Mirrormask

    This film The Mirrormask, was very stunning with the visuals and the story. The idea of using the reversal of what a mirror does and make it work for a fantasy world (the world of a 15 year old girl that was created from her drawings) was interesting. Gaiman has a talent for creating stories of strange fantasy that can also be a bit scary or threatening to the main character. One of the things that I liked about this movie was that is was made under the Jim Henson company. Even though it not a film of placing an actor with puppets, it's nice to see that the Jim Henson studio is still working and maybe it's just the start of future films from them (I really hope so, next to Disney films I grew up with watching all the muppets and their films. Like Labyrinth, Dark Crystal).

   I like how in this mirrored world was a relfection of Helena's world. While Helena is in this other world, the Shadow Princess is in Helena's world. The Shadow Princess is the reflection of Helena and while the Shadow Princess in the world of Helena's life. She is ruining Helena life and destroying her drawings that connect to the kingdom. Helena must find the mirrormask to save the kingdom from destruction (by the shadows) and return to her world. It like the story is fighting the darker side of yourself (or at least that's how it looks like when I  was watching Helena confront to the Shadow Princess, telling her that she doesn't belong there.) Also to be greatful of what you have and when you are ready, you can handle life on your own.

    In the begining of the film you see that Helena is living with her parents and they run a circus, but Helena is tired of it and yells at her mother and wishes that she was "the death of her." When her mother then falls ill, Helena is angry and upset that she yelled at her mother and wants to tell her that she's really sorry. This is similar to what's going on in the kingdom. In the other world there are two kingdoms, one is light and the other is shadow. The Kingdom of Shadow, their Princess ran away from her mother (the Queen) and wants to have her own life. This is probably what Helena thought and felt at the time when she was angry with her mom and wished she was done living the dream of someone else (it's her father's dream to run a circus and she is thrown into it).



    To me this movie is similar to Gaiman's other story (that also was made into a film) Coraline. Both stories have a main girl character (the heroine) and she has relationship problems with her parents, mostly towards her mother. They both long to escape and that's what they get (weither they asked for it or not). But the wonders of the other world turn against them and they must defeat the villain that's keeping them from returning to their real world (both villains are female).

The Anansi Boys-by Neil Gaiman

   This book was kind of hard to get into, unlike the other books I have read/ listened to on audio books. The thing that made this story hard to get into (hard to follow along) is that it just drags on and on. Also our main character Charlie (aka Fat Charlie), has a plain and simple character. He was a boy that didn't like his father very much and has grown up to be a simple, but happy man with his new fiance. Then when we get introduced to his brother, named Spider, his character is strange and kind of annoying sometimes. I guess that works well for the reader to get the sibling rivalry between them.

Sometimes in the book Spider can be pretty annoying to Charlie as most siblings can relate to that annoyance of their brother or sister. When Charlie talked to the spider (insect) and asked to find his brother, at first it was a surprised that Charlie had a brother. But soon, all Charlie wants is his brother to be gone from his life. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen, Spider says that he has a plan. He goes to a new place, stays there for a while, and when he feels bored then he leaves and goes to another place. The more time that Spider stays in Charlie's life, the more miserable it is for Charlie. Spider even goes as far as pretending that he is Charlie and goes into his work and goes out with his fiance, then starts to have feeling for her (he's in love with her). Spider is taking everything that Charlie has.

    There seems to be a lot of things going on in the story, that get all tangled up, kind of like a spider web. Or, at least that is how I see it. Because there are so many characters that keep popping in and out of the story and sometimes taking up more time than focusing on Charlie's problem with his brother. To me it seems like I am getting more confused  with additional story lines over lapping the main one.  Somewhere in the chapters Charlie goes to a cave that has people acting a lot like animals (or maybe they are half human, half animal). I did think that it was kind of cool when Charlie was in the caves and he goes to this bird lady and asks her if she can get rid of his brother. The reason why I say that it was cool is because when you look back to the Animal Planet show, people know that birds eat insects (as well as worms and other bird food), so having this bird woman chase away the spider was a cleaver idea.

