The story opens with Tin Tin at a bazaar and he happens to spot and purchase an old model ship. Soon after he does so, two strange gentlemen approach him, one offering to buy the ship, but he disregards them both. Instead he becomes more interested in the ship itself and begin to research the reason behind why it seems to be so sought after. The ship has a clue on it, which falls out when a cat knocks it over, and the previous would-be-purchaser has stolen the ship from Tin Tin in hopes of obtaining this clue. Tin Tin is then caught up in a tumultuous adventure/ mystery involving an old sea-captain and this mysterious man who seems so keen on obtaining this clue.
I've been into the comics and haven't seen an episode of the tv show since it was on tv, so I probably wouldn't consider myself a Tin Tin fan, but I did enjoy this film. First off the animation is better than anything I've seen yet. To an untrained eye, this film might look like a live action, if it weren't for the some of the mispositioned features of course, but that ties in with how the original characters were drawn. Some of the expressions look really life-like and the backgrounds are really well done. The good thing about animation in general is that it allows for anything to happen. Since the creators aren't limited to real life and budget restrictions, there are no limits. The good thing about this type of animation is that it's so close to live action, and it was really effective in this movie because while a live action version would have catered to the true fans, who are all grown up now and would probably appreciate live action more than cartoons. It also is great for this kind of movie because it would have been really expensive otherwise... what with all of the things they destroyed... and the crane fight.
It was high action and high adventure. Tin Tin is a clever protagonist who uses his head to get out of scrapes, of which he gets into plenty. It's been a while since I've seen a movie like this in theaters. It's worth the watch.
For me, this is one of the best movies... but I wouldn't watch it more than a couple of times in my life.
It's about a man who follows a forgotten way of life in a displaced setting. The main character is a guy named Ghost Dog. He's an assassin who lives in a shack on the roof of a building. Because of past events, Ghost Dog now does work for, and pretty much serves the will of, this mob member, Louie. Near the beginning of the movie Ghost Dog is commissioned to kill a gangster in the same mob as Louie because he overstepped himself. After he killed the guy, he noticed that there was a young woman in the room who had witnessed everything, but he doesn't kill her, she gives and a book and he leaves. That young woman is unfortunately the daughter of the leader of the mob, and because of that event, he has marked Ghost Dog for death. After an indirect attack, Ghost Dog decides to go after the entire family.
Mob movies have never been my preferred genre. I'll watch them of course, but it is a rare thing for me to choose to watch one of my own volition. This movie could, I suppose, be considered a mob movie, but it is actually more about a way of life. The samurai code. Ghost Dog follows the code of the samurai and lives his life how one would assume a modern-day samurai would live it. In a way, the movie is less about the characters and plot than it is about the way of the samurai. As the movie progresses, there are quotes from a book (Hagakure) that explain Ghost Dog's actions and place them within the samurai code.
The movie can be kind of slow at times, it's more slow-paced than fast. The soundtrack can also be kind of depressing. There are a lot of dark colours and many scenes are shot at night. Because of this it's not on the top of my recommendations list. It sort of feels like only a certain kind of person would really value it, others may think it's boring, but if you are able to get into it it's a really great film. It's about tradition and honour, but told in a modern way.
The book, Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, is also a really good book. It's not plot based, but is more a collection of philosophies and stories explaining the samurai code. I bought it after seeing the movie and really loved it. I was obviously much younger then and it was actually this movie that inspired a short karate phase. I recommend you look for the book, whether you enjoy the film or not.
This is a high school drama about a girl named Mei whose parent's die. After their death she discovers that her estranged grandfather is very wealthy and she will inherit his empire, but first must attend a fancy all-girl reform school to become a lady. This school isn't just any school though. There are no desks, but rather cushy arm chairs and side tables and the campus is a third the size of Tokyo, but the weirdest thing of all about this school is that all of the girls must have butlers.
Mei is sort of resistant at the thought of becoming like these weird people, but eventually finds a reason to stay despite her reservations. Of course there are several people who are against her being there and make life hard for her. One girl in particular, the girl who has earned the highest rank on the lady- scale in the school, turns out to be her rival (in more ways than one), and even after she wins over some of her classmates, it is this adversary who is the real trial for Mei. The girl- butler dynamic is important to the plot. We learn as we watch that being a butler isn't just about waiting on someone hand and foot, but that there is a special bond between master and servant, and that the servants choose to serve.
I thought overall that the drama was interesting in theory, and the story line was well done, but the heroine was kind of pathetic. She was always whining or moping about. When she had a problem she would just stand there dumb-struck until someone saved her or until it was almost irrelevant for her to step forward. I also didn't like the actress who played her. She has one of those faces that seem to always be frowning, or smelling something disgusting, and yet her character was supposed to draw people to her and see how amazing she is. For the most part the characters weren't extremely attractive, but in addition to her unattractiveness, she couldn't act. If they had chosen a different actress to play the heroine this drama would have been much better. As it is though, it's still worth the watch.
The whole thing is actually up on YouTube for the time being, so knock yourself out.
This show is about a guy who wakes up one day to find that his right hand has been replaced with the top half of a girl. This girl's real body has fallen into a coma and her spirit has attached itself to the guys hand because she has a really big crush on him. The premise is kind of ridiculous, and slightly perverted, but the show was surprisingly decent.
The guy, Seiji, is a sort of delinquent at his school. He's a tough guy who seems to fight more than he attends class. This all changes however when one morning he waking up with Midori as a right hand. Midori is a girl who goes to a different school than Seiji and knows him from the times she's seen him at the train station, but she's always been too shy to go up to him to confess her feelings to him. When she wakes up on his hand however, she's over-joyed. Also, as the figure on Seiji's hand isn't actually Midori herself, but her spirit, she has lost her inhibitions and tells Seiji that she loves him when she first sees him.
Seiji opens up a bit and people at school are less afraid of him as a result of Midori's effect on him. Potential rivals for Midori's love appear when Seiji's softer side comes to light. Of course this is troublesome for Midori because she can't really compete with a real person when she's a hand. Because she's his hand, Seiji has to constantly wrap her up in a bandage to hide her existence from others. Though this routine is a bit aggravating for the both of them, they get used to it over time.
Midori's struggle in the show is ultimately her self-confidence and sense of self-worth. I mean there's nothing abnormal about her emotional state for someone that age, but when she left her body to be with Seiji she ran away from some issues she was dealing with. Part of the show is her ability to regain the strength to brave her situation in life. Seiji on the other hand has no confidence issues he needs to work out. Rather, in the show he slowly opens himself up more to others and finds a sense of balance in his life. Eventually Midori does decide to leave Seiji and return to her own body. After she has returned, will she once again be able to confess her love to Seiji? Will she want to? Who knows?!?!
Overall I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this show, especially after how much I expected to not like it.
Here's the intro. You can find the first episode dubbed on YouTube
This is a movie about a teacher in what was an all boys school reminiscing about the past, and how one's character dictates one's future.
