***CAUTION: SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!***
The Avengers was a great movie. If I was one of those critics who rated according to stars, I would rate it five (well, 4.9) out of five stars.
The reason I'm so hesitant about rating it to the maximum is because, well, I'm not a big Marvel fan. I wasn't sure who Bruce Banner was until Tony Stark made that witty remark about him being a big green rage monster. I had to ask my sister a few questions during the movie because I wasn't sure who was who or what was going on at some points. That's why some parts didn't appeal to me as much as others.
Oh! And hey! I'm doing my IMDB research in this blog post. So...yeah. I feel professional.
Tony Stark/Iron Man was my favorite character! He may seem conceited, stubborn, biased, and overconfident...but to me, he was the wittiest character in the entire movie. All of his clever remarks made me laugh out loud. Robert Downey Jr. did an astonishing job playing as Stark in this movie.
Natasha Romanoff/The Black Widow was great as well. She was the only woman fighter and definitely one of the strongest of The Avengers. When she first appeared as hostage (I'm not sure if she was being held captive, but that was what I interpreted. Again, I am not the biggest Marvel fan), she did some epic kicks and swerves. She was epic in general.
Bruce Banner/The Hulk scared me when he first appeared. And I didn't know who he was, either, so I didn't know if he was a bad guy or not. When he screamed STOP LYING TO ME!!!!!! I nearly jumped out of my seat and dropped most of my popcorn. And then Agent Romanoff held up a gun and I was confused again. He definitely showed some of the Green Rage Monster, even before he first transformed in the movie. I couldn't stop laughing and almost started crying when he bashed around Loki in the Stark Tower. Oh, gosh, that was hilarious. Mark Ruffalo was great.
Steve Rogers/Captain America confused me. Utterly. I had no idea he was frozen for decades or something and was unfrozen and that he fought in a World War and that his shield could beat the Thor Hammer of Death or...yeah. Utter confusion. I really liked him though! He was a great Avenger. Since he was in a war, he had much experience and played a great leader.
Thor was funny, moody, and ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING at the same time. His remark about Loki being adopted made me like him more. But his moods kept switching from mad to calm to wants-to-throw-his-hammer-at-Tony-Stark's-face. His power to summon FLIPPING LIGHTNING OUT OF THE SKY was quite the scare. I enjoyed Chris Hemsworth's performance anyway.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye seemed like a more...empty character, if you know what I mean. We didn't have much background about him, he didn't have many lines, and was hypnotized by Loki almost the entire time. He wasn't very important until The Black Widow bashed his head against a banister.
I'm still confused about Nick Fury. What happened to his other eye?
Now. Loki. Loki was an AMAZING super villain. He made me cringe and laugh and narrow my eyes and cringe some more and have spasms in my chair and adfjadsfsdTomHiddlestondidanastonishingjob. I loved Loki so much. Even though he was a terrible person. I love him like I love Bellatrix Lestrange; he's evil in a way that is just so moving. Nyaaaaaaaaah. I cannot stress out the astonishingness of Loki enough.
Overall, this movie was amazing! I would watch it again if I had the chance. I hope that there will be an The Avengers 2 soon.
-Dom
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Experiencing Pottermore Again
Months and months after I had experienced the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on Pottermore the first time, I decided to make a new account and go through it all again. It was just as thrilling as when I had first gotten into beta, except they had made a few minor changes.
They had added sound. The sound made the chapters more exciting and I definitely liked the new addition. However, it seemed a bit loud and I had to turn my volume down. It wasn't much of a problem. Some of the collectible items were no longer available.
I remembered my answers from the first time I had gotten a wand (let it choose me, as it says in the books) during Beta. I answered all of them flawlessly and got the same results as I had gotten the first time. It was still a thrill to take the quiz again.
The Sorting Hat was a different situation. There are several questions, and for each Sorting, the questions are randomized. If your friend took the Sorting, chances are that they will get different questions than you did.
