The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

It would be dramatic to say that when the lights went down and this movie started to play I felt my fate hang in the balance and all my hopes and dreams were hinged on Peter Jackson. But it would also be true.

Luckily my love and faith were not wasted on Peter, Fran, and Phillipa. 

This movie was indeed epic. Lighter than the LOTR trilogy, but appropriately so- The Hobbit was a children's book and much more lighthearted. Portraying it differently would misrepresent the book. In case you were wondering, I still think it's hilarious that the editors ask JRR Tolkien for a sequel to The Hobbit and they got The Lord of the Rings. I'd like to meet that man. But I digress. The casting was excellent, the music was perfect, the plot of The Hobbit and other works of Tolkien (appendices mostly I think) were meshed together very well, and have I mentioned Martin Freeman? Love him. My only disappointment at the end of this movie was that you DIDN'T HEAR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH! He is voicing Smaug, and I'm very excited. I guess I probably heard him growl, but I was hoping for a monologue. 

Considering the fact that The Lord of the Rings trilogy was finished nine years ago and Ian Mckellan was old then, it would make sense that he is indeed aged now. But I was still surprised at how old he looked in certain scenes. Not always, but sometimes he just looked so much older. But he was still a perfect Gandalf. 

The music was excellent. I am so glad they got Howard Shore to do the music for this one too. The dwarves' theme is my FAVORITE. I think I like it better than I like Rohan's theme, which is really saying something. I love how he took it from the song they all sing when they are in Hobbiton, because that song gives me the chills and you remember what they are fighting for every time you hear that melody. 

The casting for this movie was phenomenal and I loved the dwarves. I loved how original they are were (my nightmares consisted of thirteen Gimlis) and how they were able to highlight certain personalities. I hope that in the next movies more of them are highlighted until all of them are developed. We'll see. But they were all adorable. I consider dwarf culture to be completely opposite of me personally, but even I appreciated the slight mockery of the elves. Rivendell was really shown through the dwarves' perspective.

 

So adorable. I really can't get over how much I love this group. And even though Thorin is a jerk I really liked him. And that wasn't just because he was a total babe.

Speaking of babes. This is Fili and Kili. My BFF Brittany and I have it all planned out- she's going to marry Kili and I'm going to marry Fili because they are brothers, so then we'd be sisters! She called Kili first. I would have chosen him because I think he is the most attractive dwarf. But I am very happy with my future man and I think I'd chose him first now. I love them both. I love how they are always the first ones to come save Bilbo. 

Also, Kili makes a really attractive dwarf, but Kili (aka Dean O'Gormun) is much more attractive as a real person. Also he is from New Zealand. Also I say also a lot. 

This, my friends, is Martin Freeman. I love Martin Freeman. He was Peter Jackson's most brilliant casting choice.

And he looks like a hedgehog.

Even if I wasn't biased I would think Martin Freeman was the perfect choice for Bilbo Baggins. Why? His face and mannerisms. He is a PERFECT disgruntled, proper hobbit who has found himself slightly lost but is clever enough to rise to every challenge thrown at him. Look at that face. Perfection. 

I love his suspenders. I didn't think it was possible for me to love him anymore, but hobbit Martin Freeman is just the best of the best. 

The mannerisms Martin Freeman portrays are that of someone extremely proper who finds himself in the wild facing unknown dangers, but still strives to be as polite as if he was entertaining company in his hobbit hole. You can see it in his gait and how he holds his hands. I LOVE it.

This picture of Gollum really freaks me out. However, the riddles in the dark scene of this movie was my favorite. It was hilarious and witty and Smeagol is just adorable, not to mention the fun that was had playing Smeagol and Gollum off of each other. Precious. Just precious.

"Yes. Yes. Just us."

Today I learned that technically Thorin is two hundred years old and dwarves generally live to be about two hundred and fifty. Which explains the fact that Thorin looks way older in the promo stuff than he does in real life and in the movie. That just resolved a question I had- I am not in any way complaining. He was an excellent casting choice. Really I think Peter Jackson discovered BBC through Netflix.

