Prince Caspian (By Steph)

Tile: Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia #2)

Author: C.S. Lewis

Year of Publication: 1951

Official Fan Page

Synopsis: A prince fights for his crown. Narnia... where animals talk... where trees walk... here a battle is about to begin. A prince denied his rightful throne gathers an army in a desperate attempt to rid his land of a false king. But in the end, it is a battle of honor between two men alone that will decide the fate of an entire world.

STEPH SAID

Rating: 

Review:

The first time I read Prince Caspian I stopped reading it halfway through, something I don’t usually do. No matter how boring a book is, I keep reading because maybe, just maybe, the ending will be worthwhile. However, Prince Caspian exasperated me. I kept reading and reading and Prince Caspian was nowhere to be seen.

Furthermore, the dwarf, Trumpkin, kept talking about how Caspian was in a war and needed the Pevensies’ help. And instead of hurrying to his aid, (and listen to the story along the way) the Pevensie children decided to listen to the whole story first. Then, they decided to show Trumpkin they were really the old kings and Queens of Narnia, loosing so much time. Then was the expedition to where Caspian was; and during all that time the Pevensies wasted, Caspian army was being murdered.

After many troubles, and more waste of time, they reached Aslan’s How. Peter, Edmund and Trumpkin stayed outside the room where Caspian was. Inside the room, people where talking about how Peter was not going to help them, about how the Pevensies where, probably, not on Narnia and about how much they needed some extra help. Some even suggested bringing the White Witch back. These three topics were repeated over and over again. Meanwhile, Peter was outside, listening to every word and doing nothing. He didn’t react to the mention of his name, he didn’t go in to calm everyone’s fears and, most certainly, he didn’t do anything at the mention of the White Witch. If it weren’t because a fight broke out inside the room, Peter probably wouldn’t have done anything. It was exasperating.

At last Peter entered the room and everybody knew the Pevensies where there to help. Afterwards Peter commanded many things, which basically changed nothing and culminated exactly where they started: a war between Caspian’s side and Miraz’s side. Meaning: Peter didn’t actually do much, except, perhaps, helped in bringing Miraz’s death. Just help, because he didn’t actually kill him.

Bottom line, the Pevensies were totally useless in this story. Susan and Edmund (as much as I love him) did nothing important. Lucy managed to fail the one thing Aslan asked her to do (and he made sure she knew how disappointed he was). And Peter fought Miraz one-on-one trying to solve the war that way, but it amount to nothing, since the war resumed. At the end it was Aslan who saved everybody and set things right. Which begs the question: if Aslan was going to do everything, and save everybody, why wait until the last minute to do it?

On the good side, Caspian's story was really good and interesting. Caspian, Trumpkin and Reepicheep are amazing characters, and a great addition to the series. Reep is my favorite overall. My heart just melted when Reep’s underlings said they would cut their own tails if Reep had to live without his. 

"May it please your High Majesty," said the second Mouse, whose name was Peepiceek, "we are all waiting to cut off our own tails if our Chief must go without his. We will not bear the shame of wearing an honour which is denied to the High Mouse." 

These lines, along with Aslan’s response gave me goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes.

Minecraft (Xbox 360)

Title: Minecraft

Plataforms: Java platform, Java applet, Android, iOS, Xbox 360

Release date(s): PC (Java): November 18, 2011; Android: October 7, 2011; iOS: November 17, 2011; Xbox 360: May 9, 2012

Gameplay: Single-player, multiplayer

Official Website



ELL SAID

Rating: 


Review:

At first, I didn't know what the fuss was about. After all, everything I saw was a bunch of blocks. Then, I got the demo. Man, how wrong was I to say this wasn't good. The demo was free, open world building, but for only thirty minutes, meaning I lost everything I built in that time. And, for about two months, I spent playing the demo, over and over. Yes, it was hopeless to build that stone pyramid yet again, but it was worth it. I finally bought the game and, one block at a time, this game became one of my all-time favorites. What makes it even better is that, every once in a while, the crew that created it create new content for the game and it's totally free! So, yes, if you want to be able to create worlds at your own image (which is actually pretty possible) this game is definitely worth it.

Brave

Title: Brave

Year: 2012

Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell (co-director)

Rating by MPAA: PG for some scary action and rude humor

Synopsis: Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

For extra info go to its IMDb page.

Official Trailer

STEPH SAID

Rating: 

Review:

This movie was not what I was expecting, and I don’t mean that in a good way. The characters were overall great, the scenery was realistic, the background story was interesting and there were hilarious parts; nonetheless the plot was clichéd and had topics for a more mature audience. Definitely not what you’d expect from a Disney-Pixar movie.

