Monday, 23 November 2015
Saturday, 21 November 2015
The Mockingjay Lives!
Okay, nothing to do with NaNoWriMo today, I'll vlog about that instead at some point in the next couple of days. Instead, let's talk Mockingjay part 2 - the final installment of The Hunger Games series.
I've been a fan of the series ever since the first came out several years ago, and I've been looking forward to the final for quite a while, desperate to see the conclusion to Katniss' revolution. I could have read the books, but I've been so damn busy recently with writing and university, I haven't had the chance to get past chapter 7 of Catching Fire. I knew enough though, thanks to conversations with my best friend/cinema buddy Charlie, and several spoiler filled posts on the internet. So I knew that this was going to be a painful film, I packed tissues especially, just in case.
And trust me, Mockingjay part 2 does not disappoint. The film follows straight on from the end of Mockingjay part 1, after Katniss discovers that Peeta has been hijacked and had all of his memories twisted until he wants to kill Katniss. I especially liked that Katniss' first words in the film were 'I am Katniss Everdeen, I'm from District 12' reflecting the first one beautifully. From there the film follows the revolution against the Capital, specifically on Katniss and her troop going off to kill Snow.
Admittedly, I was a little worried when Katniss and co head off through the city to get to Snow, thinking that it could have been boring or repetitive. It was anything but, the troop are constantly in danger, fighting against the traps the game makers have set up around the city. I was on the edge of my seat for several of these, knowing that people were going to start dying at any moment. The danger is palpable through the screen, between the troops fighting for their lives against the traps, and the fear that Peeta would be triggered into trying to kill Katniss again.
Peeta's struggle with figuring out what was real and what wasn't was painful to watch, and seeing how it hurt Katniss too was heartbreaking. Before this film I was still on the fence on the Peeta/Gale argument, but I think I've now been fully converted to team Peeta, if not because of him, but because of how much Katniss needs him, and how much she cares for him through all this. Peeta and Finnick's interactions were also a joy and made me fall for their friendship, it was a subtle, almost background thing, but still a lovely thing to watch. It didn't need to be shoved in our faces, but it was still a clear connection between the two being established.
I won't give too much away about who dies and how, but let's just say it's very close to the book. There are a great many rumours about a certain character living instead of dying, and I'm sad to report that they aren't true. The character still dies. Now I'll be honest again, I was certain that their death was going to be gut wrenching Battle-Of-The-Five-Armies-Oakenshield-death levels of agony, hence the packing of tissues, but it wasn't. I was incredibly sad to see them go, but it wasn't too painful. Maybe it's just me who's gotten scarred thanks to Tolkien and Shonda Rhimes over the years, but I was expecting more of an agonising end to this characters life.
Overall though, Mockingjay part 2 is a very, very good film. It's emotional and filled the peril, leaving you on the edge of your seat. The plot twists make you hate characters you didn't think you'd hate and realise that war makes people do truly terrible things. Watching Katniss grieve was so real it nearly brought a tear to my eye, and to think that the character is supposed to still be a teenager is devastating.
Everything is tied up beautifully by the end, we find out where all of our characters have ended up, and finally see Katniss and Peeta living the life they deserved together. My only suggestion for the ending would have been to have one last look at the fallen Victors and characters from the last four films, or one last listen to Mockingjay call, or even possibly the Mockingjay pin evolution, like the previous films have done.
But overall, the film is beautifully shot, edited and acted, I loved every minute of it. Mockingjay part 2 is a very, very good ending to a truly epic series, and I for one am very sad to see it go.
I've been a fan of the series ever since the first came out several years ago, and I've been looking forward to the final for quite a while, desperate to see the conclusion to Katniss' revolution. I could have read the books, but I've been so damn busy recently with writing and university, I haven't had the chance to get past chapter 7 of Catching Fire. I knew enough though, thanks to conversations with my best friend/cinema buddy Charlie, and several spoiler filled posts on the internet. So I knew that this was going to be a painful film, I packed tissues especially, just in case.
And trust me, Mockingjay part 2 does not disappoint. The film follows straight on from the end of Mockingjay part 1, after Katniss discovers that Peeta has been hijacked and had all of his memories twisted until he wants to kill Katniss. I especially liked that Katniss' first words in the film were 'I am Katniss Everdeen, I'm from District 12' reflecting the first one beautifully. From there the film follows the revolution against the Capital, specifically on Katniss and her troop going off to kill Snow.
