The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - thoughts on the upcoming film

First things first, I'm gonna talk about how I was introduced to the series. I was late on the Hunger Games bandwagon. When I first heard about the series, I thought it would be a terrible idea for a series. I mean, forcing kids and teens to fight to the death for people's entertainment was not appealing to me. Never the less, I continued to hear good things about it, and when it got to the point where even my mom was wanting to read it, I decided to investigate. I started out right by reading the books before watching the movie. Now, having seen the first movie and read the books, I'm ready to see the next movie.

Sam Claflin as Finnick Odar and Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

 Before reading the first book, I was actually unaware that there was more than one book. I remember as I was reading Catching Fire, that I was getting super into it. The beginning was just jammed packed with intensity and it carried through all the way to the end. When I first heard that (SPOLIERS) Katniss and Peeta would be going back into the arena for another round of Hunger Game, I was a bit conflicted. Part of me was excited to read how they would survive (or not), but the other part of me was thinking "Please don't. Don't repeat yourself. It was good enough the first time, don't screw it up by doing it twice". That being said, the first part of me that was excited was more justified. When I finished reading, I was slightly disappointed it was over! Though part of that disappointment came from the fact that the climax came and ended abruptly. I was not expecting the whole thing with the tree and the wires to actually be the climax. Part of me felt cheated that it ended so quickly, but after thinking about it after finishing the book, I realize that I do actually like it when stories are unpredictable... I just wasn't feeling it at the time.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mallark, Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorn

Now, we're actually going into the movie adaptation of Catching Fire. Since I didn't really know anything about Hunger Games when the first movie came out, I'm actually feeling excited for the new movie. More excited than I am for the third book's movies (though THAT's another story). Out of the original cast, I only had only seen three actors in movies prior to Hunger Games, and those were Josh Hutcherson (Kicking and Screaming), Stanley Tucci (Julie and Julia), and Toby Jones (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets/Deathly Hallows part 1). I had aslo heard of Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks before but had never seen them in any film. Also, I figured out that Liam Hemsworth must have been the brother of actor Chris Hemsworth before I learned his name, because he looked so much like a short, dark-haired Thor.

As for the new cast of Catching Fire, I had only seen Sam Clafflin. He played the character who was the cheep Will Turner replacement character in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. But this time it has been fun to see who's being cast as the roles. I haven't had this much fun looking at actors being cast as book characters since Harry Potter ended. For some reason it felt like The Hobbit didn't count. Can't explain... But seeing the actors and trying to imagine them as I was reading was fun for me.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

It's still too early in the movie making process to give too many opinions on things, however. They haven't even put out a trailer yet. I'm just sitting here looking forward to it and can't wait. I don't have many movies that I'm looking forward to anymore. Now I'm just waiting for this film, the next Hobbit movies, and Star Trek into Darkness. Haven't decided if I'm actually excited for the new Star Wars movies yet or not. I'm thinking I'll do a review of the trailer when they release it. Stay tuned! Until then, Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

Soundtrack Review - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Review of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey soundtrack (special edition)

 As a huge fan of both Howard Shore’s scores for The Lord of the Rings film series and of movie soundtracks in general, the score for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was easily the most anticipated soundtrack of 2012 for me. I remember the day they announced that Howard Shore would be returning to score The Hobbit, and while I didn’t have much doubt going into it that Shore wouldn’t do it, I was still relieved. His masterful work for LOTR has my bid for best movie score of all time, and my expectations for The Hobbit were set extremely high.

                The soundtrack for the Hobbit was released on December 11^th, 2012 –one day before the film was released in theaters – in two different ways: A two-disc soundtrack and a two-disc special extended edition. The track listing of the album (I use the Extended version) stands thusly:

1.        My Dear Frodo (8:03)

2.        Old Friends (5:00) Extended

3.        An Unexpected Party (4:08)

4.        Blunt The Knives (1:01) Exclusive Bonus Track - Based on text by JRR Tolkien

5.        Axe or Sword? (5:59)

6.        Misty Mountains (1:42) Based on text by JRR Tolkien

7.        The Adventure Begins (2:04)

8.        The World Is Ahead (2:19)

9.        An Ancient Enemy (4:56)

10.     Radagast The Brown (6:37) Extended

11.     The Trollshaws (2:03) Exclusive Bonus Track

12.     Roast Mutton (4:56) Extended

13.     The Hill of Sorcery (3:50)

14.     Warg-Scouts (3:02)

Disc 2

1.        The Hidden Valley (2:49)

2.        Moon Runes (3:39) Extended

3.        The Defiler (1:14)

4.        The White Council (9:40) Extended

5.        Over Hill (3:42)

6.        A Thunder Battle (3:54)

7.        Under Hill (1:54)

8.        Riddles in the Dark (5:21)

9.        Brass Buttons (7:37)

10.     Out of the Frying Pan (5:55)

11.     A Good Omen (5:45)

12.     Song of the Lonely Mountain (6:00) Extended

13.     Dreaming of Bag End (1:56)

14.     A Very Respectable Hobbit (1:20) Exclusive Bonus Track

15.     Erebor (1:19) Exclusive Bonus Track

16.     The Dwarf Lords (2:01) Exclusive Bonus Track

17.     The Edge of the Wild (3:34) Exclusive Bonus Track

 

The overall scale of the score is toned down somewhat from the epic sensation that was Lord of the Rings, but this is fitting for the story of The Hobbit, which was not as large as LOTR. It captures more of the simple charm of the story, rather than the grandeur of the world. This is at complete contrast against the aggressive battle themes brought on by the story’s new lead villain, Azog the Defiler. While not in the book apart from a mention, Azog’s music is highly different from the rest of this score, but fits right in when compared to the big LOTR picture. It was also a nice change when some of the original songs that JRR Tolkien wrote in his novel were incorporated into the score, including the song “That’s What Bilbo Baggins Hates” (called “Blunt the Knives” on this soundtrack) and Thorin’s ballad for The Lonely Mountain (called “Misty Mountains” on this soundtrack).

 Several themes from Lord of the Rings are brought back for the score, and it feels very natural hearing them again. The familiar themes for Hobbiton and The Shire are introduced in the beginning, as well as the themes for Rivendell, Galadriel, Sméagol, Gollum, Mordor, and (of course) The One Ring. Also present throughout the score are other familiar melodies from The Fellowship of the Ring, including several passages from the early Bag End scenes when Gandalf first arrives for Bilbo’s birthday party, and Dwarven melodies first heard in the Mines of Moria. Missing from The Hobbit score, however, is the well-known theme for The Fellowship. This makes sense I guess, because this story obviously happens long before the events in The Fellowship of the Ring. There were two moments in the film when themes from LOTR are heard in out-of-context moments, and both of them are near the end of the film. First, when the Dwarf Company is stuck in the trees by the Wargs and the Goblins, The theme for the Nazgul is played when Thorin stands up to confront Azog, and secondly at the very end (spoilers) when Thorin embraces Bilbo, saying how wrong he has judged his courage. In this instance, the theme for the race of Men, as heard in Return of the King, is heard. Interestingly enough, both of these moments are on the soundtrack album, but feature cues other than those heard in the film.

 There are plenty of new themes established in the new film as well, and they fit right in with the themes from LOTR. First off is a new theme for the Company of Dwarves, and their mission to reclaim their homeland from Smaug the Dragon. This theme is the melody for the songs “Misty Mountains” and “Song of the Lonely Mountain”. “Misty Mountains” features lyrics straight from the text of Tolkien’s book. There are two other Dwarven themes added in this movie as well, including a theme for Thorin and a theme for Erebor. Gandalf is also given a theme for this movie, which can be heard several times in the soundtrack, as well as Radagast. Smaug the Dragon and Azog the Pale Orc are also have new evil themes as the film’s two main antagonists.

 But then there is Bilbo. He has quite a unique musical presence in this score. Several melodies play through his character, including two returning themes from LOTR (those being the themes for Hobbiton and the theme for Frodo/The Shire). Bilbo also gets a new melody that pertains to him alone, and is highly similar to the Shire theme. There is also a new theme that plays through Bilbo’s struggle to adapt to the Dwarves’ lifestyle way outside of his comfort zone. These Bilbo-centered themes all compliment each other nicely.

