Movie/Book Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Cover of the biography property of Random House Publishing Group. 

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote last. Sorry about that. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I sure did.

During the holiday season there were a lot of topics that I half-heartedly wanted to write about, but none of them drove me to write. This morning I feel driven. It's like an annoying itch that will only go away once I put the words down.

Last night my family and I went to see "Unbroken." Not all of us were very excited to see it, because half of us had read the book, and the reviews were very mixed. Some of us had been wanting to see "Big Hero 6" or "Into the Woods" because their reviews were very very positive. But last night we just really wanted to see ANY movie, and we were all curious enough about "Unbroken" to agree on it and give it a shot.

Maybe it was just my low expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised by how well-made it was. I assumed the bad reviews were because of bad acting or bad production or something, but I was so wrong. The acting was great, the production value was incredible, and I thought it was very true to the story. It was a longer movie than I expected, and it did a good job of taking the time to show Louis Zamperini surviving his trials during the war.

I recommend it to everyone, though be prepared for some gritty details they kept in. There were a couple things that made my stomach churn. It could have been worse, though. A blow-by-blow adaptation of the book would have been rated R.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. However, I can see why some reviewers didn't like it, and I do have a foot in their camp.

The ending was such a disappointment. Beware of spoilers if you haven't read the book.

The movie does a brilliant job of showing Louis' war days, from when he's a bombardier to when he survives on the ocean to when he survives the POW camps. And it shows him becoming a great runner and going to the Olympics and all that. All those incidents are, of course, amazing. Louis Zamperini was an incredible person, and what he went through is almost unbelievable.

However, the movie ends when Louis comes home from war. To the average viewer who hadn't read the book, that would seem like an appropriate happy ending for a war-torn hero. But if you have read the book, then you know that coming home from the war was not his ultimate triumph! In fact, Louis was a mess when he came back from war. He had severe post-traumatic stress to the point that he was always yelling at his family, became withdrawn from society, almost ruined his marriage, and sunk into alcoholism for a long time. Yes he was strong and defiant and brave during all this war trials, but when he went home, he actually was pretty broken. So for me, who had read the book, having it end there just made me sad. It didn't give me a triumphant feeling at all.

The triumph of Louis's life was not that he got through the war. It was that he got through the consequences of the war, rose about the alcoholism and the anger and the depression, and actually turned his life over to God. He found peace in his heart through the Atonement, and he learned to forgive the captors who had ruined his life.

The book is one of the most incredible reads of my life. Laura Hillenbrand wrote the most detailed and interesting biography I've ever read, and she made sure that there was that overall theme of Louis rising above challenges and finding God in his life.

Angelina Jolie got the overcoming challenges part down okay, and her directional debut was much better than I expected. But her theme of Louis finding God and learning to forgive was glossed over in a text-on-screen epilogue, like P.S. Louis really did turn to God, but you don't get to see it. Oh and P.P.S. he also met with and forgave his captors, but you don't get to see that either.

Those were the parts I really wanted to see because they were what stunned me the most when I read the book. To have them just tacked onto the end was like a slap in the face.

I wish she had gone either direction--either making it a half hour longer to show us Louis' post-war problems and unbroken attitude in the end (yes, I would have happily sat through despite the fact that it was already a very long movie); or just cutting out the mentions of Louis dedicating his life to God. Obviously I wouldn't have liked it that way, either, but at least it wouldn't have felt so thrown together. Just saying in the end that he became faithful and positive almost confuses the audience, because there was nothing during his war years that showed him turning to God (except for that one time when he thought he was going to die on the ocean, but never again after that).

In conclusion, I really did like this movie. It was an amazing watch, and I recommend it to everybody who's seen the mixed reviews and isn't sure about it. Kudos to Angelina Jolie for doing as well as she did. I look forward to seeing what she'll do next. I just hope that next time she doesn't use a cop-out ending like this one.

However, I recommend reading the book first so that you can really get a feel for who Louis Zamperini was and what his unbroken spirit was really about.

Sunday Soliloquy: We Need a Little Christmas

During our morning scripture study, Sarah and I were talking about fasting and why we need to do it at least once a month. After reading several verses and talking about personal experiences, we concluded that fasting is a kind of magnified, extended prayer. 

Prayer is something we do (or should do) every morning and every evening, and really any time. But when we fast, we humble ourselves a little more. Every rumble of our empty bellies is like a reminder to pray and think about why you're fasting and what you're asking of the Lord. Rather than pray in the morning and then forget to pray again until evening, our hunger reminds us all day to have a prayer in our hearts. 

Christmas is like fasting.

You know the song, "We Need a Little Christmas"? I used to find it so annoying, but now it's one of my favorites.

Here are the lyrics, in case you're unfamiliar with it:

Haul out the holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stocking,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute.
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute. 

It hasn't snowed a single flurry,
But Santa, dear, we're in a hurry. 

So climb down the chimney;
Put up the brightest string of lights I've ever seen.
Slice up the fruitcake;
It's time we hung some tinsel on that evergreen bough. 

For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older.
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder;
Need a little Christmas now!

It's a very cheerful melody. Very peppy. Which is why I never really liked it before--I tend to gravitate towards the somber, reverent Christmas songs.

But that last verse is as somber as they come even if the tune is upbeat, and it kind of encompasses everything I feel around the Christmas season. 

This week in Utah has been really sunny, but usually it's incredibly cold, cloudy, and miserable this time of year. Even though we now know Christ was born in April, I'm kind of glad Christmas is in December, because what better time for the most cheerful holiday of the year?

By December, we're looking back on the goals we didn't meet, the funds we failed to save up, the improvements we neglected this year. We're freezing and the days are short, which means less natural endorphins from sunlight. And the older we get, the less magical the world around us seems to be.

But then--Christmas! Christmas happens! And who cares that we fell short? Who cares that it's dark and cold and miserable? It's Christmas! 

We need Christmas to come around every year. It's not just a nice tradition; it's something as necessary for our yearly spiritual health as a fast is for our monthly spiritual health. We need it. 

Christmas means making an effort to connect with people. It means giving gifts to neighbors we've never met and to coworkers we don't get along with and to family members we may be disconnected from. 

It means that even when we've grown too old to believe in Santa Claus and flying reindeer, we can still think back on the magic and the wonder we used to feel. It means that we strive to feel it again, or at least help those around us feel it again or for the first time.

But most of all, Christmas means thinking about the Savior. Just as fasting is an extra push of prayer (which should be a daily habit), thinking of Christ should be something we do every day of the year, but the month of December gives us reminders at every turn. It's in our face wherever we go--in supermarkets and on the radio and in our homes. 

Christmas gives us that extra nudge to remember the greatest gift that God has ever given us--His beloved son, Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite parts of the Book of Mormon is when Nephi is asking the angel about his father's vision of the Tree of Life. The angel shows Nephi the tree, and Nephi asks for an interpretation. 