Admittedly, I was a little worried when Katniss and co head off through the city to get to Snow, thinking that it could have been boring or repetitive. It was anything but, the troop are constantly in danger, fighting against the traps the game makers have set up around the city. I was on the edge of my seat for several of these, knowing that people were going to start dying at any moment. The danger is palpable through the screen, between the troops fighting for their lives against the traps, and the fear that Peeta would be triggered into trying to kill Katniss again.
Peeta's struggle with figuring out what was real and what wasn't was painful to watch, and seeing how it hurt Katniss too was heartbreaking. Before this film I was still on the fence on the Peeta/Gale argument, but I think I've now been fully converted to team Peeta, if not because of him, but because of how much Katniss needs him, and how much she cares for him through all this. Peeta and Finnick's interactions were also a joy and made me fall for their friendship, it was a subtle, almost background thing, but still a lovely thing to watch. It didn't need to be shoved in our faces, but it was still a clear connection between the two being established.
I won't give too much away about who dies and how, but let's just say it's very close to the book. There are a great many rumours about a certain character living instead of dying, and I'm sad to report that they aren't true. The character still dies. Now I'll be honest again, I was certain that their death was going to be gut wrenching Battle-Of-The-Five-Armies-Oakenshield-death levels of agony, hence the packing of tissues, but it wasn't. I was incredibly sad to see them go, but it wasn't too painful. Maybe it's just me who's gotten scarred thanks to Tolkien and Shonda Rhimes over the years, but I was expecting more of an agonising end to this characters life.
Overall though, Mockingjay part 2 is a very, very good film. It's emotional and filled the peril, leaving you on the edge of your seat. The plot twists make you hate characters you didn't think you'd hate and realise that war makes people do truly terrible things. Watching Katniss grieve was so real it nearly brought a tear to my eye, and to think that the character is supposed to still be a teenager is devastating.
Everything is tied up beautifully by the end, we find out where all of our characters have ended up, and finally see Katniss and Peeta living the life they deserved together. My only suggestion for the ending would have been to have one last look at the fallen Victors and characters from the last four films, or one last listen to Mockingjay call, or even possibly the Mockingjay pin evolution, like the previous films have done.
But overall, the film is beautifully shot, edited and acted, I loved every minute of it. Mockingjay part 2 is a very, very good ending to a truly epic series, and I for one am very sad to see it go.
Monday, 9 November 2015
Friday, 6 November 2015
I'VE HIT 10,000 WORDS!
HELLO! I'm super excited to announce that I HIT 10,000 WORDS ABOUT 10 MINUTES AGO! And I am SO HAPPY about this (if you couldn't tell by all the capitalisation!)
This week has been a pain to say the least in terms of writing, three days this week I've been at uni, and that means getting up at 6.15am in the morning, so by the time I get home I'm exhausted and really not ready to do any writing! But I've pushed through every time, ignoring all distractions and everything I possibly can to get my 1667 words done, even if that means I'm stretching out my writing time to 4 hours!
To give you context on how painfully slow that is for me usually, I can usually whack out 800 words in about half an hour. So in practice, 1667 should only take an hour, but that hasn't happened this week! This week has carried on in the same vein as last week, where I've been distracted/busy/uninspired for most of it, so it's been a long, hard slog. But it's worth it, because I've somehow managed to push myself almost an entire day ahead of schedule (don't worry, I haven't miscounted, I've checked... three times) and hit 10,000 words at the same time! I'm ecstatic!
To be perfectly honest, I was fully expecting to be miles behind already, or to have run out of steam, but currently I seem to be wanting to keep on going. That could be because at this current moment, I'm being distracted by a) the idea that the band Busted are getting back together and are announcing a new single in 4 days and b) Doctor Strange set pictures and both those things are hyping me up, but I reckon it's mostly down to the fact that the first 10,000 words are now written down for my projects.
I've now officially gotten one fifth of the way through, I just have to continue this pattern just four more time and then I'm there! It doesn't seem as difficult when you get through the first 10,000!
But on a serious note, if you're behind target or really struggling, all is not lost. This week could just be a bad week for you, getting into the swing of 1667 words a day is hard, and more importantly, it's exhausting. Nobody can judge you for that, and you are trying incredibly hard, and that is all that matters.
