Review of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Yesterday I was going to try and do a blog post on one of my favorite Christmas stories. However I never got around to it. This post may be more to your liking because I saw another of the movies I wanted to see this year. Today I'm reviewing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

I think many of you will be familiar with the story of The Hobbit, but the story in this film if you weren't clued in by its predecessor defers from the book. As I said on Twitter I daresay this is better than the book. We get to see more of other parts of Middle-Earth that were mentioned briefly in the book like Gandalf going to Dol Guldur to face the Necromancer. However there were also changes to the story that were in the book. However I will not say how so I don't ruin anything for you. I don't consider the Gandalf sentence ruining it because if you read the book you know that was mentioned, and you can tell he does that if you've seen the trailers.

The settings in this film are pretty amazing. I'd rather not say anything because I don't want to ruin anything for you. However I will say that getting lost in Mirkwood, according to the movie, is easier done than said. I know that seems odd to say, but when you see the movie you'll understand. I also enjoyed how they portrayed the Lonely Mountain and Erebor. If you have read your fantasy you know that dwarves are supposed to be expert builders. The mountain certainly goes above and beyond that expectation. However it also captures the feel of the emptiness and loneliness that I believe they were trying to give the dwarves.

I also enjoyed the styles they gave the different areas in the movie. Lake Town seemed like a place that one would expect to find in a people living under the hands (or wings) of a dragon: desperate. The people are clearly a shadow of the people of Dale and have had some attempt to reclaim that glory. However due to the few resources they have that is not entirely possible. The elves of Mirkwood forest also have a pretty cool design about them. If someone wanted to use a look that seemed both regal and wild about someone at the same time Peter Jackson and his design team accomplished it. The wood elves are dressed finely yet they are also capable of quick travel through the trees. Very nicely done.

All in all I really enjoyed this movie. I'm sorry if I seemed a little vague, but I didn't want to ruin the movie for anyone who has not seen it. If you haven't seen it and want to I would definitely recommend it.

Review of Frozen

Hi. Sorry this is so late. I kept getting distracted all day, and I also was eager to finish up Beyonders: Chasing the Prophecy. But enough of my excuses! You want to read a review I promised last night, so here it is.