Mr. Hundert teaches the classics at a prestigious all boy's high school. Every year he holds a 'Julius Cesar competition' which is a series of trivia questions about the ancient world, and the student who answers the most questions correctly get the prestigious title of Mr. Julius Cesar. All of Mr. Hundert's students are hard working, studious boys who take their education very seriously, all until a new student enrolls in the class, a Mr. Sedgwick Bell. This kid isn't very bright, but is very charismatic, and very soon his disregard and contempt for school begin to rub off on the other students.
Mr. Hundert speaks to Sedgwick's father, a high-ranking man who seems to care little for his son, and Sedgwick seems to try to improve academically after that. He goes as far as to climb to the top of his class! Unfortunately he places one spot lower than is necessary to qualify for the Julius Cesar, so in an attempt to encourage him, Mr. Hundert switches his name with one of the students who actually got in. Unfortunately, this proves to be a mistake when he catches Sedgewick cheating during the final. Instead of humiliating him in front of the assembly, he asks a question that he would only have known by paying attention in class. The question had to do with the identity of a man named Hamiclar Barca, and could not be found in any textbook, so Sedgewick of course couldn't answer it. After this, he reverted back to his old self, causing trouble and being an all around delinquent.
Fast forward to present day, a very successful and wealthy Sedgewick called together a friendly rematch of the contest and asks that Mr. Hundert conduct the ceremony. What will happen I wonder.
The movie prods the viewer to consider a person's character, and how that character may or may not decide a person's life. More importantly, it puts forward the idea that, no matter how charismatic, successful, or popular a person is, unless he or she makes some sort of contribution to humanity, they will not be remembered. The man Sedgewick was asked about, Hamilcar Barca, was used as an example of this. He was a successful Carthaginian general who led many battles and caused many deaths, but his name will not be in any textbook because he made no contribution to humanity. He made an impact on the world, but unlike Julius Cesar, Socrates, Hammurabi, etc. he did nothing to better man-kind.
The story is well done, and while it's not overly philosophical in nature, it doesn't discourage the viewer from thinking further about some of the ideas they present.
This drama is about a girl of questionable femininity according to Japanese culture who is forced to live with her manager during the summer of her first love (that love of course not being the manager).
The story opens up in the office building of a successful interior design company. We see the employees hard at work, all fashionably and professionally dressed of course. After work a group of female co-workers go out on a group blind date. To encourage some of the younger women who aren't currently in a relationship, the more experienced women say that at least these women are out trying to find a man, unlike an undesirable form of womanhood which they call 'himono- onna' or a 'dried up fish- woman'. A woman who has lost her womanhood. And here we are shown the main character Hotaru. A dried up woman is someone who doesn't go out on the weekends or a night, but prefer staying home wearing sweat pants, drinking beer, and tie their hair in a knot on the top of their head.
By day, Hotaru dresses like a professional and 'normal' woman while she's at the office, but when she gets home to a very messy apartment, she turns into a 'himono onna'. Her manager is going through a separation with his wife and was kicked out of his home, so he decided to go back to his parent's old house to live. As it turns out, his father gave Hotaru permission to live there, so the two decide to try living together.. even though the manager is appalled at Hotaru's himono-ness.
Meanwhile at work, a new and attractive designer returns to the company from working abroad and Hotaru is struck by his handsomeness, but of course doesn't do anything to try to get close to him. One day she went to oversee a project and fell asleep in a chair. The new guy, Teshima, comes in and seems to be struck by her and gives her a kiss, which wakes her up. She's startled and makes a quick escape, but from that point on develops a severe infatuation for Teshima. Another woman at work also has her eye on Teshima, and she is much more lady-like than Hotaru is. Hotaru is clueless about love, but with the help of her manager and a few comments from her other coworkers, she does her best to secure her love and become a woman!
I really enjoyed this drama. It was funny and dramatic and I really enjoyed the main character. However, going into this I was of course somewhat conflicted as the subject matter was suggesting that a woman is only a woman if she is attractive and out trying to get a man. I think it's no secret that the west sees femininity somewhat differently than the east does... and yet it's not so different as you might think. In the west it's currently popular for girls to wear yoga pants like normal pants, but yoga pants are in fact just another type of sweat pant. The top knot/ samurai knot/ get my hair out of my face knot is also really popular and if girls don't wear it out, you know that most wear it at home, and it's considered cute. But at the same time, these girls are still trying to be attractive, for what purpose? To attract men. The western equivalent of the 'dried up woman' might be a tomboy or a woman who doesn't care about men and put's no effort in her appearance, maybe wearing no name, unattractive clothing. In the west, this type of girl is seen as the opposite of the ideal type of girl... the one who wants a man. The difference between the two might be that in the west the 'dried up woman' is still considered a woman, albeit an unattractive one, while in the drama Hotaru is told that she is no longer a woman. In the end, Hotaru doesn't end up changing her lifestyle and people just accept her as she is.
One of the things I enjoy about watching Jdramas is that there isn't always the same pattern when it comes to love stories, so you don't actually know who the heroine will end up with until later episodes... unlike what happens with western movies. In your typical chick flick you know within 10 minutes of watching the movie what will happen in the end, because they all use the same pattern, but in dramas you never really know. Sometimes they don't end up with anybody at all.
* Spoiler* What I really enjoyed about this series is that we get to see a full relationship, and then get to see that relationship fall apart. The show sets up those characters as the main romantic couple we should be rooting for in the series, but then makes their dates feel awkward, and breaks them up. I love finding stories about heartbreak because it's not a popular topic. We love the happy ending stories so much that very rarely in the west do explore the idea that sometimes what we think is love isn't love, and that's painful. I also like finding stories where the 'unnoticed best friend who really loves her' character gets the girl. I thought this drama did a great job with both of these ideas and tied them in together well. * Spoiler*
This story was well done and gives the audience something to think about in terms of what it means to be strong and what it means to grow. Worth it. And the girl is cute.
This is a Japanese television drama about a young girl who has an incurable degenerative disease, and the boy who falls in love with her. It's based on a true story, the illness part. The actual girl Aya published a book for other with her disease, to give them hope.
The main character is a 15-year-old high school girl named Aya Ikeuchi. She's the ideal girl in many respects, she is very kind, hard-working, and optimistic. She's on the basketball team, has many friends at school, and has also caught the eye of one of her upper-classmen, so potential romance there. Just your typical Japanese high school girl.
Then one day as she is leaving for school, she takes a pretty bad spill and splits her chin on the concrete. The doctor takes her mother aside and tells her that the fall was not ordinary, and that Aya had a rare disease that would slowly make it harder and harder for her body to function on its own. Stealing away the power she had over her own body. The mother tries to keep this from her as long as is possible, but starts to notice that Aya is having difficulties with everyday activities, like misjudging the space between objects, or being unable to use chopsticks.
At the beginning of the first term of high school we are also introduced to a young man, Haruto Asō , who is in the same class as Aya. He wasn't even going to take the entrance exam to the school, but fate would have it that the day he met Aya, he was sort of forced into taking them. Haruto isn't exactly a delinquent, but at the beginning of the story he seems to have a sort of disregard for everything happening in his life. One day he happens to see a web page Aya was on and discovers her illness. He starts to pay more attention to her and slowly begins to fall in love.