Merida’s father, Fergus, was extremely likable, funny and loving. His relationships with his wife and with Merida were realistic and warm, but funny at the same time. Elinor, Merida’s mother, was awfully realistic, at least when she was in human form. I’m guessing every girl felt identified with Merida’s ordeal and her relationship with her mother. The triplets were so cunning and endearing. (Because they were far away. I wouldn’t want them near me!) One of their funniest shenanigans was when Fergus was telling the story of how he lost his foot and one of the triplets was mimicking him.

Speaking of funny, the first part of the movie was hilarious. It was joke after joke; I was laughing out loud, like I would when watching a comedy. Most of it was physical comedy, which is the best, because you don’t have to rely on the understanding of the joke for it to be funny.

The CGI was marvelous. The scenery would sometimes look like a real place, not a cartoon one. But what I loved the most was Merida’s hair. There is one close-up at the end of the movie in which you can see different kinds of curls and different colors through her hair. It was gorgeous.

The background stories, the one where Fergus lost his foot and the one about the four brothers, were interesting. I love how they were weaved into the main story.

Another good thing is the cast. Amazing actors and actresses were picked for these roles. More importantly the most important characters were voiced by British actors; some of them were even really Scottish. 

Now to the bad. This story seems to me like a bad mash-up between Freaky Friday, Brother Bear and How to Train Your Dragon. I was watching the movie and thinking about how much Brave resembled these movies. I couldn’t help it. Brave has a daughter and a mother that have differences and are enchanted and forced to work things out, just like in Freaky Friday. Somebody is changed into a bear and then is chased by a member of his/her family, just like in Brother Bear. There is a fearsome creature (either a dragon or a bear) that people believe to be deadly and, therefore, want dead; but there’s a kid trying to tell everybody that the creature is not bad, just like in How to Train Your Dragon.

Something else I didn’t like was that I didn’t felt like I was watching a Disney-Pixar movie. When I think about their movies I think about Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Wall-E, and of the sort. However, Brave was nothing like those. First, it had many inappropriate scenes. In one, there are a bunch of men showing their behinds. In many others there’s a woman with a big cleavage, which could have gone unnoticed if one of the triplets hadn’t immerse himself in it. It was not literally shown, but was implied with a close-up of the cleavage. Second, it had much violence and many cruel moments. For example, when Elinor was trapped and when, afterwards, fought a gigantic bear. Elinor might have been in bear form, but she was still a woman and a mother. It definitely had much action and suspense for a children’s movie.

What’s worse is that all of this happened because Merida didn’t want to grow up. She didn’t want to get married and that’s ok. Nevertheless, she had to understand that that is how her society worked. Those were the laws. She may not like them, still she had to abide by them. If she didn’t want to abide she could’ve run away, instead of trusting a witch like she did. People have told me that she didn't now the woman was a witch, or that she was going to turn her mother into a bear. However, she should know that when someone offers you an easy fix to your life problems, it is probably a scam.

The “happy ending” given to the story felt patched up and unfair. Merida shouldn’t have gotten away with what she did, and much less without getting married. It was unrealistic that the society from the story would have change and agree to end arranged marriages just because the queen said so. Merida ended up getting what she wanted without deserving it or working for it. She was selfish and immature, she turned her mother into a bear, almost got her killed and at the end she still got what she wanted. Now, what is that going to teach the kids that saw it and will see it? Throw a tantrum, hurt your parents, make them see things your way ("the right way") and they will oblige.

I think Disney is trying to distance itself from their damsel-in-distress-in-need-of-a-prince reputation. However, in this case it was important and necessary for Merida to have gotten married. It was the law and it was tradition. Sometimes laws and traditions are wrong, but enchanting your mother and turning her into a bear is not the right way to fight or to rebel against them.

The Horse and His Boy (By Steph)

Title: The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia #5)

Author: C.S. Lewis

Year of Publication: 1950

Official Fan Page

Synopsis: Shasta is a young boy living in Calormene with a cruel man who claims to be his father. One night he overhears his "father" offering to sell him as a slave, so Shasta makes a break and sets out for the North. He meets Bree, a talking horse who becomes his companion. On their way they encounter Aravis, a high-born girl escaping an arranged marriage, and her talking horse. Despite their differences the children and horses learn to work together to reach the freedom they long for. In the meantime, they uncover a Calormene plot to conquer Narnia.



STEPH SAID

Rating: 


Review:

*This review contains spoilers.*

This book was a pleasure to read. It has a nice change in pace and scenery from the other books from The Chronicles of Narnia. It is a fast pace, action story with a little bit of drama.

In this story Shasta is the main character, an orphan raised in Calormene as a slave. Calormene is the total opposite of Narnia: people’s values and clothes are different, their accent, their transportation vehicles, even the skin color. The way people are described, Calormene feel like an Arab country or maybe ancient Persia.

