All I Can Put Today Is:

Oh yeah. And IT'S THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR US AND WE HAVE NO SCHOOL NOW OMFG YES. 

ALSO IT'S SUMMER (BUT COLD STUPID CITY WE LIVE IN) WOOHOOOO 

CELEBRATE WITH THE ADORABLE PICTURE OF LOKI AND A BOX OF KITTIES!

"That must've been a horrible day for them..."

Meh. Font color isn't working again. To the first person who reads this who is a Curly Fry, can you change the font color? I don't know why it's not showing up for me. :/

So anyway, I just finished watching King Kong with meine Mutter. It was... intense. And very long. 3 hours and 8 minutes.

It also reminded me a lot of Titanic. (Despite the fact that when they were getting on the ship to discover Skull Island, Titanic was right behind them.) It also was the same amount of time, and the same type of weather, when they crashed into the island and when Titanic crashed into the iceberg. Of course, King Kong is fictional... The ending is also the same. Spoiler alert: King Kong falls off the top of the building pretty much the same way as Jack fell into the ocean. Oh yeah, and Ann (the "Damsel in Distress") had a second love appeal named Jack. And they took place around the same time? It was just so coincidental. However, it was a FANTASTIC movie!

Well... almost fantastic. First off, I have come to the conclusion that no movie producer has ever passed physical science class. Anything that freaking big can NOT move that freaking fast. It's not possible in any way shape or form. Now maybe their strides CAN be that big, but there is no way that it can really run faster than a cheetah. And cheetah's are fast. It's the same thing for cells, the bigger they are, the more time things take to get to the middle. (Surface-area ratio or something like that?) Same thing with multi-cellular organisms: the bigger the animal, the more time it takes for the brain to react to a nervous signal.

And that was Carrie's science lesson of the day. Even though it's Saturday.

Another thing I didn't understand was why, when people are running frantically away from something that's gonna eat them, why they don't hide under a rock or something. Dig a hole, anything. But nooooo, they have to keep running and get themselves killed! Dumbbutts.

I would've hid.

Okay, well, I hope EVERYBODY had a fantastic Thanksgiving. :) And that you are thankful for everything in your lives. <3

DFTBA!♥

Smiles, hugs, and lots of love,

Carrie

Oh, hey reality, how's it going?

AAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!  I just want to crawl into a hole and fall asleep for 6 months.

Bleh. Sorry, I'm just not feeling well anymore. 

Aaaaaaand Facebook is distracting me :P BUT! I did remember to post today. :D I've had a very fun weekend so far. ^_^ (and just week in general) So, how about I just tell you about my entire week! 

On Monday, all of the curly fries went to go see... STARKIDPOTTER!!!!!!! It was soooo amazing! In case nobody else has already told you, I did burst into tears when I met Lauren Lopez. :P It was... TOTALLY AWESOME! :D Words can't even describe it. Which reminds me, I need to put pictures on Facebook.

Rest of the week was blah, school. Tuesday and Friday we off though. Although, Friday I still had to go to school since I had to WORK! :D The one nice thing about working in the school book store is that you FINALLY get paid to be there. :P It's amazing. 

Then, yesterday and today I hung out with one of my non-curly fry friends. That was nice. I haven't hung out with her in the longest time. We watched a movie last night, and then went shopping/to Starbucks/ to Taco Bell/ took pictures today. It was just a nice unwinding day. I got the CUTEST (Ohhhh, here we go, Carrie with clothes :P ) vintage sweater. It's soooo cool! It's red and blue block striped and it has an academy emblem on it. I also got a pair of suspenders (that I have wanted forever). So, I've just had a really nice day. ^_^ Also, Virgil, I wore your birthday present today. :) I love them! (little bow clips- also adorable ^_^ ) 

Oh, my golly gee! It's almost Lynda/ Momo's birthday! :D How exciting! I'm gonna send both of you cards! It'll be great. :) 

K.Bai. 

