[Traverse's Scrapbook] Movie Reviews and Mayhem

[Traverse]

Alright this one has been a long time in coming: A look at Maleficent As you may or may not have noticed in reading this scrap, I am not particularly organized with my reviews, change around the format, and mostly just ramble about films. I'm not going to give a plot for this one because I think everyone knows it, at least the basic premise because this is not the story of Sleepin Beauty, its the story of the evil wicked Sorceress that cast a spell on her. So first I want to say how great of a family movie this is, but at the same time, insert a disclaimer in there that it is not for young children. At what age could a child watch this movie? Probably depends, but for a Disney movie it is extremely violent, and pretty dark, and I can imagine it scaring a lot of kids. There are a lot of aspects about this movie that I enjoyed. For one Angelina Jolie has a side kick in the form of a raven that she enchants so that he can transform into a man (amongst other things) and report to her about various things going on in the kingdom. The actor's name is Sam Riley, and I did not know him before this movie but I thought his addition made for a very nice off set to Angelina Jolie's brooding and overall demeanor. Elle Fanning, who is the young Aurora I could take or leave. I've seen her in multiple movies and I always want to like her, but find there's one thing or another that stops me from really getting into her performances. That being said I think she did a fine job in this movie, she's carefree and adventurous while wondrously naive and I think her demeanor and appearance fit well for that kind of role. The creepy king that is in the movie does a nice job as well. He's an easy character to just loathe and I thought that was worth mentioning before going on to focal point of the film. So that leads up to the leaing lady of course, Angelina Jolie. She does an absolutely phenomenal job, I mean obviously her appearance is just perfect for this movie, her stature and demeanor fitting into the role of Maleficent like a glove, but this goes for her lines and simply the noises she makes as the movie progresses. She is often found taunting and teasing the three ditzy fairies that care for Aurora, and she is able to switch from being maliciously playful, to enraged, to wonderfully cynical, to rather emotional, turn after turn as the movie progresses. Her laughs, smiles, and expressions all carry you along with this very believable character as you learn about her story and see this charcter transformation take place. The graphics and environments portrayed in the film are great, juxtaposing a world of fairies and plant creatures with the human kingdom that really brings the setting you're thrust into alive. Overall I would highly recommend this movie to any Angelina Jolie fan, or Fantasy fan, it is simply a fun and enjoyable movie with some great performances and epic (if not predictable) story to guide you along. -Traverse

[Traverse]

