Thoughts on "Thor"

I know I'm behind the times, but I only just recently got to see Thor (first movie in 3D). The following are random thoughts, not a well-thought-out movie review... Proceed with caution. ;-)

I really had no inclination to see Thor until I heard that it was another Kenneth Branagh/Patrick Doyle director/soundtrack team.

My original indifference was mostly because I'm not a huge superhero/Marvel fan and for some reason it just really seemed like Chris Hemsworth should be Sean Bean...and he wasn't. (Don't try to make sense of that one.)

I walked into the theater with a lot of recommendations but not much idea of who as acting or what the story was all about.

It was a good movie.

Thor was a refreshing character...far from perfect but not blatantly retarded (not the typical "bad boy"). I thought Hemsworth acted wonderfully. Thor was a sympathetic, changing, and mildly complex character who acted realistically (even with the god-factor in there). He turned into a true hero...the best produced by hollywood in a long time.

By the end of the movie, I forgave him for not being Sean Bean, but that was about as far as it got.

Anthony Hopkins was superb (duh). His character (the king) kept much of the movie from becoming cliche.

The whole cast is very typical of a Kenneth Branagh film and meshes together beautifully.

There were moments of goofiness, predictability, or complete unbelievability, but over all, the movie was a fun and clean 114 minutes.

If you know me...you might know what is coming next...

Depending on how you look at it, plot spoilers may lie ahead. Also...let me just say that Tom Hiddleston looks a lot different with straight, black hair.

From the first moment you see Loki you know that they are going to make him have all of these unresolved issues and that he's going to turn against Thor. He's the good boy who will turn bad, while the bad boy will turn good. I was literally hoping beyond hope that they would have just let him be an amazing brother and son. I loved him from the beginning and I knew they would do this to him. Come on. It's so overused.

He could have been amazing.

I want to see a movie where there is simply a supporting character like Loki could have been. I want to see a movie where the child can truly accept the fact that his parents love him for who he is, no matter where he came from. I want to see a movie where a guy can be from the enemy race and still be a good guy.

There were just so many things about the whole situation that I didn't like. It really put a damper on the movie.

Please don't sacrifice a potentially awesome character just to come up with a plot element. There are other more original options.

And of course he's not dead. Who dies in these type of movies?

I know it's all based of a comic book and I'm going to refrain from blaming people like Kenneth Branagh, but it makes me want to rewrite the story.

Having said all that, I did think it was the best superhero movie to perhaps ever come out (maybe not my favorite, but the best).

They did a great job keeping it interesting, crazy, and clean. Thor was very much the lion and Loki was very much the serpent, but at the same time the characters were more morally complex. It had an interesting focus on the purpose and place of war and actions of individual characters.

At first I thought they were going to do a lot with the whole "god" thing, but they actually go out of their way to explain him as not being a god at all (although he still is the god of thunder...not sure how that works). Certainly the most unobjectionable movie of its type.

Really enjoyed it. I'll just have to make up an alternate reality for the whole Loki aspect.

Visit my sister's blog to see her take.

I would enjoy hearing your thoughts.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

"Les Miserables" for Life

Say it Sweet
Etsy

Thank you to all who contributed in various ways to the Les Miserables event.

Unfortunately I had the flu last week and was swamped creating a new missions blog, editing my sad book, and trying to catch up on life after engagements, graduations, and general insanity. I would have liked to dedicate much more time and thought to the whole event, but I'm happy with the participation, ideas, and fun.

Thank you to those who donated their time, efforts, and resources. It is all greatly appreciated.

Les Miserables is far from done on the Erratic Muse. It's probably going to pop up on a regular occasion. There will be more Javert posts...I'm sorry. It doesn't seem like I ever get tired of it and I continually think of things to wonder about the story...just not sure how to say them.

I'm still waiting to sit in front of a live production and to see a decent, true movie adaption. We'll see. I'm sure Les Miserables is not done with me or the world at large.

Thanks again,
Miss Pickwickian

P.S. Tomorrow I'll finally post my Thor review that's been waiting and then I'm going to finally talk about Poland! YAY!

