Pete's Dragon, mini movie review

Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars

I hear from so many friends that Hollywood has a creativity problem.  There are a boat load of remakes, sequels, and prequels.  Just earlier this year Disney released a live action version of The Jungle Book, which did phenomenally well.  I saw it in French in a little theater in Issoudun, and it was charming, though for the most part I was theorizing what was going on.  Really need to see it in English. Last year Disney did a live action Cinderella.  Next year is Beauty and the Beast.  And they just recently did Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Now we have another version of Pete's Dragon, a remake of the 1977 version.  The original was charming, and as a kid I was enchanted by Elliott's animation, juxtaposed unto live action.  With modern technology we have CGI, but as a kid a cartoon dragon intermingling with live humans was cool.  Then there were the songs: Brazzle Dazzle Day, Candle on the Water, and It's Not Easy, to name a few.

When I found out about the Pete's Dragon remake I didn't know what to expect.  The trailer looked interesting, but it was obvious that this story was being removed from the original, hinting that Pete is lost in the forest and protected, for years, by a mysterious dragon.  Already the heart of the original lost.  Maybe it was simply a change of setting?  Maybe that's all.

But no, nothing of the original movie, besides the character names of Pete and Elliot and Pete needing a new family, survive.  Instead we have an original story that draws more on Jungle Book and Tarzan than on Pete's Dragon.  A new plot void of originality and magic, though we are reminded over and over that this is a story about magic.  Magic of the unknown and the mysterious dragons.

Don't get me wrong, there were still delightful and heart felt moments.  The scene where Pete first finds Elliot had me in tears.  If only the film maintained that enchantment throughout.

In sort what we have is a predictable original story that should be entitled "The Boy and his Dragon," because that's more fitting, instead of a title slapped onto a script to make a few extra bucks.

I've read what some people have said about this movie on forums.  That the original Pete's Dragon is incredibly cheesy and stupid, and that this remake is an improvement.  I think my issue is that so much is changed that instead of making this a remake, it should have gone in the direction of original, because so much originality is mission in Hollywood.  And I just now thought of The Jungle Book, this kid being lost for six years, and how he howls like the wolves.

*Sigh*

It's still a good family film, not a musical, not Pete's Dragon, but a film children may find interesting.

MPAA: Rated PG for action, peril and brief language.
 

Waiting For Shooting Stars

One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was to go with my Dad and brother Michael to the middle of nowhere to watch for meteor showers.  Dazzling displays of falling stars every few minutes.

In Central California it's not hard to drive to where you can see the night sky in perfect glory.  The sky so dark that the Milky Way hangs in the air like a river of stars.

We would drive to the Sierra foothills between one and four a.m., park on the side of the road, and get out our lawn chairs.  We sat there for hours, our Timex watches lighting our faces every few minutes until the show would start, and then time froze as light danced across the sky.

Those moments our some of my favorite childhood memories.

Tonight, August 12th now, so technically morning, was suppose to be a magnificent meteor shower.  It's 1:46 a.m. as I write this.  The peak of the shower was supposed to be between one and two this morning.  I went outside and didn't see anything, and now I'm in the house again.  Maybe there's too much light pollution.  Maybe I didn't wait long enough.  Maybe I missed it.  Maybe the guy on the nightly news got it wrong.

I'm standing outside again, just in case, but I still see no shooting stars.  It's amazing how still the night seems this early in the morning.  The crickets chirping.  Lawns being watered in the distance.  And cars driving fiercely on I-15.  I never hear the freeway like this in the middle of the day.  One star in particular is twinkling rapidly between white, blue, and red.  Maybe it's a planet.

Nope.  Going back inside.  It's nearly 2:00.

For a second I thought I saw one, but I quickly realized that there are mountains where I saw it.  Hopeful imagination.

Wishes can wait.

Dreams are waiting for me on my pillow.

Good night.

Finally Getting My Scottish/Highland Dance Shoes

I finally got my Highland dance shoes, which I've had now for a couple weeks.  It's something that I've put off because of the $75 price tag, but after a year it was time to finally take the splurge.  Why did I wait so long!!!

