Thursday, November 25, 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 thoughts *spoilers*

I'm back. ^^ 

I have to admit i didn't have as much fun as last time. Mainly because it seemed like every obnxious teenager or college kid came out. And i mean OBNOXIOUS!! They were doing flips down the aisles, talking loudly before and during the movie, and basically just reminding myself why i have never fit in with those my age. Mainly because as people said i'm a bit more mature than many of my age. I was not the only one annoyed. A few other people i talked to were tired of the obnoxious behavior as well. I ended sitting by a friends/sister/brother unsure pair which was nice. They guy asked for my email address afterwards. Don't know if anything will come of that. 

Anyways..... Here is myself minus my Gryffindor scarf before i left for the premiere. My hair matches the curtains. lol 






Hmmm i never thought i'd day this, but for the first time i didn't not love love a Harry Potter movie. Sure i've had issues in the past. The thing is that not at this level. Something just felt really really off. I think it'll be easier to explain if i did things in bullet points.

LOVED:

* DOBBY. OMG he was so freaking cute. I loved every moment he was on screen. I loved him in his sneakers.  He had so many brilliant one liners this time around that i couldn't stop laughing. His death scene was heart breaking as well.

* The seven potters. Brilliant. Dan is such a good comedy actor. He nailed the scene completely.

* Luna. Luna Luna Luna can never fail.

* The whole Remus/Tonks storyline was left out. *YA!S for them cutting this part out. No nutty Remus and Tonks only graced my screen for a few moments.

* The Harry & Hermione dance scene. It was so sweet.

* The scenery. AMAZING BALLS.

* The Doe scene. ^^

* Malfory Manor. Emma was brilliant in the torture scene. All of it went rather well.


LIKED

* The Ministry scenes. I didn't love love them, but i still liked them. ^^ Ron was whom really made them.

* X. Lovegood. Good scenes, but not one i'd watch again and again.

* The Tale of the Three Brothers. The animation was nice and unexpected. The thing is i don't like skeletons and it's hard for me to love love anything that features one.

*The wedding scenes.


DISAPPOINTED:


*Where the frick was Dean, the invisibility cloak, and Charlie weasley?

* No mention of Dumbledoors less than savory past. I really think this should have been included. It shows how Dumbledore could have gone the path Voldemort and the Ministry is going, but changed. It made him a more rounded character in the book and shows that people are possible of changing and the people aren't just good or bad. That many are in a gray area.

*Why no mention of Ariana?

*Poor poor Regulus Black. I really wish his tale would have been mentioned. It would have again shown that people are possible of changing.

*No Lily letter. How hard would have been to put it in for  a second.

*Grindlewald should have been explored more. Specially Albus and his relationship/friendship.

*Dobbys burial. That scene was so freaking moving in the book. I was teary. It wasn't nearly as dramatized as it needed to be in the movie.

*Wormtail lives??? He was supposed to repent.


can't say on the soundtrack though. As i said earlier I seemed to have gotten the theater with the most obnoxious high schoolers and college kids possible (says the 24 year old). Many talked through the movie. So i had trouble hearing it. Already ordered it though. 

All in all i have to see the movie again to get a full feel of it. I should be doing that next weekend or the week after. 



 

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Tonight is the NIGHT!!!!!!!!! Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows

                  TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!!!!
             

                              
            Tonight at 9pm i shall be decked out in my Gryffindor tie,scarf, and make                                                   shift uniform for the midnight premier. I'll be by myself, but it's the experience 
                       and memories that matter. ^^ Have a Happy Harry Potter Premier everyone!!!!!  

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Teaser Tuesday #3

                                                             Teaser Tuesday 
                                                                 *I remembered this week ^^*

*Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

*Just do the following:

*Grab your current read

*Open to a random page

*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Hosted by should be reading



"I thought it was You-Know-Who we were supposed to be fighting?" Hermione retorted, and Harry gave up on her. "*book flipped and lost the page, but it's Harry any page is good. ^^*

Less than two days till release

                 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Countdown





                                                 Less than two days, 14 hours, and 11 minutes.  

   More than 300 pages to go in the book though. Tomorrow i'm going to have to read to no end.  

             

Friday, November 12, 2010

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows P1 less than a week away.






Got your ticket yet? Fandango is saying theaters are 80% sold out for midnight showing. ^^ I've had my ticket for the midnight release for the last two weeks. ^^

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Holiday Reading Challenge 2011

All About {n}

Challenge Requirements:

1- Challenge will start Monday, November 15 and will end Friday, December 31.

2- You can read anywhere from 1 to 5 books for the challenge and, of course, if you're like me, you are more than welcome to surpass that number.

3- And now, here's the clincher... they must be holiday related books. That's right, the holiday doesn't really matter, but it would be more "jolly" if your choices were Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.

4- The size of the book does not matter, nor does the genre. It is also okay for the book to overlap with other challenges. The only thing I ask is that they are not children's books. YA is okay. And so are re-reads. I for one tend to read the same books every Christmas - they are tradition.

5- To sign up - leave a link back to your challenge post. There will also be a post for review links as well as one for challenge wrap-ups.

6- And.... there will be goodies. That's right, we'll call them presents. At the end of every week that the challenge is running I will choose one winner from the review links. Meaning the more books you read, review and link up, the more chances you have at winning a "present".

If you'd like to join the fun of the Holiday Reading Challenge 2010, please visit All About (n)'s blog to sign up.


My books i plan on reading:





Snowy Night with a Stranger




Home for the Holidays




The Heart of Christmas




A Regency Christmas





Mistletoe Magic

Friday, November 5, 2010

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1) by John Flanagan Review

Book: The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice, #1) by John Flanagan
Release Date:  June 8, 2006


Excerpt: 
He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied . 

Review:
WOW! I was a bit doubtful about this book, but WOW. I jadored it! The idea for the ranger apprentice series isn't all that original and it's certainly not without its problems. Still it left me wanting more. More likely i think because it brought a sense of wistfulness back to me. Mainly because it reminded me of the Jedi Apprentice series by Jude Watson. In fact i'm quite curious if the JA series did inspired John a bit. I know he said he wrote this book for his son, but it so reminded me of Jude Watson's work. 

The story takes place in the kingdom of Aruluen. The make believe place is your typical action adventure kingdom with Knights, lords and ladies, and in addition "Rangers". Rangers are sort of like the Navy Seals/cost guard mixed with a bit of special forces/Jedi. So far it seems like they're a boys only club (No female has been mention as of late. Neither in the Knights or Rangers). Now Baron Arald, Lord of the Redmont Fief, has a special soft spot for orphans and takes them into his care. He then helps them get apprenticeships with the various tradesman, governmental offices, Knights, or sent to become farmers. Now Will has always been a bit "special" and after being tricked into committing a break in to see his skills he gets chosen as Ranger Halt's apprentice. So the story begins..... 

Now as i said earlier the book isn't without its failing. Most of the failings fall from the fact it should have been longer. John spent such a long time setting up the story and characters that the main plot felt rushed. Not that i'm complaining really since i love the setting up of characters and stories, but i really wished it could have been longer. In face i don't really understand the title at all. It really should have been called "The KalKara Beasts" since the ruins were barely present. All in all very solid writing with a very solid characters. Made me really really want to read more. ^^ 


Rating: 5 Bunnies. Brilliant. Well done characters, made me want to read more, and good series set up.