And this didn't happen yet. But I'm excited for it.

Also, I didn't see this movie in 3D or in the 48 frames per second, but I would be really interested to, especially the 48 frames. Maybe someday when I have a super awesome movie theater that Fili buys me for our fifth anniversary.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure (Trailer 1)

Here it is- one year to go!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTSoD4BBCJc

Dear Peter Jackson and Fran,
     I'm excited for the song when they throw plates. Thorin seems like he might be kind of a jerk. Bilbo is perfect and adorable, and so are the dwarves. If Galadriel and Gandalf have a fling I will freak out- we don't need a forbidden love story. I love Andy Serkis. I hope the connection between the old Bilbo and the new Bilbo isn't cheesy. I trust you- also I love you.

P.S. I'm FREAKING OUT Toby.

The Lord of the Rings is so good.

I love how Lord of the Rings can be paralleled to The Gospel and so many other good things.

Aragorn: "Are you frightened?"

Frodo: "Yes."

Aragorn: "Not nearly frightened enough- I know what hunts you."

I think that's how we should think about Satan.

I want to walk with Frodo.

This was my book find of the day. I thought it was hilarious. On the back it says "Do you love Lord of the Rings? Can you not get enough? Do you want more?"

Basically it's a devotional book for teens that takes you through the Lord of the Rings with Frodo (duh) and talks about the religious symbolism J.R.R. Tolkien uses.

I had no idea such a book existed. It made me very happy.

Tres Hechos

1. No one freak out- only two things are official. I have officially emailed both Disney and Universal to find out more about summer internships. Disneyland? Harry Potter World? Who knows, but I am officially excited for next summer.

2. Staples is Disneyland + crack cotton candy for me. I found out the hard way today that I need a support system if I want to get out of there with just what I came for. I went for a ream of paper, and you can probably imagine the rest. The only shred of self control I possess ensured that I didn't walk down the post-it notes aisle- that could have been disastrous.

3. I made a very cute jar for toilet paper money today. I spent three hours working on that, eating my first attempt at artisan bread, and discussing fantasy novels/ The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings. It was the best, and here it is:

Not the best picture in the world, but trust me- it's adorable.

P.S. Sometimes I think that I speak Spanish because I can use Google. But, soon I'll actually know some. Maybe.

These are a few of my favorite things.

My favorite book is the Book of Mormon, because if I had to choose one book to read forever that would be it. I love it. But, I also have many many other favorite books. The books that tie for second are the Harry Potter series and The Wheel of Time series. I love them both and could never choose one.

My favorite color is purple.

My favorite things to do by myself is to read and to bake.

My favorite things to do with other people are to watch movies/ funny T.V. shows, to talk, and to cook (but I have to be the boss when we cook for it to be my favorite).

My favorite things to go do are to go see a movie and to go to a really nice bookstore and find a treasure. These are my realistic answers anyways- of course I want to go to Disneyland/ Harry Potter World/ San Diego/ Europe/ Middle Earth/ Diagon Alley and that would be my favorite. But usually that doesn't happen and I am content to go buy a book for fun most Saturday nights.

My favorite cartoon is Avatar: The Last Airbender. I would bend fire.

My favorite animal is an owl. My second and third favorites follow, respectively.

My favorite Princesses are Belle and Rapunzel. They tie, just like Beauty and the Beast and Tangled tie for my favorite Disney movies.

My favorite T.V. show is hands down The Office- it is completely my sense of humor.

My favorite character from The Office is Jim Halpert. Hands down. Love him. The Jim-Dwight relationship is my favorite part about The Office. I also love the Jim-Dwight-Michael love/hate triangle.

My favorite Harry Potter character is and always has been Hermione. I have always identified with her and liked her a lot. For good or bad, we do have a lot in common. My second favorite character is Dobby. I think we should all be a little more like him.

My favorite movie is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Yes, the trilogy counts as one movie. No, I will not pick one.