One thing that surprised me is how tight they are!!  They're supposed to be super tight, and you're then suppose to break them in over several classes.  Those first two classes with these shoes was a struggle.  But they're feeling better now, still breaking them in, but getting better.  I'm a size 9 street shoe, and these are 5 1/2 A's.  They looked so tiny when I took them out of the package.

They're made in Scotland, Dancewear of Edinburgh, and I got them from Highland Express.  To order you actually draw an outline of your foot on paper, note the measurements, and then scan the paper into a PDF, which is then emailed to the site.  From there your foot size and shape determines your shoe type.  I love the red detailing on these shoes.  The lady I worked with at Highland Express, and had a couple phone calls with, was super nice and easy to work with.

Now I need to start saving up for the Highland dance kilt outfit, which ranges from $600-$1000.  I can't start competing or performing until I get it, and once I get the outfit it can't be tailored smaller in case I lose weight.  So now I'm working on saving up and losing weight.  It takes 2 months to get the outfit after ordering, so my goal is to order in Feb. for a possible April competition, but we'll see.  The next competition after that is in June, which would give me more time to get into shape.  I'm still struggling with weight loss, but I've got real good motivation.  Kilts are very motivating, just saying.  And it's a huge investment that I want to get a lot of use.

I got some fun knee-high socks to practice in from Soxtrot on Amazon.  Ginza blue and purple are no longer available, but there's some other fun designs.

I got these fun socks from Hot Topic.  Stitch for when I want to wear something cute that aren't knee highs, and Gryffindor socks because they're awesome.  The Gryff knee highs will be nice in the winter.

During performance and compitition knee high socks need to be white or tartan colored.

But for now I can have fun!

My Grandpa gave me this pin when I started dancing, which hopefully I'll be able to use to pin up the tartan for the Lilt, which is a national dance.  Usually it's pined up by a brooch, so hopefully this will be big enough because it's special.

And for fun I got this Highland dance book off of the Amazon marketplace for less than $5!  Some of the dances are different, but a lot of the positions are the same.

 

 

 And this little pendant is my favorite necklace, which is the Scottish Luckenbooth Emblem.  It's suppose to be a love token, given to or received from the person you love.  I don't have a boyfriend, so this will be a token of hope.  Plus the thistle is cute :0)

The Daily Battles We Face

"God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go."

~ Jeffrey R. Holland

Sometimes I feel a little repetitive on my blog, talking about the same type of things over and over.  Really, it's a reflection of what I keep battling, and honestly many of these things will be a lifetime battle.

Everyday will be a battle for what I could have done better verses what I didn't accomplish.  Things I should have said and done verses what I shouldn't have said and done.  Would it be easier to just stop caring?  Stop trying?  Just live in the moment and don't take future consequences into account?  Sure, in the sort term I might feel better, might, but my conscience would come and get the better of me and then I would be caught back in the battle.  Conscience isn't quite the right word.  The Spirit would touch upon my conscience and then I would want to keep trying to be better.

Honestly, living a life ignorant of consequence would make me miserable. 

We all have different battles, different trials, different heartaches.

And some days are better than others.

But I'm glad that God is able, and willing, to forgive our trespasses and sins.  And I believe with God all things, if it be his will, are possible, and if I cling unto him, exercising pure faith in him, I can become and accomplish far more than I ever could by my self.

Suicide Squad mini movie review

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars

For starters Suicide Squad is considerably better than Batman v Superman.

Second of all, I went into this movie curious. There has been a lot of buzz for this movie for well over a year.  There was considerable excitement over the first released trailer; It was thought that Suicide Squad, about a group of DC comic villains getting together to save the day, would be the money monster to jump start the DC movie universe, especially after the lackluster said Batman v Superman movie.

Then the movie reviews started coming out, none of which were encouraging.  Most of them bad.  The sudden news of expensive re-shoots to bring the same tone from the trailer to the movie also didn't bode well, if this news was true.  Again, not encouraging.