The title of this drama sounds really cheesy, and I almost didn't watch it the first time I heard of it, but the show is oddly true to its name, and not cheesy at all! One of the things that gets me every time I watch one of these is how good the Japanese are at these emotional roller coasters. It doesn't matter if it's romance or action or tragedy, you'll be enthralled, maybe even to a heart-wrenching degree. This one in specific, the tragedy/ romance genre. You don't get too many of these in modern Western film, the only two that come to my head immediately are Butterfield 8 and A Walk To Remember. It's not as scarce in Japanese television, which is alright I guess because they do it justice. I cried the first time I watch this, maybe for 3/5th's of the series, and that's a big deal for me. There are is one, maybe two movies that make me cry, I take pride in the fact that I don't cry easily when it comes to film, but this one had me balling. Sometimes when watching tv shows or movies from other cultures, you'll have to be understanding with some of the content. The culture's different and you might not understand all of the references, but the emotions are universal. You'll have to watch this online if you want to see it, and you'll have to put up with fan subs, fan made subtitles, but it'll be worth it.
Here is a trailer made by a fan of the show with some scenes
This story is about a man named Bob Kraft who takes care of the business at a cemetery, the cemetery chairman. It's his job to manage the burial plots and to do all of the paperwork when someone dies. To keep track of all of the purchased graves, he keeps a big map of the cemetery in his office with little pins sticking out of all of the graves. The white pins represent purchased graves of living people, and black pins represent the graves of dead people.
The day after a young married couple comes into to buy a pair of graves for themselves, the die. When Bob goes to change their white pins to black ones, he finds that the pins are already black. He gets a sort of eerie feeling, like he marked them for death. To make sure it was just a coincidence, he switches a white pin for a black pin on the map. The next day the person whose pin he switched also died. He then starts getting worried and suspects that there's something suspicious about the map and tries to tell someone about it. Of course no one believes him. The police officer and reporter laugh off his worries and the former chairman, his uncle, just thinks he's been working too hard and asks him to switch more pins to make him see that he's imagining everything. Of course the following day, the people whose pins were switched die of unknown causes. Is Bob really responsible for these deaths? And if so is there anything he can do about it?
This film was really well done. The plot was decent and the acting was phenomenal. As it is with some of these older suspense/ thrillers, there is a wonderful sort of realization of horror undertaken by the characters that isn't so common in modern film. A slow dawning of the fact that there is something truly horrible happening, and there's nothing he or she can do about it. Worse, they might even be the cause. Even though the plot sounds kind of flimsy at the outset, they really do a great job at making it come to life.
Yes. There is a Christmas movie about Santa and Martians. Yes, you may now cry, whether it be from disappointment or hilarity will by entirely up to you.
So, this movie begins with a reporter introducing us to Santa's workshop and to the big man himself, and Jolly Ol' Saint Nick gives the camera crew a tour around the workshop, just spreading some good ol' Christmas cheer. Little do they know, children on Mars are also tuning in, and many of them have become depressed. Unlike Earthling children, Martians are fed information into their brains at birth, and by the time they have the bodies of little boys and girls, their minds are already adults, so they miss childhood. The leader of the Martians goes to see a wise man, who in turn tells him that because the children are watching Santa Claus, they are becoming depressed at their lack of fun. The wise man recommends that they kidnap Santa, which they of course go and do.
When they get to Earth however, they don't quite know where to find the old chap, so they ask two little kids, Billy and Betty, where he lives. After the children tell them, they are also kidnapped because they can't be left behind as evidence. So the big man kidnapped, they're all off to Mars. From this point onward there are treacherous plots and intrigues, as we are to expect of course, schemed up by an evil doer that wants to rid Mars of the rosy-cheeked, fun-loving, toy-giving menace that is Santa. For good!! Dun dun duuunnnn.
This movie is so bad it's good. It has indeed found that line and crossed it. The acting is horrible. The children can barely remember all of their lines, never mind perform them in a believable way, and the adults are almost as bad. There's a really bad, funny scene when Santa is first introduced to the martian children, and to bring them cheer and show them joy, he just starts ho ho ho-ing in front of these sullen.. and then they all start laughing. It makes no sense. The end is also really good, Santa just starts yelling AWAY! like he won't see these people while they fly him home. Timeless classic right here.
This documentary is a sweet little time capsule of the day July 24, 2010. The creators asked YouTube users to submit a video of what their life was like on that specific day. They were also to answer a few questions, like what do you love, what are you afraid of, etc. In response, they received 4,500 hours of video from 192 countries. This movie really is a product of the times, and it's actually pretty good.
The director organized the videos chronologically, beginning with videos taken in the early morning and ending with videos taken late at night. Participants either vlogged various activities or parts on their day in response to the various questions asked. Other than the ideological progression of the questions, there is no real plot to this film. There are no main characters, no objective, no statement to prove. It's simply a day in the life of the people who participated across the world. Some of the participants are focused on more than others. A handful of people from several different countries are given more than the couple of minutes of time it would take to answer a question, and through this we get some insight into these people's lives. The majority though is a series of short clips edited together.
For those who aren't familiar with vlogging, it's basically the act of creating an online journal via film. Some people actually do this for a living and make daily vlogs of their everyday lives, unfortunately, not very many people are good at this. When I first heard of this film I thought it would be rather slow, maybe even boring, simply because of the fact that there are really only a handful of people who are good at this, enough so to make a full-time job out of it. A majority of the people who try to do this aren't very interesting to watch or listen to. For the first five minutes of this film I thought I was right.
However, the editing and organization of the clips that went into this film were really well done. One of the things that makes this form of film so effective is that it's real. Documentaries by nature deal in non-fiction, but this is something different. As I said in the beginning of this little blurb, it's more of a time capsule than it is a film. There's a real sense of connection with the people featured here and they're just trying to preserve the state their lives were in on July 24, 2010. They aren't actors, they're not trying to prove or discredit anything, there's no story here, no story other than the story of their day- to- day, run of the mill lives. They want so much to share these events with you that you can almost feel a connection with these people. Their laughter is real, as is their pain, as are their tears, and because of that you can empathize with them more easily than you could watching a story you know is false. You can actually watch this on YouTube for free. If you choose to do so, read some of the comments other viewers have made. Many of them were really touched by the stories these people wanted to share, and for me that's one of the best indicators of the reception this movie. Yes critics and film buffs can give their perspectives on it, but this movie was made by the people of YouTube, for the people of YouTube, and if the viewers there liked it, you can be sure it was a success.
That being said, it does transcend a YouTube audience. The wonderful everyday is celebrated in this film. You can truly appreciate how wonderful life is, and how heart-wrenching it can be. The humanity is glaringly apparent, and who doesn't like a little humanity every now and again?