Frozen is the next Disney animated film based off Hans Christian Anderson's classic tale of The Snow Queen. The story to me seems like a story that takes place before the events of the fairy tale we all know. It features Anna, one of the princesses of the kingdom of Arendelle, is excited because the castle is finally being opened in celebration of the coronation of her older sister Elsa. However following a little argument the two sisters have during the celebration Elsa reveals a secret she had been hiding for years: She has power over winter. Turns out Elsa hurt Anna during their childhood and had been fearing that she might hurt her again. Fear takes hold of Elsa, who is the Snow Queen if you haven't connected the dots yet, and she flees the kingdom. Anna goes off in search of Elsa firmly believing she can stop the winter she unintentionally brings upon the land. Along the way she makes several friends and learns many important lessons, including that love truly is one of the most powerful forces in existence.
I'll try to talk about some of the concepts of the film that I enjoyed without revealing any spoilers. I enjoyed how they gave a Norwegian feel to the setting of the film and its inhabitants. It serves to put everyone in a pretty far north locality which as we remember from the classic story was where the Snow Queen resided. The mountains definitely looked like they were cut by glaciers long ago and the architecture is definitely similar to what you would find in that area if you were able to take a tour. They even added some elements of the mythology of the area. I think I should stop there so I don't give away anything that might be fun.
Now let's talk a little about the characters. I still view this film as a good back story for the Snow Queen. We don't really have a clear understanding of who she is in the original tale and a lot has been left up to speculation. This may not be what Hans Christian Anderson would've gone for, but I think it does do the story justice because now, in Disney's version at least, she won't be written off as some evil sorceress as a result of what she did. Anna is also a very fun person because she's so innocent and understanding (and a little clumsy). She has the traditional feel of the Disney Princesses while still maintaining her individuality. Also she has plenty of moments in the movie where she isn't just standing around naively. She takes action and helps make some of the most important decisions. Kristoff was also a good friend in this tale. He may appear rugged and rough on the outside, but his mountain expertise and outdoor skills help out more than once and we see he does have a kind heart. Of course one person I can't leave without talking about is Olaf the snowman. He is truly a great Disney sidekick, not only because of his humor, which makes up some of the best moments in the film, but because he is also warm and loving despite being made of snow.
The animation for this film was pretty incredible. They were able to pull off some incredible feats with the ice and snow that I doubt would've been as good had they done this traditionally animated. I'm not saying traditional animation is bad because I've grown up with it and I still love it. I'm just saying a lot of the feel would've been really difficult to capture. In some moments you can still see some of the grooves in the ice and the individual snowflakes being caste up or blown in the wind would've been hard to do without the use of computers. There were plenty of moments where the light reflecting off the snow and ice really did a good job of capturing the emotions of the moment, from fear and anger to love and happiness.
The music and sound within this movie was also pretty cool. At times the music was just like traditional Norwegian melodies while other times the people at Disney were just doing their thing. Yes there are some pretty good songs in this movies which do help to establish more of the personalities of some of the characters. The wind blowing in this movie sound incredibly realistic, almost like they recorded actual winter winds. There's also plenty of convincing ice cracklings, freezings, and snow crunching throughout the movie.
While the movie isn't a one-hundred percent adaptation of the fairy tale there are still elements from the story in this movie. One thing I recognized a reference to was the splinter of ice that infected Kay's heart. I'm not saying Kay's in this movie. For all we know this could take place a while before Kay and Gerda come on the scene. However if you are familiar with the original story you'll know what I'm talking about. There are other moments when people do need to ride on Sven the reindeer, which I'm reminded of as something Gerda did in the original story. I'm glad they chose to include those references in this adaptation.
One thing I do want to talk about is the lessons we can walk away from this film with. Yes love is a big feature, but Disney breaks a lot of the cliches here. One of the biggest topics early on for Kristoff and Anna is about true love. Kristoff is saying that marrying a person you just met isn't a good idea, especially if you know next-to-nothing about them, while Anna firmly believes that you just know when you meet someone. I just realized one lesson that I didn't notice last night was to not judge others by appearances. Anyway, the biggest lesson, and one that I liked most was that they shared a lesson that love isn't just the attraction between a man and a woman shared with a short dance and brief kiss. Some of the characters explain that love is also helping others even when it's not convenient for us and giving up our wants for the needs of others.
All in all I have to say this was a well done story. I've been thinking for a while now that maybe film adaptations would be better off creating new stories set within the universe established within a book or a classic tale, and now we have another film as evidence of that. I hope I didn't bore you out with this review. I wanted to do a good job with actually analyzing it.

Movies expanding universes?

This is about something that has been on my mind for a while. I've been thinking with book to film adaptations that maybe it would be better if they took a different approach. They just adapt the same story of the books and only give audiences what has already been done. I've been thinking maybe rather than adapt the same story it would probably be better to use films to create new stories for the worlds established in books. These last few months I have seen some movies that did just that. Here are a few examples.

These books give the back stories of some of the legends we've grown up with from our childhood, like the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. However the time came when a movie was adapted from these books. This was the result:

It is definitely something to sit down and watch. This film didn't try to adapt the stories of all the books into one. Instead the film's plot takes place after the books have occurred, in the present day. I will spare you the details of what happens in the movie so if you still haven't seen it nothing gets ruined. I did some research and found out the author was involved in the making of this movie, and he was trying to make it a new story. I say he did a good job.

This book, also by the author of The Guardians of Childhood, is one I haven't been able to look into yet. However this book was also adapted into a great movie. In case you're wondering which one, here it is:

I would definitely recommend seeing this movie if you haven't already. From what I was able to find out online the book had a different story from the film, yet from what I found out it almost seems like the Leaf Men were still living out their lives when the events of the film unfold. Both Epic and Rise of the Guardians were well received, financially and critically. There's just one more movie I'd like to mention:

This movie is supposed to be the backstory of the all famous Wizard of Oz. From what I've heard it uses several elements mentioned in the books yet it still seems to be an original story expanding a well-established universe. I plan to see this film this weekend so I'll let you go now so you can work on whatever it is you plan to do. Thank you for your time.

Where I've been and future plans

Well I'd better let everyone know that I am still here in the mortal world. I've been on the road the last week with the addition of spending time with my family along the way. I will be continuing my education at Brigham Young University now. I will be shifting my focus and efforts to making sure I get really good grades in my class. However there will be at least five films coming out at the end of this year that I plan to see and then review here.