a look at How to Train Your Dragon 2 Overview: So I have seen this movie twice in theatres. First with my co-worker on a little girl's night, the second time with my brother who still hadn't seen the movie. I enjoyed it just as much the second time and here's why! But first the plot haha Plot: Okay so to explain the plot I have to give a bit of a spoiler, but if you've seen any trailers for How to Train Your Dragon 2 you've probably seen this spoiler as well, the movie sort of spoiled itself? But necessarily so since the point is such a big on in the movie, so just warning you now, its coming haha. Basically the little village of Berk couldn't be better five years after the first film takes place. Dragons have become an integral part of community, and everyone is the happier for it. Hiccup, now with the aid of Toothless is exploring the world, and has clearly become somewhat of a bad ass, this is displayed multiple times as the movie progresses and took me a bit off guard because despite the fact you're told its five years later, Hiccup looks identical save for the fact he has some peach fuzz on his face. Astrid has of course always been and still is a bad ass, and the rest of the group of friends are basically as you left them in the last movie. In an exploration with Astrid and her mount dubbed Stormfly, the two run into a ship captained by a group of Dragon trappers that fortell of a this bad guy building a dragon army. Also somewhere in there Hiccup finds his long lost mother (Kate Blanchet). I needed to throw that in there because I'll be talking about her a bit in the review part, there's a few things I left out here, but I never like divulging too much of the plot. Review: So this movie has a different atmosphere from the first for a couple reasons. One: Hiccup is still searching to find his place in the world, but there is a lot of confidence in what he has become in combination with dragons. Hiccup firmly believes he can solve this dispute with the evil guy peacefully and much more blatantly disregards his father's orders, proving himself versatile and skilled in multiple scenarios as the movie goes on. Two: This movie is not so much about be-friending and learning about dragons as it is protecting them and establishing the viking's relationship with them. On the one side are Hiccup's mother Valka and the dragon rider's of Berk who represent friendship with dragons and their presence as friends and family. On the other side is the evil dude (so great that I've seen this movie twice and its easier for me to write that than his name) representing control of dragons out of fear and power. Now I was a little bummed about the second change because I love the lore of dragons, any dragon story, anytime I love learning about them. And I really liked the joking manner in which one of the kids in the first movie (and again in this one) has categorizing cards to classify the dragons. You get to see a few new dragons, Stoic has a sweet one that looks more like a dinosaur, Valka has what I can only describe as a bat owl dragon which I absolutel adore, and the part of me that likes the lore would love to know more about them. But that's my own personal preference, this movie is a fantastic ride, the writing is great, the acting believable and despite it being obviously focused on the humans, there is always inserted dragon interactions and emotions that keep it light and fun. They do a great job portraying some of the dragon's unique personalities and their interactions with each other and their human partners really add a whole new element of enjoyment to the movie for me. Oh! Also, the part about Valka I wanted to discuss. So Hiccup's mom has been out of the picture for 2 decades, they meet up, its crazy. But is there one moment of angst, any bits of, 'Wow mom way to ruin my life by not being there, I can't forgive you for what you've done to me.' Nope, not one, not one bit. Some confusion? Disbelief? Yes, but no angst, and I loved it! One issue I did have plot/ idea wise was the way the dragons function. They basically invent a sort of 'leader of dragons' that can inherently control all other dragons and this leads to all sorts of strife between the riders and their dragons. I really did not care for this technique for a number of reasons, but forgive the movie because how they resolved the situation was great. Also this is going to be a little rant that needs a spoiler thing because it has MAJOR SPOILERS. If you have not seen the movie and or do not want major spoilers please don't read! You have been warned : So I was warned from my boyfriend before seeing this movie that it was much sadder than the first. I took that to mean someone died, and so as I am wont to do I went down through the mental checklist. Hiccup? No way. Toothless? Even bigger no way, there'd be riots in the street if that adorable bad ass dragon died in this movie. Astrid? Probably not. One of the friends? Ehhh also probably not. Eventually I stopped trying to wonder and decided to watch the movie, but when Stoic and Valka are reunited in one of the most touching scenes I've ever seen in an animated movie, I knew right then and there one of them was dying. I have grown up with disney movies all my life so the lack of parents or just one parent has never really bothered me. I didn't think of it until having my family watching Frozen recently and my father being so surprised that in the beginning of the movie the girls having both their parents, and then suddenly being completely unsurprised when they both get swept away into the ocean. So if you know this formula, even barring the fact this wasn't a Disney movie with the information I was given, you knew Hiccup was never getting a whole family. He got one for a total of like half a day? How depressing is that? And because Valka had just appeared in the movie I also knew the chances of it being Stoic were much greater. I guess this is more of just another part of the review I needed to hide. I think Stoic's death makes much of the achievment in this movie much more poignant, but man, that was a bummer. Oh also, if you needed another reason to watch this movie the soundtrack was great! Mostly I just mean this one song, by the same artist who does the end title song in the first movie. If it doesn't get you jazzed up and ready to go, I shake my head at you: So I think that's about it, I would list this movie as a must watch, in addition to the first if you haven't already seen it. Like basically all projects from Dreamworks it is wonderfully enjoyable regardless of age and I would easily say this movie was just as good as the first for different reasons. There's a lot of great things happening in this film and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. -Traverse

21

[Traverse]

So I am simply horrendous at posting these in the order I saw them, but I just got back from this film and was so excited I wanted to throw it up here. A Look at Dawn of the Planet of the Apes Overview: So normally I hate hate movies where you know the ending at the beginning of the film. The only movie I can think of as an Example is Underworld Rise of the Lycans, but any prequel generally falls into this trap. With Dawn of the Planet of the Apes this is much the same. You know that this movie can't have a happy ending, humans and apes don't make peace decide to bury the hatchet and make a utopian society together. That being said, the time scope between Planet of the Apes, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes is vague but certainly distant, so though you know the future end result, its clear in this film that its still a ways off, and so the plot and thus ending of this film is still relatively up in the air, though with obvious plot biases. I enjoyed RotPotA, but this film I enjoyed quite a bit more, and it has been getting very positive reviews all across the board for some reasons I hope to illustrate here. Plot: The setting of this film (yeah I'm not typing the whole thing out, even that test acronym is disgustingly long) takes place 10 years after the end of the first prequel. This is to say the effects that have enhanced the intelligence of primates kills most all of humanity over this time. The movie does a very smooth recap of this in the beginning to get you all caught up. Then you get to see how the Apes in the Woods have been doing this whole time, as well as learn about the surviving humans. These two points of view are alternated between from the view of Caesar voiced by the amazing Andy Serkis (Gollum, LOTR) as the leader of the apes, and Malcolm (Jason Clarke) on the human side of things, who instantly sees the intelligence behind the apes' orginization. Review: This movie is jarring, intense, and simultaneously poignant. You are rooting for peace brokered between Caesar and Malcolm between these two factions, while constantly being thwarted by the biased and self serving opinions of others on both sides of the conflict. There was a lot folks could do with this movie, angles to explore, ideas to try, and I thoroughly enjoyed what these guys chose to display and tell their story about. There are unsurprisingly a lot of references to the first prequel, many of the main primates allied with Caesar in the movie as well, but also the addition of Caesar's basically adult son Blue Eyes. There is not enough praise I can give the animations and voice actors of the apes for much of the communication is through sign that Caesar was taught in the prequel by James Franco given to folks through subtitles, but they capture the gestures, sounds, and behaviors of these primates perfectly while blending these traits with their new found sentience. You get a very clear picture of the society Caesar has begun to build while seeing the beginnings of the apes development that leads to the society that will inevitably follow. On the other side you have a little band of humans made up of the survivors of the virus named the Simean Flu. Everyone has lost someone, yet there is a nice little family bond formed that we get to follow as they try to maintain the fragile peace between them and the apes. Most of this movie is very tense, both sides walking along a biased and mistrustful tight rope, so the little emotional and tender moments become all the more precious and enjoyable because of it. In the direct opposite position to Malcolm you have Caesar's second in command (or thereabouts), Koba (You might remember him from the first prequel as the scarred, test lab chimp), and Gary Oldman, the leader of the human settlement in San Francisco. Both characters are very adept at their roles which is basically to doubt and ridicule the more openminded opinions of Caesar and Malcolm. These contrasting roles make the play out of the inevitable conflict between the two sides all the more interesting, setting a very instense stage for the second half of the movie. There is a lot going on in this film, a lot of it a commentary on human nature, but a sort of lesson that this 'human' nature doesn't stop at humans. If this genre is up your alley and or you enjoyed the first prequel I would highly recommend going to see this, or simply snatching it up for a rental when it comes out on video, it is a very dramatic and action packed film with a lot things to enjoy and keep you going, -Traverse

