Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Genre: Fantasy

Starring: Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage and lots more

Rated: PG-13

My Rating: Two Thumb Up

Wow, where to begin? I thought it was great of course! It dragged in a couple of parts, and was awesome in a couple of parts and was corny in a couple of parts. 

As most of us have learned by now, they are planning to turn this small simple story (because the book The Hobbit really is quite simple) into a trilogy. How are they doing that? Well, they are adding a lot of back story! They are adding some scenes not found in the book. They are taking their time with certain adventures. I can see that they very easily will mange the three movie thing. I feel mixed about this, but oh well.

The scenes I loved.... flying with the birds, exchanging riddles with Gollum, the dwarves singing, the stone giants fighting, an cameo appearance by Frodo, dealing with trolls and.... anytime Kili was called on to shoot arrows!

Scenes that dragged... the opening narration, the talk with the elves in Rivendell, and then the goblin fight went on for quite awhile too.

Scenes that were a bit corny... the whole goblin fight seemed pretty crazy. It was good (all that running on broken brides!) ... and bad (easily killing goblins?) at the same time.

So, we saw it in 3D and also the new 48 frames per second. You've heard about this I suppose? It's never been done before, and I was very geekily curious about it. And let's just say, yes, we noticed it! Yes, it was strange. Yes, it takes some getting used to. But I think I did get used it by the end, and I think I liked it. I think. I don't know for sure! It's like... so REAL that it seems FAKE! It's like you are watching a play. It's like you are RIGHT there with them. It's like you forgot it was 3D and just became immersed in the movie. It was very strange. Did any of you, my readers, see the movie in this new format? Please, let me know what you thought! It's very hard to explain. 

I am amazed that he could fight in this big coat!

Anyway, the dwarves. I have a new love for them. Before, I loved the elves  Elves aren't thought of very highly in this movie (and book... in my review I said I had never thought of them as so mean before!) But here, we love the dwarves.  Richard Armitage was AWESOME as Thorin, as expected. Perfect. Wonderful. And he even smiled a couple of times. Watch for it! And then there was Kili (see poster above) who was quite a standout too. Yummy! And he's an archer dude, which I'm guessing is not too common among the dwarves. So that's cool, way cool.

Martin Freeman was perfect as Bilbo too. And Gollum? So good! The struggle between his good side and his bad was both funny and painful to watch. Poor Gollum.

The music was great and we all came home humming the dwarf song: 

Bottom line: I loved it. Do go see it. Try the 48 fps thing and let me know what you think!

Currently: The Hobbit and Andes

C  U  R  R  E  N  T  L  Y

(as written on Sunday afternoon)

Listening: a Pandora station called "classical for studying". I find it very interesting to see what pops up on this!

Eating: Andes mints

Loving: the softly falling snow, how calm and peaceful it is

Reading: nothing much. Started Reached. Started a re-read of Unwind for book club this week, and started a book on my Kindle from NetGalley called What We Saw At Night. I DID finish and review The Hobbit though... before the movie!

Feeling: Tired and overwhelmed 

Watching: The Hobbit! It was awesome. 48 fps was weird and cool at the same time. But more on all that in a post of its own. Also watching lots of Parenthood, into season three now. And tonight, we'll be watching the Survivor finale which is always fun.

I really like Malcolm,but
I'm kinda hoping Lisa wins!

Wanting:  to finish up Christmas shopping and birthday shopping and get to the fun stuff


Thinking: I really need to get the cards mailed out!

Exercising: nope. Stopped again. :( If my shoulder would get better, that would help things a lot!

The Classics Challenge: November Prompt and December Wrap Up

Back last year, I decided to join The Classics Challenge hosted by November's Autumn. Remember that? Here's what I said I would read:

Seven classics I'd like to read are:
1. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
2. Ramona by Helen Hunt Jackson
3. Precious Bane by Mary Webb
4. various unread Wilkie Collins that I have here on hand
5. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell
6. A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott
7. My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

Here's what classics I actually ended up reading:
(links to my reviews)
(I've loosed up my definition of "classic" a bit, and also this is very much counting re-reads!)