1. Ender's Game

2. Thor: The Dark World

3. Frozen

4. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

5. Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie
I know I've said I'd start posting short stories on this blog. I will try to do it at least this next week.

Should story adaptations always be the same?

I've heard a lot of negative comments over the last two years of certain books and stories being adapted into films. A lot of the times the plots are different from the original source material and people use that to decide that the films are no good. That isn't always the case though. Let me show you some examples of films adapted from stories that did very well.

From what my friends have told me if they had stuck one-hundred percent true to the book it would not have done as well.

Ah yes, the classic story. True it stayed very true to the original fairy tale. However there were a few things taken out, like the Queen's first two attempts to murder Snow White via a poisoned comb and a poisoned corset. Also in the original story the Queen died when she screamed so loud she broke a blood vessel while in the film she fell to her death off a cliff with a boulder following in pursuit.

Very big differences from the source material here. Elements of mysticism and high fantasy in the film adaptation of the beloved children's book. Nevertheless the film did an outstanding job.

Now you're probably wondering "Wait. This film stayed very true to the books! Why is he posting it here?" Yes it's true that this film stayed very true to the books. However there were some differences between the original novels and the films. The incident involving Tom Bombadil was never featured in the films. Also the encounter with Shelob happened in The Two Towers, not The Return of the King. If films had to stay completely true to the books then these films should've been hated.

Last one. I promise. This film adaptation was definitely a big success, yet it too was very different from the book. There were fifteen dinosaur species in the book and only seven were shown in the film. Also two of the films species were not featured in the first book. There was also a major plot element where the characters see Velociraptors sneaking onto the boat and they try to call in to let the people know what's happening. That was completely scrapped from the film.
One thing we could possibly look at with film adaptations of books and stories is if they capture the spirit of the original tales or not. That was how the author of How to Train Your Dragon, Cressida Cowell, looked at the film of her book. Diana Wynne Jones knew that the adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle, yet she was okay with that. I've been thinking that maybe we go to the movies expecting to see the books. Maybe we shouldn't. There probably comes a time when a story will need to be re-imagined. After all the original fairy tales we grew up with were edited and changed because the original versions could get pretty dark and graphic. I doubt parents would allow children to read or see a Cinderella story where the stepsisters cut off their heels to try and make the slipper fit. Maybe one of the keys to re-imagining a story is to stay true to the spirit it had. The time will come when we will need to re-imagine our stories. If not they will most likely not survive to entertain the next generation.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters review

Sea of Monsters. What exactly does that bring to your mind?

Seas infested with sea reptiles?

Krakens attacking ships?

Sea Serpents on the rampage? 

Well not exactly in this film. In this film adaptation of the second book of the Percy Jackson series Percy and his friends at Camp Half-Blood find themselves in a dire situation. The tree which gives Camp Half-Blood its protection has been poisoned and monsters are starting to invade the camp. The only thing that can reverse the poisoning is the legendary Golden Fleece which is located in the Sea of Monsters, which in the series is the ocean where heroes like Jason and Odysseus sailed during their quests. It has moved west like Olympus and the Underworld and is located in the part of the ocean we like to call the Bermuda Triangle. So that's why stuff gets lost in that ocean. They're eaten by monsters. Anyway Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, is given the task of going to retrieve the fleece. Percy and his friends, however, decide to go along. Along the way they encounter many monsters of the myths and learn important lessons of trust, friendship, forgiveness, and of choosing our course in life. 

I think this film teaches a good lesson on believing in ourselves. Percy in this film is starting to doubt himself and wondering if he's really good enough. He's starting to attribute his success to luck. However as the film progresses he uses his skills to help his friends survive the dangers of the Sea of Monsters. Annabeth's past comes to life as they encounter Tyson who is the half-brother of Percy. She holds a grudge against Cyclopes because they took the life of a friend of hers years ago. Throughout the film her dislike for Tyson's race is evident. However eventually she learns to not hold Tyson accountable for the actions of others. Probably one of the biggest lessons in the film is that our paths are not set in stone. We can choose our destinies in life.

