It's finally here!! And it looks awesome. I know there are a ton of people who will forever bitch about this trilogy but I will never be one of those people. Is it as good as The Lord of the Rings? No, it's not. But that does not change the fact that for me it's a pleasure to return to the world I love, to characters and stories that I love. I usually have a lot of issues with adaptations, Harry Potter being the prime example, but with LOTR and The Hobbit I don't mind the changes or additions. I think it's great that Jackson is using the appendix to bring the trilogies together. Of course without seeing the third film first, it's hard to say what the end result will be but I think it will work really well.
And if the teaser is to be believed, it will be a wonderful journey. The best thing about the trailer is definitely the music. I love the soundtracks of LOTR and The Hobbit to death and I spend months listening to nothing else but them when I was working on my dissertation because the soundtracks are my source of motivation. And one of my favourite scenes in all of the films is Billy Boyd singing The Edge of Night. It's beautiful and sad and amazing. And it fits the teaser perfectly.
Other observations
- I can't wait to see Galadriel be a total badass. The fact that she's walking barefoot in what I assume is Dol Guldur is awesome.
- Lee Pace looks fabulous. I have loved him since I saw Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies and seeing his eyebrows is going to be one of the highlights of the film.
- I imagine watching Thorin being a complete dick is going to be easier than reading it in the book since he looks like Richard Armitage. I never really liked Thorin since he is a prissy old man but the films have made me understand his character and I might even cry at the end of the battle.
- It's going to be a bit weird seeing Luke Evans and Orlando Bloom act together since they look so similar. If Luke's hair was a bit shorter he'd look just like Orlando did in The Pirates of the Caribbean films. At least Orlando is blonde in this one so I can tell them apart.
- A nice callback to the first film in the scene where Thorin tells Bard he will have his war. Notice he's wearing a crown that looks like the same one his grandfather was wearing when Smaug attacked. This shows he's in the same mindset where the treasure means more than anything else.
- The teaser looks awesome and I'm already so excited to see the whole film!
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Saturday, 26 July 2014
Hello from the land of emotions
I have been thinking about emotions a lot lately. I think we all have emotional reactions to films/TV/books etc. that matter to us. It's not really a secret that I am a very emotional person and things that I love are often the things that affect me deeply. I guess this explains why, even after getting a degree in film, I don't focus on the technical side of films or TV shows. For me the story and the characters are more important than editing, sound or camera work. Don't get me wrong, the technical side does matter and when it works, I will notice it. Hannibal is one of the best TV shows ever and while writing and acting are suberb in the show, the sound design and cinematography are also breathtaking. Also Fool for Love is my favourite Buffy episode for many reasons, one of them being the editing in the sequence where Spike demonstrates to Buffy how he killed Nikki. It creates the mood perfectly and is fascinating to watch.
Anyway, back to the point, my focus when watching films and TV has always been the characters and the story they are telling me. When these characters make me feel for them, that is when I feel like I'm watching something good. I judge everything by the emotions it makes me feel. The stronger my reaction, the better it is. This usually means that if something can make me cry, then I will love it. Watching The Lord of the Rings is usually a very clensing experience because I will spend hours crying and just getting all my emotions out. I understand that other people might find that very weird but for me, sometimes that is exactly what I need. Hannibal, on the other hand, brings out different kind of emotions. Yes, the show has made me cry, but mostly because it made me so tense (that was a weird experience). I'm very invested in the characters and the story so I usually watch it on the edge of my seat while yelling at the screen because characters are doing things that are not good.
And then there is Supernatural... I started watching this show after seeing one episode of season 6 that caught my attention and made want to see more. So I went back to the pilot. I didn't think much of the first season. There where few scary episodes (Bloody Mary, Provenance), some bad ones (we all know which ones those are) and some really good ones (Faith, Home etc.). By season 2 I was already invested in the characters and In My Time of Dying made me fall in love with the show. I could relate to the characters, the mythology is great, adding angels to the show worked really well and it broke my heart on several occasions.
I went through some difficult times last year and I have noticed that I am emotionally much more vulnerable now. It is a lot easier for films to make me cry which made me realise this is not always a good thing. On my rewatch of SPN I have noticed how much more devastating I find the show and it has made a a bit wary. My emotions have been going up and down a lot for the last few weeks which has resulted in me avoiding watching season 9 of Supernatural because I know it will give me all sort of feelings. I'm also currently rewatching season 5 because of Mark Watches and I was avoding that too. I spend days postponing watching the next episode because that episode was Abandon All Hope (*sobs*). So I watched Bones and when I got bored of that I decided to rewatch season 1 of SPN. I figured it would be light on the emotions while giving me my daily dose of Jensen Ackles. I haven't seen the first season in ages and it really surprised me by how good it was. It was also a lot more emotional than I thought it would be. It reawakened my hatred for John Winchester, it made me see how broken Dean has always been and how he never got the thanks he deserved for taking care of his family. Thank you John Winchester for being the worst father ever and bless you Bobby Singer for being the best ever and for threathening to shoot John.