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: a re-read, five stars
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle four stars
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut three stars
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: a re-re-re-re-read! five stars
Lady Susan by Jane Austen three stars
Precious Bane by Mary Webb four stars
12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose four stars
I Capture the Castle by Dorothy Smith: a re-read, four stars
Persuasion by Jane Austen: a re-read, five stars

Hmmm... that looks NOTHING like my original list! Love it! Sort of. So much for list making, eh? I got one of them anyway. BUT, wow, I read many more classics this year than past years. Go me.

Each month we were given a very fun prompt to do regarding whatever classic we were reading at the time. These were awesome prompts and I wish I would have done more of them! Here's what I did manage:

January: The Author Jane Austen
September:Merry Robin Hood Music

Seriously? Only two? I totally had plans for more, one of them being November which I think I will stick in this post anyway! Here are the questions:

Of all the Classics you've read this year is there an author or movement that has become your new favorite? Which book did you enjoy the most? Or were baffled by? Who's the best character? The most exasperating? From reading other participants' posts which book do you plan to read and are most intrigued by?

-- I have no new favorites as of yet! Charles Dickens and Jane Austen retain their spots.

-- I totally enjoyed Robin Hood of course, and I loved the re-reading experience with Pride and Prejudice. But I think of the new to me books,  Precious Bane would rank pretty high. Quite the story, that one.

-- I was baffled by Slaughterhouse Five! Weird book! Lady Susan was also a bit baffling... that one just didn't do it for me.

-- Best character... Sydney Carton from Tale of Two Cities... but yeah, Robin Hood, Mr. Darcy, Captain Wentworth and Kester from Precious Bane were ALL pretty awesome too.

-- Most exasperating character... Lady Susan was very icky to say the least.

-- And finally, I plan to read: hmmm.... I'm not sure on this one yet. I know that whatever I plan to read will most likely come from this list! I think Vanity Fair is going to be high on the list next year. Here's hoping.

Well. I love the classics. I am happy that my list is growing again (back a little to what it was like pre-blogging days.) I look forward to keeping that up next year!

If I can count this post as completing both November and December prompts, then I earn the "completed" badge! (four prompts, seven books) I'll declare this challenge completed for now. Let me know if you disagree!

Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Book: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:★★★★★
For: fun and movie prep
From: our personal library, my husband's 1970s copy

I remember trying to read this book probably in junior high or early high school. It just didn't grab me, you know. And now, I'm wondering what the heck was wrong with me back then! This was delightful!

I must say though, I don't think I would have liked Lord of the Rings either back then. Then, I grew up (sort of) and then I saw the first LOTR movie, and THEN suddenly I was interested! I read all three of them before the second movie came out and found myself curious about The Hobbit again. But I never managed to get to it.

Until now... again because of a movie!

What a fun story about Bilbo who suddenly gets a bit forced into an adventure thanks to Gandalf. The dwarves, I guess, need his help. At least Gandalf thinks so and it turns out, he does do much to help them, and all that despite his inexperience in adventures! I love that.

Bilbo is funny and humble and simple, as all hobbits seem to be and what a great character. Then there's the dwarves lead by Thorin, all with their separate personalities that you can't help but love. They are off to reclaim their treasure that the mean old dragon has stolen. Along the way the have to deal with trolls, goblins  Golem, elves (I didn't know elves could be so mean, but they turned around in the end thankfully!) , wolves and finally the dragon.

My only complaint was that the dragon bit was quite anti-climatic. Maybe the movie will spice it up? And the return journey took about two sentences, even though much adventure was still to be had. I guess that's why they call this one a kid's book because too much more adventure and the attention span would have been lost.

And I wasn't sure the significance of the ring was totally portrayed except for this one sentence, just after he found the ring, that I absolutely loved: It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it. 

The whole time I was reading this it I thought about how wonderful this would be as a read aloud. And I know many people have done just that. I'm thinking since I missed doing it for my own kids, perhaps future grand kids? I guess we'll see.

Bottom line: Loved it!