 Overall, this soundtrack, while not quite as sweeping and epic as any of the Lord of the Rings scores, is a very excellent soundtrack to compliment LOTR. I personally can’t wait for the next two movies and soundtracks to come out. Until then, the road goes ever on.

Director's Cut: Chronicles of the Chronicler 3: The Lost World

It was suggested on YouTube that I release a Director's Cut for COTC season 3: The Lost World. There aren't very many of my videos I can actually do that for, and I decided that it was worth a go. This wasn't as simple as just pulling out the old footage and adding it back in, this required me filming footage for sequences that were in the script, but never actually filmed. Luckily enough, all the necessary audio from Carl, Shannon, Frank, and Lauren was already recorded from the first time around, because they recorded straight from the script, even if a scene wasn't filmed.

In total, 19 sequences were added back in (or extended). I had to reconstruct nearly all the models, because in the meantime, the short "Takua and Jaller go on an Adventure" was shot, and characters Rooktoth and Golem were built using peices of Takua (as Toa), Gali, Lewa, and Onua. Makuta was also deconstructed completely for Clarence. I could easily rebuild the Toa, but I didn't have the time or the patience to rebuild Makuta. It's a good thing he was only needed for one scene and I could get by with just using his arm.

Here's a list of what's new:

1. Makuta's escape/Ahkmou's capture***
2. Extended Altair Dialogue at jail house***
3. Altair explains the Mask of Time*
4. Takua and Jaller talk about Pohatu*
5. Makuta's Warning**
6. Extended Altair Dialogue at Hall of Records***
7. Gali Fights Rahkshi in Ga-Koro**
8. Extended Lewa/Pohatu argument**
9. Jaller Discovers Takua's Mask**/Tahu fights Rahkshi in Ta-Koro Ruins***
10. Extended Lewa/Pohatu exchange after Le-Koro Attack**
11. Extended Toa Takua/Altair Dialogue**
12. Lewa's Inspirational speech***
13. Jaller's relief at Takua's return*
14. Tahu/Pohatu/Takua/Gali Dialogue before climax begins***
15. Extended Nuparu/Kongu attack**
16. Pohatu/Kopaka fight Rahkshi***
17. Lewa/Takua/Pohatu/Onua fight Rahkshi***
18. Extended Makuta appearing scene***
19. Extended Makuta fight***

*=Completely new footage and audio
**=unused footage and audio from Principle Photography
***=new footage with audio from Principle Photography

- It can be noted that certain lines of Jaller's and Nuparu's during the climax were re-recorded. Also, the music during the climax is mixed completely differently.

- #5 and #7 were previously released as deleted scenes. #2, #6, and #11 were previously released as audio, but with no video.

- #3 and #4 were a scene that was completely new, but based on a sequence that was in the original plans for the film, but removed from the final draft of the script and never filmed nor recorded prior to the Director's Cut pick-ups.

 

You can watch the director's cut here:  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnaeLczOR4qqWvPb-KwLdDBtfVpLT6MKh

New Poll! Who Are Your Favorite YouTubers?

HEY. I just put up a new poll on this blog! I want to know who YOUR favorite YouTubers are! I know I only list a small few, but I list only big name ones. If I forgot (or don't know of) any bigger ones, let me know in the comments below!

The poll is over there on the side --->
If you're on Mobile, You'll need to scroll all the way down and click "view web version".

Jordon Maron, aka CaptainSparklez is best known for his Minecraft game playthroughs.

Lindsey Stirling, a violinist who makes music videos, probably best know for her Dubstep Violin video.

Harley Morenstein, the host of the YouTube cooking channel, where they make ridiculous foods, mainly containing bacon.

Freddie Wong, the big guns of YouTube (literally, he does a lot of VFX heavy gun videos).

Brother Ben and Rafi Fine, best known for their react series where kids, teens, elders, and now YouTubers react to viral videos, pop culture, and music.

I don't really know much about Smosh, but I do know they were one of the first big names on YouTube.