Think of it this way, you've still got words down, which is more than you had before the start of the month. You're still giving this challenge a good shot, and if you don't reach the 50.000 target, then that's okay. You gave it your absolute best, and still got so much written, you can continue at your own pace for the rest of the year until you make it to the end of your project. Writing is a process and it can't be rushed, 50,000 words in 30 days is mental, and not reaching it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The rest of the year is still yours to write in, as is the next year, and the next, and the next. You have all the time in the world to finish your novel, and while the rest of us are stuck in the painful editing process, you're still in the fun bit of writing the story!
So if you're behind then don't worry, if you're ahead like me then go party, and if you're on time, congratulations! But remember, we all go at our own pace, and sometimes life gets in the way of writing, this challenge is insane, and we should all be proud of everything we achieve in this month! Even if we only manage 5000 words by the end of it!
This week has been a pain to say the least in terms of writing, three days this week I've been at uni, and that means getting up at 6.15am in the morning, so by the time I get home I'm exhausted and really not ready to do any writing! But I've pushed through every time, ignoring all distractions and everything I possibly can to get my 1667 words done, even if that means I'm stretching out my writing time to 4 hours!
To give you context on how painfully slow that is for me usually, I can usually whack out 800 words in about half an hour. So in practice, 1667 should only take an hour, but that hasn't happened this week! This week has carried on in the same vein as last week, where I've been distracted/busy/uninspired for most of it, so it's been a long, hard slog. But it's worth it, because I've somehow managed to push myself almost an entire day ahead of schedule (don't worry, I haven't miscounted, I've checked... three times) and hit 10,000 words at the same time! I'm ecstatic!
To be perfectly honest, I was fully expecting to be miles behind already, or to have run out of steam, but currently I seem to be wanting to keep on going. That could be because at this current moment, I'm being distracted by a) the idea that the band Busted are getting back together and are announcing a new single in 4 days and b) Doctor Strange set pictures and both those things are hyping me up, but I reckon it's mostly down to the fact that the first 10,000 words are now written down for my projects.
I've now officially gotten one fifth of the way through, I just have to continue this pattern just four more time and then I'm there! It doesn't seem as difficult when you get through the first 10,000!
But on a serious note, if you're behind target or really struggling, all is not lost. This week could just be a bad week for you, getting into the swing of 1667 words a day is hard, and more importantly, it's exhausting. Nobody can judge you for that, and you are trying incredibly hard, and that is all that matters.
Think of it this way, you've still got words down, which is more than you had before the start of the month. You're still giving this challenge a good shot, and if you don't reach the 50.000 target, then that's okay. You gave it your absolute best, and still got so much written, you can continue at your own pace for the rest of the year until you make it to the end of your project. Writing is a process and it can't be rushed, 50,000 words in 30 days is mental, and not reaching it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. The rest of the year is still yours to write in, as is the next year, and the next, and the next. You have all the time in the world to finish your novel, and while the rest of us are stuck in the painful editing process, you're still in the fun bit of writing the story!
So if you're behind then don't worry, if you're ahead like me then go party, and if you're on time, congratulations! But remember, we all go at our own pace, and sometimes life gets in the way of writing, this challenge is insane, and we should all be proud of everything we achieve in this month! Even if we only manage 5000 words by the end of it!
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Worst NaNoWriMo Prep Ever!
So it's the first of November, which only means one thing... National Novel Writing Month has begun, and I am NOT prepared!
Usually, the last week of October is spent preparing for NaNoWriMo, meaning getting some writing playlists ready, planning which days I may have trouble getting 1667 words written, getting my projects planned out so I can just write steadily throughout the month. This year thought, to say the least, that didn't happen.
This past week has been a reading week at uni, so I've been off lectures, which is great, more time to spend planning. Yet that didn't happen, somehow I've either been incredibly busy, the day itself has run away, or I've been incredibly ill. Literally, I've had a week of busy days (which never happens), days that go so fast I haven't had time to do anything significant, or I've been so ill I haven't been able to move. And I have no idea why this has happened! Usually I manage really well, I can get stuff done and get myself properly prepared for a month of novel writing madness. This year though, it seems as if the world decided to go 'NOPE, YOU'RE SCREWED SUCKERRRRRRRRR' at me!
So yesterday was spent having a mad scramble to get everything sorted, while also enjoying Halloween to some extent. It was not an easy task I can tell you, and now I've had to spill prep into today, which is the first day of NaNoWriMo! Ahhhhh!
But, in good news, I think I have sorted myself out. I've got a rough idea about where both my stories are going, I've had some time to have a good stab at my word count (currently 400 off but that'll soon be fixed) so I think I'm going to do okay. If I'm lucky. And I'm determined, which I am. I think.