[Traverse]

So tonight is alfredo and lounging on the couch watching Dollhouse, my idea of a perfect rainy evening. Thought I'd throw up a few of the movies I've been wanting to talk about too, I simply cannot, CANNOT wait for Guardians of the Galaxy this Friday, the reviews are already stellar about it!!!

Movie Reivews that need Doin'

• The Revenant
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt Take on the World (Edge of Tomorrow)
• Ladyhawke (cause its mah fave)
• Some Crazy Alien Scarlet Johansson flick.

[Traverse]

So as anyone who has even so much as glanced in this scrap can tell, I love movies. This love does not stop at movies, however, but encompasses basically any form of entertainment that tells the viewer or reader a story. Books, comics, movies, TV Shows, video games. I love them all with the interest and dedication of one who seeks to tell stories like the one's I've been fascinated with for my entire life. As you may also have ascertained, I have an inherent bias for the sci-fi/ fantasy genres. I enjoy these for the same reason I enjoy Mizahar so much, the chance to experience and live in a world apart from my own, to become engaged with a series of characters and immerse myself in the fantastical. These views in large part can be placed upon the influence of my parents. As soon as I could figure how to read I was reading everything I could get my hands on. My mother is a potter and librarian, giving me access to all the YA fantasy novels I could dream of for as long as I wanted to barring another indivdiual putting a hold on them. My father would read all manner of sci-fi and fantasy books to me before going to bed, and most nights of my childhood were punctuated by the regularity of an evening movie after all chores on the farm had been completed. Growing up in a small rural town in Maine my parents were both very encouraging of experiencing places outside of that isolated setting, and while this meant a lot of trips, it also meant an openness to worlds that only existed on paper or in coding. The other day I invited a couple friends of my roommates to the movies with us and got a response to which my brain simply couldn't compute, "I can't understand spending money to sit in a theatre with a bunch of people staring at a big screen for a couple of hours." I can understand that movie prices are fairly ridiculous, especially 3D and Imax, especially with the days economy, but for me movies are never a waste of my money (Except for I, Frankenstein, that totally was lol). This is all a lead into a movie I've been waiting for for over a year, Guardians of the Galaxy. I went and saw it last night at 10 PM with my Roommate, brother, and a few friends and it was simply phenomenal. For me it was a perfect movie for it never took itself too seriously, had dynamic and wonderful characters, action, a smattering or romance, and took place on a grand galactic level. Marvel has been doing a phenomenal job picking out the right casts, writers, and directors for their flicks, and this was just more icing on the cake for me. In a week I'll be heading down to celebrate a friend's 21st birthday and a whole group of us are going to see Guardians. I saw it last night because of a promise to my brother, but as soon as the movie was done I was already excited to see it again. So no formal review for this one, as I am far too biased on it, and was cracking up basically the entire movie at the antics of the characters, just a little stuff about me since I don't normally do that sort of thing, -Traverse

[Asha]

I've been looking forward to this movie coming out for a while, though I probably won't be seeing it in theaters. About four or five years I ago I got into comics (through a college course oddly enough) and since then I've mostly been an Image fan. But when the first stills of this movie started being released I decided to investigate this comic and it was GREAT!! I was not expecting how interesting and funny it would be. I've only thread two or three volumes, so I'm certainly no expert on the comic, but since I first started reading that line I have been really pumped for this movie. I hope the characters' personality traits stay true to how they were written and I hope to see Groot blasted into smithereens and regrown from a splinter.