DFTBA!♥ 

Smiles, hugs, and lots of love,

Carrie

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Review - Part 3 (& other things)

Okay, so this is Part 3 of my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 review. I started this a month ago... let's see if I can finish it tonight!

I left off at "lightning has struck, I repeat, lightning has struck!" 

Now I shall move on to one of my least favorite moments of the movie, but that's okay because right after that is one of my most favorite moments. The least favorite moment is when Ginny walks in and just kind of gawks at Harry, like, "HUH? WHA?" She should have been ecstatic to see him, the love of her life who's been on-the-run-and-possibly-dead for the last eight months. She should throw her arms around him or something. Ron's comment about how she doesn't even say hello to her brother is funny, and then Seamus saying "she only want Harry" was also funny, I guess... but the whole moment was quite awkward, and I feel like the humor was unnecessary in a time that's obviously a transition into the more dangerous-and-serious part of the movie. 
Also, in this whole scene, there's a random ginger standing next to Cho Chang who looks like she could be like ten years old. What is she doing in Dumbledore's Army?

After that awkward Room of Requirement thing comes one of the best scenes ever, in any movie, EVER - when Snape calls the students together and asks about Harry Potter's whereabouts, and then Harry just pops out from the crowd and is like, "uh, you've got a security problem." AND THEN the Order of the Phoenix shows up and the crowd goes wild! Snape and McGonagall's duel, although short, was nothing less than truly epic. I don't remember if I've said this before, but Alan Rickman and Maggie Smith basically showed up everyone else in terms of acting.   

I was disappointed that all of Slytherin House was escorted to the dungeons, rather than given the choice to fight or go home. I also don't like how they didn't evacuate the underage students - in the book, McGonagall's first priority is to keep the students safe and under control, but in the movie the battle just sort of starts and then everyone in Hogwarts is running every which way with no apparent purpose other than to emphasize the hysteria. 

THEY SKIPPED THE SCENE IN RAVENCLAW TOWER. I understand that it was for time's sake, and that the scene is quite pointless in the book because all Harry does is find out what the diadem looks like, but still. I WANTED TO SEE RAVENCLAW TOWER. Oh, well. Maybe that's a good thing, because now the image of the Tower that I have in my mind can remain untainted by the influence of film. 

Helena Ravenclaw was SO CREEPY. In that one part when she get's all mad, "HE DEFILED IT WITH DARK MAGIC!!" her eyes get all bulgy and weird, and that was probably the scariest part of the film for me, no joke. I was sad that they cut out the random back story about Helena and the Bloody Baron, but I guess it doesn't actually matter to the plot. Going on simultaneously with this scene - the protection of Hogwarts is truly awesome. That magical shield that the Order & teachers built - it was so well-done! (Although, I must say, it looked better in 2D. The 3D made it a bit cheesy.)

[All these comments about the battle might be a bit out-of-order. It all happened so fast!!]

Around this time, there's a shot of Fred and George talking. "You alright, Fred?" 
OH MY GODRIC. This is the part when I started bawling, and I didn't stop until a few days later. 

Also, McGonagall activating the suits of armor was pretty BA. I'm not sure if "I've always wanted to use that spell" was really needed, but I can't help but love anything that comes out of her mouth. Neville on the bridge... ah, I love Neville so much. It was so cool how they were able to blow it up. 

The Room of Hidden Things was well-done. The Fiendfyre looked really cool (again, the 3D did NOT live up to expectations, but I liked it in 2D) although I'm not sure why they felt the need to stab the diadem with the basilisk fang, when the Horcrux got destroyed by the magical fire anyways. Oh wait, THAT REMINDS ME. I skipped a VERY IMPORTANT PART. 