     Maybe I have to go back and re-read this book but I just didn't enjoy this book as well as I had originally thought. I guess the fault is mine because I know most of my friends have read some book by Neil Gaiman and they swear to it that his books are the best. Also after watching the movie adaptation of his book Coraline, I was expecting something close to that dark and mystery story. I know that some people can say that this book was mysterious, but for me it was just long and confusing.

Narnia The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

     Next to The Lord of the Ring, Narnia is the next best fantasy movie that explores far and beyond the term fantasy, and how far one's imagination can go. To be honest (again) I never knew about Narnia as a kid. What I mean is, that I was in a different kind of English class and my class read different books than the rest of my grade. So back in middle school (or high school), most of my friends knew the world of Narnia. I didn't know that I was missing out on a great fantasy adventure. My dad took me to see this movie when it came out, and together we enjoyed everything about this movie. I watch this movie over and over and never get tired of it. It's like when I put the disk into the dvd player, I'm journeying back into the wardrobe and to Narnia with Aslan, Mr. Tumnas, the Beavers and the many other creatures and animals that live there.

   This movie has great detail that captures a world that is ruled by creatures, spirits, witches and a lion. I like the Pevensie kids just as much as the creatures. But if I had to chose one, I would pick Lucy. The look on her face when she first enters the snow covered Narnia lands and taking in all the wonder and beauty of this strange land beyond the wardrobe. Also the care and the friendship she has with Mr. Tumnus. Even though at first he was going to follow the orders of the White Witch, he knew that what he was doing isn't right and he still believes in a free Narnia. He risked his own safety and protection from the White Witch's power in make sure Lucy (or any of her sibling) get in the hands of the White Witch. Another character that I like is Aslan. In Narnia, he is the true ruler and creator of Narnia (in the world of Narnia, he is God).  He can be both gentle and fierce when he needs to be, but above all he wants his people to be safe and the world of Narnia to be at peace.

 

    I would say my favorite scene in the movie is when winter is ending and Lucy, Susan, Peter and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver enter the camp ground of where the rest of creatures prepare for battle. There are centaurs, fauns, dryas and other creatures and animals that will serve their kings and queens (the Pevensie kids) and Aslan. I like it when everyone see's the three children walk to meet Aslan and everyone stops what they are doing and watches them pass. They are all happy that the hope to save Narnia has come (the prophesy). The designs of each creature was amazing and they looked accurate compared to the old illustrations of these creatures. They looked believeable, especially the centaurs. The centaur's design has always caught my interest. I like the look of the combination of half man and half horse. Next to the Lord of the Rings movie (The Fellowship of the Ring), Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe will forever be my favorite fantasy movies and a great source to get inspiration.

   What this movie (and in the books) has that fits well in the fantasy theme is that it has adventure, magic, talking animals and mystical creatures, and having the kids go on a journey and the change in them from being part of that world. Someday I'll read all the Narnia books, but I think that if C.S. Lewis saw this, I think he would be amazed and proud to see how well everyone that worked on this movie, captures that magic, beauty and wonder that is the Narnia he created.

The Golden Compass

    This was a very entertaining book. The main character in this story goes on an incredible journey and through her journey, you can see the changes in her personality and emoitons. What I really liked about this book is that everyone has their own demon, an animal that can change. These demon's are apart of the human's souls. When the demons felt pain, so would their human. I think it was cleaver of the author to have the demons change into different animals when their human partner was still a child. When the children grows up, their demon can no longer change into different animals, but must settle on one animal. It's this kind of fun and creative ideas that are great material for fantasy stories. I know that while reading about Lyra and her demon, Pan, reading their friendship and how he will fight to protect her. I thought if I had a demon, what kind of animal would he or she be. Would the demon have a similar  personality as me, or would my demon be the opposite, but still be strong/ strong hearted and will protect me (a protector/fighter demon).

    The character Lyra was a character that I've never come across in my other books. Instead of the main girl character (the heroine) being scared and weak in the begining. Lyra was a stubborn, kinda wild, smart girl and would not let anyone push her around. Living in a college for most of her life (she's about 11 or 12 years old), she never had any real parental guidance to teach her things. Lyra is the type of girl that would go off and find the answers herself. That is what she did when the Gobblers were taking children, and when they took her good friend Roger. She wasn't going to let that pass, as many of the adults in the college seemed to act. She traveled far with gypsies, rode on a polar pear and many other dangers and she did all this with the focus in mind to rescue her friend and the rest of the children and return them home. I give Lyra all the credit for having such courage to take on this adventure. Also the fact that she has to learn how to read the golden compass (when you ask a question, it gives you the truth), filled with symbols that she has to learn on her own.