Other Reviews:

The writing is beautiful, at times very funny and witty and always brilliant. From Sarah Reads Too Much

I wished there would be more showing and much less telling, and the adventures did not have the same magic that I remembered them having when I was a kid. From Book Addiction

That magic ring sure is coming in handy, isn’t it? From Unputdownables

It really is a must read for fans of Fantasy and literature in general. From Val's Random Comments

I'm not going to review it but you all need to know that it's one of my favourite books, like, ever. From Just Add Books

An Author Extravaganza Report!

As you know, the other day we had a fun event at the library where several local authors came together to talk to all their adoring fans and to sign books. It was awesome.

It began with a Q and A panel, where I actually asked a question even! But so did many other people (including a bunch of kids who asked some amazingly thoughtful questions.) I  decided to sit and enjoy and not worry about remembering all that was said, but a few things stood out.

** Lisa Mangum, when asked about the editing process, told us about a manuscript that crossed her path once upon a time. She said it was huge for a manuscript (600 pages, and no it was not a Brandon Sanderson book!) But she actually took the time to read it, and then told the author to cut out a ton, and most of the middle and this and that. The author did, the book was published and did amazing. I enjoyed this story because the book is one that we have loved here at our house and one that my daughter has read over and over and over again. (The Secret Journal of Brett Colton by Kay Lynn Mangum)

** When asked about a strange questions that fans have asked them, Dean Hughes (popular LDS fiction author) mentioned a story where someone came up to him and said that their mother had been really enjoying his recent popular series (I loved it too, about WWII) but she was not expected to live too much longer and could he tell her how it ended and what happened to all the characters? He said okay, so they sat the old mom down by him and he explained and talked to her about all his plot plans for the future books. She was so pleased and happy. The next year, the daughter came to another signing and said that yes, her mom had died, and thank you so much for telling her about his future books!

** When I asked about what was their favorite book of the year, the one that stood out in my mind was that Robison Wells answered Melina Marchetta's book, On Jellicoe Road, also one of my favorites! I need to re-read that one.

** Jessica Day George got lots of chuckles from the audience all across the board, but we especially enjoyed her story of killing off characters, or deleting them from the story altogether. Sad!

** When asked what was the worse moment of being an author, almost all of them mentioned painful book signings where they sit there and there's not a soul in the store. One of them said that the store had provided ONE book at their table to be sold. She felt that maybe they needed more. In fact, it turned out that only one person came up to them, and they did NOT buy the book! Ugh.

Anyway, it was all great fun and we had a good time. I was happy to be sitting by fellow book blogger, Kathy from Read This Instead. So glad she could come!

After the panel, there was a mass signing. I brought about eight books to be signed for various Christmas presents and so I talked to Rob Wells, Jessica Day George, Ally Condie, Brandon Mull, and Lisa Mangum.

And I managed to take a few (not so good) pictures:

Brandon Mull, who came straight from the airport that morning
not even going home to see his kids first!

Lisa Mangum with Chris Crowe in the background.

Lines for Brandon Mull and Ally Condie

My very excited nephew meeting Robison Wells

Ally Condie, Jessica Day George, Dean Hughes

Brandon Mull is amazingly awesome with his young fans.

My people waiting in Brandon Mull's line.

Fun, yes? And that ends the recent couple of months of what seems like non-stop author events and book signings around here. I wonder what's in store for next year? I'm sure you'll be the first to know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I Discovered This Year

It's a fun list this week over at The Broke and Bookish, and it's one I love to do every year, and that is to recognize the authors I read and loved that are new to me! Ah, the list could be a pretty long one actually, but here's the ten I came up with:

Top Ten New to Me Authors

1. Diana Peterfreund: This author commented on my blog earlier this year when I was talking about Persuasion and she mentioned that she had a book coming out that was a retelling of this classic. It took me a few months, but when that book came out (For Darkness Shows the Stars,) I read it and absolutely LOVED it!

2. Veronica Rossi: I loved Under the Never Sky and am totally excited for the next book! I'll be paying close attention to anything else she writes in the future too.

3. Julianne Donaldson made a big splash locally with her book, Edenbrooke. I'm not sure if she is as well know out there in the world, but my guess is if not, she will be soon.