It was still a wonderful experience, as always. This time, I decided to lie and see what would happen (after all, whatever House I got into, the Sorting Hat's decision is final! I'll be a Ravenclaw and always be a Ravenclaw, no matter how many times I got Sorted). I tried to lie and get into Ravenclaw somehow by thinking out the answers until I came to a conclusion.
Once I had gotten through all seven questions, I was Sorted into Slytherin. I started to laugh. From this, I have come to a realization that forcing your answers is useless. They are all psychological questions and most of them are hard to figure out. If you try to get into a certain House, you'll fail because the questions are much more thought out than you think.
I've deleted the account because I have no use for it, but it was fun seeing all the updates and features they had added since Beta. I hope that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets comes out soon. I still keep Pottermore on my Twitter text list, just in case. ;)
They had added sound. The sound made the chapters more exciting and I definitely liked the new addition. However, it seemed a bit loud and I had to turn my volume down. It wasn't much of a problem. Some of the collectible items were no longer available.
I remembered my answers from the first time I had gotten a wand (let it choose me, as it says in the books) during Beta. I answered all of them flawlessly and got the same results as I had gotten the first time. It was still a thrill to take the quiz again.
The Sorting Hat was a different situation. There are several questions, and for each Sorting, the questions are randomized. If your friend took the Sorting, chances are that they will get different questions than you did.
It was still a wonderful experience, as always. This time, I decided to lie and see what would happen (after all, whatever House I got into, the Sorting Hat's decision is final! I'll be a Ravenclaw and always be a Ravenclaw, no matter how many times I got Sorted). I tried to lie and get into Ravenclaw somehow by thinking out the answers until I came to a conclusion.
Once I had gotten through all seven questions, I was Sorted into Slytherin. I started to laugh. From this, I have come to a realization that forcing your answers is useless. They are all psychological questions and most of them are hard to figure out. If you try to get into a certain House, you'll fail because the questions are much more thought out than you think.
I've deleted the account because I have no use for it, but it was fun seeing all the updates and features they had added since Beta. I hope that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets comes out soon. I still keep Pottermore on my Twitter text list, just in case. ;)
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Don't Break the Chain
Earlier today, I discovered a video on Youtube uploaded by Charlie McDonnell called Don't Break the Chain. In this, he discusses a motivational method for procrastinators called, well, Don't Break the Chain!
This method helps when you are easily distracted by a task you need to/want to do. First of all, you need a calendar print-out. You cross out every day on the calendar that you complete your task. Once you have a streak, it is actually very hard to stop doing the task every day because you don't want to break the chain.
I am using this method for both blogging and writing in general. I printed out two calendars. My goal for blogging to to post on my blog at least three times a week. My goal for writing is to spend 15 minutes per day on something such as my newest fanfiction.
I think that this method will work great on me. It already is! I wrote two blog posts yesterday, so I will complete my task for this week under blogging. I wrote another chapter for my fanfiction as well today, so another X on my calendar. =)
I think this method will work a charm on me. When Script Frenzy in the beginning of this month, I completely forgot about my blog. All I could think was script script script script script script and more script. Now, I'm going to be forcing myself to.
-Dom
This method helps when you are easily distracted by a task you need to/want to do. First of all, you need a calendar print-out. You cross out every day on the calendar that you complete your task. Once you have a streak, it is actually very hard to stop doing the task every day because you don't want to break the chain.
I am using this method for both blogging and writing in general. I printed out two calendars. My goal for blogging to to post on my blog at least three times a week. My goal for writing is to spend 15 minutes per day on something such as my newest fanfiction.
I think that this method will work great on me. It already is! I wrote two blog posts yesterday, so I will complete my task for this week under blogging. I wrote another chapter for my fanfiction as well today, so another X on my calendar. =)
I think this method will work a charm on me. When Script Frenzy in the beginning of this month, I completely forgot about my blog. All I could think was script script script script script script and more script. Now, I'm going to be forcing myself to.