I went into this movie not knowing quite what to expect.  Would it have the same humor and sparkle as the trailer?  Would it be messy like Batman v Superman?  Did DC finally get their act together to prove competition to Marvel?

My answer to the first question is a so-so.  There was humor and good moments.  There were also a lot of corny lines that felt miss placed.  Now, it isn't all humorous, which is a good thing.  There were some depressing moments, particularly surrounding the backstory for Will Smith's character, which worked.  Parts of the movie had the right tones for what this movie was wishing to convey. 

The second question, would this film be messy?  Yes, yes it was.  But not nearly as bad as Batman v Superman.  (BTW, I completely forgot Superman died in that movie.  Completely left my mind.  That's how forgettable it was.  I can't even remember if there was a hint if Superman survived.  I should check wikipedia . . . later.)  There weren't any random dream sequences created to trick the audience, feeling like some kind of drug trip of sorts.  The first half of the movie was a lot of set up, dragging the pacing and timing of the movie.

Backstories are important, but it felt a bit much, though I understand their necessity.  With Marvel's Avengers each character got an origin movie, and those that didn't were first placed into another movie for proper set up, so when the assembly movie came together we were able to get right to the action.  There hasn't been a proper set up in previous movies for the characters in Suicide Squad, so the first part of the movie was dedicated to a lot of their set up.  I didn't know anything about Will Smith's Deadshot.  Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn I had familiarity with thanks to the animated DC series, which my younger brothers watched when we were kids and I occasionally watched as well.

The third question, does DC hold a candle to Marvel?  Not yet.  One thing DC has been struggling with, which Marvel accomplishes in spades, is good storytelling.  DC struggles with telling a strong fluid story with good character development and sequence of events.

Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn is a thing of beauty; she nailed the character.  Jared Leto's take on The Joker is appropriate and terrifying.  The Joker had to be completely different from Heath Ledger's portrayal, and it was, fitting the tone of Suicide Squad.

In the end Suicide Squad isn't my cup of tea.  Never was.  Evil fighting evil is an interesting concept, but I guess I like the idea of evil becoming good, and finishing that thought would spoil stuff.  I'm not a fan of glorified violence, though many didn't share my thoughts, reflected by the fact that this movie made $65 million yesterday alone, on track to make around $145 million opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

Maybe DC finally found the movie to boost their movie universe after all.

MPAA: Rated PG - 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language.

Trying Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer

 Last Sunday, July 31st, was Harry Potter's birthday, and to celebrate I tried Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer.  I honestly stumbled upon it last Saturday when I was visiting Provo Riverwoods, after seeing the movie Cafe Society at Wynnsong, catching Pokemon, and looking at art in Zion's Mercantile.  Before leaving the outdoor mall I walked into Blickenstaff's, a fun toy store filled with toys new and vintage, board games, candy from around the World, and old fashioned sodas.

In the soda fridge I spotted the Flying Cauldron Butterscotch Beer, non-alcoholic, naturally, and got quite excited.  Quite a few members of the Hogwarts Running Club have posted photographs of the drink, excited that they've found it locally.  I've never been to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Shameful, right?  When I went to Disney World last June I calculated how much tickets and taxi would cost to make it possible for my Mom and I to visit.  Considering we would want to visit both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade it would cost $400+ to make that happen for just one day, and my Mom and I were trying to keep the trip affordable.  Someday I'll make it there to try real Butterbeer, but for now there are home recipes and Flying Cauldron.

I really liked the drink.  There was a slight aftertaste due to the stevia, but other than that it was quite tasty, the butterscotch strong.  My sister-in-law Lindsay loved it.  She drank it right down.

There's a recommended Giggle Potion recipe where you can add ice-cream to get that creamy foaming affect, like a root beer float.  That would have been really good!

From their website: "Since 1374, the Flying Cauldron has been making this magical brew for under aged wizards and wizards who are young at heart at their brew pub in Hogsbreath England . The recipe has changed little over the centuries. It has the perfect combination of spells and quality natural ingredients. It continues to be prized for its creamy vanilla and butterscotch flavors."