This is a romantic comedy starring Carey Grant, Myrna Loy, and Shirley Temple. The story follows a high school girl named Susan who falls in love with a playboy of an artist who keeps running into trouble with the law, and he ends up going out with her too! Because of a misunderstanding at her school, Susan came to believe that the artist, Dick, wanted to use her as a model, and was thrilled because she was enamoured with him. Not knowing where she went, her sister Margaret became very worried, and when she found out where Susan had gone, was very angry with Dick. This wouldn't be a very big problem normally, but unfortunately for Dick, Margaret is a judge. Instead of sentencing him to do jail time, she tells Dick to pretend to go out with her sister to help her get over her teenaged crush.
At first things seem to be going according to plan, but Susan's infatuation shows no signs of waning, and even more concerting, there's a growing attraction between Dick and Margaret! How oh how will they all find happiness!?
A nice light romantic comedy with just a touch of drama. "You remind me of a man. What man? The man with the power. What power? The power of whodo. Who do? You do! Do what? Remind me of a man...."
This is a great movie about a woman, Ellen (Irene Dunne), who returns to her family after being shipwrecked on an island and declared dead. When she finally returns to her home, she speaks to her mother who tells her that her husband, Nick (Carey Grant), has remarried on that very day. Ellen goes to the honeymoon suite to try to find Nick, and when he sees her he's shocked and overjoyed... and acquires a whole new set of problems!
He has never stopped loving Ellen, but doesn't quite know how to break the news to his blushing (but of course snobby, potentially mean-spirited) bride. They all end up going back to the house and Ellen tells Bianca (new wife) and the kids, who don't know who she is, that she is a cousin from the south. The new wife gets more and more jealous of the bond between Nick and Ellen, and Nick seems to find it increasingly difficult to tell her that Ellen is in fact his first wife.
In the meantime, Nick finds out that Ellen was not alone for those seven years, but was stranded with a man. Nick completely drops his issue with Bianca and goes out of his mind with jealousy trying to find this man. When he finally does, he discovers that the man is very attractive, and is in love with Ellen!!
Just when things can't get any more complicated, Nick is arrested for bigamy. How will he get out of this scrape and will he and Ellen ever be able to be together!?
I really enjoyed this movie. It was a lighthearted, romantic, screwball comedy with a cheeky heroine and a hilarious scenario. Fun for the whole family!
As you can guess from the title, this movie is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet... with gnomes. Going into this movie I quite honestly had very low expectations. As they stated in the movie itself, more than once, this is an old story that has been retold many times. However, though it took maybe half of the film for the story to engage me, it ended on a good note and I didn't regret watching it.
The story takes place in the garden of a semi-detached house. The owners, last names Montague and Capulet of course, are a middle-aged to elderly pair or neighbours who loathe each other and toss insults at the other on site. Both neighbours have gardens and their garden ornaments seem to have adopted the feuding nature of their owners. One side is decorated in blue and the other in red. They either try to out-do their enemies by creating a better garden than their opponents, or more destructively, try to sabotage their enemy's garden. On the night of one such sabotaging raid, Juliet sneaks out of her garden because she sees a beautiful flower that will make their garden superior. In samurai style, she disguises herself in a black sock (and has a fishing pole she holds like a katana) and proceeds to leap and run along the alley fences toward her goal. Gnomeo, escaping from a failed raid, sees dark figure and intrigued, follows it to its unknown destination. He sees the flower also and as the two of the grab for it at the same time, their eyes lock and they are stunned by their attraction to each other (both in disguise). After a little flirtation stealing of the flower from one another, they fall into some water and their identities are revealed. And there continues the story of their deciding to meet secretly despite clan differences and the problems that arise. Will they ever be happy?!?!
Though the movie on the whole wasn't amazing, it wasn't over clichéd either, which was refreshing. There were one or two side stories that varied the forbidden love theme to keep the viewer guessing. However it wasn't at all a complex story line. An interesting little twist they did stick into the story however was a small chat Gnomeo has with a statue of Shakespeare. The Shakespeare statue listens to Gnomeo's situation and says that he's heard a story like it before, and that it ended in the lovers dying. Gnomeo then goes off to prevent this from happening to him.
Overall, a nice movie if you want to introduce Shakespeare to children who don't read, but not a classic.
So I came across this anime... and it is the most pointless show ever. The idea for this show is that the viewer is supposed to play this while they're going to sleep. So that they can sleep with Hinako, literally sleep with her. There are some perverted angles, but no nudity. I wouldn't recommend that a young person watch it, lets put it that way.
Anyway, the show starts off with Hinako saying that she's ready to go to bed, and then lying down talking to the viewer for a bit, and then sleeping. Pervy shots throughout. And that's pretty much it. When I first heard about the show I didn't really believe that that's all the show was about. I felt like there must be something more, but after a quick internet search and 10 minutes of my life I'll never get back... yes that's all there is to it. It's basically a show for lonely, lonely, girlfriend-less men.
I kind of want to recommend this show so that someone else can feel my pain... but no, do not watch it.
This is a story about an elementary aged school girl named Hinamori Amu. She's known as the cool girl, or the tough girl in her school because of her non-nonchalance and tough-guy attitude, but really, Amu is very different from her exterior. One day when she wakes up, there are three eggs in her bed, and one by one these eggs hatch into little guardian beings the represent who Amu would really like to be. Amu is recognized as a 'character bearer' and is asked to join an elite club at school called The Guardians, the members of which also have guardian beings of their own. As the plot progresses, Amu finds out that there is something or someone out there trying to take the dreams of children away and turn them into negative self-doubt, for some unknown and evil purpose. It is up to Amu, with the help of her new friends, to save the dreams of these kids and stop whoever is behind the attacks.
The basic premiss of the show is that all children have dreams and hopes and desires in regards to who they want to be when they grow up. Some may want to be really good at baking, some may want to be really good at art, some may just want to make other people happy. In the show these dreams are represented by eggs, which is nice in theory, I mean you give birth to this wish but don't know what it is until it hatches into something. But I have to very honest, it's only after watching two seasons of the show that I was able to stop cracking up at the whole egg idea (yes? yes.). To top it off there are these magical items in the show, a lock held by Amu, and a key held by one of her love interests, and these are called, wait for it.... the Humpty Lock. And the Dumpty Key. I laughed my way through the first ten episodes. I mean the episodes were good... but sometimes the execution was just ridiculous. Oh Japan, how I admire and love you.
Aside from some funnier elements of the show, the story was actually really well done. The plot, while dragging in some places (as do most in the magical girl genre.. what with the capturing and everything), was surprisingly well thought out and intricate compared to others in the genre. The show is basically playing with the idea of having a dream or a goal, or even an idealized version of yourself that you'd like to one day achieve. But of course, everyone has doubts and fears, especially when what they're dreaming for is very important, and sometimes that fear or that lack of self-confidence can get the better of you and make that dream seem impossible. One of the main objectives in the show was that Amu cleanse all of the 'x eggs' or the eggs that were consumed by self-doubt. While this got a bit tedious by the second season, for the most part a little lesson about the human psyche was learned with each cleansing. Sometimes through the dialogue of the characters, sometimes just by observing the situation. This is coming to me at a time in my life when I'm also struggling with these issues, so I might be over-playing the whole 'finding yourself' theme.. but it's good.
