We've Moved!

Hello Dreamers!

I know it has been a very long time. But... basically I've been feeling like it's time to move to something else.

This blog served a great purpose for me. It helped me to find out where I stand on some issues and gave me a voice for some of my opinions. I have loved our conversations and frankly, I'm going to miss this site.

But the good news is that it's not over yet! I've opened a new movie review website where I will continue making movie reviews! Anyway, I thought all of you guys might be interested in following - after all I don't know if I really want to do it without you. You've all been such faithful readers and I really appreciate it.

Here's the new website: www.imaninterrogator.com

*deep breath* Goodbye my dear castle. I has been amazing.




~ Aloisa Quintal
"We all change, when you think about it, we're all different people; all through our lives, and that's okay, that's good, you've gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this, not one day, I swear. I will always remember when The Doctor was me."

Funday Sunday!

Hello Dreamers!

So I've been gone again... for quite a long time this time too... And I really have no worthy excuse so let's just acknowledge that and move on with our lives...

Due to my absence, I've been planning this week's posts for a while now....

Movie Monday: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

TV Thursday: Doctor Who - Dark Water (Episode 11)

Books On Friday: The Ashtown Burials - Empire of Bones

Yeah, they're going to be some extremely overdue posts... Oh well.

I love how you guys still comeback to read my posts even though I haven't been heard from in a month...

So... I haven't decided if I'm going to do Camp Nano or not (who am I kidding, of course I'm going to do Camp Nano!), but I've discovered that New York City is a fantastic place to come up with book ideas... and I've got a really great one going. Super excited...

Sometimes I use Youtube to study for my college classes....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6wlKhsJ6w

(Sorry, I'm on a computer that wont let me embed videos... You'll have to click on the link yourself... I know. So much work.)

Actually, I usually use John Green's Crash Course series... they're fantastic, you should try them sometime. Passed two history classes that way (it helps that John Green teaches with the same perspective as most college classes...).

Also, Jordan got rid of Messyges from Blimey Cow and replaced it with #AskJordan....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vrAVoDJR4k

I miss Messyges... how about ya'll???

~ Aloisa Quintal

"We are all fools in love."

(Name the quote!!)



Lady Susan - A Book Review

Hello Dreamers!

 

Guess what? Another book review! I kinda like reviewing books actually... I should make a habit of it...

 

For those of you who don't know, Lady Susan is a fairly short novel written by Jane Austen. Actually, it was the only Jane Austen I hadn't either read, or seen in a movie (In fact, I'm fairly certain Lady Susan has yet to be recognized in the film world except through some kind of documentary...) and since I didn't really feel like going to bed the night before Valentines Day, it seemed fitting to commemorate the holiday with a Jane Austen. (All of which to say, I read it in two hours. It's short.)

 

A tiny little history lesson. Jane Austen wrote Lady Susan when she was in her late teens (at least... that's what they figure...) and wasn't published until 54 years after her death. We don't know why she never attempted to get it published but... she didn't. It seems her nephew may have taken it upon himself to publish this one...

 

This novel is pretty different from her other books. Most obviously, it is written in epistolary form (meaning it's a compilation of letters between the characters of the story.). Also notable, is the completely dislikable main character, Lady Susan Vernon. (You're not supposed to like her so don't think I'm just being picky with my main characters again...) She's selfish, extremely manipulative and she likes it. Think... evil stepmother from anyone of the Disney princess stories and you're right on track. She's awful. (Apparently there are some parallels between Lady Susan and a horrid neighbor Austen had and a character from the Bible... random trivia.)

 

Lady Susan's daughter, Frederica Vernon, turns out to be quite the doll when her horrid mother isn't about. (Despite her mother's insisting that Frederica is utterly foolish and stupid... guess if you don't manipulate men, you're just not smart enough for Lady Susan. Weirdness.) Anyway, Lady Susan is intent on Frederica marrying utter fool, Sir James Martin. Who happens to seem completely content with marrying Frederica or her mother... the latter of which seems to be commanding his interests either way - creepy.... Regardless, this is a bit of a problem for a couple of reasons.

One, turns out Lady Susan's husband has just recently died (it's clear that his death was fairly recent... I understood it to be a few months but I could be wrong) and she is the talk of rumors for "engaging the affections" of not just Mr. Martin, but another man - who happens to be married - so... Sir Martin marrying Lady Susan simply wont work very well. (It seems that Lady Susan has her heart set on the married man anyway so... whatever.)

Two, Frederica is not as dumb her mother believes her to be and is decidedly against marrying Mr. Slimy (ironically, Lady Susan has agreed with her daughter that Sir Martin is a fool and is still forcing her to marry him...).

