Um...Gee, This Is Embarrassing.

So a few days ago "Fly On My Father's Wings" from Quest for Camelot popped into my head out of the deep, deep blue, and it's been stuck in my head ever since then, creating an uncontrollable urge to watch that movie.
I know! I know. It's not even a good movie. There's nothing wrong with it, but there's nothing particularly fantastic about it--it's no How to Train Your Dragon. That being said--I freaking love it. I don't know why. It cannot be explained. But I do.
Moral of the story: does anybody own Quest for Camelot, and do you want to lend it to me? Or just give it to me? (Do any of you secretly like it, too? *looks around hopefully*)

Film Review: The Secret of Moonacre

Have any of you (aside from my beloved Oddette) read the magic that is Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse? Because if not, you really need to. It is lovely in every sense of the word. Fantasy--magic, adventure, even a little romance. Remarkable characters and a plot somewhere in between Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Flute, The Lion and the Unicorn, and The Secret Garden.  That being said, this is a movie review, not a book review.
The Secret of Moonacre is based off of The Little White Horse, and when I heard of its existence I was thrilled because frankly, this book deserves a whole lot more recognition. And a movie! Sadly, I heard that a lot of the plot was changed, so I was a little wary, but in the end I really liked it. The ratings aren't particularly good, but I think you enjoy it more if you're read the book, because it's just that delightful to see that world onscreen. So read the book, and then watch the movie. (And then come back and read this again once you have any idea what I'm talking about.)
I'm not really going to go into the plot of either the book or the movie because they're so different and very complex. Just take my word for it that they're good, ok? Here are my thoughts.
Many of the characters are rather changed--in personality and their relation to each other--from the book. (I'm trying not to give anything away.) However, this was obviously a very conscious choice to make the book more suited to this new medium, and I considered it to work very well. Sir Benjamin is very different from how he is in the book (Much more of a Moon (or even a De Noir!) than a Sun.) but for this version, Ioan Gruffud is the perfect choice to play him.

Miss Heliotrope and Digweed are spot-on, and Marmaduke Scarlet was very in character--I just didn't like his rather silly special effects.

Maria was well played by that charming Dakota Blue Richards.

Loveday was very different, and I'm still not sure about how I feel about her character. I loved her so much in the book that any change to her is a little disconcerting.

What I really can't get over is Robin. They changed my beloved Robin from the Dickon-meets-Peter Pan that he ought to be to the Moonacre version of the super-creepy-beyond-belief snatcher from Harry Potter.

What's up with that?!

Still, in the end he turned out rather fabulously. Really, though? Why does he need to be fixed when "there was nothing wrong with [him] to start with?" Thank you, Char. Your eloquence is appreciated.

The costuming was fantastic. In my humble opinion, it struck the perfect balance between historically accurate enough to fit Victorian London and fantastic enough to fit the world of Moonacre. Just tons of fun and an exquisite amount of detail. 

The set was very well done when it wasn't being poorly green-screened. :P Maria's bedroom was incredible. I want to live there. 

My favorite bit of dialogue, which really seemed to capture Elizabeth Goudge's writing was this:

Maria: "How can I live in the country? It's full of countryside." 

Miss Heliotrope: "There's only one thing to save us now: classical French needlepoint."

Teehee.

Overall, I'd give it four out of five moon pearls. And it would be higher but for Robin.

Heartfelt Advice

Do not watch the last episode of BBC's Robin Hood when your friend has just finished applying your makeup. Do not watch the last episode of BBC's Robin Hood while eating.
You will cry.
Your makeup will run.
You will choke.
And you just might die.

Austenites Are Everywhere

While I'm not a very large Henry Tilney fan (And for that matter, Northanger Abbey isn't my favorite, anyway.) any video which is both an Old Spice parody and includes the line "YOU are handsome enough to tempt me." is ok by me. Enjoy!

Fan Girl Squeeees!

Here's how my morning's discovery went: "Hold. Your. Hippogriffs. They're making an Austenland movie?!?!?!?!? How did I not know this?!?!?!? Oh. Stephanie Meyer is producing it. Stephanie Meyer is producing it?!? How did she get her claws in it?!? @*@))(#$&#*$()@# (no real swearing happened. but you get the point.) Oh well; it's just producer--cast list! Dunno, dunno, dunno *sigh* at least it's filmed in Engla--FIGWIT!!!!!!!! Figwit is IN AUSTENLAND!!!!!! That just completely made up for Smeyer. Completely. And Shannon did co-write the screenplay (with the writer of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. O.o) so it should be at least somewhat like the book, right?" Hope you're as excited as I am.