The characters were also well done. None of the characters were one dimensional... which can sometimes happen in animes. There was at least one episode devoted to developing each of the side characters to augment the personality they usually display. I won't go too much into character development because one of the best things about these kinds of shows it the anticipation of wondering when certain things will happen, and the surprise when they throw you something from left field. If you're familiar with manga and anime, the surprises won't be entirely shocking, but if you're not... they might be. And if you're not I suggest you get into it!! If you are willing to go there, I don't know what it is, but the Japanese are some of the best when it comes to emotional turmoil, both romantically and not. Anime/ manga or tv drama, it is definitely something to experience.
But yes. All of the characters are pretty strong, each in their own way. And what I enjoy about Amu (in terms of personal strength) is that when the show opens she has this tough, 'strong' exterior that she almost hides behind, and many people might consider that exterior to be true strength, but as the show progresses she finds a new kind of strength. If I were to relate Shugo Chara! to anime's that have come before it, I'd say that it's a combination of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. It's like Sailor Moon because of the purifying souls idea, and the team of helpers that can all transform, but unlike Sailor Moon, Amu is very self-confident and doesn't rely on some guy to fight her battles, nor does she enter into any unhealthy relationships. And it's like Cardcaptors because the show is really about personal development and inner strength, but there it more magic and transforming than Cardcaptors.
So again, though some parts of the show might be hard to swallow at first, if you stick with it you'll be rewarded with cute story about personal strength!
This is a wonderful collection of stories, both for young children and for older readers. The book has 10 elegantly written short stories. Some are clever, some are funny, some show the value of kindness, but all have universal truths and wise lessons to be learned. The stories are hundreds of years old, but the way they are told keeps them fresh for a contemporary reader, and their messages keep them relevant. There is a pronunciation guide in the back of the book, as well as a sources section telling us a little bit more about each legend. A must for all lovers of stories with a moral.
This is an interactive, mixed-media book about going out into the garden to find fairies. The author took pictures of someone going for a walk around in their garden with some children and drew in fairies here and there. Each page is a different location and the author talks about different things he or she sees around the garden and how it could be related to fairies. For example there will be a circle of grass and the author will say maybe its a fairy bed, or will find a fairy shoe and leave it on a rock for fairies to find later, or wonder where fairies are. All the while the impish drawn in fairies are hiding or prancing about all over the page. It’s a good book about going out to explore your own garden and find the fairies there. It’s not so much a how to guide as it is someone’s account of a thoughtful walk.
I didn’t personally like the book that much. The photographs the fairies were drawn on reminded me of those farm animal picture books they give you in the second grade at school, stale and boring. The writing too. I don’t mind stories with a simple plot or writing style, but children are brighter than this book gives them credit for. Without the little drawings I wouldn’t have picked this book up, and I don’t think any children would either. I don’t mind the idea of a book supporting an outdoor adventure in search of fairies, but this book is borderline boring. It’s a very slow-paced walk through a garden with simple text and uninteresting pictures. The little sprites are cute, but not enough so as to make up for everything else. I may be taking this to a bit of an extreme, but as a lover of fairies I know that a hunt for fairies can be full of wonder and excitement and mystery, and all of that was lost on me when I read this. It’s ok for a quick glance through, but definitely not a purchase.
This is a coming of age fantasy about a boy who is fascinated with trolls, but he’s reached an age where believing in trolls has stopped being acceptable. The boy goes in search for a troll one day after his mother has told them they don’t exist. Since the book he reads about trolls says that they live under bridges, he goes in search the bridge that is hiding the troll he believes exists. Fate allows him to meet a series of adults who give him information, but all of these adults tell him that trolls do not exist. He eventually finds what he is looking for, finds that his new friends are in trouble, and has to save them.
This is a made for tv movie… and you can really tell. I have only ever seen this on the internet, but other reviewers have stated the poor quality so it’s not just me. It looks a little bit better than a home movie, but if you grew up with this I’m sure nostalgia will equip you with a pair of rose-coloured glasses. The plot sounds like a good idea, but the actual product falls short of the mark. Labyrinth does a much better job at conveying this story line, but if you are willing to overlook the poor production and the cheesy story line you will find an acceptable family film.
This film is about a dark lord who wants to destroy all that is good in the world and take over it, so sends his minions to kill the only thing that could stand in his way, the personification of light and purity, which happens to be unicorns. At the same time, a princess named Lily and a feral child named Jack meet up in the forest. They’re in love and Jack decides to show Lily the unicorns as a present of sorts, and the dark lord’s minions follow them in the shadows. When they meet the unicorns the goblins shoot a dart into one of the unicorns, scaring them away, and then steals the male’s horn. The female unicorn and princess Lily are also eventually captured and taken to the dark lord’s lair, and at this point it is up to Jack and the forest faeries to save the unicorns and the princess.
I only heard about this movie a couple of months ago and after I watched it, I wondered why. It’s on the same level as The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story, but I suppose it wasn’t a book first. I was kind of skeptical when I first picked it up because Tom cruise is Jack. He was never one of my favourite actors, and he I wouldn’t peg him as being able to pull off a fantasy film… but he’s actually pretty good. Also, Tim Curry is the Dark Lord. Enough said.
I suppose the thing that would turn most people off about the movie would be the fact that there are unicorns in the movie, and I guess I can understand why that may put some people off. It’s very rare that you’ll find a serious, adult movie with a unicorn in it. Unicorns are almost synonymous with little girls and tea parties, and any attempts at showing their heroism or prowess are often side-lined, if at all existent, at least in pop culture. I promise you though, you will not think that this is a movie for children and may even find that you have a soft spot for our horned friends, not that they have a lot of screen time. In addition to a non-childish representation of unicorns, I also enjoyed the other faeries in the movie. As is so often stressed in faerie lore, the use of riddles and a battle of wits saves Jack many a time when he’s dealing with these inhuman friends and foes. I think you have to watch the Director’s cut (or the Goldman version) though, because the other version cuts out some of that banter.
One of the things I didn’t like so much was how the fall of the unicorn was sort of blamed on Lily. She went to go touch the unicorn despite Jack telling her not to, and when she touched it the goblin shot his dart. After that she was more or less blamed for goblins taking the horn. This doesn’t really sit well with me. I don’t know a lot of unicorn lore, but I know that girls are supposedly the only humans unicorns can really stand, so why would a girl touching a unicorn be a bad thing? It wasn’t her touch that cursed humanity, it was the goblins. Unless she was somehow meant to personify the dark lord and his evil, but that might be getting a little too biblical in its blame.
Something interesting about this movie is that, according to my Legend of Zelda friend, this film is the basis for the video game ‘The Legend of Zelda’. Wikipedia says that the inspiration for the game came from the creator’s “explorations as a young boy in the hillsides surrounding his childhood home in Sonobe, Japan where he ventured into forests with secluded lakes, caves, and rural villages.” I don’t know whether or not Wikipedia is right (you never do) but I do know for a fact that this exact explanation is how Miyamoto (the creator) came up with the idea for Super Mario Bros. … so maybe they’re just copy and pasting. Plus, Zelda was released in 1986 while Legend came out in ’85. You do the math. Knowing this you’ll be able to pick out the similarities very easily, if you know anything about Zelda that is.