Admittedly I was furious with the first film. I didn't like how they went a different course from the books. However as I saw this movie I was calmer and I enjoyed it. They did work a little harder to be closer to the book this time than before. There were still plenty of differences from the book. For example they didn't encounter Circe, though she was mentioned. True I wish that the films have stuck closer to the books. However I don't think that I should condemn this movie because of how different from the book it was. If you insist that film adaptations have to be a hundred-percent the same as the book then you might not like this film. However if you want a good adventure to enjoy you might want to set sail on this quest.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Review of The Avengers

Well since I'm still getting back into the swing of things I figured I'd do a review on one of the movies I've seen recently. I've already tweeted that I've seen this film. However now I can actually share my thoughts on it.

Yep. That's right. One of the biggest superhero films as of yet. You have all probably seen this film already so I don't have to worry on spoilers. Loki returns and steals the Tesseract so he can lead an army of aliens to Earth and subject the planet to him. As a result Nick Fury calls on several superheroes whom S.H.I.E.L.D. had come into contact with like Iron Man, Captain America, and others to help stop Loki. Sadly the team finds themselves at odds with each other and Loki escapes not long after they capture him. However they learn to put aside their differences and work together to stop Loki and his armies. 

To say this film had no action and made you go to sleep would be a really big lie. Action starts almost right away and you're awake throughout the film. However good the action may be I try to look more at the story of a film. It was pretty clever to use several superhero films to lead up to this moment. I've been trying to think about what lessons we could take away from this movie. The best I could come up with is teamwork and friendship. Everyone here had to put aside differences to save the world. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers worked well when they had to get the engine of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s flying base, the Helicarrier, working again even though not too long beforehand they were at each other's throats. Nothing like a massive airship falling out of the sky to get priorities straight right? The Incredible Hulk was also able to put his anger and strength to good use by taking out a great deal of the invasion and making sure Loki didn't do any more damage. Thor also gave some good advice on his foolish choices of the past. If you think about it you can pick up on an anti-war theme. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been studying weapons of H.Y.D.R.A. as one way to protect the Earth. However he goes with what he thought was a better idea: A team working together to achieve the impossible. It is when we put aside our differences and work together for the common good that mountains are moved. 