Ron & Hermione 4 evahhhhhh!! ohmygoodness the kiss was perfect. I never ship Ron or Hermione with anyone else because they're both so perfect for each other! (On a side note, I actually did once read a fanfic when Harry and Hermione hooked up, but it was okay because Ron was dead.) I loved it when Ron told Hermione to kill the cup, and she was like I can't do it, and then he just looked her in the eye with such complete trust and told her that she could. Ahhh what a moment. <3 They just make me so happy! There were actually quite a few other R/H moments in this movie that I left out - for example, when they're trying to figure out where Harry went on the Marauder's Map and Ron points out that Hermione once told him that the Room of Requirement doesn't show up on the map, and she was like, "Yeah... I did!" like she was surprised that he remembers what she says. It's because, of course, he savors each word that comes from her lips and stores it up in his heart because he's so in love and OHMYGOSHIHAVETOMOVEON.

Voldemort creeped me out during the final battle. It kept switching back to him, and as the battle progressed, you could sense him getting more and more anxious as well as angry. I love it when he just randomly kills someone. So perfect. This movie really captures his psychotic-ness. 

Another great Voldemort moment was when he's talking to Lucius and he asks, "How do you live with yourself?" and Lucius says, "I don't know." It's a very touching moment between two very evil people. Lucius is so torn between his loyalty to his family and his loyalty to the Dark Lord, and Voldemort knows this, and even HE is disgusted by Lucius's inability to choose a side and stick with it. But then Voldemort tells him to bring Severus, and I start crying so hard that I can't even watch. 

The Trio's journey from the castle to the boathouse is almost surreal. They somehow get past all of these duels going on at once (I feel like in real life it would be likely that at least one of them would get hit with a spell) and they see dead?Lavender about to get eaten by Fenrir Greyback, and Hermione defends her, which I think was very honorable, because of course she despises Lavender. So yeah - there's like five whole minutes of them running through the battle, past spiders and trolls and various people. This bit is a bit fuzzy in my mind because I was so freakin' emotional. NO SNAPE DON'T NOOO!! (A note about the boathouse: I was okay with the change-of-scenery from where it took place in the book. The Shrieking Shack is ugly. Now my favorite character can die in a beautiful place.) 
 
I'm too tired to fully express my feelings about Snape's death scene. I'm afraid it'll have to wait until Part Four of my review, coming next week! I guess I won't be getting through the whole movie tonight... but I'll try to finish it next time! 

--

In other news, marching band has started, and House and I are in the same squad again yayy!! Except this time, I am the squad leader, so I get to boss her around. It's loads of fun. Also, Momo's sister is a field commander, which is quite exciting. 

School starts in less than a week. It's hard to soak in when all that's going through your mind is "SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER" (part of our opener this year). Sigh. I really, really hope that I have classes with the other Curly Fries. If I don't, I will be very sad indeed. 


It's crazy that we're sophomores now. It's even crazier that the sophomores are now juniors, and the juniors are now seniors, and the seniors are going off to college. EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP GETTING OLDER, I CAN'T HANDLE IT. Like xiy, who just had a birthday. IT'S NOT OKAY. (Just kidding. I love birthdays! Did you see the banner I put up? Major artistic talent right thur.)

That's all, folks.

Love,
Virgil

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Review - Part 2

This post is a continuation of last week's post. If you didn't read it, please go here.

SO. I saw the film for a third time since I wrote Part One (the people running the mission trip decided to give us a break from the boiling hot sun & hard labor & sweat, so they took us to the only movie theater in the county where the water bottles cost like seven dollars) and this time it was in 3D.

Now, I should start off by saying that I don't like 3D movies in general. The 3D-ness always seems to pull me away from the movie itself, because there are certain bits that are more noticeably 3D than others. This was exactly the problem that I had with the 3D version of Harry Potter - it just takes away from the *escaping* aspect of watching the movie. There were also green-screen effect bits that seemed to be much more obvious because of the way the 3D had been shot. Also, those glasses are annoying, especially when you have to put them over actual glasses. 

Overall, the 3D was pretty well-done, but I liked the 2D version better.