This is the first book of three in a series called The Annals of the Western Shore. The story takes place in a world where magic exists, but only to those who live in the northern territory called the Uplands. To those who live elsewhere, magic is little more than bumpkin superstition. Magic isn't as we traditionally know it in fantastical literature either. In the Uplands, a person is limited to a certain ability they inherit from their ancestors, and the strength of the ability depends on the purity of the bloodline, amongst other things. These abilities are called gifts.
The story is about a boy named Orrec. We begin by learning that Orrec is blindfolded because of the strength of his gift. His is the gift of unmaking, which basically means he has the power to destroy anything he looks at if he wishes it. Orrec's gift was too powerful however and he had no control over it, which is why his father blinded him. The plot basically leads up the that first scene and paints Orrec's life and his struggles with this gift.
More than a fantasy, this is a coming of age story. Orrec is given a powerful 'gift' but has absolutely no control over it, making himself a deadly threat as a result. He tries to match himself to historical figures and satisfy his father's wishes, but no matter how hard he tries, or how seemingly powerful his gift may be, he feels weak and powerless and completely out-of-place. His gift is ironically more of a burden. It's only when he realizes that he must take his power into his own hands and makes it what he wants to be that it truly becomes a gift. We all have 'gifts' or abilities or skills, and they can either be a burden or they can enrich your life. This is the story of Orrec's journey learning how to make his gift be a gift.
As one can gather from the title, this book is almost a response or a re-imagining of George Orwell's book 1984, one of the most terrifying portraits of society's potential in print. Big Brother is the term in that book for government surveillance. Little brother, then, is an individual's response to his government's intrusion into his privacy and his creation of a grassroots revolution for freedom.
The main character is a high school student named Marcus. He is an average kid in every respect, save his impressive technological knowledge, and his use of that knowledge to rebel against the systems put in place at his school. He also sometimes plays hooky with friends to play a game. However, things change forever when a bomb goes off in the city in what is assumed to be a terrorist attack. Marcus and his friends get abducted by a branch of the government called National Home Security (NHS) and is interrogated and abused by them and is finally set free, along with all of his other friends except one, who was injured before the abduction. Marcus then takes it upon himself to create an underground network free from the government's surveillance where he becomes a kind of cyber Che Guevara. He begins setting up little things to hinder the NHS, kind of like how he messed with his teachers, but on a much larger scale. As things get more and more intense Marcus finds himself facing an increasingly dangerous reality. He must figure a way to save his country from becoming a police state while still keeping his own freedom and anonymity in tact.
This was a really well thought out book. The author put together a very clever story line with a very active and intelligent protagonist. He puts together situations that seem hopeless and daunting, but then has his characters come up with something to react in a positive way. There is also a lot of information in the book. Some it technological, some is historical, some literature based. You're likely to learn a little bit reading this book. I love books like this because they inspire learning to go beyond the story and demonstrates how great getting to know more about something can be. In short, this is a very important novel for young people. It is an introduction to the dystopian novel, but with more hope and less futility. It may also inspire the reader to question some of the events or laws going on in their area. It forces you to think, but it's fun and fresh at the same time. In addition, the fact that both Neil Gaiman and Scott Westerfeld are speaking in favour of it was all the propaganda I needed to pick up the book, and they were right.
Dragonflight is the first in a long series of books taking place in McCaffery's land of Pern, a land of dragons and dragon riders. What's interesting about this book is that it's actually a science fiction, not a fantasy. One would think what with the dragons and all that this would be a fantasy story, but alas, the dragons are just a facade for the underlying science fiction plot.
Pern is a land inhabited by humans. Unfortunately, a planet close to Pern gives off deadly spores every couple of years called 'Thread' and these spores fall down onto Pern and destroy everything they come into contact with. Some humans have learned to tame and form a psychic bond with dragons, these people are called dragon riders. It is the dragon riders and their dragons who battle the thread attacks and keep Pern safe from the threat. There have not been any signs of thread for hundreds of years however, and dragon riders have become an anachronism.
The story begins with two prominent dragon riders searching Holds, or different settlements, for young women. A queen egg has been laid and a new Weyrwoman, the female leader of the dragons, must be found to bong with the new queen dragon. They eventually find a young woman pretending to be an old drudge named Lessa, and after dealing the fascist invader controlling their land, the pair take Lessa to their Weyr, the place dragons and dragon riders live. She of course impresses the new dragon queen and so the story begins.
The author paints Lessa as a strong sort of heroine, but in my opinion she spent more time whining and being loudly indignant, which may be considered strength to some, than actually displaying any real strength of character. Her relationship with F'lar, her love interest, was more like that of a defiant child and her disciplinarian. I know this is aimed at teens and they're supposed to be all angsty and everything, but why does romance have to be about a woman defying a man's power over her? There were some other misogynistic messages in the book besides the romance roles which were also somewhat tedious to read through. Then again this was published in the late 60's and that might have been a more popular topic at the time and more widely accepted, or even revolutionary. Remember, this is a science fiction after all. F'lar also displays an exaggerated machismo that almost seems too pig headed to be taken seriously at times. His relationship with Lessa is borderline abusive, which can sometimes be mistaken for romance in romance books directed towards women for some reason. Maybe because of the adrenaline rush caused by the fear that that could happen to you. I really don't know. But there is a lot of yelling and shaking on his part whenever he deals with Lessa as he tried to subdue her. Just something to watch out for.
*Spoiler* If you have yet to read the book don't read this because it will lessen the experience for you. I do have an issue with the time travel aspect of the plot. I like the idea and it was an ingenious plot twist... but the way the author went about incorporating it into the plot doesn't really make sense. Lessa goes back in time to ensure that certain events take place and that just doesn't sit right with me. The idea of traveling back in time goes as follows; a person travels to a point in time that has already occurred. Pretty simple on the surface. The problem in mcCaffery's case is that the past in her story is based on the fact that Lessa discovered that she was supposed to go back in time and change things. So there is no original history that Lessa goes back to change. She gives herself clues in the past that tell her she has to go back in time, which the people there follow because she tells them about the future. The idea of her going back in time might be able to work out... except that the reason she decides to go back isn't because of an organic idea she had based on her evaluating the present and deciding that to save the present she must go back, she comes to the decision to go back in time because of a clue she leaves herself. Even this would be alright if an original, untouched-by-time-travel history is presented, but there isn't one. Despite this flaw I did enjoy the idea, and if it was worked out a bit better it would have been really cool. It was good regardless, but I enjoyed it less because it was illogical. *Spoiler*
Aside from the characters, the plot was actually really well done. It was fast paced, but the author took the time to set up a nice flow. It is definitely a page turner. If you are a fan of fantasy or of dragon lore you will probably enjoy the world McCaffery has created here. It is filled with McCaffery's own lore, which is quite interesting. And if you are a sci fi fan, well there's some time travel in there as well as a bit of outer-worldly threat. Despite it's faults I suggest you pick up this book and give it a go. Aside from the fact that it's a decent read, it's been around long enough to have influenced a lot of today's fantasy/ sci fi writers. Though a bit dry at times, it's a quick read worth the time invested.