I guess what I'm really trying to get to here is that I may need to start selecting my watches the same way I select my music. Certain moods require certain music. When down I need to go back to my list of feel good films and not go anywhere near stuff that is sad. Which in my case means watching Pitch Perfect over and over again. But I'm actually starting to get back into the place where I can watch something and be okay with the fact that it breaks my heart to pieces. I made it through Abandon All Hope, while crying like a baby, but I have to say, I don't want to see that episode for a really long time. I've also started season 9 (three episodes in) and I'm confident that I'll finish it before season 10 begins.
Anyway, back to the point, my focus when watching films and TV has always been the characters and the story they are telling me. When these characters make me feel for them, that is when I feel like I'm watching something good. I judge everything by the emotions it makes me feel. The stronger my reaction, the better it is. This usually means that if something can make me cry, then I will love it. Watching The Lord of the Rings is usually a very clensing experience because I will spend hours crying and just getting all my emotions out. I understand that other people might find that very weird but for me, sometimes that is exactly what I need. Hannibal, on the other hand, brings out different kind of emotions. Yes, the show has made me cry, but mostly because it made me so tense (that was a weird experience). I'm very invested in the characters and the story so I usually watch it on the edge of my seat while yelling at the screen because characters are doing things that are not good.
And then there is Supernatural... I started watching this show after seeing one episode of season 6 that caught my attention and made want to see more. So I went back to the pilot. I didn't think much of the first season. There where few scary episodes (Bloody Mary, Provenance), some bad ones (we all know which ones those are) and some really good ones (Faith, Home etc.). By season 2 I was already invested in the characters and In My Time of Dying made me fall in love with the show. I could relate to the characters, the mythology is great, adding angels to the show worked really well and it broke my heart on several occasions.
I went through some difficult times last year and I have noticed that I am emotionally much more vulnerable now. It is a lot easier for films to make me cry which made me realise this is not always a good thing. On my rewatch of SPN I have noticed how much more devastating I find the show and it has made a a bit wary. My emotions have been going up and down a lot for the last few weeks which has resulted in me avoiding watching season 9 of Supernatural because I know it will give me all sort of feelings. I'm also currently rewatching season 5 because of Mark Watches and I was avoding that too. I spend days postponing watching the next episode because that episode was Abandon All Hope (*sobs*). So I watched Bones and when I got bored of that I decided to rewatch season 1 of SPN. I figured it would be light on the emotions while giving me my daily dose of Jensen Ackles. I haven't seen the first season in ages and it really surprised me by how good it was. It was also a lot more emotional than I thought it would be. It reawakened my hatred for John Winchester, it made me see how broken Dean has always been and how he never got the thanks he deserved for taking care of his family. Thank you John Winchester for being the worst father ever and bless you Bobby Singer for being the best ever and for threathening to shoot John.
I guess what I'm really trying to get to here is that I may need to start selecting my watches the same way I select my music. Certain moods require certain music. When down I need to go back to my list of feel good films and not go anywhere near stuff that is sad. Which in my case means watching Pitch Perfect over and over again. But I'm actually starting to get back into the place where I can watch something and be okay with the fact that it breaks my heart to pieces. I made it through Abandon All Hope, while crying like a baby, but I have to say, I don't want to see that episode for a really long time. I've also started season 9 (three episodes in) and I'm confident that I'll finish it before season 10 begins.
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
Supernatural season 8 thoughts
So life got in the way of binge watching this but I finally finished it and I have few thoughts.
Firstly, I kinda hate (=love) the way this show continuously breaks my heart. The smallest thing can make me cry. Garth declaring how Bobby was important to the whole hunter community. Dean's guilt over leaving Cas to Purgatory, and actually any moment Dean gets emotional cos Jensen Ackles is one of those actors that whenever he starts crying then I start crying (other actors in this category are David Tennant, Tom Hiddleston, Kristen Bell and Alyson Hannigan). The small moment in the finale when the boys meet Crowley at Bobby's and they see his old car in the junk yard except now it's growing green stuff. That was a punch in the heart...
Secondly, the reason I love rewatching things is that you can always spot something new. What really became evident on this rewatch is that Dean can be really cruel. Now it's no surprise that I'm a Dean girl because I relate to him a lot more than I relate to Sam, so I can be a bit biased while watching this show. But in the first half of the season Dean is really harsh on Sam and other people. I mean, while I understand that Dean is hurt that Sam never looked for him and I have hard time understanding Sam's reasoning for this and not looking for Kevin, Dean's blatant use of Amelia to distract Sam is actually quite cruel. But at least Charlie calls him out on this. And Dean's ready to kill Mrs. Tran to kill Crowley. I get that he wants Crowley gone but Kevin's mom is awesome and should not be killed. Dean is also hard on Garth (poor Garth) when he sees Garth has become the "new Bobby". This can be read as Dean missing Bobby but I think it also shows the effect the Purgatory has had on Dean. He has been fighting for his life for a year and it's bound to have an effect. So he's become colder and more willing to do whatever it takes to win.