The Ultra-Mega Film Score Collection (UPDATED)

Everyone who knows me knows I love movie scores. It was really the first genre of music that I really got into, long before I got into the good oldies like The Beatles or David Bowie (my other favorite music). I have been collecting film scores for years now, and I finally finished an ultimate compilation album. This 75-track long compilation contains samples from all my favorite movies, and a few niceties thrown in. I mixed the tracks up in random order, and here they are:

 

1. The Breaking of the Fellowship (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring)
2. Theme from Back to the Future
3. Star Wars Main Title
4. Star Trek Suite
5. Prologue from (Thor)
6. Themes from Jaws
7. Yellow Submarine Suite
8. Time (Inception)
9. Selections from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
10. Suite (Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl)
11. A Bug's Life
12. The Lost World (The Lost World: Jurassic Park)
13. Lily's Theme (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)
14. Suite (Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan)
15. Harry in Winter (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)
16. Themes from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
17. The Dragon Warrior Rises (Kung Fu Panda)
18. Page 47 (National Treasure: Book of Secrets)
19. Les Miserables End Credits Suite
20. Across the Stars (Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones)
21. Prime (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
22. Main Theme (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1)
23. I Am Iron Man (Iron Man 2)
24. Finding Nemo Suite
25. Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)
26. Only The Beginning (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe)
27. The King's Speech
28. Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest)
29. Storybook Love (The Princess Bride)
30. Call of the Crystal (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
31. Duel of the Fates (Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace)
32. Theme from Jurassic Park
33. The House (Home Alone)
34. Once Upon A Time (Shrek)
35. To Infinity and Beyond (Toy Story)
36. Parade of the Slave Children/Short Round's Theme (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
37. Up Is Down/Drink Up Me Hearties (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)
38. Brachiosaurus on the Bank (Jurassic Park III)
39. Driving with the Top Down (Iron Man)
40. Themes from The Wizard of Oz
41. Gettysburg Main Title
42. Rose (Titanic)
43. National Treasure Suite
44. Forrest Gump Suite
45. Opening Titles (Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
46. Chicken Run Main Title
47. Eragon Theme
48. Discombobulate (Sherlock Holmes)
49. Main Title/Thru the Planet (Lost in Space)
50. The Hobbit Suite (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey)
51. The Raiders March (Raiders of the Lost Ark)
52. Super 8
53. A Window to the Past (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban)
54. Luke and Leia (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)
55. The Hunger Games Medley
56. The Avengers
57. Excerpts from Batman Begins
58. Theme from Back to the Future Part II
59. The White Tree (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)
60. The Cleaner (Toy Story)
61. All Is Revealed (Shrek 2)
62. Sentinel Prime (Transformers: Dark of the Moon)
63. Prince Caspian Suite (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian)
64. Flying Theme (E.T. The Extra Terrestrial)
65. Theme from Schindler's List
66. Piano Suite (Secondhand Lions)
67. Battle of the Heroes (Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)
68. Theme from Shrek the Third
69. Samwise the Brave (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
70. Captain America Theme (Captain America: The First Avengers)
71. The All-Spark/Bumblebee (Transformers)
72. Suite from Star Trek VIII: First Contact
73. Spider-Man Medley
74. The Dark Knight Medley
75. Dumbledore's Army (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
76. The Imperial March (Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back)
77. The Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
78. Monsters Inc.
79. Introduction (Edward Scissorhands)
80. Alice's Theme (Alice in Wonderland)
81. Hedwig's Theme (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
82. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Main Titles

Takua and Jaller go on an Adventure

For three years now, I have been making stop-motion Lego Bionicle videos. Truth be told, these videos are my main source of subscribers on YouTube, and easily my most viewed videos... I've always felt a bit conflicted about them though. When I started them, I was nineteen and just using them to try something new with videomaking that I hadn't done before. It took me by surprise the popularity of these videos, and prompted me to make a series of serious stop motion films, which of course became the Chronicles of the Chronicler series. Aside from that, I still would try new things, and would fall back on stop motion to try them, and so The Adventures of Takua and Jaller were born. These don't get as many views on YouTube as COTC did, but viewers still love them. Now, I'm twenty-two and still very much conflicted about playing with Legos in my basement, but in the end, it's all about making new videos and keeping my viewers happy.