-Dom
Friday, April 27, 2012
Making MLP:FiM Mixes
Today, I decided to give MLP:FiM mixes a go.
MLP:FiM mixes are (you guessed it!) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic remixes or original mixes relating to the show. They are usually based on a character. Character mixes try to relate to or give the mood of the character's personality. That's what I did. I think I did a pretty good job.
I decided to do Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. I am currently basking in self pride. I absolutely love the final results of these and am definitely going to make more. To make these, I used both Audacity and Aviary Music Creator. Since Aviary only records approximately 16 seconds of music, I decided to use it, but make it longer using Audacity.
Fluttershy (Butterfly Reveries):
Rarity (Cordial Invitation):
Rainbow Dash (Weather Patrol):
MLP:FiM mixes are (you guessed it!) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic remixes or original mixes relating to the show. They are usually based on a character. Character mixes try to relate to or give the mood of the character's personality. That's what I did. I think I did a pretty good job.
I decided to do Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. I am currently basking in self pride. I absolutely love the final results of these and am definitely going to make more. To make these, I used both Audacity and Aviary Music Creator. Since Aviary only records approximately 16 seconds of music, I decided to use it, but make it longer using Audacity.
Fluttershy (Butterfly Reveries):
Rarity (Cordial Invitation):
Rainbow Dash (Weather Patrol):
-Dom
I'm DIFFERENT
Hello world. My name is Dominique, and I wrote a 100-page script in less than a month.
I can just hear myself telling that to people. They'd probably look at me like I was nuts, because a. I'm eleven years old and b. most people my age and gender prefer going to the mall and whatnot over sitting at their computer and writing an endless story.
But I'm different!
I'm not proud to say that I accomplished this because I had nothing else to do at 5:20 in the morning. I knew that if I went back to sleep, I would stay asleep until it was time to head to school. I also knew that if I stayed awake, I would eventually give in. Thus, I decided to do something productive!
I headed down to my basement, hit the "on" button of my laptop, and started writing.
Although scripts aren't my thing, I decided in late March that I would write one during Script Frenzy anyway. Even though it isn't the same as NaNoWriMo, it was still a writing experience. I was originally going to write the script with my friend, but she was too busy at school to be able to help me.
I just wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote...and I was there. Sitting in front of me was a 100-page PDF that I'd been working on for over three weeks.
I was basking in glory when I spotted the number 100 at the top of the program, Celtx, I was using to write my script. I saved the PDF to my computer and verified my word count on the Script Frenzy website.
I can just hear myself telling that to people. They'd probably look at me like I was nuts, because a. I'm eleven years old and b. most people my age and gender prefer going to the mall and whatnot over sitting at their computer and writing an endless story.
But I'm different!
I'm not proud to say that I accomplished this because I had nothing else to do at 5:20 in the morning. I knew that if I went back to sleep, I would stay asleep until it was time to head to school. I also knew that if I stayed awake, I would eventually give in. Thus, I decided to do something productive!
I headed down to my basement, hit the "on" button of my laptop, and started writing.
Although scripts aren't my thing, I decided in late March that I would write one during Script Frenzy anyway. Even though it isn't the same as NaNoWriMo, it was still a writing experience. I was originally going to write the script with my friend, but she was too busy at school to be able to help me.
I just wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote...and I was there. Sitting in front of me was a 100-page PDF that I'd been working on for over three weeks.
I was basking in glory when I spotted the number 100 at the top of the program, Celtx, I was using to write my script. I saved the PDF to my computer and verified my word count on the Script Frenzy website.
If you could look for another girl in my class who had written this much in a month, you'd fail. Miserably. And you know why?
Because I'm different.
