves, led by Gildor, and the three Hobbits; Frodo, Sam and Pippin. The meeting is diminished to the passing of a group of Elves by Frodo and Sam in the film, and takes away from the mystique of the Elves that Jackson later tries to build in Rivendell. The meeting is one of the lighter-hearted portrayals of the Elves in the series, and the absence of the meeting does nothing but maintain the presentation of Elves as sullen, miserable warriors without any cheer or heart. 

Conclusion

So which changes are justified from book to film?

Definitely the removal of Tom Bombadil. While I enjoyed the Bombadil chapters in the book, they wouldn’t have done much good for the movies. 

The Scouring of the Shire. An interesting little storyline, but not significant enough to add to the films meaningfully, especially not a movie as long as Return of the King

The expansion of Arwen’s character. Tolkien admittedly included very few significant female characters, and so it is good of Jackson to expand on Arwen as a strong female figure.

Which changes weren’t justified?

Faramir. Changing Faramir into a near-antagonist for the entirety of Two Towers did nothing but give the audience a character to hate other than Gollum, which wasn’t necessary, since Gollum acts perfectly as a troubled, two-faced villain for the audience to be indecisive on. Faramir should have stayed as the strong source of hope in an otherwise troubled kingdom. 

The removal of various Elf characters. This includes Glorfindel, Elladan, Elrohir and Gildor. Four Elf characters that show far more heart and charisma than other Elves, yet are left out. Their inclusion could have added another dimension to the Elf race, but this is unfortunately avoided by Jackson.

How Denethor is presented. Denethor in the books started as witty and cunning, if not also paranoid, and over the course of Return of the King the reader sees the paranoia slowly take over his more respectable aspects. From the start of the movie, however, Denethor is depicted as broken and shallow, and so the audience misses out on that immersive transition.

Did Jackson mess up some stuff? Yeah, absolutely. If you’re of the belief that the books are absolutely perfect, you’re never gonna think a film adaptation will be as good since things will definitely change. However, as far as film adaptations of novels go, Jackson did a respectable job. He contained all the vital plot aspects, maintained the personalities of most characters while expanding on others, and gave us some absolutely gorgeous settings and art designs. Not bad, PJ. Not bad.

[ratmonologue]

you knew it was coming aLL OF THEM

*darth vader voice* NOOOOOOOOO

1. Favorite action film? Does Raiders of the Lost Ark count as action? If so that2. What movie(s) could you watch over and over and not get tired of? JURASSIC PARK I’ve watched it about a trillion times by now and the soundtrack’s been stuck in my head for like a month straight and even now I’m kinda like “hey I should watch it YET AGAIN”3. Any old school favorites (pre-70s)? I don’t even remember how many pre-70s movies I’ve seen I’m so sorry Belle I know I’m a disappointment to you4. Top 5 directors? Idek if I can name five directors lmao5. Favorite dead actor/actress? Alan Rickman was pretty great