The angel could have very easily just said, "Oh, it's God's love." Instead, the angel disappeared, and Nephi had a vision of his own.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. 

And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? 

And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. 

And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? 

And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. 

And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Song of God, after the manner of the flesh. 

And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! 

And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 

And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? 

And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. 

And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

(1 Nephi 11: 13-23)

Nephi already knew that the Lord loves all His children. That was probably the most fundamental thing Nephi knew--the thing his "goodly parents" taught him his whole life. 

But then he saw the first Christmas, and he knew. 

God loves us. He didn't send His Beloved Son to be born of a virgin in a lowly manger just to show us a miracle--He did it so that His Son could grow up leading us by example, work miracles to give us hope and comfort, suffer for our sins, and conquer death. All for our sakes. 

God has given us countless blessings--so many that we probably don't even know about, let alone acknowledge. But His Son was the greatest gift of all--the light of the world. 

It's something we should remember every day of our lives, but Christmas gives us that extra little push--that constant reminder in the month of December that lifts our spirits and reminds us of the love God has for us all year round. 

So rather than get annoyed by people who clamor for "A little Christmas now," I'm going to try to appreciate every day of this month where everyone and everything around me reminds me of what I wish I remembered more during the rest of the year.

May we all feel God's love for us and for those around us as we celebrate this wonderful Christmas season. 

God bless us, every one. 

Ambiance/Production(?) Review: The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean

You may or may not know this already, but I've been hired as the Deseret Book corporate office receptionist, which I'm extremely excited about because I get to meet cool people ever day, it's deep in the heart of the editing world, and I get awesome perks.

Case in point: By the time I started working there, Secret Santa assignments had already been given and carried out and I didn't expect to be involved in any way. But on my second day, I got to my desk and found these from Santa!

Awww! Unfortunately I'm off of sugar right now (which will get its own blog post explanation later), so I didn't eat them myself but Mom, Sarah, and Ashley really enjoyed them! And in this case, it really was the thought that counted.

I could list a bunch of awesome people (including some LDS celebrities) that I met just this first week in the office, but I won't. Just know it's been incredible. 

And then on Thursday it was a normal, chill day at the desk when I got an e-mail saying that Corporate was giving away 100 free tickets to their employees for The Forgotten Carols Friday night in Orem. 

I pounced. Not even knowing who could go with me or if I could make it, I snatched up four tickets right away. 

The Forgotten Carols has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up listening to the CD while driving home from grandparents' houses on cold winter nights. I read the book once a long time ago. But I had yet to actually see the full production. It's been on my bucket list for forever, I just never got the chance or had the money. 

So to be offered tickets for free (even if they were last-minute for a production far away) was the best Christmas present I could have asked for this season.

Official logo from forgottencarols.com

I'm categorizing this as partly Ambiance because going to this production was an experience. It wasn't a play to be analyzed and criticized, it was a memory and a flood of feelings that has to be witnessed for oneself to be understood--as grandiose and moving as a spectacular landscape or a brilliant sunrise. 

I was really stressed leading up to the performance, because I was told we had to claim my tickets before 6:30 or they would be given away. Cue bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

We made it there by 6:45, and to my immense relief my tickets were still there waiting for us! It was just me and Mom who made it (it was too last minute for anyone else to come with us), and we had great seats only a few rows back from the side of the stage.

I knew what to expect from the story because, like I said, I grew up listening to it and reading it. But seeing it all in musical form was completely different. The singing wasn't as good as the CD I have on my iPod, but the acting was good and hearing the songs in the context was like really hearing them for the first time. 

For those of you who know absolutely nothing about The Forgotten Carols, it's about a nurse named Constance who is given the task of taking care of an eccentric old man over the week of Christmas. Constance is always caught up in her work and doesn't connect with people well. When she arrives at the man's house, she is at first very annoyed by the crazy "Uncle" John, who resists her professionalism, calling her Connie Lou, insisting he's over 2000 years old, and sharing Christmas carols with her that she's never heard before. 

Photo from forgottencarols.com

Uncle John's carols are all from people who witnessed the birth of the Savior themselves (he's 2000 years old, remember, so he knew them all personally), and as he shares them, Constance's empty life is gradually filled with the true spirit of Christmas, and she learns to open her heart to others.

Here's a trailer, if that wasn't enough for you:

It's a very simple stage production, with a limited cast and a small choir, but the music and the feelings were as powerful as a MoTab performance in the Conference Center.

I laughed, and I cried. Oh my goodness did I cry. The touching story of Uncle John forever changing Connie Lou's life wasn't the half of it, though that was tear-jerking on its own. No, what really got to me was how Michael McLean ended the show. 

McLean plays Uncle John himself, so when he came onto the stage to end the show, we all greeted him with roaring applause. But after a few more jokes and thanks to those who helped put it together, he got very sober. He told us how this was his first production without at least one of his parents in attendance, and that he was actually wearing his late father's clothes as Uncle John's costume.

He then proceeded to play one of his older songs for us on the piano. I'm sure you'd recognize it if you heard it. The chorus goes, "We can be together forever someday," repeated three times. Hearing him sing it was sad enough, knowing he was thinking of his parents. But then he played it again and had us sing the chorus with him.

Afterwards, he said, "Wow. That was...so reverent." We'd all kind of mumble-sung it half-heartedly, so he made us sing it again, this time with our arms linked with the people sitting next to us. This time we all sang a little louder--with a little more love in our hearts.

Finally, he told us to think about someone who wasn't there with us--someone who just couldn't make it. Someone who is far away. Someone who maybe isn't even on this side of the veil anymore.

When we sang it that last time, half of the audience sang it at the top of their lungs. The rest of us were too choked up with tears to sing at all.

McLean let the chorus trail off. The dark auditorium was filled with eye drying and sniffles. He asked us to remember what the Christmas season is really about. He reminded us that we sometimes feel like our carols are forgotten, but that Christ and Heavenly Father never forget us. And then he asked us to sing the one carol we'll never forget--"Silent Night."

Again, I was too choked up to sing very much, but I did my best. After singing the first verse, he asked us to hum it again. As we did, he said goodbye, he walked off the stage, and the lights shut off before we'd even made it to the last line.

A few people clapped when the song faded away, but for the most part the audience was quiet. Reverent. I've never seen anything like it before. Not even General Conference ends that quietly and thoughtfully.

I left that auditorium with a resolve in my heart to not only listen to The Forgotten Carols until April but also to open my heart more and remember Christ. Not just during the month of December, but all year round.

In summary, I recommend seeing this production if you get the chance. I HIGHLY recommend it. No matter who you are, no matter your circumstance, this production will speak to you. It will remind you what Christmas is all about. Who it has always been about.

