tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.comments2023-06-08T04:29:44.504-04:00Musings by StarlightMia Mannshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-80963073850071671832015-09-05T11:41:59.042-04:002015-09-05T11:41:59.042-04:00Thanks.Thanks.Tinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-73541377048952215222014-07-28T21:02:41.198-04:002014-07-28T21:02:41.198-04:00Overall I definitely loved it too. Excited that th...Overall I definitely loved it too. Excited that they're going to run with it and keep going with a sequel! How about you? Ty for commenting.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-64985769894978022042014-06-17T05:46:12.829-04:002014-06-17T05:46:12.829-04:00I LOVED IT BEING THAT I WATCHED GODZILLA WHEN I WA...I LOVED IT BEING THAT I WATCHED GODZILLA WHEN I WAS YOUNGER...NOW IN MY 50'S ...STILL LOVE IT.... SO THAT'S IT IN A NUT SHELL PPL.....<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15040579052982713968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-56761820112417435072014-05-06T15:21:51.537-04:002014-05-06T15:21:51.537-04:00By the way I tweeted your response to the Shallan/...By the way I tweeted your response to the Shallan/Kaladin ship, hope that's cool. Too funny!Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-74861458722812962272014-05-06T15:19:19.926-04:002014-05-06T15:19:19.926-04:00Thanks so much for the response! All of your point...Thanks so much for the response! All of your points are really fair and I will definitely keep in mind your -strategy- for reading Kaladin. I think I kind of was rooting against him, actually. In TWOK he was tolerable because brige four's transformation was so fun and motivational, but without it you're right, it's easier to root against him. I think what's driving me crazy is that on every Amazon review I read, everyone loves Kal and thinks of him as the hero, but as you put it, he's not a likeable human being. And for him to transform into one at this point feels like it was just a transparent setup the whole time to allow for character development. It's kind of cheating if the character only grows because he was ridiculously awful to start.<br /><br />That's also a very good point about Shallan, but I guess I feel like I wanted her to step into Jasnah's shoes and be the genius of the story, but she wasn't. And for me it's not about education. Since I have been educated I can source the intellect of others but I was still equally smart before I engaged in scholarship and I want Shallan to exemplify that, that she's not educated but she's intellectual and resourceful. What I'm attracted to in her character is that she is flawed and really suffers from her past, she has mental health issues, which is so refreshing to read in a work of escapism. But I think her strength needs to be her intellect. And maybe her ability to lie. I don't want her to be a Watson. But you're right, I'll just have to hope for that from Jasnah. Not much chance of Shallan fitting those shoes at this point.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-16199887606369909512014-05-06T00:28:06.437-04:002014-05-06T00:28:06.437-04:00If you can get past the need to have Kaladin be a ...If you can get past the need to have Kaladin be a likeable human being, and actively root against him it's a much more enjoyable experience. Suddenly, it's 2000 pages of wish fulfillment followed up with a "Brandon, if you ship this bastard with Shallan I will throw a shoe at you" chase scene to the end.<br /><br />In regard to Shallan, there is certainly a lot of setup to her being smart, but the entire first book is about her poor education background, and how she lacks the self control to put her capabilities to the most effective use. You can go further and analyze who her audience is when she is being witty. They're mostly common people, and when they're not common they're men who in this world are rarely educated. The exception being Jasnah, and each time that happens Shallan gets shot down by her. Shallan isn't House or Sherlock except for her "Mind Palace" like ability (ugh series 3). She is a fellow, or Watson. The things you're asking for would be more appropriate coming from the actual House/Sherlock of the series, Jasnah. Hopefully we get actual Jasnah chapters in book 3 #FreeJasnah.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11934119662915933314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-66081973187903131542014-03-16T17:35:50.195-04:002014-03-16T17:35:50.195-04:00Yeah, there's a lot going on, right? Two reads...Yeah, there's a lot going on, right? Two reads is definitely a minimum. I forgot all of these things I mentioned before I did the re-read, and I'm really glad I didn't start reading Words of Radiance without going back and uncovering it all.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment!Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-1499617341953748332014-03-16T07:56:58.319-04:002014-03-16T07:56:58.319-04:00Wow. I actually missed a lot of your points when I...Wow. I actually missed a lot of your points when I first read tWOK. Though I found them on my second read. You got it right, though. Shallan is just sooo interesting.Tomihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18337891162532427442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-46604665972324547132014-01-22T21:29:35.962-05:002014-01-22T21:29:35.962-05:00CG is good in doses. I was disappointed when star...CG is good in doses. I was disappointed when star wars went CG happy with 1, 2, and 3, after the fact that 4,5, and 6 didn't have the super wow whizz bang effects it kinda made them look like they were filmed in slow motion, also the story got lost in those, when they did 1,2, and 3. Anyways, when it comes out on dvd I am sure I'll be seeing it like you and saying gee a million dollars for shiny gold? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-8842866039896337682014-01-21T23:21:17.242-05:002014-01-21T23:21:17.242-05:00Yes, please, let me know what you think when you d...Yes, please, let me know what you think when you do get around to see it. If CG doesn't impress you (just like it doesn't impress me) then there's no sense paying for a movie ticket. The good things about it will still be there when it gets to rental.<br /><br />Thank you very much for the comment.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-35105375646663887812014-01-21T23:19:17.400-05:002014-01-21T23:19:17.400-05:00Haha! Yea, that's what DVDs are good for :D Wo...Haha! Yea, that's what DVDs are good for :D Worth watching once on the big screen, where it's pretty, but at home, I'm gonna skip the fluff too.<br /><br />Thanks for joining in the conversation!Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-47494057081655665332014-01-21T22:55:49.441-05:002014-01-21T22:55:49.441-05:00Enjoyed the review and I agree with your points! J...Enjoyed the review and I agree with your points! Jackson clearly felt he had to pump the action to keep the film in pace and enjoyable... but the barrel scene, the extended smaug chase and battle scene.. too long. The Smaug "battle" was just ridiculous. When I own the DVD later... I will gladly skip that scene, every time. Johnson Benjaminhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10376665275133998739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-82166641543545233472014-01-21T22:08:52.329-05:002014-01-21T22:08:52.329-05:00Glad i missed it in theatres, I will watch it as a...Glad i missed it in theatres, I will watch it as a free rental from the library when the thrill of the fact it's out on dvd wears off. I was afraid this was what would happen to the movie, that it would take off and be a cutesy CG film yet again. Maybe I'm old school though fr from old but I agree harry potter went south of the boarder to never never land and it appears this is too. when they popped in and said three movies I thought oh no, I will watch it just glad I didn't do so in the theatre. good review after I watch it I'll let ya know :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-75115382978196180062014-01-21T14:37:44.842-05:002014-01-21T14:37:44.842-05:00Damn, here I go insulting real people's hair c...Damn, here I go insulting real people's hair colour; apologies, I meant only to refer to the fictional hair colour of a fictional character, and I'm sure you as a real person with real hair have a beautiful natural hair colour. Maybe the hue just doesn't happen to go well with the actress' skin tone? I hope I'm not digging myself deeper and you'll accept my sincere apology. I'm just an insufferable a pot-stirrer.<br /><br />That's a good point that in the book, Bilbo wasn't very afraid of Smaug. I did just take a peek at that chapter (haven't done a FULL re-read by any means yet) and he seems confident in his invisibility, witty and fairly courageous.<br /><br />We're total opposites when it comes to action! That's curious :) Glad that the barrels grew on you, but you're probably right that it's more enjoyable in the book even so.<br /><br />I also thought the Kili thing was super out of place, and I felt like they only added that so that he could see Tauriel again, which was, as you put it, weird. She did bring the action, though, as you say. And all in all, I definitely liked it, it's definitely net positive in my books and worth a watch, but I think I just had less to nitpick in the first one, so it comes out on top for me. But only by a hair. I did love Lake-town, and Bard, and Smaug's voice-acting if not the Smaug scenes by their own right.<br /><br />Thanks so much for commenting!Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-52317770719473895272014-01-21T13:04:56.386-05:002014-01-21T13:04:56.386-05:00Okay, so first of all, don't make fun of the h...Okay, so first of all, don't make fun of the hair color. I cosplayed as Tauriel at opening night because she has the same color of hair as me. I was originally going to cosplay as Galadriel, but can you blame me for picking the elf that looks just like me? (I'm not that actress by the way, just a fan of Tolkein books.)<br /><br />That said, I like your review. I thought the dragon scene was kind of messed up. I don't remember Bilbo being half as scared in the books as they showed him in the movie (maybe I'm basing it off of the animated movie, though, as I haven't read the book in a year or so.) I feel they could have done more with the dialogue from the book, rather than what they did in the movie.<br /><br />So, this is kind of out of order. But another scene that seemed a lot different than the book was the barrel-riding scene. The first time I watched it I honestly hated it and wished it was more like the book. The second time, though, I was okay with it. (I'm kind of action-oriented; I joke with people that there has to be action every five seconds in a movie for me to like it.)<br /><br />I liked that they put in a scene with Beorn. It could have been different, but I'm glad they didn't leave him out the way they left out Tom Bombadil in "The Lord of the Rings". My two favorite characters in the Tolkein world are Bombadil and Beorn. (Actually, my two favorite characters are in "The Silmarillion", but that's a different story.)<br /><br />One scene I thought was somewhat well done was the Laketown scene. I liked how it was "short and sweet". In the book when I read it, it tends to drag on, so I was happy that it went fast. But what was the deal with leaving Kili behind? That definitely didn't happen in the book. Oh, and why was Bard looked down on? I don't remember it being that way in the book.<br /><br />Another point about Tauriel. At first I didn't like the thought of putting her in. I'm still slightly skeptical, but I liked the part she played as captain of the guard, or whatever she is. She is an impressive fighter and fun to watch on screen. The love triangle between her and Legolas and Kili was weird. (Probably what I liked most about her was her, I call it "flaming red hair".)<br /><br />All in all, I loved "The Desolation of Smaug". I actually liked it better than the first one, due to it being action-packed.<br /><br />Anyways, thanks for your input. It's always fun to read what others think of the hobbit movies.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15213205790419264414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-58908116267635053172014-01-21T09:30:41.362-05:002014-01-21T09:30:41.362-05:00I did miss the elven feasts, and I believe a simil...I did miss the elven feasts, and I believe a similar scene was cut from Fellowship where Sam sees an elf for the first time (and it like makes his life). And yeah, you're right, a lot of potentially good and VERY nostalgic pieces were missing to give more screen time to chasing the dragon around and throwing gold at him.<br /><br />But the long months of starvation and darkness! Okay, I know that stuff isn't as long-winded as it is in LOTR, and The Hobbit is a short and fast paced enough for a bit of starvation and darkness, but I first read it at age ten, and my attention ain't ever been so great, so for me, I will always have memories of wading through those parts and then racing through the dialogue and action. I guess it couldn't have hurt to remind us of the hunger and the long walk; I could do with some new memories.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-32648834819495499592014-01-21T09:21:09.785-05:002014-01-21T09:21:09.785-05:00Thanks for the comment! I enjoyed it too!Thanks for the comment! I enjoyed it too!Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-62885697323437951282014-01-21T09:20:50.350-05:002014-01-21T09:20:50.350-05:00That's a really good point, and it's actua...That's a really good point, and it's actually EXACTLY how I feel about the Harry Potter films, except it's worse in that case, because important details are glossed over so effectively that the story barely even makes sense to someone who hasn't read the books. I guess they don't care, cuz they figure we've all read it.<br /><br />With The Hobbit, it's sad that so many fans were disappointed, because with the LOTR films we came to expect a certain standard of quality; we expected the films to beautifully reflect the books and we felt that Jackson was a good judge of what could make the cut (Tom Bombadil, may you rest in peace.)Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-40976003370508353012014-01-21T08:47:08.736-05:002014-01-21T08:47:08.736-05:00When myself,dad,sister and her boyfriend went to s...When myself,dad,sister and her boyfriend went to see the film, it was absolutely brilliant. We really enjoyed watching it.Naomi Baelznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-79972180433901059592014-01-21T06:27:47.983-05:002014-01-21T06:27:47.983-05:00Good review, I can agree with just about everythin...Good review, I can agree with just about everything... except where you said they were able to keep every scene from the book. One of my main problems with Desolation was that so many of my favorite scenes from the book were left out entirely -- the dwarves approaching 2 by 2 at Beorn's Cottage, the Black River in Mirkwood, Bombur's amnesia, the long months of starvation and darkness in Mirkwood, the White Stag and the Hunt, the Elven feasts and illusions... like the Bilbo/Smaug scene, it seemed that everything was cut or stunted for the sake of the bloated dwarves vs dragon fight/chase scene.Jack THornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00801443191316953658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-51245991813844744392014-01-21T06:21:21.090-05:002014-01-21T06:21:21.090-05:00Personally I love Peters versions of Tolkien's...Personally I love Peters versions of Tolkien's stories but I feel that people who haven't read the books would enjoy them more. I don't mind a fee additions, subtractions or alterations but I find that the Hobbit films so fsr and especially the 2nd installment should come with the warning 'based loosly on the book'. Very disappointed :( Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-39340186060396032522013-12-17T03:16:29.154-05:002013-12-17T03:16:29.154-05:00Fantastic! I will take a look at that sometime soo...Fantastic! I will take a look at that sometime soon. I still haven't seen nearly as much of Star Trek as I should have by now. With it all on Netflix, there really is no excuse.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-36935702687129008082013-12-16T03:24:39.964-05:002013-12-16T03:24:39.964-05:00Just to let you know- THE MAN TRAP was the first e...Just to let you know- THE MAN TRAP was the first episode aired but the actual second pilot (the one that sold the show) was WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE. They were aired out of order. Not a huge deal but you might like to see that one next.Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17050780812342957714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-49749947268922119922013-11-17T07:47:02.394-05:002013-11-17T07:47:02.394-05:00You have it a bit wrong. A literal failing even Jo...You have it a bit wrong. A literal failing even Joss Whedon acknowledged and failed to realize in his own writing. Of course Buffy had a very hard time killing the first Ubervamp on her own. It was "like" power against a "like" diluted power (Buffy). After she met the Shadow Men and realized exactly where the power came from, she said 'no' to receiving more demonic spirit to increase her power, to become less human. She said that was not the way. It was the heart and spirit of the demon. Much like Dark Willow's power was from a heart of darkness, the Slayer's power was using evil to fight evil. The Guardians forged a weapon that could change all the Shadow Mens' rules. When Willow cast that spell with the scythe it was not only giving every future Potential the power of the Slayer but subverting the power from the place where the Shadow Men granted it to where the Guardians were empowered. It was no longer the heart of the demon the Slayer(s) gained their strength from, but the purity of goodness, making even Buffy and Faith's power change. All the Slayer's power changed from originating in darkness to being empowered forever by true light. Hence, Willow's hair turning pure white as opposed to black when she cast the spell. She changed the power source of the whole Slayer line. Buffy did not have that when she fought that first Ubervamp. They all had this now in the final battle in the Hellmouth. That is why that one Potential when imbued said, "They are dust." Even when Buffy imbued with the Shadow Men's power never said that; she was still afraid. They were now imbued with the Guradian's power at this point and killing the Ubervamps was that much easier. That's how Buffy fought off death and told the First to get out of her face after supposedly being mortally wounded. Still, even with all that power, a lot of people died.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3397407174411445570.post-83216189470413873582013-10-21T20:07:54.896-04:002013-10-21T20:07:54.896-04:00Ooo, thought provoking! Hmmm. For the sake of us n...Ooo, thought provoking! Hmmm. For the sake of us not making excuses on the parts of the OUAT writing team, I'll give them twenty-four (24) episodes to explain how that works. They shouldn't be leaving this stuff up to us, eh? Haha.Mia Mannshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07650015788907711393noreply@blogger.com