6. Favorite movie from the 90’s? JURASSIC PARK (apologies in advance for how many times I’m going to answer that)7. Ever been/are you such a hardcore fan of an actor actress you watched/will watch any movie they were/will be in? I tried with Harrison Ford a few years back. Watched a handful of movies but didn’t even come close to all of his. I watched a bunch of things solely because Richard Armitage was in them. And as soon I find Diego Luna’s spanish movies with subtitles I’m watching those8. What movie are you looking forward to coming out the most? THE LAST JEDI9. Pixar or Dreamworks? I like both but am not a diehard fan of either?10. Favorite animated movie? Disney’s Atlantis11. Favorite musical? …I’m gonna be controversial here and say the 2004 Phantom of the Opera movie because it was my introduction to the wonderful world of musicals in general so... Ooh or does Dr. Horrible count?12. Are you against book-to-movie adaptations? In theory I’m all for them. It’s just that in practice they’re rarely good.13. Your guilty pleasure movie(s)? The Outsiders. It’s not very good (like, at all) but everyone’s just so pretty (and now younger than me… yikes)14. Robin Williams or Eddie Murphy? Robin Williams15. Favorite chick flick? Legally Blonde and/or She’s The Man. I don’t really watch chick flicks so those are the only ones I can really think of16. Ever watched a movie just because you heard the effects were awesome? No17. Favorite indie film? I don’t even know honestly18. Favorite movie heroine? Princess Leia, Marion Ravenwood, probably others that I can’t think of rn19. Favorite movie action hero? Indiana Jones obviously20. Ever read a book so you could understand the movie? Not to understand the movie, no, but I’ve read books after seeing the movie because I enjoyed it and wanted to know more, because movies always leave things out.21. Favorite kids movie? Atlantis, Mulan, why is my brain malfunctioning there are many more…. OH and I loved the first two Ice Age movies22. Favorite Disney movie? see previous question23. Favorite movie soundtrack? JURASSIC PARK. Also the Lord of the Rings trilogy24. Movie that makes you cry every time? Serenity, Rogue One, and LotR: Return of the King25. VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray? We only have a DVD player out of those so26. Best experience going to the movies? I have two. One was when my friend Nicole and I went to the opening night of the first Hobbit movie, and while the movie itself was… kind of a disappointment, to put it mildly, we had a great time poking sleep-deprived fun at it and attempting to sing Thorin’s ridiculous bass notes (I was sick so I could actually kind of do it). The other was Rogue One; I was… not in the best emotional state going into that, or coming out of it for that matter (can I really call it a “best” experience if I sobbed my way through the last 40 minutes? discuss) but at the same time you know how when a movie or character comes along at the exact right moment in your life? Yeah. That.27. Top 5 actors? Currently Harrison Ford, Richard Armitage, Diego Luna, Nathan Fillion, Hugh Laurie28. Top 5 actresses? (It’s a testament to the fact that most movies are very gender-imbalanced that I’m having a much harder time thinking of actresses than actors) Daisy Ridley, Catherine Tate, Carrie Fisher, Lauren Lopez, Kate Winslet?29. Movie you completely regret seeing? Trainspotting was… strange. And very very TMI. There was also this German movie about a restaurant owner’s misadventures that was just no get this away from me this is cringey and gross and also just utter nonsense. I think I liveblogged it on the OT actually. I had to keep pausing and watching it in small chunks because I just couldn’t handle the terribleness all at once.30. Movie you wish was never made? That German movie. Most sequels and remakes (none of the German movie exist though, thank god).31. Movie your parent showed you? My mom showed us The Great Race, a 60s comedy about an automobile race (I’m imagining that in Tony Curtis’s voice, heh) around the world, and it’s wacko and completely amazing. On the other side of the coin, my dad let me watch Bladerunner when I was way too young for it…32. Last movie you watched? Probably Rogue One33. An overrated movie? Groundhog Day. It was so stupid34. An underrated movie? Atlantis. It’s one of the least-well-known Disney movies, which is crazy because it’s completely amazing35. Favorite comedy movie? SPACEBALLS36. Movie quote you live by? Now I’m just thinking of Spaceballs quotes. None of those are particularly good life advice…37. Movie quote that will always make you laugh? The “everything that happens now, is happening now” “go back to then!” “when? now?” “now!” “I can’t” “why” “we missed it” “when” “just now.” “……when will then be now?” “SOON.” exchange from Spaceballs is PURE GOLD38. Film(s) you’ve watched on a date? Jurassic World. The movie sucked, but the date was fun. There was also one about a recovering heroin addict and his pet cat, which I should have taken as a sign that the dude I was with was not a good match for me. There were also plenty of movie/tv-show ‘dates’ outside of movie theaters.39. Favorite cult