Merry Christmas!

Book Review: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Everyone should go see the downtown Deseret Book window display. It's amazing. Just so you know.

Book cover property of Sterling Publishing (this is the one we had in DB)

I was killing time in DB this afternoon, sitting back by the bargain books. There was a copy of Jane Eyre, so I picked it up and started reading.

It's been a long time since I've read Jane Eyre. I read it my junior year of high school. Back then, I remember it being wordy and archaic-sounding, yet so enjoyable that I actually read it because I wanted to, not because I had to as homework.

Since then I've seen so many movie adaptations of Jane Eyre. They all vary in quality and entertainment ability, but I still leave each one thinking, "Man that's a great story."

When I picked it up today though, I skipped to my favorite part when Jane runs into Mr. Rochester for the first time.

This part. :) Photo is from the 2011 version by Focus Films.

I expected to enjoy the story but I was completely surprised to find how much I loved the writing. Far from being archaic, it was just beautiful and elegant and so compelling that even when paragraphs are long I still read every word and don't feel bogged down.

There's a good reason this book has stood the test of time. Not only is it a great study of human nature, questionable morals, and true love, it's just well written. It's like reading poetry. And I normally don't like reading poetry.

For those of you who haven't read it, Jane Eyre is the story of an orphan girl who has a really rough childhood, first living with her merciless cousins, and then under the thumb of a ruthless schoolmaster. But she rises above it all, staying grounded, realistic, and humble, but also positive, cheerful, honest, and kind. Her fortune changes when her boarding school changes hands and she becomes a teacher. Later she wants a change of scenery, so she decides to become a governess for a French girl in an isolated country estate. The master of the estate is almost never home, so for a while it's just her bonding with the girl.

Also from the 2011 version.

Then one day she's out walking and runs into a stranger and helps him when his horse slips on the ice. She later discovers this is her boss, Mr. Rochester. For the next several months, they have a respectful but pretty platonic relationship. He treats her like the governess, she treats him like her boss. But then strange things start happening in the house. At one point, Jane finds Mr. Rochester's room inexplicably on fire and saves his life. While Mr. Rochester entertains guests and maintains an air of nonchalance, he and Jane develop a friendship, that then develops into something more. After a long time of will-they/won't-they, Mr. Rochester confesses his love, and Jane accepts his proposal for marriage.

And it's always adorable, no matter which version you watch. The book does it best, though, of course.

Then...things get sad. Spoilers if you haven't read it before. Turns out all the spooky stuff happening in the house was caused by Mr. Rochester's insane wife. Yeah, he was married the whole time. Hence all the brooding. He tries to get married to Jane anyways, but at the ceremony it's revealed that he's still married. Jane is devastated and leaves Thornfield. She has a really hard time of it, with no friends or family anywhere, but she refuses to go back. In the end, though, she finds friends/family, employment, and fortune. In a much better position, she goes back to Thornfield to find that it has been burned down. Mrs. Rochester set the place on fire, killing herself and leaving Mr. Rochester blind and maimed. But Jane loves him anyways and, now that they are free to be married, she does so. And Mr. Rochester regains his vision around the same time Jane gives birth to their first child.

I think I'm just gonna use the 2011 version for all my photos today.

Hooray! Happy ending!

Okay so what do I like about this story? Several things.

One, the main characters are not outlandishly attractive. Mr. Rochester is described as severe-looking, athletic but not handsome, and brooding but sincere at the same time.  In face, Jane feels comfortable around Rochester because he's not handsome or charming. She wouldn't know how to behave around someone treating her like a lady, so when he's always casual and short with her, she feels free to be at ease and blunt with him.

And throughout the book, Jane is described as impish, disagreeable, and sneaky-looking. She's well below Mr. Rochester's station, so she wears plain Quaker garb and never flirts. Nothing should draw Mr. Rochester to her. And yet he is drawn to her, and she to him.

In this day and age, it seems like every love interest's character can be described in three words. "HE'S SO HOT!!1!!" *Cough* Edward Cullen *Cough* It's great to see how two characters come together because they are each good people--not because they're lusting after each other, but because they establish mutual trust as the story goes on, and they get to know each other as people.

The movies aren't as good about making the main characters unattractive.

Oh yeah that Michael Fassbender isn't attractive AT ALL. *cough* No WAY do I find him good looking. Whew! Did someone turn off the air conditioner or what?

And that Mia Wasikowska! So mousy! So plain! So not gorgeous!

(Photos are from GettyImages.)

Two, Jane demonstrates great faith and moral fortitude. Unfortunately, the movies tend to gloss over this. They stay true to the book in that Jane leaves after everyone finds out about the crazy wife, but they always make it seem like, "Oh I can't stay--you LIED to me! I love you but I'm angry so I'm leaving!" In the book, Jane leaves because she doesn't want to give up her standards by becoming Mr. Rochester's mistress. She loves him too much to stay around and NOT be with him, so she essentially says, "Get thee hence, Satan," and avoids the temptation at all costs.

It hurts her, no doubt. She's heartbroken and homeless and even eats pig food for a while to survive, but then the blessings come raining down on her. She finds great friends (who turn out to be cousins). She comes into a fortune. And then, she receives a prompting that she should return to Thornfield, where she finds that the crazy wife has died and she's free to marry a broken but enduring Mr. Rochester.

Jane Eyre is an amazing role model, not because she throws all propriety aside and learns to be just as tough as the guys (which seems to be the rule for today's female role models). She's amazing because she demonstrates self-discipline, faith, and fortitude. She does what she knows to be right no matter how hard it is.

I think the world needs more women like Jane Eyre. And like Charlotte Bronte, I guess, since she's the one who created her. Just read these quotes:

This is apparently Charlotte Bronte. Courtesy of The Telegraph.

(After Mr. Rochester argues that they should just live together unmarried because no one will care) “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” 

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.”

“If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”  

“I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”  

(My favorite on morality) “Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour ... If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?”  

(On forgiveness)  “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.”  

(On getting a good education) “Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones.”  

(On friendship) “There is no happiness like that of being loved by your fellow creatures, and feeling that your presence is an addition to their comfort.” 

Okay, I'm done. Sorry, that was a lot, but there really is a lot of greatness to be found in this book.

Three, even though the story seems to go into excruciating detail and cover way more ground than it needs to, in the end you realize that it all serves a purpose. It starts with Jane living with her horrible cousins, but then it seems like she's left them and will never hear from them again, only for her to visit near the end of the book and forgive her aunt for everything she put Jane through. The details of her time at the boarding school show how Jane developed faith in God, which she desperately needed when the Big Reveal occurred. It all wraps together so well, that to skip over the excruciating details would be to cheat the reader of important and breathtaking information.