4. While Maggie Stiefvater is not really new to me, I truly discovered her this year with The Scorpio Races and The Raven Boys. Awesome stuff.

5. Jennifer A. Nielsen is another local author that wrote a fabulous fantasy book called The False Prince. I'm so excited for the next book coming up in March!

6. I read Sarah Waters for the first time this year with The Little Stranger and that was a great experience and I'd like to give her another try too.

7. Lindsey Leavitt's book Sean Griswold's Head was a lot of fun and I'm hoping to get to more of her books soon.

8. Elizabeth Wein who wrote the very popular book this year, Code Name Verity, is new to me. I'm wondering was she new to everyone this year?

9. Audrey Couloumbis I think has been around a bit, but I just recently read Not Exactly a Love Story and now I'm curious about her other books.

10. Camille Picott is an author/blog friend of my real life blog friend Jenny and so when Jenny raved about her book, I had to go out and find it and read it and it was a lot of fun! I'll be keeping my eye on this new to me author!

I loved all these authors! Weird that they are all lady ones! I usually love the guys too, so what's up with that? What authors did you learn about and love this year?

Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Book: A Tale of Two Cites by Charles Dickens
Genre: Classic
Rating:★★★★★
For: The Classics Club and Classics Challenge
From: free ebook

The first time I read this book I was in 9th grade. Much of it went right over my head, but through class discussions and a TV series that came out right about that very time I ended up loving it, even with all the confusing parts. Recently, I've been very anxious to read it again to see how it seems to me as a now old grown up person.

Here's what I  discovered:

-- this book that I thought was confusing was actually quite simple. Some people in French are very upset over their treatment by the nobility and so one day they rebel and storm the Bastille prison. After a few years, anybody with any connection at all to this nobility has their head on a chopping block, literally  In the meantime, Lucie (who earlier discovers her father she thought was dead has been released from the a fore mentioned Bastille) falls in love with Charles, who sadly has a connection to the French nobility, though he has renounced them and makes a happy life in England. But one day, he decides to go back to France to help a friend. Bad bad choice!

-- the character that I fell in love with the first time WAS as awesome as I remembered, although he didn't appear as often in the story as I remembered or would have liked. Why can't we get to know Sydney Carton a little better? His background? His story? It seems to me all we know is that he is a drunk, lonely dude, but smart as anything and helps his lawyer friend all night long, but gets no recognition. Why? I want to know more. Oh, yes, and strange thing, he looks a lot like Charles. And he loves Lucie, but of course, Lucie loves Charles.

-- I was surprised at the amount of sarcasm and witticisms the author threw into the story. I think that sometimes he was trying to be funny, but I felt like the book and its serious story really didn't lend itself to that, so it was just weird to me. This, of course, was something I didn't catch even a little bit as a 15 year old! I also noticed the literary devices (such as personification) that he uses much more this go around. And no wonder it was confusing to a 15 year old! He's appears to be talking about one thing, when he's really talking about another. This happens over and over again.

-- the end hit me just as hard now as then, maybe harder. Have you read this book? Do you know the ending? I'm guessing pretty much everyone does, but maybe there's a few who don't know it, so I will leave things spoil free here (even though it may be easily guessed too!) but I'd love to discuss in comments your feelings on this ending. The first time around of course I knew nothing so it blew me away. This time I felt the tension building up and dreaded every moment I got closer! Then, it was actually a little anit climatic from what I remembered, but still. There were parts that hit me much harder this time around and I got weepy, yes I did!

Bottom line: Oh, I so do love this book.

Other Reviews:

The plot is relatively fast-moving, and almost free from sub-plots and extraneous characters: it’s not as dense and wordy as a lot of Dickens’ works, and thus is an exciting and thought-provoking read. From Ela's Book Blog

Reading the book this time round the character of Sydney Carton is much clearer in my mind, with several vivid images of his slovenly appearance and drunken behaviour. From BooksPlease

Ultimately, what finally did bring me in to the novel was the human interest: the characterization. Once I understood how all the different characters fit together, I found myself engaged in the novel. From Rebecca Reads

It was an amazing piece of craftsmanship, and I was impressed with how all of the parts of the story worked together. From At Home With Books