The story progresses just like in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian: the protagonist of this story needs to move from one place to another to fight in a battle at the end of the book. However, this story differs from the ones mention above because Shasta is not moving from one place to the other to fight in a battle. Shasta, along with a talking horse, Bree, are escaping their life of enslavement on Calormene in the hopes of living free on Narnia.

The pace of the story is also different; it has a faster pace. Again, Shasta is not just moving from one place to the other, he is escaping. Lewis made sure the reader felt Shasta’s anxiety and expectancy by putting Shasta in situations in which he could get caught. On top of that, Shasta had to escape wild animals on various occasions, making the whole story feel like a race against the clock.

To leave Calormene, Shasta had to go through a city called Tashbaan. Many adventures were lived in that city. In one of them, Shasta was confused for a prince from Archenland by none other than Edmund and Susan. (Mr. Tumnus makes an appearance too!) Shasta got to live like a prince for a few hours and, afterwards, met the actual prince of Archenland: Corin, a boy that looked just like Shasta. At this point, the reader is lead to understand that Shasta and Corin are twins. At the end of the book this is explained to its entirety and Shasta, actually named Cor, takes his place as prince of Archenland and heir to the throne.

All of this was really good, but what I love the most about this story was the ending: Rabadash’s ending. A prince so obsessed with having Susan as his wife, he even began a war to force her into marrying him. When Rabadash was beaten, nobody agreed on what to make with him. Then came Aslan to save the day. He turned Rabadash into a donkey, which was one of the most hilarious things to ever happen in a Narnia story. To become human, Rabadash had to stay close to a certain temple in Tashbaan, which put an end to Rabadash’s reign and made him unsuitable to become the next Tisroc. It is the perfect ending because he wasn’t murdered or imprisoned, he was shown mercy and still he received what he deserved.

New Girl (Fox) - Season 1

Title: New Girl

Broadcasting Station: Fox

Status: Ongoing

Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Jake Johnson and Max Greenfield

Official Site

Synopsis: After a bad break-up, Jess, an offbeat young woman, moves into an apartment loft with three single men. Although they find her behavior very unusual, the men support her - most of the time.

STEPH SAID

Rating:

Review:

I can understand why this series was such a hit when it premiered: the first few episodes are so fresh, hilarious and addicting, people can’t help themselves. Once you start watching New Girl there is no way you will stop, no matter how ridiculous the episodes are afterwards.

This series has an ok premise. It has nothing different or weird that could cause intrigue. When people started talking about how amazing it was, I didn’t understand. Then, I watched its trailer and I was sold. 

It’s not what or why, what matters in New Girl is how. Its premise does sound like something that has been done before, but Zooey Deschanel brings something new to this show. Her character Jess’ personality, her dorkyness and craziness, is the true star of this show, what keeps it going and why so many people fell in love with it. She was even nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2012 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. But, what’s even better is that her personality is not big enough to outshine the other characters.

My favorite character, overall, is Schmidt, played by Max Greenfield. At first, he seems like your regular womanizer with a funny sparkle. But, he is so much more. This character has so many layers I find it hard to believe it was written for a sitcom. He was a fat and weird kid, and suddenly he’s this hot guy who sleeps around. I thought that was it, but turns out he is obsessed with cleaning and cooking; he is a delicate young man with strong feelings and a feminine touch that really suites him. His relationship with Cece was the greatest twist in the whole series, they are perfect for each other, and we got to see Schmidt’s sweet side. This character is so amazing that the actor, Greenfield, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy as an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012.

New Girl’s other characters, Coach, Wilson, Cece and Nick, are good but not as great as the ones already presented. Coach leaves after the first episode due to the actor’s contract in another series. Wilson is kind of there and that’s it. Nothing really important or noteworthy happens to, or with, him.

Out of these four characters, Cece is the best. She is a gorgeous model and Jess’ best friend. Cece really supports Jess, which is why I love her. Halfway through the series, she starts some kind of relationship with Schmidt, and this means we get to see more of her and what she’s like; but not enough.

Nick is the one that has potential. He is a depressed guy with self-esteem issues. He dropped out of law school and now works at a bar. He hasn’t accomplished anything in his life. This, if properly developed, could be the source of so many funny, yet deep, moments for this series. Besides, a Nick-Jess romantic relationship is definitely in the writers’ minds. So, Nick is definitely one to watch.

The characters overall are really good. The jokes are funny. And the first couple of episodes the amazing. But I do have one complain. After the fifth or sixth episode it started to be all about sex. I mean all; all the jokes and stories were based upon it. This may not be a surprise due to the state of TV series nowadays. But, what really upsets me is the drastic change in the series focus and Jess’ perception of sex.

