"Immortals" Movie Review

I got the chance to see this movie in the theaters with my cousin, Michael. (The same cousin that saw In Time with me last week.) It certainly looked like a movie I would enjoy and since it had the same producer as 300 (Mark Canton) I figured I really couldn't go wrong as far as it being entertaining.

In summary, a slave is caught in the middle of a war between men, gods, and titans. Secretly trained by Zeus himself, and the unofficial body guard of the virgin oracle, he's the best warrior to save man.

The storyline on paper sounds fantastic, but it really didn't take the spotlight. Instead, it was overwhelmed with the multiple beheadings and virtual buckets of computerized blood. Don't get me wrong, the fight scenes were choreographed beautifully. It was just very hard to see with so much splattering going on. Definitely not for the faint-hearted.

The cinematography was beautiful, though. As were the costumes, makeup, and abdominal muscles. lol.

NaNoWriMo (Day 19 & 20 of 30) A Busted Day (??? words left)

Uh huh...guess what? Yep...no writing. But I will fill you in on some stuff!

GREAT NEWS!!! I have and INTERVIEW tomorrow! I am super geeked! It's for a local marketing firm and the job I am going for is in their production department. I don't know a ton about the position, but I will be involved in the production of the literature that is created for clients. There's proofreading, writing, designing, and many other things to do! It all sounds PERFECT to me!!! I want it! So, hopefully, it goes well.

Other than that, not too much. Been hanging with friends, working on side projects for the Chamber, SHOPPING for CHRISTMAS, getting excited for THANKSGIVING, preparing to work on BLACK FRIDAY!!! Too much fun stuff that has been stealing all my creative time, but in a very good and enjoyable way.

How's everyone else doing?

FUNNIEST TWILIGHT STORY!!!!

So, I don't know if anyone has heard or read one of my rants about the new Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 movie that came out this weekend. For the last year, I've contemplated whether or not I will see the movie in theaters, complained about the movie being split into two parts, still commented on how much Catherine Hardwick messed up the first movie, discussed whether or not Melissa Rosenberg should have been chosen to write ANY of the movies, let alone ALL of them, and contemplated how Bill Condon was going to transform the final book into any form of a movie.

Now, my greatest hope and fear has been realized!!! I haven't seen the movie yet, although I am almost positive I will see it in theaters (especially now!!!). Here's why...

My friend, Shannon, and a few of her friends went to go see the movie during the midnight premiere and one of her friends FAINTED while Bella was giving birth to her half human/half vampire child on screen! Apparently, the blood and sheer gruesomeness of it all got to her. (NOTE: Shannon said the scene wasn't really all that bad.)

If any of you have read the book, you may understand exactly what happens during the birthing scene, and perhaps even realize that it must have been the most difficult scene to transform from book to the screen.

Suffice to say, this is the most hilarious story I have been told in a long time, and it makes me want to see the movie all the more!!!

NaNoWriMo (Day 18 of 30) Uggghhhhhh! (??? words left)

As you can tell, I did not write on the 18th day either. No reason really, just didn't do it. Blahhhhhh! Also, not feeling it tonight. So, there could beanother one of these boring messages about how I did not write. Grrrr! Probably should be writing now instead of writing this post. Going to go try. :)

NaNoWriMo (Day 17 of 30) Another Bust (??? words left)

Yesterday was a LONG day. I worked, met with an old friend, Kimberli, from one of my creative writing classes, helped my aunt transfer all her old music over to her new laptop (Best Buy wanted to charge her $100-200!!! RIDICULOUS!), then I met my cousin, Michael, and we had dinner and went to go see the new movie Immortals. By the end of the day, I was so drained, I wasn't doing anything else.

An encouraging note to all writers out there, though. My friend Kimberli just returned from a writer's conference in Wisconsin and received some excellent feedback. She ended up getting a meeting with a counselor she really liked--apparently the woman is brutally honest--and she said to Kimberli that her writing was brilliant, and even though her manuscript is not completed, she needs to publish NOW!!! So excited for her. She's currently working on polishing her first few chapters and writing her query letter!

I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on her. I've read a lot of her story so far and I can't wait for her inevitable success!

"Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (3)" Movie Review

This is another one that I saw in theaters and was completely unsure about. I thoroughly enjoyed the first and second movie, especially since the only other version I had seen of the books was an old VHS recording of some ancient TV series that tried to recreate the books with the combination of live action actors and animation...Strange!

In the third installment, only Lucy and Edmund return to the fantastical world of Narnia, along with their annoying cousin Eustace Scrubb. The appear in the ocean where they are picked up by Prince Caspian, who appeared in the franchise for the first time in the second installment, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. This time, all of Narnia is being threatened by a creepy green smoke that is spreading across the sea, gobbling up ships and everyone on them. It's up to Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, and even Eustace to five the seven missing lords and their seven missing swords to break this curse and stop the evil green smoke.

It really sounds cornier than it is. Nevertheless, this is still my least favorite of the three movies out so far. It felt more like a series of four or five small stories rather than one whole storyline, making the whole movie a bit disjointed. Also, the green smoke had a tendency to bring out the "ugly" in everyone. Caspian was a bit power hungry, Lucy wanted to be beautiful like her sister, Susan, and Edmund is STILL haunted by the White Witch (I'm not sure how thrilled Tilda Swinton is about returning to these last 2 movies for a mere 5 minute cameo. I'd be done with it.)

But, the colors were beautiful, the effects were nice, and the actors were doing there thing. I also enjoyed watching Eustace go from fainting at the sight of a talking Minotaur, to getting teased for talking to a seagull, to asking if he could return to Narnia someday.