Either way you go, Mr. Slimy doesn't end up married without someone's heart being broken.

 

The story is really set in motion when Lady Susan (when sent away from the Manwarings' house for pursuing Mr. Manwaring...) goes to live with her husband's brother Charles Vernon and his wife Catherine. Catherine sees Lady Susan for the snake she is and pretty much dislikes her the whole story. Charles is one of those sweeter people who likes to believe the very best about everyone and thus accepts Lady Susan with open arms. Charles younger brother, Reginald De Courcy, comes to meet the famed temptress (fully aware of her history) and is ensnared by her almost magic manipulative powers. Which is really a shame because Reginald seems altogether rather respectable and sweet. Things get complicated when Frederica is kicked out of her boarding school and has to come live with the Vernons too. Unfortunately, the Reginald-being-under-an-evil-spell becomes all the worse when we realize that sweet shy Frederica has fallen completely in love with him.

 

Anyway, I'm not here to spoil the whole thing, so I'll end my summary there. Just wanted you to get a feel for what might just be the most scandalous Austen book ever published...

 

The weird part about this book, is that the letters just kind of stop at a certain point and Austen finishes the story in a maybe two page conclusion... which... I would've liked to read the rest of the story written out like her other novels maybe... It just was weird because the happy ending was in that conclusion. A bit rushed perhaps... although... I don't know. It did kinda fit the rest of the novel...

 

It was really good. And... I think I liked it more because it just was soooo different from her other stuff. Like... wow. Evil stepmother territory here. It just was neat. I would LOVE to see BBC do a something with this. I realize they'd have to add a bit and fill in places but... it would be a good miniseries. I hope somebody thinks that this is a good idea someday... (Plus, why the heck have they left out one lonely Austen novel? Like... it's the only one they haven't paid some kind of tribute to.)

 

Guys... I think I have a movie to make. How are all of your British accents and flirting abilities?

 

;-) Just kidding.

 

...

 

Maybe...

 

You never can tell with me. (I'm not even sure I can tell...)

 

5 Fandom Points... It just deserves to be in with the rest of the Jane Austen family... it's a delightful little read and I thoroughly enjoyed it's this-was-scandal-back-in-the-19th-century.

 

~ Aloisa Quintal

"I write only to bid you farewell. The spell is removed; I see you as you are."

Doctor Who: In The Forest Of The Night (Episode 10) - Review

Hello Dreamers!

 

 

This episode had a lot of promise. A lot of promise with... more annoying Danny and Clara stuff. Which was... annoying. To say the least. But it was an alright episode overall.

 

Synopsis:

Essentially the plot is as follows: Danny and Clara are leading a school (sleepover... whose idea was this?) at a local museum (I assume some rather significant British one that I'm ignorant of because well... I'm American.). They all wake up to find that the entire Earth has been covered in a dense forest overnight. Meanwhile, a little girl named Maebh knocks on the TARDIS door (turns out she's an escapee from Clara and Danny's fieldtrip). She tells the Doctor that "Clara's voice" told her to come to him. Clara and the Doctor talk on the phone which Clara attempts to explain to Danny with more lies. *sigh* Eventually the two groups meet up (right before which Maebh runs away because... why not?) and the Doctor butts heads with Danny, Danny discovers Maebh's homework on the TARDIS (evidence of Clara grading papers on the TARDIS... the jig is up basically.) and the Doctor realizes that Maebh's homework had predicted the forest. Apparently a huge solar flare is going to hit the Earth and the Doctor thinks that all of the plants are there to light everything on fire. It becomes clear that Maebh has been hearing voices since her sister died and she's been on medication for it. (Another stupid human move according to the Doctor.) Anyway, they set out searching for Maebh while attempting to solve the we're-all-going-to-die situation (and while Danny realizes Clara has been lying to him. Yippee.)

 

Overall Quality:

This episode was pretty good and pretty up to standard. I have heard that the plot was a bit weak as it's another "the peril we thought we were in wasn't actually real" situation. Also, it's a bit difficult to pin down exactly what the danger is... Wasn't the most clear cut episode ever.

 

That being said, I personally enjoy Doctor Who episodes with children in them... don't know why but... I do. Danny was pretty cute except for the Danny/Clara moments and scenes. I just really don't like them together. And he's too perfect. But he is cute with little kids. And the whole "Danny Pink would never leave these kids" line was good... if Clara wasn't in love with him at the same time. You can't have a reoccurring character that perfect. Actually I take that back. You might be allowed to do that if (and only if) that character's backstory enabled that to work. However, (and I only know this because I've seen the last episode) accidently shooting a kid in the middle of a war? Not good enough. Because he's still perfect! Even in that moment of shooting that kid he was perfect because he didn't mean to. Oi. I'll try to save all of this till I overview the whole season, but I'm sick of holding it in.