-Dom
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The Hunger Games: Movie Review
***WARNING: SPOILERS!!!!***
I went to watch The Hunger Games with my two best friends, my sister and my dad the other day. (So, Mom, don't read this.) I think it was truly astonishing and worth a round of applause, believe me on that.
I just think they didn't stress out the emotions and the cruelty that was in the book enough. I mean, if your little sister was chosen for a fight to the death on live television, I bet you wouldn't sit there with a blank expression. (If my little sister was put in the Hunger Games, I'd be falling apart with the snap of a finger.)
Overall, though, I think the movie was amazing. The characters were easy to distinguish for me easily; Effie Trinket made me snicker the first time I saw her. I've seen her in the trailers and everything, but her bright mood and overuse of makeup put me over the edge. She was always a treat to read about in the books.
Haymitch = Best. Mentor. Ever. In my opinion, his character was portrayed perfectly; a drunk, shaggy-haired man with a crude sense of humor that drove Katniss absolutely nuts. (I really liked the scene where Katniss almost cut Haymitch with a butter knife but let it hit the table instead. It pretty much sums up the relationship between Katniss and her mentor. Also, "THAT IS MAHOGANY!")
Cinna could have been more thought out. His personality wasn't as clear as Effie's or Haymitch's. I feel that Cinna is a very important character and could have been stressed out more. I mean, he gave Katniss the courage to get in there and show the Capitol that they can't push her around. He's part of the reason Katniss lived through the Games.
Cato scared the Nutella out of me. That's all I have to say about him.
RUE. During her death scene, I was just crying and trying to see through the blur of my tears. She was played very well; an innocent, harmless girl who just wanted to stay alive. I didn't look when the spear went through her stomach, though. My classmates told me it was "very disturbing" (they were exaggerating to great limits), so my friend who had already watched the movie told me when to look away. So much for "very disturbing".
Prim was adorable, but I think she would have reacted a little more to Katniss volunteering. You know; like, screaming and kicking at Gale and everything. Her father had already died, and I bet she didn't want her only sister to leave her as well. I think Gale was nice, too, but could have been better. In the movie, he just seems to be this hunter guy that's friends with Katniss. That's just my opinion, though. It could have been more thorough.
Peeta, you say? I have no comment. (I can't really say anything about him because my classmates have exposed me to their daily lectures about Josh Hutcherson being "cute" and Team Peeta. I'm sort of sick of hearing about him.) He was pretty epic in the movie, though.
I think the ending could have been better. I would have liked it if we had the berry scene from President Snow's point of view. And also, Seneca Crane didn't die of eating nightlock berries. He was hung. I know this is a PG-13 movie and everything, but why would they lock him in a room and starve him like that? I didn't get this at all.
I like that we saw the Hunger Games from the Gamemaker's point of view as well. We could see them planting the muttations and talking to the viewers. (Also, I don't think the muttations are nearly as scary as I pictured them to be. They looked like really, really big pugs to me.) I really enjoyed that.
The tracker jackers gave me the shivers. I have this mini-phobia of bugs because of a house centipede incident...(ew.)
The scene on top of the Cornucopia was pretty epic. Cato, again, scared me in great amounts; choking Katniss and threatening to kill Peeta and stuff. When he fell off and the muttations, like, devoured him and stuff, I was suddenly very grateful that the movie was rated PG-13.
That's all I really have to say about it. I give this movie four stars. I would definitely watch it again sometime.
-Dom
I went to watch The Hunger Games with my two best friends, my sister and my dad the other day. (So, Mom, don't read this.) I think it was truly astonishing and worth a round of applause, believe me on that.
I just think they didn't stress out the emotions and the cruelty that was in the book enough. I mean, if your little sister was chosen for a fight to the death on live television, I bet you wouldn't sit there with a blank expression. (If my little sister was put in the Hunger Games, I'd be falling apart with the snap of a finger.)