The bottle is super cute.

If you can't find it locally you can buy Flying Cauldron on the REED'S website.

Of Patriots and Pioneers

A couple things:

1. I can't believe it's the end of July.  Where does the time go?  Father Time, that's what.  He's a tricky one, stealing and speeding time the way he does.  But it is the end of July.  This year is more than half way through.  And the month of Fireworks has come to a close: Independence Day and Pioneer Day.  The first I cherish; the second I tend to forget.

2. Today is Harry Potter's Birthday, in case you missed it and care.  For those who don't care I hope you had a delightful day, regardless, but Potter-ish things were afoot today, and I may have sneaked a few passages of reading a certain script during Church.  Naughty, I know.  You didn't take me for a rebel, did you?

Yup, I'm all kinds of rebel . . .

All I will say, for now, is that after reading the script I feel a little bad for choosing Team Valor in the Pokemon Go game.  Just a little bad.  Only a little.

 I do love Independence Day.  I spent that morning researching an ancestor who fought in the American Revaluation and found a treasure trove of information in the process.  Three pages of his account of the battles he was in, for pension purposes, scrolled out in delicate cursive, most of which I could make out. Brintnal (Brintnell) Robbins, born on March 22, 1756, who fought in the Concord portion of the battle at Lexington and Concord, the battles that started it all.

I went with my parents to the Colonial Days at Scera Park.  They had never been, and it had been a few years since I visited.  My brother Robbie and Lindsay joined us, and they had a good time.  It's like an interactive History lesson.

I love it.  I totally geeked out.

And then this happened.  That's not a bruise.  I was holding the program under my arm and the ink melted in the heat, so really I just found a new way to wear my patriotism.

And then there's Pioneer Day, which is a big deal in Utah, celebrating the pioneers who fled here, fleeing persecution.  I grew up in Central California where the only people who celebrated Pioneer Day were member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  In seminary it seemed every kid had pioneer stories to tell of their ancestors.  When it came time for me to share a story I said I had no Pioneer Heritage, so I was skipped.

The funny thing is, as I've begun working on my genealogy these last many years, I've found many possible distant cousins who are Mormon pioneers.  Joseph Smith is hypothetically my 5th cousin 7 times removed, though our "joining" ancestor is Thomas Gates born 1590, England.  Many names leading up to Thomas I'm quite unsure of, as there are sloppy genealogies all over the place, and I'm a natural skeptic, especially with genealogy.  I need proof and paperwork to believe I'm related to someone.

I don't know why it should matter if I have Pioneer heritage or not.  It shouldn't.  All members of the LDS church must discover and find their testimonies independently.  I appreciate the pioneers and their sacrifices.  It's funny, I do get a little annoyed when someone launches into some great story of their Pioneer heritage, and yet I have no problem declaring my pride for my ancestors who fought in the Revelation.  I read a few years ago that 1 in 10 Americans have ancestors who fought in the Revelation.  So I'm guilty of what I find annoying, or, technically, what I'm jealous of.

Not very virtuous of me.

Still, Summer is journeying on.  My Grandparents and Aunt were suppose to visit Mesquite NV this weekend, but it got up to 118 degrees there last Friday, so the trip was canceled.  Since experiencing humid Florida heat a couple months ago I haven't been bothered by dry 100+ Utah heat, which has been nice.  I'm just going to enjoy it.  Snow can be quite a bother at times.

Happy August.  You will be here in a few minutes.  It's 11:25 PM now.

I'm ready for this new month. 

Ready for the lessons it will teach me.

Time seems to rob so much from us, but he also gives, too.

Never forget that.

Never Be Afraid of the Truth; Never Be Afraid of Starting Again

Miss Stacey: Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth, Anne.  You see it frightens them, so they put up walls to protect themselves from it.  What we must bear in mind is that all these trails and tribulations that pop up in our lives, well they serve a very useful purpose.  They build character, as long as we can hold unto the lessons we've learned from our mistakes.  Remember, you can always start everything afresh tomorrow.