One of the things my viewers have asked for is longer Takua and Jaller videos. Well, yesterday I finished filming the upcoming Takua and Jaller go on an Adventure film, which came out to just over eighteen minutes. I've got to say, it's been one of the whackiest videos I've ever made, but it makes me laugh, and not all my funny videos make me do that by the time I'm done with them. I just watched a first cut of it, and I think it's really good. Still needs a bit of fine-tuning, but it will be a blast.

Top 5 Movies of 2012 (that I saw)

As it turns out, I saw exactly five new movies that came out this year. Here I am going to rank them.

5. THE THREE STOOGES

"While trying to save their childhood orphanage, Moe, Larry, and Curly inadvertently stumble into a murder plot and wind up starring in a reality TV show." - IMDb

While the success of this recreation of the iconic slapstick trio film is somewhat doubtful, I think this was a decent attempt. The Farrelly Brothers took on the impossible when filming this movie. The original charm of the Stooges isn't quite there, but I didn't think the movie was bad. I actually enjoyed it for the most part, and the best thing about it was Chris Diamantopoulos' as Moe. His performance alone makes this movie worth seeing. He pulls off the impossible and does the ringleader justice. Sean Hayes's performance as Larry is good enough, although his look is a little too forced, and Will Sasso's acting as Curly is annoyingly almost good.



4. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

"Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner. " - IMDb

I wasn't the biggest fan of the original Spider-Man movies starring Toby McGuire, so I was interested to see this one. I still wasn't that impressed with it, but it was a better movie I thought. Andrew Garfield looks much more like the proper age group than McGuire did (seriously, he did not look like a high school student, nor did Kirsten Dunst).






3. LES MISERABLES

"In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever." - IMDb

I'm not at all big on musicals. The only ones before this that I liked are The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Having not read the novel, nor the musical, but having seen the previous film version, I had an idea of the story. It's one of my Mom's favorite books. The manner in which they approached the filming and recording of this film is amazing. They did not record the singing before the fact, but rather recorded the singing live on set, which allowed for much better performances from the actors. Before this, I did not think much of Anne Hathaway as an actress, but after seeing this movie, she has gone up in my eyes. There were several things I didn't care for in the film, however, and at the top of the list is the Thenardiers. It was a bit of a stretch as my mom put it, because in the book, they were the most evil characters in the story, but the film treats them as comic relief. Indeed, in their introductory scene, it was almost as if the audience is throw head first into a Tim Burton film for at least five minutes... but not a bad movie.

2. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

"A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on a "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim a their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug." - IMDb

It really pains me to put this at number two, but for reasons I will explain in the following entry, I decided this as number two. Just know that my top two choices were SOOOOOO close.

I am a huge fan of the Hobbit book and the Lord of the Rings books/movies, so I have eagerly been waiting for years to see this film. It is a bit disappointing that they are splitting this book into three movies, but that does not detract from the awesomeness that is this movie. I already wrote a review of this movie for this blog, so I won't really go into details, but the best thing about the movie is Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo Baggins.

1. MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS

"Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army." - IMDb

The reason I picked this as my number one film instead of The Hobbit comes down to one thing: I went into the Hobbit expecting greatness and got greatness. I went into The Avengers fully expecting to be disappointed and came out utterly blown away. When you cross different movies with different movie stars together, the result doesn't always come out good, but this one worked. It combined the title characters from the movies Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and Captain America (Chris Evans), as well as some extra characters from the films including Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). The thing I was most impressed with is the character development of the film. Given that most of these characters had their own movies prior to this, I expect it to focus more on the action rather than the heroes. I also expected that Iron Man, easily the most successful character out of the others, would overpower all the others. Thankfully, I was wrong on both counts. I also enjoyed how much they developed the Hulk's character. They did a better job here than they did in the Hulk's stand alone movie! Also I liked Ruffalo better than Edward Norton. Just say'n.



You may notice that The Dark Knight Rises is not on this list. I have not yet seen it, so I didn't want to put it on the list. From what I've heard though, I think it'd be disappointing to me.