Again, the movies tend to pass over these details. Anything that was released in theaters leaves me feeling cheated, like I'm watching an underdeveloped, fake Jane on the screen. My personal favorite version is the 1983 version made by the BBC. It's super long (six hours, in fact) and the quality is dated, but it's almost word-for-word true to the book, so if you don't want to spend a week reading the book, spend six hours watching this movie.

In short, I love Jane Eyre. If you want to feel cultured but also want to be entertained and inspired, pick it up. There's a good reason why it's been considered a classic for so long, and I know it'll withstand the test of time and be a favorite for generations to come.

Doodle in the Margins: And the leopard shall lie down with the kid

Pairing Two: the leopard and the kid

Okay, I love leopards, but they are the devil to draw. So. Many. Spots. And this one was on its back! Try drawing a leopard's full body with all the spots in the right places and at the right sizes. It's a huge pain.

Goats are relatively easy to draw, I guess, but I don't think I've ever drawn a goat before today. It felt foreign. Goats and sheep are really weird looking, when you pay attention to them. Kind of like feet.

But this was pretty fun to draw. The wolf and lamb are just "dwelling" together, so they were more hanging out. I wanted to give the leopard and the kid an even greater sense of ease, like they just had a full day playing together and now they're relaxing as pals. I'll let you decide if I succeeded.

Doodle in the Margins: The wolf shall dwell with the lamb

I visited Rexburg this last weekend and have spent all this week catching up on my NaNoWriMo goals, so doodles are all you're gonna get for a while, probably.

A few years ago I realized that, despite all the paintings and hymns about "the lamb and the lion [lying] down together without any ire," that phrase actually isn't in the scriptures. But Isaiah 11 is full of unlikely animal pairings that will be the norm during the Millennium, so I decided I wanted to do a doodle series based on the actual phrasing.

Pairing Number One:

Honestly I think this makes more sense than the "lamb and the lion." Wolves are notorious for preying on sheep.

But there is part of the scripture that has to do with lions, so stay tuned.

Doodles in the Margins: Meet the Lev-Katia Family

In an effort to solidify the appearances and miscellaneous attributes of my Snow Glider characters, I drew Nara's family today.

I still stink at drawing men (and women for that matter...), but this was a helpful exercise for me so I thought I'd share. Besides, I haven't had the time or money to see any movies or read any books lately, so this is the only blog post you're gonna get for a while probably.

Lev & Katia

These are Nara's parents, Lev and Katia (hence the "Lev-Katia" Family). They're in the upper middle class in New Aglaya. Katia comes from a very wealthy family, and Lev is a renowned ship builder. He's quiet and fair, Katia is stern and all about propriety. Since Nara is her only daughter, Katia can seem kind of domineering to Nara. 

(From left to right) Onton, Benedikt, and Danil

This one was a much quicker, poorer-quality drawing, so sorry it's such a mess. These are Nara's brothers, all older than she is. Onton ("Tonny") is the eldest, and is supposed to take over the shipbuilding when Lev retires, so he dresses all fancy to keep up appearances.

Benedikt is a professional hunter, so he's pretty distant from his family most of the time. The snow leopard cape he wears marks him as an accomplished hunter, and his unkempt hair and beard show that he couldn't care less about appearances.

Danil is the youngest, only two years older than Nara, and he's the most sweet-tempered. Everyone likes him, but he tends to be overlooked when compared to the rest of his family.

So that's the Lev-Katia family (minus Nara, who I'll draw again later with her team of snow gliders). Hope you enjoyed this! NaNoWriMo is going to be my obsession until the end of November, so if you don't like hearing all about my characters and drafts, you might want to just check back in December. :)

Freewrite: Extremely Overdue Update/I Need to Infodump

Infodump (v.) = to unload a ton of information. Something usually to be avoided in literature because it bores the reader to tears and makes it impossible to tell which of all the info is actually important.

It's been a long time since I blogged, and since this blog is kind of doubling as my journal this year, I feel unsettled with how much has happened and how little I've written.

So here goes. *Deep breath*

NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month (November) is in a week, and I feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to write a novel again. It's been a year since my last whole-hearted attempt. I'm doing tons of research and planning so that Snow Glider will not only be written in November, it will be written well.

A lot of my "research" involves watching Bear Grylls tips for surviving in the arctic. Holy crow it's intense. I'm so glad I chose an arctic setting now, and my MC is definitely gonna have to display survival skills in the book. After all I'm learning, I have to include it in the book!

I'm also learning a lot about cultures that really do live in the arctic, and I'm sad that more people don't know more about the Sami, Greenlanders, and Inuit. I hope I can raise at least a little bit of awareness if Snow Glider is ever published.

Making more of an attempt to make friends
When I came home from Europe, I had two good acquaintances--two--come up to me and say, "Hi, I'm ---. What's your name?" Both times I just gaped at them and went, "Guys! It's me!" Needless to say, I feel like I haven't made a good enough effort to leave a lasting impression on my ward friends.

So, since I've been home I've done a lot to bond with people. My first week back, especially since I was jobless, I had lots of opportunities to socialize. That first Saturday, I went with Liz to clean the church and met a few new people there.

Later that afternoon, I went hiking with my friends to Donut Falls. It was a fun, leisurely hike on a beautiful autumn day. There were fat little chipmunks everywhere scrounging for last-minute winter rations. April had a bag of trail mix, so I fed peanuts to the chipmunks by hand. They were bold little critters, and I was glad that none of them bit me. My dad would never let me hear the end of it if I had to get rabies shots from a Donut Falls chipmunk.

Much later that evening, I helped Liz make a pizza casserole--the first time I've cooked with any of my roommates. It turned out to be delicious.

That first Monday back, our ward FHE was a service activity for the man who takes care of our church grounds. We went to his house and weeded his yard and took out bushes. It was good to give back to someone who's made our church such a pretty place.

Then on Tuesday, we had another ward activity--this one a Relief Society activity. We made holiday crafts. They had tile picture frames, little baby Jesus ornaments, and wood blocks. I made a stack of three wood blocks. On one side of the blocks are Halloween designs, and on the other are Christmas designs, so they work for both holidays! The RS committee provided cuts of scrapbook paper for us to use, and it was interesting to see how even though all the blocks are the same size and the papers are pretty similar, we all put our own unique style and personality into the blocks.

Here are mine. :)

On the following Sunday, we had a Relief Society breakfast/training meeting, where half the Relief Society got together to eat breakfast casserole and fruit salad while learning more about the importance of our callings. I got to know a lot more girls in my ward at that activity.