Moving on with the actual review.... I left off in Gringotts. The escape scene was cool (great music!) and I loved the shots of the expressions on the goblins' faces as the dragon crashed straight through the lobby. The thing with the chandelier shaking right before all hell breaks loose - what a classic Harry Potter scene! That scene gets an A+ :)


The flash-vision Voldemort/Horcruxes bit while Harry was in the water - that was nice put together. It gave all of the necessary information without over-explaining things. It was weird how after they jumped in the water and swam to shore, they felt the need to walk all the way up the hill before they started changing clothes. That whole scene was so awkward! Shirtless!Rupert was a nice treat, but he and Dan spent ages struggling with those sweaters, and it was awkward how Hermione didn't put on dry clothes. I realize that nudity isn't allowed in PG-13 movies, but she could have at least put on a dry jumper or something. OR they could have just used that Air-dry charm that Dumbledore does to dry off Harry's clothes in the sixth book.  










The Caterwauling Charm when they Apparate into Hogsmeade was well-done. I liked the way Aberforth was first introduced - you could hardly see him there in the doorway - and then you find out who he is, and he goes into his "don't trust Albus" rant. It kind of bothered me how resiliently trustful of Dumbledore Harry seemed throughout both movies. He has serious doubt in the book, but I guess they just didn't have time to insert the entire subplot into the movie. Still, there was a short time on July 21, 2007 when I think every Harry Potter fan doubted his or her own trust in Albus Dumbledore, and that feeling just wasn't replicated on screen.

They didn't go into as much detail with the Dumbledores' story as I would have liked, but Ariana's portrait was nicely done. Then... NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM! This is the part when the movie starts being amazing: the moment Matthew Lewis walks on screen. HE'S MY HERO. I love how he leads them up to the Room of Requirement, says a little something, and then just steps aside with a smug look on his face to reveal Harry Potter. Lightning has struck! I repeat, lightning has struck! That line made me laugh.


I'm SO SORRY I couldn't finish this review in two parts, because I have to hop on a plane soon. This will automatically post tomorrow, and then I'm not sure if I'll be able to write a post next week, but I'll definitely finish my review when I get back. 


Love,
Virgil

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 Review - Part 1

I didn't have time to write a full review, so I'm splitting it into parts. 

;) 

I'm going to talk about the soundtrack first, since I listened to it before seeing the film (it was released two days previously).

It was phenomenal. I was a bit worried because Desplat's score for Pt. 1 received merely an Exceeds Expectations from me, but this score was much better. Naturally, it's tough to fill the shoes of great wizards like John Williams, Patrick Doyle, and Nicholas Hooper. There were quite a few parts of the movie that were completely silent, and I think they were well-chosen, although I wish there had been some music during the conversion with Ollivander, because the absence of any music at all made it seem rather dry to those of us who already know the information.

More specifically - I think that Desplat's strong suite is in huge, epic battle-songs rather than the subtle romantic stuff of Hooper fame. Tracks like "Dragon Flight" and "Broomsticks and Fire" and "Showdown" were much more musically impressive than the slow background music during less violent scenes. I didn’t like the over-usage of that female vocalist – the theme with that vocal at the beginning (“Lily’s Theme”) was really good for a start, and I understand that he wanted to re-introduce it when Sev/Lily cropped up, but I just don’t like solo vocals in movie scores.

The music in the Epilogue was its only redeeming factor. I think they took it straight from the John Williams score of the first movie. What a great way to bring the series full circle.

The opening shots were good choices. A quick recap of the last scene from Part 1, but not too long as to seem like a “What you missed in the last episode of Harry Potter!” type feel. Then Snape’s regime at Hogwarts, then Dobby’s grave, and Shell Cottage! Already, the pace is going well. I was disappointed when a couple key scenes from Shell Cottage were left out, most importantly Dobby’s funeral, which was implied to have already happened seeing as the gravestone was already carved. The other scene that I wished were there, even though I understand why they saw fit to cut it, was the announcement of Teddy Lupin’s birth. I just wanted to see the look on Harry’s face when Lupin tells him that he’s the godfather.