film? I don’t think it’s well-known enough to count as a cult film as such but it was on Mystery Science Theater 3000, so…. Teenagers From Outer Space, made in the fifties on an approximately $20 budget with no actual teenage actors. It’s…. it’s an experience in so-bad-it’s-good-ness. Cannot recommend highly enough.40. Directors you’d like to see work together? I don’t pay attention to these things I’m sorry I don’t know41. Actors you’d like to see work together? Everyone from the BBC already has worked together42. Films you wanted to watch, but never got around to watching? Pretty much any so-called classic film you can think of43. Favorite teen movie? It was more elementary school than teen, but The Lizzie McGuire Movie was pretty iconic. (Also I’ve seen a grand total of, like, three “teen movies” so)44. Top 5 favorite films? Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, LotR: Return of the King, can I count the entire Star Wars series as one, and Spaceballs. Such a wide repertoire I know45. Favorite superhero film? Uh….. Thor? Maybe….? That’s solely because of Hemsworth’s and Hiddleston’s faces though. Maybe Guardians of the Galaxy?46. Favorite cop film? The Fugitive isn’t a cop movie but Tommy Lee Jones was a great cop in it so that? (I can’t even think of any cop movies I’m sorry)47. Favorite road trip film? The Great Race, simply because it’s also the only one I can think of48. A disappointing film from your favorite actor? Diego Luna was not exactly a main character in Elysium but I still watched it solely because of him and then his extremely underdeveloped character was killed off halfway through to motivate Matt Damon and basically that movie was a dumpster fire. But, like, a really boring dumpster fire. I think I’d rather watch a literal dumpster fire, actually….49. A disappointing film from your favorite director? I wouldn’t say Peter Jackson is my favorite director my any means, but LotR was amazing and then The Hobbit movies happened and just… why…… why would you do this…..50. The first movie you ever remember watching in theaters? I don’t remember. Maybe one of the Ice Age movies?51. A movie that was better than the book? I wouldn’t say Jurassic Park was better than the book because it left out so much cool stuff, but I did actually like many of the changes they made. And I also saw it before reading the book so that probably helped my opinion of it quite a bit.52. Vin Diesel or Bruce Willis? Vin Diesel was the Iron Giant and Groot so him53. A movie that not many have heard of that you’ve seen? Nobody I know has heard of Teenagers From Outer Space. (How did I hear of it, you might ask? It was on tv at three in the morning and I was really really bored that night)54. A movie that changed the way you view the world? The LotR trilogy certainly changed the way I view New Zealand. I wanna go there.55. Favorite sci-fi movie? I know Star Wars is more space opera than actual sci-fi but I’m answering that anyway.56. Movie you completely nerd-out over every time it’s mentioned? Really any of my faves57. Movie that you’ve seen all the behind-the-scenes action for? Not all because there’s so damn much of it, but I’ve definitely watched a majority of the LotR behind the scenes stuff.58. Movie where your favorite actor was the only good part? Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was absolutely AWFUL and I enjoyed it immensely, because tiny Diego Luna dancing and being otherwise adorable. That being said he was the only one that knew remotely what acting even was and the parts when he wasn’t onscreen were just… really bad. The script was also awful, but at least it was unpredictable (because it made no sense). At least it was the entertaining kind of dumpster fire.59. Movie from an actor you hate that was better than you expected? First I need to think of an actor I hate….60. Most visually stunning movie you’ve seen? LotR was just beginning-to-end scenery porn.61. A movie your parents introduced you to? Didn’t I already answer this62. Favorite genre? “Soft” sci-fi and/or space opera is usually a good bet. Alternately, anything at all involving archaeology. And if you combine them I’ll love you forever.63. Least favorite genre? Romance. I’d like an actual plot, please64. Comedy movie that you didn’t find funny? Most of the ones I’ve seen tbh65. Horror movie that didn’t scare you? Also most of them, but I rarely watch horror66. Favorite remake of an old movie? I can’t actually think of any where I’ve seen both the original and the remake67. A movie that started a passion for you? Jurassic Park. My dinosaur phase lasted into high school….68. A movie that sparked an interesting conversation? Also most of my faves. Though whether those conversations were interesting for the other person too remains up for debate.69. The main movie you remember from your childhood? Star Wars: A New Hope70. The first movie you saw on it’s opening night? The first Hobbit movie71. A move that made you ache for love. ? Is this asking for a movie that hurt because I loved it so much, or a movie that made me want to find love in my real life, or…? (I guess Rogue One for both? It was painful af and I really want a Cassian, so)