[Traverse]

I remember sitting down in a bookstore and reading the beginnings of what I can only assume was some of the original Guardians of the Galaxy compendium for an hour and it was all about Thanos, didn't even get to the Guardians themselves, but that's all I've read, though I have been meaning to pick some comics up and now definitely will for the comparison and to get more of the story. Even not knowing much about the comic though, I do not think you will be disappointed by the film. Rocket and Groot were simply amazing, I'm really glad they got Vin Diesel for the voice of Groot, and just...gah I loved it haha.

[Traverse]

Two personal posts in a row, this is like...some kind of record. So my life is going to be getting busy soon, I'll be moving the day after leaving the job I've held for 8 long years. I am job searching now, but not a heavily as other people think I should. I have a bit of money stowed away, and am not too too worried about becoming immediately employed and to heck with the people who are trying to make me feel like I should. The move is to join my boy friend and move out of a not so stellar city, as well as expand my art opportunities. My optimum job now would just be part time and something low stress so I can spend more time on my art, which is the reason for this post. Over the past year after graduating College with an Art degree I have been working on my water color painting and pottery which I have a lot of access to as my Mother is a potter. She went to school for it and is making a living off of it now. I am so excited for her because she'll be getting done at her job as an elementary school librarian after this next school year and focusing just on her pottery business which has been booming these past 5 or 6 years and putting a lot of stress on her because it means she works two full time jobs with that and school. I have worked with clay since I was a toddler, but instead of focusing on throwing like my mother does, I was always more interested in making hand built critters. When my mom added a white clay to her studio I found I could paint my critters instead of trying to express their details solely through shaping the clay, which was a turning point for my art. Recently my work was juried into a shop that specializes in Maine Artisans, and I also sell my critters in my current place of employment and a couple of other scattered galleries, my mother unsurprisingly being one of my biggest advocates. My newest project and one you may have glimpsed in Gossamer's Scrapbook is dragons that come with a bit of info on their breed and care, as well as a watercolored square that reflects their home environment all of which can be fit (sometimes with difficulty) into a little sheer bag. I have always been a fan of expressing art through multiple mediums, which was how I survived my grueling senior art project in school. There is something wonderfully fun about telling and portraying a story through writing, and painting, and modeling, and whatever else you can try to tackle to make it, and again and again I find people respond to them in positive and encouraging ways. And they have been responding this way to my dragons. I was very excited and honored to be featured in a newsletter for the Center for Maine Craft that I screenshotted and am throwing below and I figured I'd give you another image of one of the types of dragons so you can see the whole picture of em as well. The little blurb was one I wrote myself, as they asked for a little bio. After a week long vacation I am going on with my family I will be attending a show specifically geared for female maine artists in the backyard of a popular local flower and garden shop with some other artists around my age group and I simply cannot wait. So that is what I get up to when not stalking Mizahar haha. I'll try to get some pictures of the show, the ladies I'm setting up shop with do pottery, jewelry, and paintings, and one even sews little stuffed monsters!

[Caelum]

A note to say HECK YEAH. Yesterday I was asked to choose between seeing Guardians of the Galaxy and another movie I had equal disinterest in seeing. I selected Guardians, however, based purely upon your review of it. IT WAS FAN-%$#%^@-TASTIC. I loved it. I loved every minute of it. The tone was dead on. It could have so easily slipped into the realms of cheese farce and yet somehow it managed to cling to meaningful hilarity instead. I want the next movie now. Thank you for ushering me in the right direction. I'm sure I would have seen it eventually due to the typical tastes of my social crowd, but I'm super glad I saw it early and in the theater. Additionally, do you have an Etsy store, a website, or the equivalent where someone might peruse your dragons for sale, pricing, order submitting, et cetera?

[Alaia]

Hi! I wanted to pop in because I wanted to tell you that the dragon is the cutest thing ever. I'm currently in school for an art degree as well though I've never had the chance to work with pottery and clay. I love to see the works of others and I hope to see more of yours! Maine is lovely and a great place to be in regards to art. I live in Massachusetts, so not to far away, and when I've been in Maine I can't help but admire the local shops and hidden corner gems I feel like exist everywhere! I look forward to seeing pictures put up of the show! I really need to get more embedded into my own art community here. Good luck on the job search and do what makes you happy! I am currently only part time myself to focus on my artsy stuff and on school (*coughs* and miz *coughs*) so I completely understand, working full time at a job that isn't your passion is far to stressful if you have so much other stuff going on. I'm a firm believer in doing what makes you happy! Anyways I'll stop rambling on in this post ^^ more please soon! Such cute little dragons!