Basically, I think I'm going to be okay, if I hit writers block I'm screwed, but I have a vague plan for my projects and a best friend to bounce ideas off of, I can manage. If that fails, I'll built up word count by writing blogs about my progress over here, because I'm a terrible cheat when it comes to word count!
Hopefully, all is going to go to plan, I'll write blog posts anyway, but won't need to add them to my daily word count, as I'll reach the daily goal with my usual projects. If not, well, never mind, I'll still have written 1667 words a day for 30 days, which is the point of this challenge anyway. At some point, I may even have time to upload a vlog or two this month, though that is currently looking very doubtful, so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Blogs should be okay though, as that doesn't require me moving from my seat, or breaking the flow of typing.
Let's just wait and see what happens, shall we? May be easily than all this guessing!
To anybody else doing NaNoWriMo, good luck and I hope your prep was easier than mine!
Usually, the last week of October is spent preparing for NaNoWriMo, meaning getting some writing playlists ready, planning which days I may have trouble getting 1667 words written, getting my projects planned out so I can just write steadily throughout the month. This year thought, to say the least, that didn't happen.
This past week has been a reading week at uni, so I've been off lectures, which is great, more time to spend planning. Yet that didn't happen, somehow I've either been incredibly busy, the day itself has run away, or I've been incredibly ill. Literally, I've had a week of busy days (which never happens), days that go so fast I haven't had time to do anything significant, or I've been so ill I haven't been able to move. And I have no idea why this has happened! Usually I manage really well, I can get stuff done and get myself properly prepared for a month of novel writing madness. This year though, it seems as if the world decided to go 'NOPE, YOU'RE SCREWED SUCKERRRRRRRRR' at me!
So yesterday was spent having a mad scramble to get everything sorted, while also enjoying Halloween to some extent. It was not an easy task I can tell you, and now I've had to spill prep into today, which is the first day of NaNoWriMo! Ahhhhh!
But, in good news, I think I have sorted myself out. I've got a rough idea about where both my stories are going, I've had some time to have a good stab at my word count (currently 400 off but that'll soon be fixed) so I think I'm going to do okay. If I'm lucky. And I'm determined, which I am. I think.
Basically, I think I'm going to be okay, if I hit writers block I'm screwed, but I have a vague plan for my projects and a best friend to bounce ideas off of, I can manage. If that fails, I'll built up word count by writing blogs about my progress over here, because I'm a terrible cheat when it comes to word count!
Hopefully, all is going to go to plan, I'll write blog posts anyway, but won't need to add them to my daily word count, as I'll reach the daily goal with my usual projects. If not, well, never mind, I'll still have written 1667 words a day for 30 days, which is the point of this challenge anyway. At some point, I may even have time to upload a vlog or two this month, though that is currently looking very doubtful, so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. Blogs should be okay though, as that doesn't require me moving from my seat, or breaking the flow of typing.
Let's just wait and see what happens, shall we? May be easily than all this guessing!
To anybody else doing NaNoWriMo, good luck and I hope your prep was easier than mine!
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Wednesday, 28 October 2015
Jekyll And Hyde Under The Sofa... Not.
I'm slightly late, blame being busy this week, but I finally got round to watching the pilot of ITV's Jekyll And Hyde... And I hated it.
Well, hate is a strong word, let's say I was... very disappointed. I saw the trailer for the show months ago and got ridiculously excited, I'd read the book at A Level and really enjoyed it, so a TV show should surely be great, right? The trailer looked good, lots of murder and dark themes, Jekyll and Hyde, what could go wrong?
Apparently, everything. The first mistake was putting the show on at 6pm on a Sunday, making it 'family viewing,' with such shows, writers can't go too scary, can't get too dark. The show has to be sanitised so children don't get traumatised, and there is nothing wrong with that. But when it's applied to concepts such as Jekyll and Hyde, it's a recipe for disaster. Half of the creepy nature, blood, guts and gore is immediately taken out so the entire show is family friendly, meaning some of the main themes of the story is watered down.
Now I usually don't mind that so much, I can handle watered down family friendly murder. But the writers of Jekyll and Hyde have missed the mark of watering down by a mile, instead making the show an incredibly cheap imitation of the original story, filled with cartoon violence (not one punch actually landed on a character, yet they still went flying every time) and very sanitised murder (I either missed the blood or it simply wasn't there). To say the least, it made the show laughable.