[violent-optimism]

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Revisit)

Long post below!

Hey everyone!

Because this semester is starting to really take a toll on me and I need some good escapism, I figured it would be a great time to revisit Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy (2012-2014).

Now, some of you might not know this, but when I first joined Tumblr I was SUPER into these movies since they were just coming out around that time. It was probably one of the first (if not the first) things I ever blogged about, which feels like forever ago!

I’m not going to pretend that everyone is crazy about these movies. I recognize they have issues. I recognize that not everyone enjoyed them. But as per usual these reviews are going to contain MY personal opinion and mine alone. I actually think that, for the most part, these films hit the mark pretty well, are pleasantly entertaining and have great re-watch value much like their LOTR counterparts.

I think enough time has passed since the trilogy’s release that we can talk about these movies more objectively and with more critical thinking, which is exactly what I intend to do!

Let’s start appropriately with the first film in the trilogy: “An Unexpected Journey” which came out in 2012, just a little more than 7 years ago.

So the main question that I want to answer with this film (and the other films in the trilogy) is this: Does the film still hold up today? Why or why not?

First things first, let’s look at what “An Unexpected Journey” does not do well. These are things that could have definitely been improved upon or should have been omitted altogether.

One major gripe I hear about a lot with this film is the pacing. Unlike some of the other complaints, I have to completely agree with this one. While I will do my best to not compare this trilogy to its LOTR predecessor (because I don’t see how that helps my review and it’s also downright unfair), I will say that for all the lengthy run-times that Frodo’s journey gave us, the pacing always felt consistent and smooth. Yes, the movies would go on for a long time, but the sequencing of scenes and fast paced movement at least gave the illusion that the story was moving along at a decent rate.

With “An Unexpected Journey”, this is unfortunately not the case. For a story that is built around the thrill of an exciting adventure, the film pauses at many moments to explain backstory, give exposition and slow the pace down in many other ways. With this being the case, the film feels very “stop and go” with fast and slow scenes spliced together which ultimately ruins the pace of the story, especially in the first half. For example, the White Council scene is fascinating and gives us a rare look at seeing the most powerful figures of Middle Earth in one scene together; however it’s ultimately nothing but exposition and does not drive the adventure forward whatsoever. Thorin’s Company leaving Gandalf behind could be a metaphor for how desperately the film needed to move along at this point.  

Luckily, the last half of this movie (Overhill and Underhill onward) is rescued from this sluggish pace and actually manages to pick up quite a bit in the last act. It is also fortunate that this pacing demon does not chase after the other subsequent films and seems to only terrorize the first hour and a half of “An Unexpected Journey”.

What else doesn’t work in this film? Well…the humour is a bit strange for one thing. Despite having a PG-13 rating, the film can’t seem to decide whether or not it wants to make little kids laugh or older adults. There’s gross-out humour, toilet humour (there are Dwarves and Trolls after all) and there is even a ball joke. That’s right, a BALL joke in a film adapted from Professor Tolkien’s work (who I’m sure is rolling in his grave right about now). To be fair the ball joke is actually kind of funny, but that’s neither here nor there. I might have found most of the jokes in this film funny when I first saw it, but now I can only chuckle at a few things, one of them being the many hilarious facial expressions that Martin Freeman makes in almost every scene he’s in. The film does have some decent jokes, but for the most part they’re only the kind that 3 year olds or people with a gross sense of humour would genuinely laugh at.

Slow pacing and toilet humour aside, the film is actually quite successful in many other areas. Finally we get to the good stuff, the more positive stuff. Here is what “An Unexpected Journey” excels in.

Two words right out the gate: Martin F*cking Freeman (okay that’s three but you know he would approve of the swear word). Even after all this time, even after watching his performance again and again, I am still so amazed at how effortlessly and inexplicably Martin Freeman transforms into Bilbo Baggins. I wish I could explain this any better but he truly becomes the character of Bilbo. His body language, his mannerisms, the way he delivers certain lines, the authentic stutters and stammers, his FACIAL EXPRESSIONS. I could go on and on, and I am clearly a bit biased, but I think you would be very challenged to find anyone who has a problem with his acting. The casting for both LOTR and The Hobbit are completely perfect, but I think the team really deserves a pat on the back for getting the protagonist so freakin’ RIGHT; especially when you look at who they were also considering for the part *shudder*.

Speaking of other actors, I also believe that every single Dwarf was cast perfectly. Richard Armitage is absolutely fantastic as Thorin Oakenshield and contrasts beautifully with Freeman’s less rugged character. His best acting is yet to come but he still stands out quite a lot in this first installment. I’m pretty sure this is the role that put him on the map and rightfully so.

I’m not going to review every Dwarf actor performance (this review is already long enough!) but I will say that in a nutshell, they all play their role exactly as you would imagine. With 13 characters you can’t expect the character development to be all there, but Jackson and co do somehow manage to show every Dwarf’s unique personality in some small way, which I think is really amazing and could not have been an easy task.