Anne Shirley: That is a tremendous consolation Miss Stacey.  Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.

Miss Stacey: Well, with no mistakes in it, yet.  As far as the truth goes, don't lose heart.

~ Anne of Green Gables, second part, right after the Intermission.

I love this movie so, so much.  Every year I watch it, and just recently I watched this movie with a good friend and my sister-in-law Lindsay.  The scene typed above is my favorite.  Whenever I struggle with my weaknesses and mistakes I repeat the line, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

I've grown up repeating this line, but when I saw this scene I've always somehow missed the first lesson Miss Stacey was expressing to Anne.  And with everything I'm experiencing personally, and with what I'm seeing in the World, I'm very grateful for these words.

With the dozens of times I've watched this movie I've missed those lines.  Maybe my mind just always went silent, waiting for my most favorite line.  Or maybe it represents where I am now, personally.  Maybe I'm finally ready to let some things go.

Why Doesn't Anyone Name Their Pokémon?

Today, for the first time, I defended a gym and left a Pokémon.  A CP 1339 Arcanine that I lovingly named Heero, which is short for Heero Yuy, because he's a great character that fits the spirit of Team Valor well.

Of course now as I write this at 9:48 PM, an hour after I placed Heero, the gym was regained by Team Mystic.  And no, I'm not going out to retake it.  I'm watching a delightful episode of Road To Avonlea and I'm really quite content.

But for the last week or so I've been looking at the stats of one gym to the next, seeing what Pokémon were placed there and their accompanied CP.  There's also something else I've noticed, all the Pokémon bare their original Pokémon names.  When I placed Heero his name shown right next to him, and it was a really fun sight.

I've been having fun naming my Pokémon.  Today I got a Jolteon that I named Tesla and an Electabuzz that I named Faraday.

And last week I got a CP 666 Ponyta I named Demon's Mare.

And for the record I caught this Ponyta at a 666 CP.  Heh, had a good laugh over it, so I'm not evolving or increasing its power.  I wonder if I left him at a gym if anyone would freak out a little ;0)

Why One Writes

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."

~Maya Angelou

I profess that the above statement is true.

It is agony.

An agony I'm working through.

 I found this quote while reading through other inspiration quotes on Buzzfeed about writing, and why we write, or just simply finding motivation to write.  I've got stories inside me.  Characters.  Worlds.  Ideas.  Some of them I wonder if I'm too late in telling, and that worries me.  But it's cluttered.  My head and heart are cluttered, and after all this time I'm working through getting some of what is in my head out on paper.

It's a frightening process that works against my insecurities.  Not reading until the 3rd grade and so forth, those burdens that still haunt, even though I've overcome those weaknesses years ago.  But for me the real trial is turning what I see visually and feel emotionally into words.

It wasn't until I was a senior in High School that I learned people thought in words.  I would have small conversations in my head, but really everything I experienced in my mind was jumping from one image to the next, living through one scene to the next.

It was late at night and my friends and I were lying on the ground starring up at the stairs, inventing constellations.  And as we gazed into the heavens we began talking about thought processes.  Every single one of my friends thought in words.  They didn't see pictures!  I was amazed and baffled.  I though everyone sees things happening in their mind like a movie.  One day, after that, I asked one of my friends who was there that night how she writes stories.  Does she really not see the characters moving about?  And she told me that when she writes she hears the words in her head, but that was it.  No pictures.  No movements.  No buildings or scenery.

And all I could think was how boring that must be.

But the problem I'm having is translating what I hear, see, feel, and experience into words.  And most of the time I'm not there, simply an observer watching, laughing, crying.  I just got to find the words.

It's a process.

I'm learning.

This nice thing about writing is that there isn't an average age or expiration date.

And so many writers who have found success did so later in life.

Imagination is for the young and old alike.

I found the below image on Facebook and had a good laugh over it.

And don't worry, I'm still working on my music as well. ;0)