The Legacy of Harry Potter

It has finally come to an end. One of the greatest fantasy tales of our time has been finished. For over a decade people across the globe have been following the adventures of the boy wizard known as Harry Potter. His story was the classic retelling of good versus evil, in a world that lies hidden from us.
The first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the UK) is literally the film that started it all. It tells of how Harry Potter, an orphan living with his cruel aunt and uncle, learns that he is a wizard and is admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn more about magic. Here, he makes friends and enemies, and has to stop a dark wizard from obtaining an item of great power. I just loved this movie when it came out. After reading the book, I felt like that the people who made the movie took what I saw in my mind and brought it to the big screen. The effects were so incredible that I believed they were real.
The second film in the series brings Harry back to school after a terrible summer back home. However, Hogwarts is not the same as Harry remembers. Someone has opened a place of legend within the school, and students are mysteriously being petrified. With accusations coming from everyone, Harry must uncover an ancient mystery of the castle and stop the evil that lurks within the Chamber of Secrets. This movie built up from the first film, adding more to the magic of the series. The creatures in this movie looked so real it was like they were going to come off the screen and into the theater. Again, I was captured by the magic.
The third film in the series was clearly a big success. This film reveals more about Harry's past as a criminal escapes from the most secure prison in the wizarding world, Azkaban. The wizard-in-training (or in this case, studying) is believed to be this man's target, as his parents were betrayed by him. However, unbeknown to everyone, there lies a traitor among the friends. This film completely changed the landscape of Hogwarts. Hagrid's hut is moved to the bottom of a hill, the Whomping Willow is not so close to the school, and we get a glimpse of the town of Hogsmeade. Harry's hair is more messed up than in previous films, and students don't stay in their school uniforms all the time. The director also added stuff in from Mexican culture, like the eagle versus snake statues and the candy skulls in Honeydukes. My impression with this film was that they made it more realistic. This movie starts to move more into the darkness of J.K. Rowling's world. At Hogwarts the students are joined by the schools of Durmstrang Institute of Magical Learning and Beauxbaxton's Academy of Magic for the Triwizard Tournament, which has not taken place for a century. Each school is represented by a champion chosen by the mystical Goblet of Fire, but things go wrong when Harry is chosen as the Fourth Champion even though he is underage. While competing in the tournament, Harry and his friends must find out who put his name into the Goblet of Fire, and why. It was cool to see other magical schools in this world and the characters continue to feel like their literary sources. However, I was disappointed when they took the magical creatures out of the maze and just made it a bunch of creepy hedges. I was really looking forward to seeing the Sphinx. Still, I enjoyed the movie's story and how they brought the Triwizard tournament to life.
The fifth film in this series takes a more darker turn as it shows the imperfections of the Ministry of Magic. Harry is put at odds with the rest of the Wizarding World because Cornelius Fudge has been running a propaganda against Harry and Dumbledore because they claim that Voldemort has returned. What's more, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher refuses to teach them magic because she works for Fudge, and she tortures Harry and his friends for telling the truth. Harry and his friends band together with the other students of Hogwarts to teach themselves how to defend themselves and uncover the truth of why Voldemort tried to kill Harry all those years ago. This movie was kind of disappointing to me. It seemed to be more focused on the newspaper headlines than the actual story. The film doesn't really show the effect of the undermining Education Decrees, but it makes it perfectly clear that they usurp the school's power and authority to Umbridge. Harry's hair was also too short in this movie. Nevertheless, this movie is important to the series because it shows the true strength of Harry and his friends.
Quite literally the beginning of the end. This movie shows Harry and his friends continuing their education while Voldemort and his Death Eaters terrorize the Wizarding and Muggle worlds. While Harry's friends experience complications with their feelings to one another, Harry is determined to prove that his rival Draco Malfoy has become a Death Eater and is planning something terrible. Dumbledore shows Harry memories of a boy known as Tom Riddle, who eventually became Voldemort. Dumbledore is determined to get all memories pertaining to him as they could hold the key to the downfall of Voldemort. I can see that they really tried in this movie to have a perfect equilibrium of romance and action in this movie, but they didn't quite make it. The movie felt like it leaned more towards the romance than the action. Still, they should get an A for effort (or A for Acceptable, as grades at Hogwarts go).
One of the most eagerly awaited movies yet. This movie was the part of the finale to the epic tale. In this film, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine have to leave their families behind to find the horcruxes, which are keeping Voldemort alive. Unfortunately they have no idea what these items are, because they could be anything. Another complication arrives when they realize that they have no way to destroy the horcruxes because every spell they cast does nothing. Meanwhile Voldemort has taken over the Wizarding World, and has made Harry the Number 1 Undersirable (basically the World's Most Wanted). Old faces return in this movie and the race for the fate of the world does not look good. I was glad when they split the movie up into two parts because that meant that they weren't going to try to cram everything into one movie. They did a good job in this movie with bringing the book to life. The Anti-Muggle move felt depressing like it should've and the acting felt real. I was pleased with the results of this film.
We have come to the end of this tale. This film is the conclusion to one of the greatest series ever told. Harry and his friends are continuing their quest for the horcruxes, but have to return to Hogwarts as Voldemort is on his way there. One of the biggest battles of the millennium begins as Death Eaters and the people of Hogwarts clash to decide the fate of the world. I don't want to reveal too much because the movie only came out today, but I will say that the battle is epic and not one you want to miss.
I went to the midnight premiere of this movie, and the lines were extremely long. There were crowds outside just waiting to get inside, and the inside was packed tighter than a can of sardines! I saw that several people had dressed up as characters from the movies. I saw several Bellatrixes, a couple of Fawkes (through they looked more like yellow chickens), a Hedwig, a Dobby, Hermoine, Harry, Draco, Umbridge, Mad-Eye, even Voldemort! It was incredible at how much of a fandom the series had. I probably would've dressed up as Harry if I had time, but I didn't. I just had to grab a stick to use as a wand. It was so good to be able to be there as soon as the movie came into theaters. Now I doubt anyone knows what's going to happen. I think it is clear that the world will always love Harry Potter.
My overall impression with this series is amazing. This was one of the biggest projects I think any movie company has ever taken. They managed to adapt every book in a series and turn them into films which have done incredible at theaters. Most companies wouldn't have gone the lengths Warner Bros. did to bring every book to life. They succeeded to create an epic series that many people across the world have grown up on. I don't think any movie collection would be complete without the Harry Potter series. Of course, it's sad to know that there won't be any more films in this series. Oh well. That means that now we can look for the next epic series to follow. I'm sure that many people will be content with this series, but should someone attempt to do a reboot, they have their work cut out for them. I don't think that such a project will ever happen, but only time will tell.