Other aspects that might seem “lesser” such as make-up, costumes, production design and so forth are done extremely well in this movie. I will be forever bitter that “Les Mis” won the Oscar for best hair and make-up back in 2013 and “An Unexpected Journey” did not, when it was abundantly clear which film was more deserving of the award. I digress, this film looks amazing. Every actor, creature, set and animated pixel looks exactly the way it should. From Gollum’s eyes to Bilbo’s detailed buttons, the film shines from an aesthetic and visual perspective. It would also be a major disservice to write this review without mentioning the brilliant and soul-touching soundtrack composed once again by Howard Shore, a true genius of his craft. The “Misty Mountains” theme is unique to this film and serves very well as an ode to the adventure.

What I believe to be the most compelling and heartwarming aspect of this film is the relationship that develops between Bilbo and Thorin. It is the best story gem of the movie if not the entire trilogy as a whole. While at first disapproving and avoidant of the Hobbit, Thorin comes to accept and even care for Bilbo after having his life saved by the unlikely hero. The scene where he tells Bilbo he was wrong about him and gives him a heartfelt hug never fails to bring a tear to my eye.

Well folks, what more can I say? It’s certainly not a perfect film; indeed it has flaws that can make the viewing a little more than uncomfortable. On the other hand, I really do believe there are several things “An Unexpected Journey” gets very right. While the slow pace and odd humour is hard to ignore, it is equally hard not to fall in love with the film’s acting, visuals and a story full of heart.

I must say I am very glad that I revisited this film. It has always been my least favourite of the trilogy although now it seems like an unfair title to bestow. It is a charming tale and an inoffensive film. These days, that is a welcome find.

Upon revisiting this film, I am going to give “An Unexpected Journey” 7.5 out of 10.

[capitalfellows]

The universe appears to have been designed by a pure mathematician

Sir James Jeans, Physicist, Astronomer, and Mathematician 

As a young child, I acquired a fascination for numbers, and more specifically the relationships between them.  From 3rd grade to 5th grade, I became an expert in the Mad Minute exercise - on rare occasion did I face defeat, teachers and student aids included.  As accurately as I can recall, I believe I was about 10 years old when I began thinking about the relationships between numbers.  One relationship in particular involves the number 10, and any number with a digit sum of 10 (i.e. 28, 37, 55, 109, etc.).  This particular relationship doesn’t have any practical use or value, nor is it difficult to understand, it is simply a unique relationship I discovered in the confines of my own mind.  I’ll do my best to explain this relationship as brief and concise as possible.

Try This - Fun with Numbers

Multiply a number with a digit-sum of 10 (i.e. 28, 37, 55, etc.) by any number, n.  The digits of the product of those two numbers will equal n.  Here are a few examples: 

Let n = 8        37*8 = 296, 2+9+6 = 17, 1+7 = 8; 

Let n = 4        73*4 = 292, 2+9+2 = 13, 1+3 =4; 

Let n = 32 (digit sum of 5)    118*32 = 3,776, 3+7+7+6 = 23, 2+3 = 5;

I challenge all readers to try and prove me wrong!

This past week held an important day for numbers, while also serving as a very memorable week in the life of a Capital Fellow.  On Monday night we hunkered down at the Isler residence (Sarah’s host family) in preparation for winter storm Stella.  Winter storm warnings called for 5-8” of snow, but Stella was an epic let-down with a mere dusting of 1-2” of slush.  Some went into work after the delay, some worked remotely (from the Isler’s), and others simply enjoyed the slumberous day watching the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy (most of which for their first time, including myself!).  On Tuesday, we continued our LOTR marathon, munched on delicious homemade baked goods (made by Mrs. Isler), and did what every Northerner does on a snow day – snowball fights and snowmen!  (Yes, we actually are adults, or at least trying to be).  Tuesday we also celebrated National Pi Day by eating pizza and thinking about the transcendental mathematical constant. Okay, I’ll admit, maybe that last part was just me…but we actually did eat pizza – a National Pi Day tradition!

The week of a Capital Fellow remains much the same.  We are all actively and eagerly pursuing the job search.  Some of us have already accepted full-time positions, some will hire on at their current internship placements, and some of us aren’t quite sure what we want to do with our lives.  What a unique and bonding opportunity it has been to have these discussions with other fellows – to support and walk alongside them in discerning some of life’s toughest questions.  