Chloe is a psychological thriller about a middle-aged woman who suspects her very flirtatious husband of cheating on her. After her husband missed the surprise birthday party she'd planned for him, the couple go out with some friends and she ends up meeting an escort in the bathroom. She then hires this escort, Chloe, to tempt her husband to see how he will react. Chloe then reports back to her with the various events that occur.
This movie had the potential to be very good, but didn't quite hit the mark. There are some great actors in the cast and they play their roles very well, the atmosphere was also pretty spot on. The problem is actually with the plot. The movie spends far too much time setting up the story and characters and building the overall plot, which is fine and is expected in movies of this genre... so long as all of that building sets up the audience for some sort of logical catharsis. But that's not the case with this movie. The climactic 'twist' came a little bit out of left field. When it was tied in to previous events in the plot, the resulting dilemma seemed too passionate and emotionally charged for the events that it supposedly stemmed from. So much time was spent building the story and the suspense, but at the same time.. not enough time and effort went into explaining Chloe's motivation and perspective, which made the whole film fall short of actually being good. It wasn't a bad film by any means, but it will disappoint you on an intellectual level.
The Druid's Tune is by the author of the somewhat well-known series called The Chronicles of Faerie (which are a superb read, aged late elementary school/ early high school, but is really fun for all ages).
This story features a young brother and sister, Jimmy and Rosemary, who are sent to live with their aunt and uncle in Ireland for the summer. While neither are too pleased to be sent away from their friends on their break from school, they decide to try to make the best of what seems to surely be a boring couple of weeks on a farm in some small Irish backwater town. When they arrive they find a very kind and friendly aunt and uncle awaiting the pair at the farm, as well as a strange farm hand hired by their uncle. They sneak out one night, see this farm hand walking toward the small lake near their uncle's property, and decide to follow him. The man begins singing and the two children are knocked unconscious. As it happens, that man was a druid, and by his power they've been transported back in time or between universes to the infamous Queen Maeve's army as she and her men are undertaking The Cattle Raid of Cooley. Along with this figure, Jimmy and Rosemary also meet up with the hero Cúchulainn, the hound of Ulster. Through various bouts of time/ space travel these two bear witness to one of the most well-known epics in Irish folklore, and do their part to help out where they can.
This book was a great read, not only because the character's and plot had some substance, but because it is one of those books that will get kids interested in history and folklore. This story is taken right out of Celtic mythology, The Cattle Raid of Cooley or the Tain Bo Cuailnge is one of the national epic myths in the Irish tradition. If you are unfamiliar, it is on the same scale as The Odyssey or The Aeneid; Cúchulainn would be like an Achilles, the guy Brad Pitt played in Troy. Irish epics aren't as well known as Grecian/ Roman/ English epics, but are just as good, and books like this one will inspire young people, and old people, to look up some of those old stories and educate themselves about times past and people gone.
Aside from inspiring some self-educating, the book was actually a decent read. I was a little bit worried when I figured out that they were going to relive this tale because I didn't want the author to ride on the coattails of the epic and just have some modern-day kids there to put in some wise crack remarks to keep the audience semi interested. Thankfully Melling is a talented author and our protagonists can stand on their own two feet. We actually learn little more than the basics about the myth itself because the author is too busy developing characters and relationships to fill the reader in on a presumably missing literature lesson. Rosemary and Jimmy are both good characters. Gutsy and head-strong, but full of heart. The only issue I'd have is how little trouble the pair had in adjusting to life in the bronze age. The druid is also an interesting character as he seems to be trying to find himself, or enlightenment, for the entire story.
Melling has a talent for inspiring an interest in Celtic myth and legend, in all of her books, not just this one. I suggest you try to read as many as you can get a hold of.
I loved this game growing up. It's an amazing strategy game with just enough of a story line to not make it all about telling soldiers where to go. It's not very plot based at all which is great, you can really do whatever you want, but there is enough structure to give the player an objective.
There are 8 characters in total, each is a monarch and a master of one of the different types of soldiers you can use in the game. The objective is to pick one of the characters and conquer the whole world. You have a limited number of troops and you have to decide where you will send them, and what kind of soldiers you will send where. Each class has an opposing class that they have an advantage over, and one that has an advantage over them. When you choose a character to send into battle you have to take into consideration how their class will fare against your opponent.
When you first play the game you can only choose 6 of the 8 characters, but after you beat the game once you can unlock the other two characters to select them. Each monarch is different and so every time you play you'll have different strengths and weaknesses which will probably keep you entertained for a good while. Even after beating the game with all 8 characters, I sometimes went back to replay it, it's really that good. You can change your strategy every time you play too... it's a really versatile game.
As a player you do not actually fight with any of your characters. You just play the role of an overseeing general. You tell who to go where and give the commands in battle, but you never actually bloody your own hands. It's more of a thinking game then a first person combat game.
It's amazing and I recommend you try getting your hands on it, or playing it at least once if you can.
This is the story of a young woman, Mona, who wants to become a beauty pageant queen of a national competition. She has worked all her life to achieve this goal, and has struggled her way into the position of Miss Illinois. The problem is that Mona has a seven-year old daughter, and beauty pageant contestants are not allowed to have children. For the first seven years of her daughter's life, she has been raised by Mona's friend Ruby and thought that Ruby was her real mother. An unfortunate incident sends Ruby to prison however and Vanessa, the daughter, has to stay with Mona, and just when the national beauty pageant. Mona decides to ask Vanessa to come with her to the beauty pageant, partly because she didn't have anywhere to leave her and partly because Mona was feeling insecure and alone and wanted someone to be there to support her. **Spoilers** Throughout the competition she keeps looking toward Vanessa, who came to sit in her family box. If she wins the competition Vanessa will have to live with a foster family while she tours the country. She makes it to the final three in the competition, but just before her one on one interview with the host, she asked the Texan contestant if she would rather be a fake role model to thousands of girls or to be a real one to one girl. when it is her turn with the host he asks her what she likes about herself. She is stunned into silence for a second and responds that she doesn't like herself, but she will. She then announces that Vanessa is her daughter and walks off stage to get her. The viewers then have an emotional response to the statement she was making about beauty queens not being allowed to have children and ends up winning the pageant **Spoilers end**
To be quite honest I don't know why I like this movie. I am not a pageant person, I'm actually more likely to say something negative about how pageants are more like meat markets that patronize women as sexy bodies with vacant but pleasant minds that will showcase some cheap talent to show you they're worth your while. I'm not the person to brag to about how many pageants you've been in, lets leave it at that, but I still like this movie. Mona is really self conscious and unsure of herself, and at the same time is working so hard to succeed in something she feels will make her happy. I can relate to that struggle. Many times I try so hard to find something that makes me feel fulfilled, when instead I end up seeing that I should have just been thankful for what I had. To be thankful for my family and the people in my life.