    Once we get to know more about what Dust is, we see why the adults, like Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are so desprate to know more about it and destroy it. In the story, Dust is sin, that is why Dust attracts more to adults than the children (children are too young to know or do anything sinful). There was a part in the story that was hard to get through. That part was when in the north, where the gobblers are keeping all the kidnapped children. They are doing experiments on the children and cutting them off from their demon. The detail of the pain that both the children and their demons were feeling, was vert visual in my mind. Then the sadness of once they are cut off from their demon, the children die and the demon vanishes.

    I listened to this book on audio book and I really enjoyed how they read the story. Instead of one narrator changing his voice for the characters. This audio book had many different people to read the roles of the characters. There was a young girl doing the voice of Lyra, an older man for Lord Asriel, a kind, sneaky voice for Mrs. Coulter, etc. It was like if I went back in time and I was listening to a radio show, listening to these different actors read off their lines. It made the book even more enjoyable to listen and follow along to. It was so much better than their movie adpatation. It's like what everyone says when a book is being made into a movie "the books are better than the movie."

The Fellowship of the Ring (movie)

To be honest, I never saw The Lord of the Ring movies. I have heard of them, but didn't know much about them at the time that they were popular. I do remember that the people that went to see the movies knew the books first, and as usual, the best way to see a movie that is based off the original book. Sometimes I would see parts of The Lord of the Rings movie on tv, but I would catch it at random times so I never bother to watch it without knowing more about what's going on (and the story that it's based upon).

If I hadn't read The Hobbit, I would have not understood some key points in the movie (that only the ones that have read the book would understand). My original thought was that this movie was going to start off with Frodo, but I was surprised to see Bilbo again and to find out that Bilbo and Frodo are related. Once I saw the character Bilbo in the movie, he looked just like how I imagined him to be. I was also surprised by the power of the ring that Bilbo took from the Mist Mountain. Also its affect on the holder of the ring, it was scary when Bilbo was acting greedy and angry and would not give up the ring to anyone. He even said that the ring was "his precious," the same way Golom had said it. Not only did the ring have the power to make the holder become obsessed, but also keep them from aging. This was Gandalf's first notice when he saw Bilbo for his (111th year old) Birthday part that the other hobbits were throwing for him.

Another thing that caught my attention is that Frodo is different from how Bilbo was on a journey. In the Hobbit (book), Bilbo didn't like the idea of going on an adventure, but then he grew into it and loved the experience and the places he'd seen. In the beginning of the movie, Bilbo has become the opposite of what Hobbits are known for (staying in one place). After his birthday party, Bilbo decides to leave his hobbit hole and go off somewhere on another journey. To me Frodo is the reverse of Bilbo's personality. Frodo has heard of Bilbo's adventures and he longs to go on one of them with Bilbo. But when he gets his adventure to return the ring. Frodo seems to be very afraid and it seems that he doesn't have the same cleverness and wit as Bilbo had when getting out of problems. But I do see that Frodo has the same will power to continue on the journey that he started.

The rest of the movie is with Frodo, Gandalf, a few other hobbits, and elf, man and dwarf going on a journey to bring the ring to the mountain where it was born and destroy it in the mountain's volcano. But the movie doesn't end with them getting to the mountain so soon. There's more to be continued from this movie and story. The movie ends with Frodo and his friend Sam journeying alone without the rest of their group to get rid of the ring once and for all. The situation with Gandalf is very suspenseful.

This has now become a favorite movie that I will add to my collection of movies. I'm a fan of fantasy films and like to try and draw fantasy work. This movie has inspired me even more. The visuals and the looks of the characters and environments (like the elves homes in the forest) was better than I could have imagined.

