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.

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. 

Forces of Evil

I know the title for this blog is something more for Halloween, but I don't think I can wait that long to blog about this. The title mainly refers to the villains that are always needed in a big story. Although no one ever seems to like a villain in the story, they are needed because without them there are no challenges for the characters to overcome. In every book that exists, there will exist some form of villain.
A villain is usually characterized as someone who does evil deeds to obtain their goals. They could range from kidnapping babies to usurping a throne. They usually believe themselves to be so powerful that no one would dare to oppose them. However, that's usually when the hero comes in to save the day. The villain throws everything they can to stop the hero(s) but end up failing miserably (and most of the time lose their lives).
Villains can have an assortment of weapons and powers at their disposal. Some villains are mainly wicked wizards and witches who use spells to control people and to try and destroy the hero. Other villains may have an arsenal of advance weapons for their use. There are even villains who don't have anything special, but are willing to do what they can to hurt others. Most of the time the villain will have a minion to boss (or bully) around. No matter what, it's quite established that villains will do anything to keep people from opposing them.
Villains have been appearing in the world of literature for years. It could be that they're representing the opposition that many people encounter in life, and the hero triumphing over the villain can be seen as people overcoming the opposition. Whatever the reason, one thing is quite clear: we can expect to see more villains appear in stories for a long time, and that they won't seem to get the message that good will triumph over evil in the end.