At first the series was about a quirky young woman who sings all the time and who had just moved in with three guys. It was about their differences and them learning to live with, and support, one another; about Jess coming out of a six year relationship and trying to move on, and about her job as a school teacher. Sex was always a subtext, but not the main topic.

Later, the series was all about every character’s sexual relationships. Jess became the total opposite: having one night stands, working as a shot girl and even backsliding to an ex-boyfriend a few days after she broke up with her boyfriend. She doesn’t even sing anymore! At first, her personality made me think she was a dorky, different and special young woman who had an odd way of looking at life; afterwards, she just seemed like a childish grown woman. Maybe I’m judging her wrongly. If the series’ writers would’ve been consistent and gradually made the changes, I would have no problem with that. But they didn’t.

Writers of a series should be consistent when writing characters and storylines. That way, viewers won’t be confused or surprised. They shouldn’t present a series, and its stars, as something different and fresh, and then do what every other series does.

Leaving aside this lack of consistency, I have to say it is a great series. Actually, it is one of my favorites. Like I said, once you start watching it, you’re hooked.

Mark of the Ninja

Title: Mark of the Ninja

Platforms: Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows

Release Date(s): Xbox 360: September 7, 2012 / Microsoft Windows: October 16, 2012

Rating: Mature 17+

Gameplay: Single-player

Official Website

ELL SAID

Rating: 

Review:

I saw the description for this game and, though a bit skeptic was drawn to play it. I played through the demo's only stage and, without exaggeration, fell in love with it. A side-scroller, stealth game, you're a ninja who has to avenge an ambush on your clan that killed everyone (You know as much from the demo.) I've played quite a few ninja games but none made me feel like a real ninja like this one. Here, you've got from smoke grenades to spike mines to darts covered in hallucinogen toxins. Its excellent pick-up-and-play gameplay, alongside it's rich story and sweetly made graphics definitely makes this game a must-have for Gamers and Ninja fanatics alike. Hands down, this game has become one of my all-time favorite, next to Bioshock, Assassin's Creed and Minecraft. If you're looking for a excellent game, here's one you won't regret buying.

TCON: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Year: 2005

Director: Andrew Adamson

Rating by MPAA: PG for battle sequences and frightening moments

Synopsis: Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion.

IMDb page for extra info here.

Official Trailer

STEPH SAID

Read the book review first!

Rating:

Review:

I was thinking of writing two small reviews: one reviewing the movie as a stand-alone movie, the other one comparing the movie to the book. As I analyzed it, and thought about what to write, I realized that the movie’s pros and cons are basically the same, whether I’m reviewing it as a stand-alone or not.

This movie made justice to the legend that The Chronicles of Narnia is. It’s not a perfect adaptation but it’s pretty close.

The story overall is the same. There are some changes to help the story move along. For example, when Maugrim and his wolves surrounded the Pevensies on the melting river. One important addition to the movie was when Pevensies checked the wardrobe after Lucy went to Narnia. After reading the book, I couldn’t understand why Narnia came and go, I even thought Lucy was imagining things. However, the movie offers a possible explanation why Narnia is not always present.

Some changes, well, I don’t know why they were added. For example, the introduction of Mr. Fox as a supporting character: Yes, he helped the Pevensies escape from the wolves but if the movie kept to the book, Mr. Fox wasn’t needed. Nevertheless, one of my favorites parts of the movie, occurred thanks to Mr. Fox:

Fox: Forgive me, your Majesty.

Jadis The White Witch: Oh, don't waste my time with flattery.

Fox: Not to seem rude, but I wasn't actually talking to you.

[looks at Edmund]

Usually when I watch movies with CGI, I scrutinize the scenes, so I can pinpoint the shots that look fake. The CGI in this movie was splendid. The world of Narnia looked marvelous, its creatures realistic. The Beavers looked genuine and Aslan, impressive and powerful. After watching the movie I understood why it is said, in the books, that he doesn’t look like a regular lion.

The supporting cast and the kid actors played their roles very well, especially Skandar Keynes, who played Edmund. But Tilda Swinton and James McAvoy took the cake with their remarkable performances as The White Witch and Mr. Tumnus. As a bonus, Liam Neeson gave voice to Aslan. Enough said.

The movie’s high point was Aslan’s death. Every bad creature from lore, legend and mythology made an appearance.  Among those beasts Aslan was humiliated and murdered; his “performance” was mighty and the pain, real.

The ending of the movie was basically the same as the book’s. The Pevensies are shown as grown-up queens and kings following The White Stag. Then, inadvertently, they fall through the wardrobe’s door to the real world. Even though the Pevensies spent a lifetime in Narnia, only a couple of minutes had passed on Earth. At this point people are left wondering if Narnia is actually real or just part of the Pevensies imagination. Sincerely, if I hadn’t read the book before watching the movie, I would still be wondering.