Ollivander and Griphook were both good. They changed the things that Ollivander knew (in the book, he doesn’t know what the Deathly Hallows are, only the Elder Wand) but that wasn’t a big deal because the Hallows needed to be re-explained for those annoying people who don’t read the books. Warwick Davis was an excellent Griphook, just like before.

The moment when Hermione holds up Bellatrix’s hair and says “positive” – that really got to me. Remember that shot in Part 1 when the hair fell upon her freshly-carved arm? Then, of course, Helena Bonham Carter did a fantastic job showing Hermione’s mannerisms. The awkward high-heels walk was a nice touch. The dialogue when Travers points out that Bellatrix’s wand was stolen – it isn’t there. I think we’re meant to assume that the whispering goblins also knew this.

The idea of “the wandless” – beggars roaming the streets, no longer accepted in society – was completely glossed over! I think that part was very important in the book, because it showed how terrible Voldemort’s bigotry really was, and it reinforced a belief in why they should be fighting against him. The line that should have been in the film: “How did it offend you?” – spoken by Travers in the chapter “Gringotts” – because he’s referring to an injured beggar as “it.” 

The way they shot the Gringotts lobby at first kind of made me seasick, and the lighting made it all seem a bit surreal. Either I’m going crazy, or it looked different from the Gringotts in the first film. But then the roller-coaster cart ride was epic, epic filming and epic music, and the way they did the Thief’s Downfall was just how I had imagined it in the book! Oh, and that poor, poor dragon. The paleness and the scars and the chains and those wretched clankers! It was all illustrated so tragically.

And then the scene inside the vault – it was all quite good; although I don’t think they portrayed that the multiplying treasure was also scorching hot! Maybe they decided that the Golden Trio wouldn’t look attractive enough for battle when they were all covered in burns. 

Now I'm off to Harlan! I'll set this to post itself on Tuesday. See ya! 

<3

Virgil

Winter Holiday Special Movie!!!!

I am writing this on Sunday right before I go to the airport to go to Germany. If you're reading this, I suppose the uploading thing worked. Anyway, this is the video we made yesterday, er, Saturday. I tried to blur faces as best I could, but you couldn't really do it individually. Maybe we'll edit it some more later. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it (especially the first song) and have a nice winter break. I don't know if I'll be able to post next Monday, but I'll try!

Love,

Momo

THE VIDEO IS IN THE POST THAT SAYS: WINTER HOLIDAY SPECIAL MOVIE FIXED!

PLEASE ENJOY!!!

Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, Oh My!

*hum hum* Life's like a road that you travel on
When there's one day here an' the next day gone
Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

There's a world outside every darkened door
Where blues won't haunt you anymore
Where brave are free an' lovers soar
Come ride with me to the distant shore

We won't hesitate
Ta' break down the garden gate
There's not much time left today, yeahea...

Oh...Hello there! I'm watching/my brother's watching the Disney/Pixar movie, Cars. That was just the lyrics to "Life is a Highway". I rather like the song. I'm not going to wax poetic about "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", buuut, the trailer came out today!! YAY! I have nothing to write about....

Hmmm. Well, the first week of summer has been awesome, tiring, and kinda boring at the same time. Let's see, on Saturday or Sunday (whichever one my mom picks) we will go to an outlet, and shop! YAY! I can't wait. I love the smell of new stuff in a lovely and large mall or outlet...*daydream* Anyways, summer isn't that easy for me. I have to do "summer homework" from my mom. For example, every day, I write Chinese, and research a president, starting with Washington, Adams, and Jefferson, oh my!

OK! Now, I'm gonna go on with the questions.

1. Do you like pie?

2. What type?

3. Are you obsessed with anything? What?

4.What are you doing for Father's Day?

This last question is deep, thoughtful, and you MUST answer it. No: "...", "what?", "IDK"

5. When are you no longer a "CHILD" (I know it's 18, legally, but in your opinion)?

For all you people who bother to read  this part: HAHAHA... OVERACHIEVERS!!!...btw, if you do read this part, in the comments, write "Kapoo"

Luv, Lynda