For FHE this past Monday, we had the coolest Halloween activity ever! We went up to the Salt Lake cemetery, where we were divided into four groups and given maps of the cemetery. Four of the graves were circled, and each group stumbled around in the dark to find them. Each grave belonged to a famous person in Church history. I can't for the life of me remember who the first woman was, but the other three were Truman Angell, Mary Fielding Smith, and Porter Rockwell. At each grave was a ward member dressed up as the person. They'd each memorized a script telling about the life of the person. It was both very creepy and very cool. Even though I knew it was a ward member's face hidden in the shadows, you could almost imagine that it really was each person's spirit standing by their own gravestone, eager to tell their story and be remembered. I loved it.

Family Get-togethers
I'm also spending much more time bonding with my family. My first Monday back, I was invited to have FHE with the Jenkins and my grandparents (I went after our ward FHE where we cleaned up that yard). We had a delicious dinner, then watched this commencement speech from the University of Texas:


Please please watch it. It's one of the most inspirational things I've ever listened to. It made a great FHE subject.

And then FHE kind of derailed into a YouTube party, where we watched a bunch of trailers for upcoming movies, and then watched the newest episode of Studio C, which grandma and grandpa found very...interesting. :) When it was over, we played Quick Rook while eating ice cream on pizzookies.

I've had dinner at grandma and grandpa's a few Sundays already, usually followed by Rumikub, and most recently with an episode of The Paradise.

Since Ashley has come back from Norway, she and I have gotten into all sorts of shenanigans. We've been working on our fitness most mornings. We've gone to BodyPump, hiked in the mountains, jogged around the park track, and just this morning went to yoga at Dash. It nearly killed us, but we feel very good about ourselves.

We've also been doing a bunch of crafty things together. We've been to Walmart several times for supplies. Last week we painted canvasses. My room desperately needs more decor, so I painted this to fill the space where a headboard should be.

I got the idea from Pinterest. The original piece was black and white, but I have enough black in my room, so I changed it to red.

Then yesterday we invited A-Hui over and made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, then painted pumpkins to decorate grandma's porch with.

Don't you just love October??

Finally, in family news, I have a new cousin! Aunt Lucie had a baby boy on the 20th--his name is Tennessee James "T.J." Chamberlain. I can't wait to meet him!

Job hunting
The most stressful thing about coming home from Europe has been the job hunt, but thankfully that has mostly been resolved. It was really frustrating those first two weeks. I kept getting my hopes up about some jobs, then not hear anything back for forever.

But then I went to a group interview at the JSMB for a banquet server position. It went extremely well and I felt confident that they were going to hire me. Two days later, they called me and wanted me to work for them.

Unfortunately, they called me while I was on my way to another interview with the Deseret Book downtown store. I too the JSMB that I would call them back, then went in and talked with the DB manager. After a fantastic interview, he hired me on the spot.

So I was sad to have to tell the kind people at the JSMB "thanks but no thanks," but I have a job now! Yay!! I hope this one won't be temporary, but it very well might be. I also got an interview to be the receptionist at the DB corporate office--a position a little higher up the ladder and a little more applicable to my career path than the store associate position.  That interview also went very well (I feel like a professional interviewee at this point), but I'm still waiting to hear back from them.

So far working at the downtown store has been amazing. It's been a learning process, sure, but I'm catching on quickly and I just love the whole atmosphere. Everyone who comes in is so nice and my coworkers are wonderful and helpful.

I also get to use my Spanish a lot. Yesterday there was this adorable family of four little girls with their mom, and they only spoke Spanish. The girls loved that I spoke their language (though they were skeptical at first. "Are you sure you speak Spanish?" one asked me.)

The distribution center especially likes having me around, because it's really hard to find the right temple clothes sizes and specifications when there's a language barrier. Not that I'm all that useful when it comes to clothing words. I'm picking them up now, but that first day I did my best but realized most of my vocabulary is very gospel- or Paraguay-specific.

Also, being on my feet all day is reminding me of Paraguay a lot. I haven't been this foot-sore and physically exhausted in a long while. I don't even remember Grounds being this exhausting. I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though.

Speaking of jobs, it's finally safe for me to say that my parents are officially moving back to Utah!!! My dad found a great job in Salt Lake, and our dreams of all living in Utah again are finally coming true! Of course, Amanda, Chase, and Jackson are still in Idaho, but at least now Mom and Dad can visit them much more frequently! I'm so excited.


Phew! FINALLY all caught up. I feel great relief now. On to writing a novel in 30 days!

Europe Trip 2014: Video!

You guys. You HAVE to watch this video that my sisters put together. It captures some of the essence of our amazing Europe trip (though really you would've had to be there to understand just how spectacular it was.)

Also, Sarah's blog, prone2wand3r.blogspot.com, is all updated, so if you want to read more about the trip then that's where you should go!

I miss it already.

Doodle in the Margins: Clash of Characters

So I'm still hunting for a job. I'm really tired of filling out online applications and I'm getting nervous about the fact that I haven't heard back from one part-time job I was practically guaranteed before I left for Europe.

But I'm not going to get into that. It just means that I have a lot of free time at home while everyone else is out earning a living.

Aside from mind-numbing tasks like filling out online applications (which always have you fill out a TON of sections and then asks for you to submit a resume too--like why can't I just submit the resume I already made??), I've been trying to stay somewhat productive.

My biggest side project is preparation for this year's NaNoWriMo (National Novel-Writing Month). I did it last year successfully, and...that was the last time I wrote anything for Snow Glider. Since last November it has remained unfinished, because I'm rethinking the plot and just haven't had the motivation to go back and rewrite the whole thing.

I still don't quite know where the plot is gonna go, but most of the fun of writing 1500 words a day for NaNoWriMo is that it sets your mind free and the plot just kind of forms itself sometimes. I still want to have a really great outline before NaNoWriMo begins, but until then I'm doing other things to prepare.

For example, yesterday I spent about three hours making mini profiles for every single arctic animal I could think of. Snow Glider is set in the arctic, so for authenticity and inspiration I'm researching every aspect of arctic life I can find. Animals naturally were my first choice of research topic, and boy did I find a lot of them. I was surprised by how many creatures live in polar deserts, and I haven't even gotten to the marine life yet. I'm glad I didn't choose a rainforest setting.

Anyways, this morning I decided to take a break from researching and instead I decided to establish my characters' appearances. I want to make them all so distinct and memorable that my readers will never experience what I did with Michael Vey ("Wait...who's Benedikt again?" "I think he might be one of the MC's brothers...?" "Eh, whatevs.").

It got me to doodling, because that really helps me to fixate an image of my characters in my own head.

I started with Nara, my MC (Main Character). And then I randomly felt like drawing my other MC, Aralin, even though her story is completely unrelated to Nara's and her novel isn't my project this year. The two of them technically live in the same world, but at completely opposite ends of it (Nara in a polar desert and Aralin in a desert desert), and I think I'm gonna put them in completely different eras, too. Whatever. I just thought how weird (and fun!) it would be if the two of them ever met up, and this happened:

Sorry it's blurry. I don't have a scanner.