This is the story of a poor young girl named Minli. She lived with her parents in a village near Fruitless Mountain, named so for the fact that it was barren due to the anger and pain of a dragon. Every day Minli and her parents worked hard in the rice fields to make just enough rice to feed themselves, and every night Minli would sit with her parents. Her mother would sigh in anger at their misfortune and her father told her folktales about dragons, evil magistrates, and the Old Man of the Moon (an immortal who read from the book of destiny).
One day a goldfish peddler passed through the town selling his wares, saying that a goldfish would increase the buyer's fortune. Hearing this, Minli took one of the two copper coins to her name and bought a fish. Her mother is furious with her and tells her there that there is barely enough rice for the three of them and that they would never be able to feed another mouth. The night following this conversation, Minli decided that her mother is right and released the goldfish. As soon as she did so however, the goldfish thanked her! She was startled to find the goldfish talking to her, but was told that all goldfish talk, but only those who want to listen can hear. The goldfish then tells Minli how she can find her way to Never Ending Mountain, home of the Old Man of the Moon, so that she could try to change her fortune. This sets Minli off on a journey to try to change her family's fortune. She meets various characters, dragons, goldfish, places, people, all of which she heard of in folk tales and fairy tales.
When I first began reading this book I didn't understand why it had won the Newbery Award. The story seemed pretty typical, kid goes on an adventure, meets some people, learns a lesson, that old thing. But as I read on I found the story to be more than that. All of the folk tales, even the plot itself were taken right out of a Chinese folktale, and all were seamlessly interwoven. If a folk tale was told early on in the story, Minli would interact with the people in that folk tale later on in the plot. So often fantasy and make-believe and imagination is passed off as a foolish waste of time with no practical application in the real world. This story reminds us that folk tales do come from somewhere, that there are lessons we can learn from them that we can apply to our own lives, and most importantly, we can see how stories give Minli and her family hope and happiness.
This is a screw-ball comedy starring Lucille Ball as the klutzy, energetic, seemingly dull-witted stenographer, Miss Grant. She was at the bottom of her stenography class and had a very low chance of graduating, but on the day of her last class a business man came to her class to choose a secretary, and of all of her more qualified classmates he chooses her to work in his office! She is excited and ready to work hard for her new employer at what she thinks is a real estate office. Little does she know her new employer is just using real estate as a cover and he and his associates are actually bookies. They only chose Miss Grant because she seemed to be the stupidest girl in her class, and wouldn't figure out what they were up to.
Much to the chagrin of her new employers, Miss Grant charges headlong into the business. She finds clients and even sets up a deal for the company to buy a large and expensive piece of land to build houses on. They try to get rid of her, but when that fails due to her sense of duty to the people she's trying to help, they put her in charge of an operation doomed to failure. Things seem to be going downhill until Mr. Richmond's conscience kicks in and decides to sell himself into the service of his former associates in order to bail out Miss Grant. She then goes off to save him.
The film is very funny. To those who enjoyed the I Love Lucy tv show, this is the same kind of comedy. Miss Grant is a very strong, proactive heroine. Even though she isn't the best at what she does she struggles hard to try to find a place for herself in the world before succumbing to the life of a housewife, as is expected of her. She attacks any assignment given to her whole-heartedly, and even though she can be a bit slow at times, she has a good heart which endears her to the audience.
This book is an interesting look at history from the perspective of how food has affected events in history. It's really refreshing to read about history in a way that isn't directed by political intrigue and war. So often that's the main focus in high school history class that it's difficult to remember that war and governmental disagreements weren't the only things going on in the past. Many more people might actually like history if it was told from different angles, and food is definitely something we can all understand.
The author begins by discussing the dawn of agriculture and how through farming foods like what we now know to be corn, we were able to form towns, cities, and even metropolises. Trade is discussed as is the migration of food from one place to another and how that effected its value, like Indian spices for the rest of the world. That value then inspired Columbus to travel to the Americas looking for a fast, cheap way to get spices and how he brought back foods like corn, potatoes, and more. Corn, wheat, and potatoes are discussed in terms of their value and, in the situation of the potato, how they had to overcome certain stigmas to be widely appreciated. Food is discussed as a crucial aspect of war, and how managing one's food supply gave one army the edge over another, or a country over its people. Food preservation and growing methods also changed the world, and now people use food origins as a social statement of sorts. There are several fascinating chapters from the dawn of man to present day.
The author doesn't say that certain events in history would not have eventually happened if food wasn't the main motivator, but that it was one of the pieces to many of the events that define our past. Food is such a crucial part of our existence; it literally sustains us. It makes sense to look at the role food has played in our decisions, past and present, because without it we wouldn't be. Having a basic knowledge of history will help you better understand the book and piece together the events, but the author writes quite well and describes the situations in some detail, so I'm sure you won't be completely lost if you have no knowledge at all. Overall, a really interesting book.
Also: I listened to this as an audio book, and it was well done, but the narrator has a whistling 's' that gets to be quite annoying. He also tries to do an accent for all of the quotations put into the book and fails at most of them. I'd say he was the worst part of the experience for me, but it's a good book so I recommend reading it.
This film is about a woman named Lucy Miur whose husband has died. To the disapproval of her late husband's mother and sister, she decides to take her young daughter and maid and move out to the sea-side. When she gets there she falls in love with an old house. The landlord strongly suggests that she find another house because the one she has chosen is haunted, but she will not be swayed and rents it out. On the first night there, Lucy notices something wrong with the lights. After trying to light a candle for the 4th or 5th time, she gets frustrated and fearfully, but determined, she yells out into the darkness of the room, taunting the ghost to come out of hiding and face her. And of course when she turns around she comes face to face with a distinguished sea-captain who tells her that she should leave. The two form a unique friendship, that develops into something a bit deeper for the ghost. Lucy's in-laws come to visit her and tell her that the she doesn't have any more money and should just come home with them instead of continuing to live alone in this old house. She turns them away rudely, because she's talking to the ghost at the same time and of course only she can see him. This leaves Lucy in somewhat of an awkward position because she won't be able to afford her rent anymore. The ghost convinces her to stay and that he'll take care of everything. His idea is to have her write down his life and adventures on the seas in what he believes will be a best-selling volume. She does this and is well received by the publisher and receives a large check for her troubles. While there she also meets another author who has it in his mind to court her. The ghost sees this and is jealous of the man's ability to physically be with Lucy. Is the man what he really seems to be? And will Lucy choose to keep company with the living or the dead?
This was a really great movie. It's the story of a woman setting out on her own and trying to make a life for herself after the death of her husband, instead of withering away in mourning as her in-laws would wish. Lucy is a sickly woman and is used to combating the odds, even with her own body, so striking out on her own and even publishing a novel to support herself and her family was just another obstacle for her to overcome. I thought the acting was really well done, and Lucy's daughter is the little girl from miracle on 34th street, so a familiar face for those who watch the Christmas specials every year.