 

Acting:

Pretty fantastic. (Of course I must mention Danny gets on my nerves... not necessarily the actors fault) That moment where Clara tells the Doctor to leave was really feelsy and very well played out.

 

Content Advisory:

Nothing I remember... but it has been a really long time.

 

The Rant Bit:

Well I already ranted about Danny (plus I've kinda promised to keep that to a minimum till the end...), so I'm going to talk about the feelsy thing that happened.

 

When the situation seems utterly hopeless, Clara tells the Doctor that they could still save the school group and themselves in the TARDIS. So they all travel back to the TARDIS where Clara reveals to the Doctor that she lied to him to get him back to the TARDIS. She tells him to leave by himself and allow humanity to die together as it should. The children wont want to live without their parents so they can't take them. Danny would never leave the children, so they can't take him. And Clara doesn't want to be the last of her kind (a real gut punch to the Doctor... just saying.). The Doctor tells her that the Earth is his Earth too, but he ends up bowing to her demands... and leaves... again. It was wacky. Of course, he reappears in a moment after he has an epiphany, but... it was weird.

 

Also, I find it weird that Clara's reason for not going with the Doctor wasn't "I can't leave Danny..." and instead it was "I don't want to be the last of my kind...", like... she doesn't want the Doctor or Danny. If she wanted Danny she would've given that as a reason. But she didn't. If she'd wanted the Doctor... I just feel like she doesn't know what she wants. And she certainly doesn't want Danny.

 

So yeah... weird episode. But it was pretty good.

 

4 Fandom Points. Favorite quote from this episode? What's your guys' take on the Doctor leaving all the time? This season has been so hard for me to understand...

 

~ Aloisa Quintal

Maebh: "I need the Doctor. Are you the Doctor?"

The Doctor: "Yes. Do you have an appointment? You need an appointment to see the Doctor."

The Princess and the Frog: A Movie Review

Hello Dreamers!

So I'm a day late.... oh well.

Synopsis: The Princess and the Frog is set in New Orleans, Louisiana. It's about a girl name Tiana who dreams about giving life to one of her daddy's dreams. Her daddy wanted to open a restaurant. But he never could afford to do so. So when Tiana gets old enough, she saves and saves and saves until she can afford to make the down payment on an old broken down building. Till somebody outbids her. She suddenly finds herself unable to buy the building that her daddy had always dreamed of having and worse, someone else is going to by it. So... she wishes on a star while she's at a costume part. And a frog appears. Who happens to be a prince who was turned into frog by the "Shadow Man" (a voodoo practitioner). Anyway, the prince (Prince Naveen) thinks that Tiana is a princess because she's wearing a fancy dress and tiara to the costume party. So he convinces Tiana that by kissing him, he'll turn into a human and he'll be able to by her restaurant for her. So she does... and because she's not really a princess... she turns into a frog as well. And so the two frogs set off to figure out how to become human again. ("Only Human Again" from Beauty and the Beast anyone?)

Overall Quality: The Princess and the Frog is very well made. The music fits very well (though Disney needs to realize that jazz music was not born in New Orleans... it was born in New York) and the animation is gorgeous. There is enough comic relief to keep it from getting too princessey. (A must nowadays) However, I really question the wisdom of attempting to incorporate extremely sensitive political statements in a princess movie... Now don't get me wrong here - We needed an African American Disney Princess. We did. And I think Tiana is brilliant. She's not the first American princess (Pocahontas takes that title), but she embodies American idealism beautifully. It just... was dangerous ground for Disney to tromp on. (Possibly the reason why The Princess and the Frog never really went anywhere...)

Acting: Well of course, it's all voice acting... But everything was fantastic. Prince Naveen's (Bruno Campos') accent is super fun. All of the main characters did their own singing I think (which is always nice).

Content Advisory:
So... When I first saw this movie, I was watching it with a couple little children.. and was thus pretty put off by the amount of voodoo and darkish magic going around. It's not like Disney movies haven't been dark before but... I don't know... it just bothered me sitting next to a little kid and watching that. As for my re-watch of it yesterday, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I still think you should be aware of the voodoo and magic, but as an older person, I'm not really bothered by Disney's goofy "voodoo" that turns people into frogs.