NaNoWriMo (Day 16 of 30) Strangers in the Dark (43, 908 words left)

I had the day off today so it was a good day to write, but the bad news is that my car had to go into the shop :( It's making a bad noise!!! So far, it's not looking too expensive, but the people aren't done looking. Cross your fingers for me.

Other than that, I want to ZUMBA! tonight and it was totally fun and a good work out. I'm thinking of doing it every week. :)

Well, here's more of Strangers in the Dark...

Strangers in the Dark

(Chapter Two Continued...This is almost the end of chapter two. I just have one more section planned.)

Handling a gun wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. The cold of the metal, the weight of the trigger, and the kick of the shot made me feel more confident. The only thing that jolted me was the blasting sound, but I even got used to that after a few shots. Kale had built a makeshift man out in the fenced off backyard using a sturdy wooden table with two cardboard boxes stacked on top. Nora stood on top of a kitchen chair so she could be the look out, letting us know if anyone was walking by or if the shots were attracting unwanted company. Nora gave the go-ahead nod.

Kale continued with his lesson, “Now that you’ve got the feel of shooting the gun, let’s try aiming. The best way to incapacitate someone with little chance of seriously injuring or killing them is to aim for the meat of their thighs. Think of this set up as a man standing in front of you. The boxes are the man’s head and torso. You shoot there and you could be causing some serious damage. It really should be the last resort unless you really understand the body; like where the empty space and the vital organs are inside. Now, think of the legs of this table as the legs of a man. Squeeze the trigger of the gun slowly while aiming at one of the legs. Then, take a single breath, and squeeze again at the same leg.”

I did as he asked and aimed for the front leg on the right. I wasn’t sure where the first shot went, but the second nicked the inside of the leg I was aiming at. Once my ears stopped ringing a bit, I could hear Kale clapping.

“Excellent job. Nora had to try at least three times before hitting the leg, and her target was twice as big.”

“Watch it, mister. Now I could take off your pinky finger if I wanted to.”

Kale smiled for the first time since I met him. “That’s very true. Now try again, Talis. You’re doing just fine.” I repeated the same two shots with the same results. “Again.” This time I hit it with both shots. “Good, here’s a new clip. Replace it and make the same shot.” I was sloppy while replacing the clip, but I got it in there and made the same shot, hitting the leg twice again. “Now, aim for a different leg, using the same kind of shot.” I did as he said, aiming for the front leg on the right. I missed the first shot, but nicked the outside of the leg with my second shot, a near mirror image of my first try. I looked to Kale for further guidance. “You’re aim is very consistent. That’s good. Let me try something now.” He took the gun from me and adjusted the sights on the top just a bit. “Now try again, same leg, same kind of shot.” I did as he said and hit it twice, splintering the leg from top to bottom. “Perfect. Let’s try a few different shots with the rest of the clip.”

Nora jumped down from her look out spot and placed some empty pop cans on the table, on the boxes and on the ground. There were four cans all together.

Kale instructed me once again. “Now, this time, aim at the first can on the ground, shoot, take a breath, aim for the second can on the table, shoot, take a breath, and so on. Even if you miss, go to the next can.” I did as he said. I missed the first can on the ground, hit the second on the table, hit the third on the card board box, and missed the fourth by the fence, only by an inch though. “Great job. I’m actually very impressed,” he said while giving me a little hug around the shoulders. “We should stop, though. I’m sure we’ve attracted some attention and it’s getting dark. You might get the chance to practice more in the future, but spare your bullets just in case. Just remember, even though you have a gun, doesn’t mean you have to use it. Be careful, be resourceful, and defend yourself.” (716 words)

See you all tomorrow. I should have another movie review tomorrow as well. If not tomorrow, then definately Friday. Have you guys been enjoying them? I bet you can tell that I have been watching a lot more movies than reading books. I'm sad to say that I haven't finished a book in a long time. I've been reading the same book for the last two months. The even sadder thing is that it's an excellent book! Oh well!

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon (3)" Movie Review

I did see this movie when it came out in theaters. In fact, I am pretty sure that I saw it twice. Once with my friend Amanda who always manages to be able to see movies with me the day that they come out. And once with my friends Sarah and Morgan that decide to go see it randomly a week or two later.

I enjoyed it both times, but it certainly was more over the top than the first or second. More about the huge effects than the actual storyline.

In short, and as always, without giving too much away, the Decepticons are at it again, trying to take over Earth, but this time they are looking to bring their home planet here and enslave all the humans as a workforce of 6 billion and growing! Of course, Sam, his new obnoxious girlfriend, and the Autobots are there to stop them.

Speaking of Sam's obnoxious new girlfriend. I didn't like her. Yes, she was pretty, like Megan Fox, but blonde. And yes, the writers tried to make her a strong female lead, as in she was the one with the good job, bringing home the bacon, while Sam moped about his glory days. But she screamed A LOT! And her miraculous hair transformed from curly, to flat, and back to curly more times in the action scenes than was humanly possible. Plus, I guess no one thought we would notice how she changed shoes several times from 4 inch black stilettos to black flats while also running for her life (all while still screaming her head off.) I thought for a while there that maybe she just broke her heals off (reasonable and probably more practical) but NO! In the final scene, as she stood on a car, with the wind blowing through her newly curled hair, her heels were back! Thank goodness!

Did I mention that the city of Chicago must no longer exist because it was completely decimated by an alien race and half the army blowing shit up. Anyone been there lately? Does it still look like an atom bomb went off?

All in all, you're going to enjoy the movie if you love the big effects and watching buildings crumble under the strength of a giant robotic sea serpent/worm/snake/whatever that thing was.