My favorite Lord of the Rings character is Samwise. He is just so good and so loyal. My second favorite character from that series is Aragorn. I think he and Sam share many great qualities.

My favorite song EVER is Starlight by Muse. I love it. I can listen to it when I'm sad and when I'm happy and it always makes me feel better. I don't think I can get sick of it- once I listened to and sang along to it over and over from Ogden to Logan and was perfectly happy the entire time. If it comes on in my car the volume always goes up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgum6OT_VH8.

Treasure and Inheritance

Yesterday I helped my grandma clean out her garage. There was so much stuff, and there were a lot of treasures, but my favorite boxes by far were my Uncle Ben's. I had asked him to come over and help because I knew I wouldn't be able to lift most of the boxes (because I am a wuss), so he was there when we got to his boxes. He went through them on the spot and I was able to be a witness as he uncovered the relics of his pre-mission past. I felt like Sheldon Cooper at a certain garage sale. Let me explain something. I am so nerdy for a reason. It's because it is in my blood. Here are some examples from the unloading of Ben's boxes that will illustrate that point and also prove how epically nerdy he is.

• One box contained a Klingon Bear. Yep, that's right. A teddy bear with a creepy plastic half mask and long hair that made it resemble a Klingon. The same box contained Romulan Ale. Upon this treasure's discovery my uncle exclaimed, "Aged Romulan Ale! I remember I had to get Richard (his oldest brother) to buy this for me because I was too young..." Ahh... The memories...
• Did I mention that he kept both of those? They made it into the take home to Lindsey box, and I am sure she was thrilled.
• One box was full of a Sega Dreamcast and games for it. I am not sure exactly what that is, but I know that if I don't know that makes it even more nerdy. Because I know many nerdy things.
• Upon opening another box my uncle said "ugh, more freaking Pokemon stuff!" (Because we had just gone through a box and found a stuffed Pikachu and some other stuffed chu which had been thrown away.) But after saying that he picked up the stuffed animal in this box, saw which one it was, and said "oh... but I love Sigh Duck..." Sigh Duck was placed in the take home box. You know, for posterity and stuff. (Also I realize I am most likely spelling Sigh Duck's name wrong. But I'm not the one who loves him.)
• There were a lot of comic books. A lot. Most were thrown away, because, as my Uncle Ben explained, "the ones in boxes I don't really care about, I put my good ones in here" (at that point he gestured to his airtight waterproof container full of comic books). Don't worry, he took those home too.
• We found this binocular-looking thing and could not figure out what it was. We knew it had to open because it had hinges, and when we finally got it we saw it was a Star Wars toy. Then we were like, of course, this looks like the thing Luke uses to look for sand people in episode 4. Yes :)
• The amount of Lord of the Rings paraphernalia we found in those five boxes was astonishing. There was a movie guide to the Fellowship of the Ring, a JRR Tolkien little kid biography, a glass mug, a trivia game, a one ring, and lots more I am sure I am forgetting. It was definitely the most represented. And here is where my inheritance comes in...

Muahaha... You see, I already have a One Ring. It was included in my Lord of the Rings Risk game (yes, I am that cool), so naturally it isn't super nice although still very cool. Well... My uncle gave me this very beautiful, precious ring of power. I have taken to wearing it because I love it so much. Not creepishly and gollum-like. I just think it is so cool. Here is my precious:

Also, don't be shocked. Harry Potter was represented. I just saved the best for last because I inherited all "H-P" stuff my uncle had. So I have a sweet, very nice metal bookmark with the Hogwart's crest on it, and a new pillowcase! It combines two of my favorite things, Harry Potter and glitter. Exhibit A:

The only thing that is less than perfect with this pillowcase is the Ravenclaw Crest. It is my favorite house and the one I would be sorted into, so I only wish it was better represented on the piece of material where my head will sleep. Exhibit B:

Despite that fact, I should definitely not complain. It was definitely a good haul and tons of laughs for cleaning out a garage. Not everyone is as lucky as I am; I have an awesome uncle with nerdy boxes who would definitely get along with Dwight Schrute.