The Rant Bit:
I'm not African American, so I don't have much say in the matter, but I do wonder how an African American person would feel about being represented in this way. Especially since Disney is clearly trying to incorporate all the races into the Disney princess realm. They are clearly going out of their way to make an African American Princess. Which is brilliant. And frankly, I like this movie a whole bunch. But I can't help but wonder how an African American person would feel about having their princess come from New Orleans where voodoo and dark magic seems to be incorporated into the community pretty strongly. I mean... it almost feels ghettoish... (Also, I'm not sure how I feel about how the white people were portrayed in this movie. I'm not over exaggerating when I say they were all fat and whiney. Of course, it's not like I'm going to be offended by it, I'm just saying...) I like to assume that non of this matters because it's just a silly kids movie, but unfortunately, Disney kinda asked for it the way they made this movie... (I can see why it didn't do very well box office and critics wise) Did Disney step on toes? I don't know. Probably.

Political pieces aside (I really don't want to get into all of that because... we'll be here all day), I really like this movie. I'd say it makes it into my top couple of Disney movies (never surpassing Pocahontas of course...). I'm very glad to have watched it again. I love the music. The music was awesome. The animation was gorgeous and the characters were fun.

3 Fandom Points. It deserves more, but I think the racial stereotypes deserve some recognition as well.



~ Aloisa Quintal

"I fully intend to be rich again! Once I marry Miss Charlotte La Bouff - if she will have me!"
"You're a prince?"
"Obviously."
"She'll have you."

Funday Sunday! - When You Change Into A New Person...

Hello Dreamers!


Yes it's that time again. I know I'm barely hanging on here and I've neglected quite a few things... this week was just rather stressful. (As in... I was crying my eyes out more than once stressful... So... fun)

Ahem...

Movie Monday: The Princess and the Frog

TV Thursday: Doctor Who - In The Forest Of The Night (Episode 10)

(Hopefully for real this time. :P)

Books On Friday: Lady Susan - Jane Austen

And yes... still working on catching up. I appreciate all yall's patience.

So lately I've been reading this book called Let's All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs. Anyway, it's a really good book. It's about being brave as principle. About taking an opportunity just because you have to be brave to do so. The idea is that God calls us to be brave. And if we're not brave in general, we're not going to be brave enough to do what he calls us to do.

Point is, these brave things change us. Once you start to walk down a path that takes guts, there's no going back. You become a different person. A better person (ideally. If you're choosing your path wisely... I mean... don't go throwing wisdom out the window just because speeding down the highway is brave). It's how God makes us more like him.

Just something to think about (and an unofficial book recommendation).

And while we're on the subject of being a different person, my music tastes have been all over the place lately. It's been so weird. Most of you know that I was addicted to 5 Seconds of Summer for about 24 hours last week (don't worry, I've recovered from that lapse) and those of you that didn't know that... well you do now. The majority of you know that for a very long I've disregarded pop music simply on principle. Liking it makes you "mainstream" or something... So I've fallen in love with Punk Rock music from the 90s and a little bit of folkish music on the side (Like... Mumford and Sons kind of stuff)... but lately...

I like pop music now. And that's really weird for me to say, so... you should feel awfully special that I'm telling you that. Not all pop music mind you, there's still some serious wackos out there that I don't give the time of day. But... I don't know.

I've also been noticing that I have a new category of music in my life called the "This song is awesome but the band is weird" playlist. (I don't actually have a playlist called that, but you get the point.) Or the "I really don't want to like you but I do" category. For instance, Taylor Swift. I sorta made an unofficial promise to myself that I would refuse to listen to anything off of Taylor Swift's new album (it's called 1989) due to the weirdness of Shake It Off and it's music video. But then... I heard one song off it on the radio. And then another on Pandora. And then another. Pretty soon I realized I was pretty much in love with it and I will probably buy it sometime soon... (And I will probably review it. Because... music. And I have so many parallels I've been using in an attempt to explain why I like it so much - might as well write them out so other people can read them.)

It's weird. But you know what? I think change is good. And so I'm embracing it. I don't see the use in fighting against the person you really are.

So yeah. That's what I've got for you guys.

Hope to see you around this week!

~ Aloisa Quintal

"We all change, when you think about it. We are all different people, all through our lives. And that's ok, that's good, you gotta keep moving. So long as you remember all the people that you used to be."

Into the Storm: Movie Review

Hello Dreamers!

So... I got so far behind that I just decided to spend last week getting ahead of myself and put off last weeks posts till this week... Sorry about that guys. Still adjusting my brain to posting more often. :-)

Anyway, I finally got to see this lovely gem due to a fantastic gift (the DVD) I got last Christmas. And I'd been wanting to see this one for SOOOO long. (Okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic... But Richard! and Peter Pan! In one movie!)