I just realized that Aralin kind of looks like I based her off of Korra. A) She's usually wearing that coat around her waist, and her hair is usually down. This is her when she's doing something physically demanding that makes her sweaty. B) I designed Aralin's character YEARS before Korra ever happened. Just saying. :)

Also, to keep my mind in NaNoWriMo mode, I drew this and hung it in my room:

I stole the design from this one I found via Pinterest, so don't credit me or ask me to reproduce it.

As much as I want an income again, it's pretty fun being able to focus so much of my time and my thoughts on literature and characters and doodles. This is making me want more than ever to actually make a living on writing so that my work and my play can be one and the same. :)

Book Review: Michael Vey #4 (+ Writing Tips)

Hello and welcome back to "Carly Gives Her Opinions on Books"!

In this episode, we'll be taking a look at Michael Vey and the Hunt for Jade Dragon, the fourth book in the Michael Vey series.

First up, the pros.

I was pleasantly surprised by this installment in the Michael Vey series because the last one left me extremely underwhelmed. So underwhelmed that I almost didn't finish reading it because I was so bored. Maybe it was just because I went in with very low expectations, but I liked this book much better than the last. It was engaging enough that I read it all yesterday in an attempt to combat jet lag.

I think what the last book lacked for me was any kind of suspense. It was getting too predictable in its repetition--the kids are evading Elgen, Elgen catches up, Elgen catches the kids, the kids escape Elgen, repeat.

In this book, the kids still save the day and manage to escape relatively unscathed, but there were some twists to the story that generally surprised me.

(I'm going to include some spoilers for the sake of those who have read it, but I'm going to write them in white so that you have to highlight the spoiler sections in order to see them.)

For example, I saw the ( "Tara takes the place of Taylor" ) thing a mile away. But I didn't realize that ( Nichelle "betraying" the others ) was actually a ruse to trick Tara and Hatch and ultimately save the others. I just thought ( she was going back to her villainous ways), and I was sad that it was so cliched. Luckily it didn't turn out that way at all. I was happy with that.

Evans did a good job in this book of using obvious twists in the plot to disguise surprising ones. Another example was when ( Michael's father was alive and working for Elgen. I thought "Great, his dad's been alive all this time and now he's going to trick Michael into thinking that Elgen is actually the good guys." ) What I didn't see coming at all was that it was actually ( Hatch using Tara's abilities to pretend to be Michael's father). I was just as shocked and disturbed by that as Michael was.

Now for the cons.

These are pretty nitpicky probably, but I am an editor. I did ultimately like this book (I'll give it a 4 out of 5), but there are some things that could be done better, and so I'm gonna give some tips from an editor to any writers out there who may be reading this.

1) Jade Dragon is the most cliched "cool" Chinese name I've ever heard of. I think they could have still called it "Operation Jade Dragon," but they should have kept using the girl's Chinese name, Lin Julung. Since, you know, she's Chinese and her name is actually Chinese. Anyone who speaks Chinese would still think it's the most contrived name ever, but at least it wouldn't be so blatant.

It's like taking a Mexican guy named Jorge Santa Cruz and calling him George Holy Cross the whole book. If you're gonna give a character a cool name in some other language, you can acknowledge that it's a "cool" name, but don't shove it down our throats like that.

2) Evans has obviously either been to Taiwan or just done tons of research on it. He put in tons of details to make it seem as authentic as possible. Unfortunately, this really bogged down the story for me.

The characters had like a week in Taiwan before their super secret mission to rescue Jade Dragon, but I didn't need to hear about every single meal they ate in excruciating detail to understand that they were experiencing culture shock and that Evans did his homework. A few comments about the unfamiliar food would have sufficed. Knowing exactly everything they did during that week just made me think "Are these guys covert ops or tourists?" They didn't seem all that worried about their situation. They just pigged out on Taiwanese food and visited markets the whole time.

In fact, all four books have been blow-by-blow accounts of what's happened to Michael since he discovered the other electric kids. Not a day gets passed up as unimportant.

Now, I like a book that has its days numbered, but I like it better when we get a sense of urgency because those days are numbered and they have limited time. I don't feel urgency when every single day of months of Michael's life are spelled out, including mundane details like every food they ate and what every single member of the Electroclan was up to.

Bravo for putting in details to make the story seem more authentic--it was definitely believable that they were in Taiwan--but don't bog down the story with unnecessary facts for the sake of authenticity.

3) Limit how many main characters you have. Obviously Michael, Taylor, and Ostin are the MAIN main characters, but there are six other kids they hang out with all the time who are supposed to be equally as important. SIX. And there's almost nothing setting them apart for me, except the occasional use of their respective powers. But even those I can't keep straight.

You know you have too many unmemorable characters when I read this book and everyone was mourning (Wade's) death from the last book and I thought, "Who was (Wade) again...?" When I finally did remember, I still didn't feel sad because he'd served the exact same purpose as another main character, (Jack). Evans could have easily combined (Jack and Wade) to make one character who's ( not electric and who used to pick on Michael but changed his ways to help them out). Having two was so redundant that I didn't even miss one of them when he died.

There are so many kids in the Electroclan whose powers I can't remember and whose personalities and stories don't stand apart enough for me to care about them individually. They're not even set apart by appearances, except McKenna whose Chinese appearance was mentioned a lot in this book.

It's okay to have tons of characters in your stories, but they need to stand apart on their own, not just be bunched together as a collective whole with individual powers that are important to the story (sometimes). Nine MAIN characters is just too much, unless they serve very important functions and have vastly different personalities.

Take "Firefly" for example. It also has nine main characters--Mal, Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, Inara, Jayne, Simon, River, and Book. But I was able to list all nine of them after having only seen the series once in high school, and I never EVER mistake Inara for Kaylee. Every one of those nine characters is so memorable and so different in their roles that they stand out in my mind. If I were to try and name the nine main characters of Michael Vey, I'd have to consult the book. And I just read it yesterday.

If the characters don't stand out enough, then usually just three main characters is all a reader can handle. Hence all the trios you find in books. Harry, Ron, Hermione. Edward, Bella, Jacob. Katniss, Peeta, Gale.

4) It's great that Evans made his characters question in this book whether or not Elgen were really evil. It's awesome when you can give the villains grey morality. Unfortunately, Evans fell a bit short in this because while Michael and Ostin may have questioned Elgen's evilness, we readers certainly didn't.

That's because we the readers are treated to the POV of Hatch and other villains, but nothing about them makes us go "Awww, they have a tragic past and are just misunderstood and really think they're doing the right thing!" That's what you need to do in order to make the reader question the villains and sympathize with them. All Evans did when showing us the villain POV was treat us to murder, truly disturbing plots, and the villains' complete lack of sympathy towards anyone else. I never once thought, "Oh, maybe they're actually the good guys."