The Annotated Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit, is a story that any who enjoys the themes of fantasy will appreciate. Tolkien has written a wonderful story that takes the reader into another world with hobbits, wizards, elves, and goblins.  I love the amount of detail that was put into each chapter. It helps the reader to have a better visual of this other world, the people and creatures. By listening to the audio book, I was able to get more of a detail visual of the setting and character.

What I liked most about this book is that you see the main character go through changes from how he use to be. Bilbo the Hobbit is our main character and he was so use to his daily routine and being safe in his little hobbit hole that he was not enthused to go. But Gandalf, a great powerful and respected wizard puts him on this quest with 13 dwarves. In the beginning Bilbo protests the idea of going on any adventure, because hobbits our known for not being adventurous. Also Bilbo doesn't see how he could be of any use to the dwarfs. But despite what Bilbo and the other dwarfs (lead by Thorin), Gandalf knows that the little hobbit will become of great use to the dwarves even if Bilbo doesn't know it yet.

There are times in the story that Bilbo has come to save his friends in difficult situations. I like how through each chapter you can see the changes in Bilbo, that he's becoming braver and slowly becoming fond of being on this adventure. Of course having a magic ring that turns him invisible to also helpful in his adventures. I also saw that this story also shows how the other dwarves work together and start to respect Bilbo and are grateful for his assistance, and sorry that they didn't realize that sooner. Bilbo showed great courage and wit that was very useful, when it involved coming up with a plan and getting out of trouble. By the end of the story when Bilbo returned home, Gandalf could see that Bilbo had changed from being the scared and not adventurous hobbit he met before the journey. Bilbo was happy about this change as well. When he got back home, the other hobbits notices this change in him and didn't like it. Bilbo had lost the reputation of what hobbits are known for, staying in one place and not going off on adventures.

I think this was the first time I've read a book that has a lot of songs in it. Reading those lyrics were fun and it connected well to the time era of the story. Most people from long ago would tell some stories in song. Some of those songs would be about a hero, a warning of some danger to be feared and so forth. I could picture the dwarves and the elves singing these songs, because the narrator did great job using different tones for each character. If I didn't listen to this book on audio and listened to the song, I probably wouldn't enjoy the songs as much (I'm not a good singer).

The Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami

     This was a story that I’ve never encountered before; I've never read much mystery and detective type books. So this book really got me to question everything that was going on with the main character and his journey to find this certain sheep with a star on its back. The author of The Wild Sheep Chase, Haruki Murakami, had a descriptive way of telling everything that was happening, from the look of the environment and buildings, to details of objects and people. Nothing seems to be left out that would leave the reader lost in his words, perhaps a bit too much detail.

     As I mentioned before, this was a new book for me to experience. At first I thought that this was going to be another horror story such as Frankenstein, and Interview with the Vampire. Because when the unknown main character talks about a funeral that he went to, and when his ex-girlfriend was at his apartment acting very distant with him, what came to my mind was that this character was going to be haunted by his x girl friend. But then that would leave the question of why calling the book The Wild Sheep Case if we haven't been introduce to any sheep. 

      There were some things that I didn't like about this story. The first thing that bothered me was the fact that the main character never mentioned his name. Or even the names of his ex-girlfriend and his new girl friend that has some kind of psychic powers (she knew that his journey would begin with a sheep). The only people that had some name or identity to them were some side characters that lead the main character on this sheep case. There names were The Rat, The Boss, The Man in the Black Suit, a man named J (that the Rat knew) and so forth. At times I would forget who was talking to whom because there were no real names given to the main characters.  

    The other thing that bothered me a little bit was that it spent too much time on describing areas and objects, or that the conversations would seem to go on and on. The conversations between the main character and some other character are important, with good information on the next clue to finding this sheep with a star on it's back, but maybe it could be edited on what parts of the conversations could be kept in the book. 

    I'm sorry to say that this was not one of my favorite books. At times it would be to confusing for me to understand. I feel like I'm that unknown main character that is on this wild sheep case finding someone else's answers, and not understanding why I was chosen for the job. In parts of the story when the main character was frustrated or confused, or at a lost as to what to do next, so was I. Maybe this was what Murakami wanted in his book. A new way of feeling connected to the main character, that makes you feel like you’re in his shoes.