I'd also say that's the reason Dean does not see light at the end of the tunnel. Sam has spend a year falling in love, so of course he can see a life beyond hunting. Dean, on the other hand, has spend his entire life fighting and knows it does not necessarily end after death (especially if you're going to Hell or Purgatory). He tried normal life with Lisa and it did not work so I don't think he believes in a normal life anymore. But at the same time he wants a home. Just look at the way he settles into the Men of Letters bunker. He decorates his room and everything! He is resigned to his life as a hunter and so the bunker is as close to a real home as he is going to get so he's going to make the most of it. Sam, on the other hand, knows what real home is and believes he can get there so to him the bunker is just a intellectual attraction. It's not a home but a place that can help him to get a home.
It's interesting then to note how their positions change by the end of the season. Sam no longer cares that the trials are going to kill him. He has watched Dean belittle him all season, seen Dean trust a vampire and confide in Benny in ways he has not done with Sam just to name few things (this is also an interesting parallel to Dean's behaviour in season 5 where he openly blames Sam for letting Lucifer free and his growing reliance on Cas). So it's not hard to see why Sam believes it would be better for everyone if Sam dies while closing the gates. Dean, on the other hand, has spend half a season watching his brother become weaker and more sick which probably has made him realise how much he loves Sam and needs him so he does not want Sam to die.
Other small observations.
- I hate Metatron, especially in light of season 9.
- Charlie should make a lot of appearances on this show, she is so awesome, and she should be back season 10 and not die.
- This season was quite light on Cas and show needs more Cas, but preferably without the issues with Dean and without the constant guilt trips. The show already has Dean feeling bad about everything he's ever done and while it's part of his character, one character acting like that is enough.
- Crowley is awesome and I love watching him interact with the boys. Him calling Sam Moose will never stop being amazing and his presence is always a treat.
I'll be starting season 9 soon and I'm sure it will give me more thoughts and season 10 expectations/hopes.
Firstly, I kinda hate (=love) the way this show continuously breaks my heart. The smallest thing can make me cry. Garth declaring how Bobby was important to the whole hunter community. Dean's guilt over leaving Cas to Purgatory, and actually any moment Dean gets emotional cos Jensen Ackles is one of those actors that whenever he starts crying then I start crying (other actors in this category are David Tennant, Tom Hiddleston, Kristen Bell and Alyson Hannigan). The small moment in the finale when the boys meet Crowley at Bobby's and they see his old car in the junk yard except now it's growing green stuff. That was a punch in the heart...
Secondly, the reason I love rewatching things is that you can always spot something new. What really became evident on this rewatch is that Dean can be really cruel. Now it's no surprise that I'm a Dean girl because I relate to him a lot more than I relate to Sam, so I can be a bit biased while watching this show. But in the first half of the season Dean is really harsh on Sam and other people. I mean, while I understand that Dean is hurt that Sam never looked for him and I have hard time understanding Sam's reasoning for this and not looking for Kevin, Dean's blatant use of Amelia to distract Sam is actually quite cruel. But at least Charlie calls him out on this. And Dean's ready to kill Mrs. Tran to kill Crowley. I get that he wants Crowley gone but Kevin's mom is awesome and should not be killed. Dean is also hard on Garth (poor Garth) when he sees Garth has become the "new Bobby". This can be read as Dean missing Bobby but I think it also shows the effect the Purgatory has had on Dean. He has been fighting for his life for a year and it's bound to have an effect. So he's become colder and more willing to do whatever it takes to win.
I'd also say that's the reason Dean does not see light at the end of the tunnel. Sam has spend a year falling in love, so of course he can see a life beyond hunting. Dean, on the other hand, has spend his entire life fighting and knows it does not necessarily end after death (especially if you're going to Hell or Purgatory). He tried normal life with Lisa and it did not work so I don't think he believes in a normal life anymore. But at the same time he wants a home. Just look at the way he settles into the Men of Letters bunker. He decorates his room and everything! He is resigned to his life as a hunter and so the bunker is as close to a real home as he is going to get so he's going to make the most of it. Sam, on the other hand, knows what real home is and believes he can get there so to him the bunker is just a intellectual attraction. It's not a home but a place that can help him to get a home.
It's interesting then to note how their positions change by the end of the season. Sam no longer cares that the trials are going to kill him. He has watched Dean belittle him all season, seen Dean trust a vampire and confide in Benny in ways he has not done with Sam just to name few things (this is also an interesting parallel to Dean's behaviour in season 5 where he openly blames Sam for letting Lucifer free and his growing reliance on Cas). So it's not hard to see why Sam believes it would be better for everyone if Sam dies while closing the gates. Dean, on the other hand, has spend half a season watching his brother become weaker and more sick which probably has made him realise how much he loves Sam and needs him so he does not want Sam to die.
Other small observations.
- I hate Metatron, especially in light of season 9.
- Charlie should make a lot of appearances on this show, she is so awesome, and she should be back season 10 and not die.
- This season was quite light on Cas and show needs more Cas, but preferably without the issues with Dean and without the constant guilt trips. The show already has Dean feeling bad about everything he's ever done and while it's part of his character, one character acting like that is enough.
- Crowley is awesome and I love watching him interact with the boys. Him calling Sam Moose will never stop being amazing and his presence is always a treat.
I'll be starting season 9 soon and I'm sure it will give me more thoughts and season 10 expectations/hopes.
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