Our studies continue to be...well, mind-blowing is the first adjective that comes to mind. In Dr. Fullilove’s class we are finishing up our section on Hebrew Poetry (again, mind-blowing) and transitioning into the four Gospels of the New Testament.  In Dr. Clark’s class we continue to discuss gender, identity, and relationships.  This week, in Dr. Clark’s class, we were challenged to think about where our culture is headed sexually, and where our culture will be (sexually) when we have kids. Needless to say, that topic was rather frightening and difficult to imagine.  The overarching theme of my response sounded something like this: “Based on the foregoing, I’m never having kids…” (joking, of course). All kidding aside, it really is essential for us to ponder these difficult questions now, and what a platform Capital Fellows has provided for such!

This week marks an exciting week for basketball fans and actually, uniquely, in confluence with mathematicians and statisticians.  Thursday afternoon marks the start of yet another exciting March Madness. The odds of picking a perfect bracket are most certainly NOT in your favor.  A quick Google search tells me the odds are 1 in 9 quintillion…that’s a 9 followed by 18 decimal places.  64 teams, 1 dream – who are you taking all the way? (I would suggest Duke).  Avery created an online bracket pool for the Fellows group and we all filled out our respective, hopeful bracket(s).  My money is on Martha’s (bracket); she selected her tried and true Virginia Tech Hokies as victors – now that’s school spirit, folks!. A quick mental calculation tells me her chances are actually less than zero.  Personally, this is one of my favorite times of the year. The only bad part is having a day job, and I’m sure many readers can relate to that!  

In the past few weeks, in the life of a Capital Fellow, I have found myself thinking about numbers again, more specifically, numbers in the breakdown of time.  Perhaps this rumination is due to MPC's new sermon series A Gospel Guide to TIME. As of Wednesday this week, we have completed our 191st day in the 259-day journey we claim as Capital Fellows.  If you’re quick in arithmetic, you’ll already be computing the remainder in your head – 68 days.  68 days (equivalent to 1,632 hours; 97,920 minutes; 5,875,200 seconds) remaining in our Fellows year.   (Yes, Fellows, I know…this is startling, frightening, and depressing to me too).  68 days to find full-time jobs and a place to live, discern and discover our passions and desires, before we march back into the realities of the real world.  

We are now 75% complete with the Capital Fellows Program, a mere 25% left.  It saddens me deeply to know that a season like this is finite, and will come to an end much sooner than I’d like.  Imagining life after Capital Fellows stirs a host of emotions – exciting and hopeful, yet sobering and concerning.  Sadly enough, it is no secret that our time here on Earth is finite.  Few good things in life last a lifetime, let alone forever. Sometimes marriages and friendships last a lifetime, sometimes not.  Our monies, possessions, resources, and materials rarely last a lifetime either, especially not our cars (a personal soft spot right now - my car died last week, leaving me responsible for a traffic jam in Northern Virginia during rush hour – YIKES!).  There is hope though – the gift of eternal life does last forever; it is entirely infinite, just like that mathematical constant, pi. I am confident that the relationships formed in the past 191 days will last a lifetime, and the impact of these 259 days will bear fruit forever, all the way through eternal life.  

-- Tanner

Pictures from the Week

Despite his/her (gender undetermined) Hobbit-like frame, we decided to name our snowperson Aragorn, given our LOTR favorite character.  Actually, in all honesty, Aragorn was my favorite character, and since I’m writing the blog this week…well, I think you can connect the dots ; )

Shortly after John Kyle suggested respecting our host families by not having an all-Fellows sleepover for winter storm Stella, we felt this picture was completely necessary.  P.S. If anyone hasn’t watched the LOTR trilogy, I’d strongly recommend referring to Mr. Isler – the man simply doesn’t mess around when it comes to LOTR!  Oh yeah, and Mrs. Isler is an incredible cook!  Basically, we adore the Isler’s.

The gang gathered at a round table on a Monday night…hmmm, this sounds familiar!  More delicious food prepared and served by Mrs. Isler!

Caption: “Happy, happy, joy, joy” - a moment of love and laughter captured by our very own, Henry Overos.  Heads up, photography world, the kid’s got talent!