P.S. Sorry about the excess punctuation. I'm not usually like that, but there you go.

Two of My Favorite Things

Josh Groban and The Lord of the Rings. This movie just made me extremely happy.

Sadly, this has to be said: I will not tolerate any comments about fruitcake or gayness. Chase and Josh, I'm talking to you. (Glares.) They're just friends, ok?
I got this awesome video from Alaw's blog, Password to Middle Earth. For all of you out there who, like me, are getting really excited about The Hobbit movie, you should follow her blog: she has news and updates about it every single day. (I can't even come close to that kind of regularity.) Also, she's having a cool giveaway right now, so mosey on over and check it out!

A Quest

It's that time of year again: time for my annual rereading of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I've been doing this since first and third grade respectively for the two books, and it's one of my favorite traditions-I-do-all-on-my-lonesome. But this year, I'm not so alone!
As many of you know, every Labor Day I throw a giant LotR marathon party. As she did with me, my mom has told my little sister that she can watch the movies as soon as she has read the books in their entirety. Obviously, Lizzie wants to be ready by the marathon, which means I'm going to attempt to READ ALL OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS IN ONE MONTH. This wouldn't be a problem if it was just me, but I'll be reading them aloud to my sister, which is significantly slower. Can it be done? Honestly, I don't know. There are three long books in the trilogy. 1,008 pages. Dense pages--42 lines and 503 words on the first full page alone. Whew! But there are also 62 chapters. Divide that in half, and you get exactly one month. So at the semi-reasonable rate of two chapters per day, it can be done! Labor Day being on September 5th even gives us some wiggle room.
If you're like me, this is starting to sound exciting. Would you like to join in our quest? We shall be the Fellowship of the Ring! Wouldn't it be cool if a whole bunch of us had read (or reread) LotR right before the marathon? If you're interested, I have created an easy-to-follow reading schedule, which you will find below. (If you're not convinced, read through the chapter titles. That should do the trick.) If the task is a little daunting, how about reading The Hobbit as a shorter prelude to the marathon?
And so we begin.

"When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton...."



The Schedule By Chapters

The Fellowship of the Ring

August 1: "A Long-Expected Party" and "The Shadow of the Past"

August 2: "Three is Company" and "A Short Cut to Mushrooms"

August 3: "A Conspiracy Unmasked" and "The Old Forest"

August 4: "In the House of Tom Bombadil" and "Fog on the Barrow-downs"

August 5: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony" and "Strider"

August 6: "A Knife in the Dark" and "Flight to the Ford"

August 7: "Many Meetings" and "The Council of Elrond"

August 8: "The Ring Goes South" and "A Journey in the Dark"

August 9: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" and "Lothlórien"

August 10: "The Mirror of Galadriel" and "Farewell to Lórien"

August 11: "The Great River" and "The Breaking of the Fellowship"

The Two Towers

August 12: "The Departure of Boromir" and "The Riders of Rohan"

August 13: "The Uruk-hai" and "Treebeard"

August 14: "The White Rider" and "The King of the Golden Hall"

August 15: "Helm's Deep" and "The Road to Isengard"

August 16: "Flotsam and Jetsam" and "The Voice of Saruman"

August 17: "The Palantír" and "The Taming of Sméagol"

August 18: "The Passage of the Marshes" and "The Black Gate is Closed"

August 19: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" and "The Window on the West"

August 20: "The Forbidden Pool" and "Journey to the Cross-roads"

August 21: "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol" and "Shelob's Lair"

August 22: "The Choices of Master Samwise" and

The Return of the King

                                                                              "Minis Tirith"

August 23: "The Passing of the Grey Company" and "The Muster of Rohan"

August 24: "The Siege of Gondor" and "The Ride of the Rohirrim"

August 25: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" and "The Pyre of Denethor"

August 26: "The Houses of Healing" and "The Last Debate"

August 27: "The Black Gate Opens" and "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"

August 28: "The Land of Shadow" and "Mount Doom"

August 29: "The Field of Cormallen" and "The Steward and the King"

August 30: "Many Partings" and "Homeward Bound"

August 31: "The Scouring of the Shire" and "The Grey Havens"