Summary:
Into The Storm is a basic disaster film featuring normal people (who naturally live in Tornado Alley) who encounter tornados on a never before seen scale. There really isn't a whole bunch of plot other than "Oooh ahhh, that's how it starts. Later there's running and screaming." (Courtesy of this guy:

),

but I'll summarize the basics.

Essentially the movie follows three stories.

One is about a storm chasing team that apparently have just missed their "big break" because they missed a rather large scale tornado the night before our story starts. While chasing storms seems to be an occupation for crazies, they do actually have a reasoning (ish) behind it. They are filming a documentary about tornados and are hoping (with the help of their killer tornado-tank (called the Titus) to film from the center of a tornado. This is where Jeremy Sumpter comes in - he's interning as a camera man for the team.

The second story follows two teenagers and their father (the vice principle of the two boys' school). The graduation ceremony for their school is to take place that day and Gary Morris (the father who, by the way, is played by Richard Armitage... who's faking an American accent...) is rather distracted by everything going on. His oldest son, Donnie, is busy making a time capsule. (I couldn't really determine if the time capsule was for the graduating class or if he was just... doing it for fun... or what... I think he mentioned that his dad had asked him to do it... it's unclear as to why... But it's amusing to say the least.) Meanwhile, Gary's younger son, Trey is dealing with crushing-on-a-girl issues. 

The third story is about two redneck buddies who are idiotically trying to make their way to the top of the YouTube pile of fame. They basically spend their time accomplishing foolish feats of bravery and should be dead by the end of their first scene together. *Spoiler alert* Of course, they don't die in their first scene.
Then... well tornadoes happen and each story intersects with the others along the way...

Quality:
If this movie has anything going for it, it's the special effects... I'm a bit of a special effects geek (like... I've taught myself the basics of a professional program that the special effects guys use... like that geeky) and this stuff was like... so awesome for me to watch. So... pretty impressive.

And... if this movie has anything going against it... it's the lack of a story. While the movie does have a plot other than running and screaming, it's rather overlooked because of the rampaging/flaming/giant/twisting tunnels of wind. There isn't much else driving the characters besides "don't die!". (Also... there's not much else to root for as a viewer either (unless you want to root for Trey to get the girl...who really cannot act... at all.), honestly though, I was just hoping that Richard and Jeremy wouldn't die - I'm still scarred from Thorin's death in the Hobbit - Oh... spoiler alert.)
It's kinda like watching Transformers except instead of nonstop action and kissing, it's running from killer special effects... (Actually... it's nothing like watching Transformers... Transformers was wayyy worse in this... Like... waayyyyyy worse.) And it's pretty unrealistic... but I'm not really one for real life anyway. I mean... I like unbelievable sometimes.

But Richard Armitage... and Jeremy Sumpter.... so who cares?

Acting:
The acting was up to standard (well... it had Richard Armitage in it... of course it's going to be up to standard) Nothing too notable, but it was good.

(And I already mentioned that the girl playing Kaitlyn can't act very well... she just couldn't make me believe her.)

Content Advisory:
There is a fair amount of cursing (nothing above PG-13 level... obviously) because well.... tornados and almost dying and.... actually dying (shhh... you didn't hear that from me).

Donnie also finds it necessary to film a female teacher who isn't dressed very modestly... I think you can guess where his camera chose to focus on... anyway, he shows it to his younger brother who doesn't really go along with thinking it's amusing... It's not a very long bit... I'd guess like... 15 seconds or so and he's showing it to his brother on a pretty small camera screen... *shrugs* I don't know. Kinda feel like you're going to see about the equivalent (or more...) watching a Jane Austen or Merlin. Just without the teenage boys...

The Rant Bit:
This movie had me on the edge of my seat. It's intense. Especially when you're watching for your best friend and you're both dearly hoping you wont have to watch Richard play dead again... (and you're less extremely hoping the same for the grown up Peter Pan... Which... I know this is a story for another time, but was a really weird experience. Maybe it was just his role in this film but he still felt very little boyish...) because he's unfortunately rather good at dying.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. And while it's not being added to the Castle List (the Castle Hall of Fame... which will be in order soonish...), I'm a very proud owner of it. And I don't want to spoil it... but the very end was classic. Classic.

3 Fandom Points. It is possible that with different actors I would've laughed at this movie... but it's a part of the Richard Armitage collection. So... your argument is invalid.





~ Aloisa Quintal

Donnie: "Me and the planet go way back."