Through Heaven's Eyes

I know I'm behind on blogging, and I apologize. To make it up to you, I've attached one of my favorite songs from a great movie.

This song, from The Prince of Egypt, is a movie from Dreamworks that was released in 1999. This movie is a retelling of the story of Moses, who in the Bible freed the Israelites from the power of the Egyptians. This song here is where Moses learns that things most people consider important, like money or power, are not that important in life.
What I like about this song is that it shows that some of the stuff we take for granted, like food and water, are more important than fame or wealth. I've been raised on the lessons that what we do in life and how we treat others is far more important than having a lot of cool gizmos. I feel like this is one song I will never forget.

My Top 10 Movies to see Summer of 2011

Okay, I know that on Facebook I've said that I've read some books, but I've done so many reviews on this blog I figured that I'd give all of you readers a break. Summer's coming up fast and with it a lot of cool new films are on their way to the big screen. I'm sure that there are lots that you are all interested in seeing, but here are the films that are capturing my interest.
10. The Smurfs. This animated/live-action film is based off of an old cartoon show I used to watch as a kid. From what I can tell, the little blue people find a way to cross over into our world. However, the villain from the show (I never knew what his name was) also follows them. It looks to be a funny film and one that kids might enjoy.

9. Rio. The newest animated film from Fox, which is made by the studio that made the Ice Age films. This follows the adventures of a parrot named Blu, who is the last male of his species, and the last female in existence is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Blu is taken there in the hopes that he will mate with the female, but they are both abducted by poachers. To make matters worse (or funnier depending on your point of view), Blu has no idea how to fly. The trailers I've seen for this film make it appear to be one that will be enjoyable for everyone.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This film continues the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, who's now on a quest to find one of America's greatest legends, the Fountain of Youth. Along the way, he encounters former love Angelica, the daughter of the most infamous pirate in history. Together, they must brave mermaids, zombies, and the most feared pirate in the Caribbean: Blackbeard. I've enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean films and have been looking forward to this one. However, if you like Ariel from The Little Mermaid, this might not be a film for you to see.

7. Mr. Popper's Penguins. Based off the book by Richard & Florence Atwater, the film follows Mr. Popper, a man who devotes his time to his work. However, his life changes when he gets an unexpected gift: penguins. I read the book when I was a kid, and was surprised to see that it would be coming to the big screen. I can only hope the film will stay true to the book.

6. Cars 2. The sequel to the popular animated film, the film sees the return of Lightning McQueen and Mater as they travel across the world in an international Grand Prix. Along the way, Mater gets caught up in the world of spies and he has to find a way to support his friend and save the world at the same time. I saw the first film, and this one looks like a tribute to the spy cars and vehicles you see in films. I'm sure that Mater will earn lots of laughs again.

5. Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil. The sequel to the animated film Hoodwinked!, the film continues the adventures of Red Puckett (based off of Red Riding Hood), Wolf, Granny Puckett, Kirk Kirkendall, and Twitchy as they work for a secret organization known as the Happily Ever After Agency, which is devoted to making sure the fairy tales all have happy endings. The group has to work together to find and rescue Hansel and Gretel, who have been kidnapped. They'll face pigs, four-armed green trolls, and more in this animated sequel. I thought the first film was funny, and will be going to see this new film.

4. Thor. The newest film from Marvel Studios, this film follows Thor, who is banished to Earth by Odin. While there, he falls in love with a woman and steps up to the challenge when Earth is threatened by evil. I haven't read the comics or the myths which may have inspired them, but my guess at who the villain is for this film would be Loki. I'll be going to see if I'm right, but the film also looks epic and one that will have a good story to it.

3. Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The third and final film of the Transformers universe, this follows the adventures of Sam Witwicky and the Autobots, who learn that there's a spaceship from Cybertron on our moon! From the first trailer, it appears that the real reason for the moon landing was to investigate this ship. The battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons will grow larger as they struggle to learn the secrets of the dark of the moon. I have seen some series of the Transformers, and each one was different. Although I've heard that the films have been given several negative reviews, I like to see the live-action films as just another series re-imagining of the Transformers. I'm interested in seeing how they make the new villain in this film, Shockwave. My only regret with this being the last Transformers movie is that we won't get to see the Dinobots on the big screen.