So if you're a writer and you want the villains to be sympathetic, get into their heads and show us something that we'll connect with. THEN you can make the main characters question, and the readers will also start to wonder. But you can't portray black and white morality and expect us to start seeing grey where there isn't any.

5) Finally, heroes can be heroes, but they need flaws in order to really connect with the readers. Michael Vey is near flawless, and it's starting to make me unafraid of how the story will end. I just know that good is going to triumph, because in these books good can do no wrong.

Evans tries to make Michael "flawed" by giving him Tourette's and constantly pointing out that Taylor is way out of his league. But those aren't the kinds of flaws that make a story a genuine struggle between good and evil.

Michael Vey can apparently do no wrong. His powers keep growing (unlike anyone else's), and he never uses them poorly or in the wrong way. He's so admired that his friends make him the undisputed leader of their group, and he never makes an incorrect decision for them. Even the adults resisting Elgen defer to Michael as the undisputed most clever and most capable person among them. Michael is supposed to be like 15 years old, yet grown adults are sending him and his other 15-year-old friends on deadly missions because they're so perfectly special. He's the one the bad guy hates most, because he always spoils the bad guy's plans.

It's coming to the point where I know exactly how it's going to play out. Michael will always have a great plan, and it will sort of get foiled by Hatch, but then Michael and his friends escape and ultimately win the battle. Every time.

If you want good examples of flawed main characters, here are a few of my favorites:

In the Dresden Files (which I can't in good conscience recommend to the faint of heart but which I love for lots of literary reasons), Harry Dresden is without a doubt capable and awesome. But I don't always know that he's going to come out on top, even though that's his track record, because he has flaws. He makes mistakes that get people killed. He uses his powers for bad reasons sometimes, and a lot of the time his powers and abilities just aren't enough to defeat the bad guys. He's not handsome or popular, not even among other wizards. Normal people avoid him at first because he looks so sketchy and acts so snarky. He accidentally (and sometimes intentionally) offends and alienates even his closest friends so that even they sometimes don't trust him.

One minute he's being awesome, taking names. The next minute, he's accidentally setting his lab on fire.

I've seen Dresden make countless mistakes, and I honestly don't know if things are going to turn out all right in the end because things go wrong, his plans have fatal errors to them, and people don't always listen to his advice. Bad things happen. Ultimately he does win, but usually with severe consequences and lots of tragedy to go along with the victory. It wouldn't surprise me if he dies at the end of the series and the world remains a little messed up. I will cry my eyes out if that happens, but Jim Butcher has made his characters so believably imperfect that it won't surprise me if it happens.

Kaladin from Way of Kings and Words of Radiance (which I just read last month) is the underdog in so many ways. He doesn't have great social skills, so people don't generally adore him--not even the people he saves from danger. He loses his powers at one point because he makes selfish decisions and stops using them for noble reasons. He doesn't get the girl. He has legit problems, and those problems come with consequences that leave him afraid and alone on many occasions.

Michael Vey has Tourette's and was considered a dweeb in high school. That's not enough to make him flawed when all his plans go right, he always makes the right choice, and all the good guys love him no matter what.

Wow, this was much longer than I planned for it to be. I hope it was helpful, though--both in finding you a pretty good book to read when you're bored, and in giving you some writing tips if that's your thing.

(I just found all these photos through Google, so I have no idea who they actually belong to. I don't own any of them.)

Freewrite: Not Dead

If anyone's reading this, I am still alive and well!

Unfortunately, my sisters are the ones with the photos from our Europe trip, so I could just write up a huge long narrative about what we did, but I have a feeling most people won't read it to the end unless there are pictures.

So once I get access to those, I'll start catching you up. In the meantime, see what we've already blogged on Gypsy Soul. It still needs a few days covered, but it's got much more content than I have.

Not much is happening in my life in the meantime. I'm just in AZ spending time with Mom before going back to UT to job hunt. (Ugh…) But if I read anything or watch any new movies I'll be sure to post about them.

Have a wonderful Wednesday night!

Europe Trip 2014: Photos and Updates

Psych, I don't actually have anything on here to show you. Yet. Once I get back to Arizona I promise to give you a very detailed narrative and tons of photos about our vacation.

For now, you should follow my sister's blog, prone2wand3r.blogspot.com. We've been taking turns posting about our day on that blog, so check it out if you want to follow along with our adventures!

Until October!

Movie Review: Guardians of the Galaxy

(I don't own a single photo on this post. It all belongs to Marvel [and BBC, one of them].)

So a little background before I give my review: I’m a geek. I know WAY too much about fictional characters and very little about real-world people.

That being said, I knew next to nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy, except when they made a guest appearance on The Ultimate Spider-man (yes, I sometimes watch cartoons--they’re clean fun stories, okay??). Usually when a mainstream superhero appears on the big screen, I already know something about them, either from the newspaper comic strips or from my childhood where we only had six channels and the funnest one had Batman, X-Men, and Gargoyles (giving me a well-rounded knowledge of DC, Marvel, and Shakespeare, in that order).

But when I saw the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer, I was like, “Wait, really? Who even knows about these guys? I know next to nothing about them! DC is worried about trying to make a Wonder Woman movie and Marvel is doing Guardians of the Galaxy??”

And for some reason, I was super, super excited to see it. Probably because Marvel can do no wrong lately (I mean, did you SEE Captain America 2??), and because even though NOBODY knows about these characters, the movie got amazing reviews. That’s a good sign.

Ashley and I have seen a few movies this summer, but she’d never been interested in Guardians of the Galaxy. I didn’t really blame her, but I didn’t want to see it by myself, and so I thought I would never get to see it in theaters.

Then on Tuesday night, Ashley was bummed out about some things, so we were sitting in my living room, moping. I was listening to a book on tape, being there for her but not really being there. She was constantly texting on her phone anyways.

“Can we go do something?” Ashley finally asked.

“No, it’s like 9:30.”

We sat in silence for a few more minutes. Then she put her phone down, rolled her head to look at me, and pouted.

“Can we just go see a movie?”

“Are you kidding? We wouldn’t get home until midnight! We have work in the morning, woman!”

“Uggggggghhhhhhh! Pleeeeeeaaaaase.”

“No.”

She slumped further into the couch cushions, looking miserable. My stone heart didn’t crack.

“I’d even be willing to see Guardians of the Galaxy right now,” she grumbled.

I paused my audiobook and looked up slowly. “Really?”

“Yes...”

I narrowed my eyes at her, suspecting a trick. She pouted back, looking determined to get her way, even if it meant going to a movie I wanted to see.

“Hmm…” I doubted I’d ever get her in this kind of mood again. This was my only shot. So I left her slouching on the couch and got my shoes.