Overall, though, I think the movie was amazing. The characters were easy to distinguish for me easily; Effie Trinket made me snicker the first time I saw her. I've seen her in the trailers and everything, but her bright mood and overuse of makeup put me over the edge. She was always a treat to read about in the books.
Haymitch = Best. Mentor. Ever. In my opinion, his character was portrayed perfectly; a drunk, shaggy-haired man with a crude sense of humor that drove Katniss absolutely nuts. (I really liked the scene where Katniss almost cut Haymitch with a butter knife but let it hit the table instead. It pretty much sums up the relationship between Katniss and her mentor. Also, "THAT IS MAHOGANY!")
Cinna could have been more thought out. His personality wasn't as clear as Effie's or Haymitch's. I feel that Cinna is a very important character and could have been stressed out more. I mean, he gave Katniss the courage to get in there and show the Capitol that they can't push her around. He's part of the reason Katniss lived through the Games.
Cato scared the Nutella out of me. That's all I have to say about him.
RUE. During her death scene, I was just crying and trying to see through the blur of my tears. She was played very well; an innocent, harmless girl who just wanted to stay alive. I didn't look when the spear went through her stomach, though. My classmates told me it was "very disturbing" (they were exaggerating to great limits), so my friend who had already watched the movie told me when to look away. So much for "very disturbing".
Prim was adorable, but I think she would have reacted a little more to Katniss volunteering. You know; like, screaming and kicking at Gale and everything. Her father had already died, and I bet she didn't want her only sister to leave her as well. I think Gale was nice, too, but could have been better. In the movie, he just seems to be this hunter guy that's friends with Katniss. That's just my opinion, though. It could have been more thorough.
Peeta, you say? I have no comment. (I can't really say anything about him because my classmates have exposed me to their daily lectures about Josh Hutcherson being "cute" and Team Peeta. I'm sort of sick of hearing about him.) He was pretty epic in the movie, though.
I think the ending could have been better. I would have liked it if we had the berry scene from President Snow's point of view. And also, Seneca Crane didn't die of eating nightlock berries. He was hung. I know this is a PG-13 movie and everything, but why would they lock him in a room and starve him like that? I didn't get this at all.
I like that we saw the Hunger Games from the Gamemaker's point of view as well. We could see them planting the muttations and talking to the viewers. (Also, I don't think the muttations are nearly as scary as I pictured them to be. They looked like really, really big pugs to me.) I really enjoyed that.
The tracker jackers gave me the shivers. I have this mini-phobia of bugs because of a house centipede incident...(ew.)
The scene on top of the Cornucopia was pretty epic. Cato, again, scared me in great amounts; choking Katniss and threatening to kill Peeta and stuff. When he fell off and the muttations, like, devoured him and stuff, I was suddenly very grateful that the movie was rated PG-13.
That's all I really have to say about it. I give this movie four stars. I would definitely watch it again sometime.
-Dom
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Things to do with April!
April is going to be a fantastic month for me. I'm going to participate in YWP Script Frenzy with one of my good friends. Avatar: The Legend of Korra is supposed to premiere on the 14th. I may or may not be participating in BEDA (Blog Every Day in April). My school will be holding the annual science fair on the 23rd (I've been working seriously hard on my project). My best friend from Germany will be coming to visit. My personal goal is to get to the climax of my newest fanfiction.
YWP Script Frenzy something I'm definitely looking forward to. However, I don't know if I can write three and a half pages of a script plus a detail-oozing blog post daily for an entire 30 days. I also have to consider that the time I'm writing will get in the way of my science project. If I get a bad grade on my project, it will not benefit me for third trimester.
My fanfiction can be put off, but I'm trying my best to write at least one chapter every week. Each chapter is around 1,000 words long. I try not to make them to long so I don't bore the audience. I'm hoping the word count for the chapters will go up soon, though. I want to get in the habit of writing chapters as long as 2,000 words now.
Also, I can not afford missing the world premiere of the new Avatar series. If I miss it I WILL DIE.
-Dom
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