2. Kung Fu Panda 2. Yes, the lovable panda from the first film returns, and in an adventure bigger than before. When kung fu masters start disappearing across the land, Master Shifu fears that the powerful warlord Shen may have found a secret that could spell the end of kung fu. Po and the Furious Five must find out if this rumor is true, and find a way to stop it if they are true. The question is, how do you stop something that can destroy kung fu? This is one film I will definitely go see, but will this one really be better than its predecessor?

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It figures this would be coming in at first place, seeing how this is the end of one of the greatest series of our time. Following the events of part 1, Harry, Ron, and Hermoine must continue the search to find and destroy Voldemort's horcruxes, which allow him to remain alive even when he's killed. However, Voldemort succeeded in obtaining one of the Deathly Hallows: The Elder Wand, which makes its wielder unable to be defeated in battle. The stakes have never been higher as the future of the wizarding and Muggle worlds hang in the balance of Harry and his friends. I have a lot of high hopes for this film, and have been pleased that for the majority of the first film they remained true to the book. I'm sure that they will make this an ending that you will want to see again and again.

Well, that's it. I hope that some of these films are on your list of films to see this summer. I hope all of you have great summers and have lots of fun.

My Favorite Films of Studio Ghibli

Hi everyone, I was hoping to be done with a book I'm reading right now, but unfortunately I'm not. I did decide to blog about a certain company that I've been viewing the films of. That company would be Studio Ghibli.

Studio Ghibli has produced a number of great anime films since the 1980's, with their first official film being Castle in the Sky. The founder of the studio, Hayao Miyazaki, created the company following the success of his film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The studio has become to Japan what Disney is to the United States, a producer of great animated tales. I haven't seen all of Studio Ghibli's films, but those that I have seen I have enjoyed. My top five favorite films rank in the following order:
5. At fifth place comes Kiki's Delivery Service. This film is about a young witch who leaves home to do a year of training on her own. Settling in a big city, Kiki makes friends with Tombo and Osono, who help her to be confident in her skills and abilities. This film was good because it helps you to believe in yourself.4. Fourth place goes to Castle in the Sky. This movie is about a young miner boy named Patzu with a dream to find Laputa, a lost castle that floats in the sky. His adventure starts out when a girl named Sheeta falls out of the sky. Together, they must brave air pirates, soldiers, and the government to find this castle before its secrets fall into the wrong hands. An epic tale that anyone can enjoy.
3. Third place is taken by Howl's Moving Castle. This movie is based off the book by Dianna Wynne Jones and follows the adventures of Sophie, a young hatter who meets and falls in love with the wizard Howl. However, the Witch of the Waste curses Sophie into becoming an old woman. Now Sophie must journey to Howl's castle, which is constantly on the move, and help rescue her love before he loses himself. This film was great because it had an amazing story, wonderful music, and a delightful cast of characters.2. Coming up in second place is Hayao Miyazaki's world famous Spirited Away. The film is about a young girl named Chihiro who is moving to a new town with her family. However, they take a detour on the way and wind up in a place that at first looks like an abandoned theme park. However, Chihiro finds out this is really a world for the spirits of Japanese culture and she is unable to get home. After losing her parents (because they were turned into pigs for pigging out on spirit food), Chihiro is rescued by a spirit called Haku who helps her get a job at a local bathhouse where she must learn to be confident in herself if she wants to rescue her parents and find her way home. This film is definitely worth seeing and definitely deserves the Oscar it won.
1. The best film I've seen from Studio Ghibli, which earns first place here, is My Neighbor Totoro. This film follows the adventures of Satsuki and Mei as they and their father move into a new house in the country. Soon, Mei finds a huge furry creature called Totoro, and is told by her father that he's the king of the forest. Totoro helps Mei and Satsuki see the beauty of the woods around them. However, when Mei goes missing, it's up to Totoro to help Satsuki find her. This is the first Studio Ghibli film I've seen, and is the best in my opinion. Totoro is someone you can't help but like because he is such an awesome character.