And that’s how we ended up in a deserted movie theater on a Tuesday night for a 10:30 showing of Guardians of the Galaxy.

*fanfare and applause*

The atmosphere wasn’t ideal. There were only four other people in the theater--a pair of elderly people who looked like retired empty-nesters with nothing else to do, and a pair of sketchy-looking guys who looked like they should have been in college or careers but didn’t feel like it. It meant that we didn’t get that mob-mentality energy that usually makes going to a movie a fun experience. When the movie was funny, Ashley and I were the only ones laughing. When I wanted to lean over and whisper how cool something was, my voice seemed to carry half a mile.

Despite that and my fatigue, I had a really good time.

Guardians of the Galaxy was everything the trailer promised to to be--well-made but never taking itself too seriously. The special effects were awesome, with lots of space-tech and explosions, and the characters were ridiculous--unique and over-the-top. Watching it, I got the sense that the actors were just having the time of their lives, glad that they didn’t have to put TOO much weight into their acting. And yet the acting was good! They put in all their talent and did a great job.

It was a fun romp of a movie. Like, don’t go in expecting The Dark Knight Rises or anything, but if you see it, just enjoy yourself! I sure did! I’d give it like a 4.25 out of 5.

To go more in detail, I kind of feel like Rocket and Groot held everything together. Not only did I laugh out loud for Rocket’s jokes (while others tended to fall flat in the almost-empty theater), but he was the most paradoxical character. A raccoon. A tiny, crazy, anthropomorphic raccoon who is possibly the smartest and most destructive of the bunch.

And yet I want to pet his whiskers!

And then Groot, the anthropomorphic tree, was great because he was the essentially indestructible muscle of the group, yet he was the sweetest and most innocent. It was amazing how he literally only spoke three words the entire time (we’ll talk later about how Vin Diesel probably got paid millions just to say those three words), but his eyes and actions conveyed so much emotion and caring. It was actually kind of beautiful. He was like a child--seeing the world with wonder and kindness. And then he’d extend his tree limb arms and stab ten people at once and remind you that nature is beautiful but can also be freakish deadly.

The other three characters were interesting and entertaining, but they weren’t surprising. An assassin with a heart of gold--it’s been done. An outlaw who becomes the hero--also been done. A bloodthirsty warrior who hates everyone but learns to soften up a bit--yep, I’ve seen it. They all just fit into their molds so predictably. Almost to the point where I didn’t care for Quill and Gomorrah’s love story because A) I had a hard time buying that the hardened, weaponized Gomorrah could fall for someone that easily, and B) we were told from the beginning that Quill was a womanizer and I honestly couldn’t tell if he actually cared about Gomorrah as a person or just because he wanted to sleep with her later.

"Hey girl. Remember how I couldn't remember that other girl's name earlier despite spending the night with her?"
"Yeah. Remember how I'm an assassin who had all the sentiment tortured out of me?"
"Yeah. Well I'm totally gonna change my ways for you."
"Ditto."
"Cool."

Anyways, even though the character types weren’t necessarily my favorite, I was very impressed with the level of depth the movie managed to give all five of them. Creating a single good character is an accomplishment. Making FIVE main characters sympathetic to the audience is brilliant. They didn’t get deep into everyones’ back stories, but they gave enough hints during the action to show what each character was about and what in their past made them that way. I was impressed with that.

The villains had a little less depth, but they were scary enough to make the climax exciting. It’s just hard for movie-makers to have us care about helpless planets full of purple-skinned people we know nothing about. I mean, yeah, dead people are dead people and I should have felt aghast and terrified at the destruction, but all space movies do the same thing. It’s always less about what the villain is going to do to the hero if they fail, and more about how the villain is going to destroy EVERYTHING because that’s what space villains do.

Karen Gillan, though! Man, she was good! I’d forgotten she was in this movie until she appeared on-screen, and then I got all excited. She was one of the main characters on Doctor Who for a while (one of my FAVORITE main characters), and she was great in this, too, even though the roles were so different. And I’m sure most people wouldn’t recognize her without her Scottish accent and long red hair. She actually shaved her hair for the role of Nebula (and she was wearing a wig in her final scene as Amy Pond on Doctor Who). At first I thought she was just doing something shocking and trendy for her fans, but now I can see why she did it. I mean, putting on all that character makeup must have been hard enough without also having to deal with a bald cap every time.

Before...

...and after. Wow!

Another thing that I geeked out about (but I know most people probably won’t--Ashley didn’t notice any of this and I later had to point it all out to her), but there was so much in this movie that tied into Thor and the Avengers. The makers have said that they’re not gonna have a Guardians/Avengers mash-up or anything, but there was a lot that pointed to the fact that they’re all living in the same universe.

Exhibit A) One of the Infinity Stones shown in the exposition was definitely the Tesseract that Captain America and the Avengers deal with, and apparently the dark ether from Thor 2 and Loki's scepter from Avengers are also Infinity Stones.

All of these things are cousins, apparently

Exhibit B) The collector guy in the white cape who they try to sell the orb to was seen in the cutscene of Thor 2. Lady Sif put the dark ether with him, so we know that Thor’s posse knows all about the collector guy, and potentially run around in the same circles as all the Nova Corps and such. The collector also had a bunch of Dark Elves and Chitauri in his collection, if you look around the background.

"Why yes, Lady Sif. We'd love to put something of yours in our set of Marvel collectibles. Thanks for helping the audience see that your universe and mine are the same!"

Exhibit C) Thanos, the big purple guy, was shown at the very end of the Avengers, revealing him to be the one who tortured/bribed Loki and gave him the scepter Infinity Stone so that he could destroy the earth and get the Tesseract--another Infinity Stone. He’s also apparently the Big Bad of Avengers 2. Maybe trying to get all the Infinity Stones together and still needing the Tesseract? I dunno. Not sure how Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch fit into that yet either, but we’ll see.

I'm curious to see how Marvel makes him the big bad of Avengers 2. He doesn't seem all that scary to me yet. Sure I could see him being destructive, but not scary evil. More like melodramatic EEEEEEEVIL!!!

The music was surprisingly good, too. I got a little tired of the 70s tape after a while, but it did a great job of connecting the audience with this other-worldly setting. And then the actual soundtrack was pretty well done! I really liked the song that played during the final battle, though I haven’t found it on iTunes yet. I’ll probably have to listen to 4 minutes of boring music to find the great theme in the last 30 seconds. I hate when that happens. Alas. If anyone knows the song I’m talking about please tell me. l’d like to have it.

I'm also curious to see how many people actually buy TAPES again because of this. This movie made cassette tapes and walkmen look cool again!

In short (now that I’ve written like twenty paragraphs), Guardians of the Galaxy was, I thought, worth seeing in theaters. It was a very fun movie.