And if the lack of violence wasn't bad enough, the story line was somehow worse. Cliche doesn't begin to cover it (oh I ran into a girl, I'm instantly attracted to her, oh look she dropped her purse I must run after her) and the acting was horrendous. I couldn't take Jekyll seriously, or anybody else for that matter. Even Richard E Grant couldn't save the cast's bad acting. The only physical change in Jekyll when he switches to Hyde is an appearance of eyeliner and a few veins, despite the fact that you hear bones cracking. The shots of the original Hyde show a deformed man, I was expecting something like that, not just some eyeliner. Eyeliner doesn't make a man evil, it barely even makes a noticable change in face.
Even the idea of Jekyll being the decent of the original isn't that interesting. Wow, Jekyll or Hyde had descendants who inherited the curse, and this one doesn't know it until the lawyer tells him. How interesting. Totally intriguing. I'm hooked. NOT. The writers were clearly trying to put a spin on the original so it's not just another Jekyll and Hyde remake, but they missed the mark but a very, very long mile.
To be perfectly honest, the show could have been brilliant, writing a show about the descendant of Jekyll or Hyde, cursed with the same condition as the originals could be amazing, but the writers didn't quite get the right tone for it. And I think I know why.
It's back to the show timing again. Shows like this should not be put on during a Sunday afternoon, they should be on post the watershed, where the real story can come out, with no need to worry about scaring young children. Putting the show on during mid-afternoon is a terrible idea. To do a show like this right, post-watershed with a twisty plot line, with murder and mayhem is honestly the best way to go. Otherwise you have a show with all the right ideas, but it gets so watered down so it turns cliche and predictable, which is a real shame when it could be such a great show.
Well, hate is a strong word, let's say I was... very disappointed. I saw the trailer for the show months ago and got ridiculously excited, I'd read the book at A Level and really enjoyed it, so a TV show should surely be great, right? The trailer looked good, lots of murder and dark themes, Jekyll and Hyde, what could go wrong?
Apparently, everything. The first mistake was putting the show on at 6pm on a Sunday, making it 'family viewing,' with such shows, writers can't go too scary, can't get too dark. The show has to be sanitised so children don't get traumatised, and there is nothing wrong with that. But when it's applied to concepts such as Jekyll and Hyde, it's a recipe for disaster. Half of the creepy nature, blood, guts and gore is immediately taken out so the entire show is family friendly, meaning some of the main themes of the story is watered down.
Now I usually don't mind that so much, I can handle watered down family friendly murder. But the writers of Jekyll and Hyde have missed the mark of watering down by a mile, instead making the show an incredibly cheap imitation of the original story, filled with cartoon violence (not one punch actually landed on a character, yet they still went flying every time) and very sanitised murder (I either missed the blood or it simply wasn't there). To say the least, it made the show laughable.
And if the lack of violence wasn't bad enough, the story line was somehow worse. Cliche doesn't begin to cover it (oh I ran into a girl, I'm instantly attracted to her, oh look she dropped her purse I must run after her) and the acting was horrendous. I couldn't take Jekyll seriously, or anybody else for that matter. Even Richard E Grant couldn't save the cast's bad acting. The only physical change in Jekyll when he switches to Hyde is an appearance of eyeliner and a few veins, despite the fact that you hear bones cracking. The shots of the original Hyde show a deformed man, I was expecting something like that, not just some eyeliner. Eyeliner doesn't make a man evil, it barely even makes a noticable change in face.
Even the idea of Jekyll being the decent of the original isn't that interesting. Wow, Jekyll or Hyde had descendants who inherited the curse, and this one doesn't know it until the lawyer tells him. How interesting. Totally intriguing. I'm hooked. NOT. The writers were clearly trying to put a spin on the original so it's not just another Jekyll and Hyde remake, but they missed the mark but a very, very long mile.
To be perfectly honest, the show could have been brilliant, writing a show about the descendant of Jekyll or Hyde, cursed with the same condition as the originals could be amazing, but the writers didn't quite get the right tone for it. And I think I know why.
It's back to the show timing again. Shows like this should not be put on during a Sunday afternoon, they should be on post the watershed, where the real story can come out, with no need to worry about scaring young children. Putting the show on during mid-afternoon is a terrible idea. To do a show like this right, post-watershed with a twisty plot line, with murder and mayhem is honestly the best way to go. Otherwise you have a show with all the right ideas, but it gets so watered down so it turns cliche and predictable, which is a real shame when it could be such a great show.
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