Second Prize Essay

Visit Unoriginal Originality to see Jennoenell's second prize essay, Redemption.  You'll enjoy it. :-)

What was Victor Hugo trying to say?

Today I refer you to Rosanne's blog to read her winning essay, The Root of the Matter: Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.

An excellent look at how a religiously confused author could write something so amazing and how we should look at it.

Read it.

~Les Miserables Contest Winners~

Original artwork by Elizabeth from My Father's World

Thank you everyone who participated. I only picked the top seven essays for placement, but I appreciate all who took the time and entered.

I learned a lot from reading your essays, not only on Les Miserables as a story, musical, and movie but also on completely different views. I was surprised at some of the plot elements that came up differently depending on where the essay writer had first experienced the story (musical, book, movie versions).

The viewpoints were so wide and wonderful that I got a much bigger idea of how Les Miserables is seen by many people. I didn't agree with you all, but I found it all fascinating and educational. Thanks for your hard work!

We had four judges who worked hard to rate these essays on style, grammar, content, and interest. This was a blind contest. The judges did not know the essay authors.

If you are a winner you will receive an email with info on receiving your prize and remarks on your essay. Thanks for participating.

Now...to the placements. :-)

"24601: Chains will never bind me"

Ring by Foxwise

7th Place

Charity from Live in Living Color for her essay, Rescue and Redemption.

Original artwork by Elizabeth from My Father's World
6th Place

Anna for her essay Les Miserables, Popular from Day One!

Charm Necklace

by Rustic Charm

5th Place

Susannah from Life is too short not to wear Red Shoes for her essay, Eponine vs. Cosette, in the musical of Les Miserables.

"There is a flame that never dies."

Bracelet by Foxwise

4th Place

Emma Selmo Johnson for her essay, Les Miserables Essay on changes in the new American tour.

Say it Sweet
has a beautiful collection of Les Miserables themed posters full of awesome Victor Hugo quotes.

3rd Place

Katelyn for her essay, Mercy, Justice, and other Melodies in Les Miserables.

Amazing 20 page long book with graphics, quotes, and lyrics from Les Miserables designed and created especially fort his event by Picture Perfect.

2nd Place

Jennoelle from Unoriginal Originality for her essay, Redemption.

Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert

1st Place

Rosanne from Rosanne E. Lortz for her essay, The Root of the Matter: Victor Hugo's Les Miserables

Thank you all again.

A huge thank you to all the people who contributed greatly to the prizes--for your creativity and generosity.

Thank you to the judges and everyone who gave feedback.

Hopefully you'll be seeing some of these essays around soon. :-)

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

Music and Victor Hugo

Music expresses that which can not be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

~Victor Hugo

I think he would approve of the musical.

Essay winners will be announced tomorrow. :-)

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian

In which I go on about Javert again....

I know I've talked about Javert at great length before...but this is Les Miserables week after all. I can't possibly talk about Les Miz without Javert.

Without Javert, Les Miz would lose its beautiful story.

I don't mean that Javert is the main character or that he is highly admirable. But without his contrast against Jean Valjean, you would lose much of the compelling character elements of the story.

Isn't one of the major elements of the story how Javert and Jean Valjean react differently to similar changes, feelings, and circumstances?

The musical highlights this directly and beautifully and the book more subtly and satisfyingly. I can't really even talk about the movie versions. Most of them have some fatal error (in my opinion) when depicting Javert. Geoffry Rush does a great job in moments, but the whole ending is awful.

I sincerely believe that Javert is one of the most fascinating characters in all of fiction. Victor Hugo really shows his genius with his creation.

One of my great disappointments with the musical is the way it handles the section when Javert reacts after accusing Monsieur Madeleine of being Jean Valjean. This is a major point of Javert's character. It proves that he holds himself to the same standards. This is one of the only points I resonate with Geoffry Rush's portrayal.

The musical shows this briefly in Javert's last scenes when he insists Jean Valjean should shoot him, but I think it's an important part of Javert that should be shown as it is in the book. The way the musical is, that earlier section doesn't even really make sense.

Having said that, I think otherwise the musical does a fabulous job of capturing the complexities of Javert...an unimaginably hard task. My original turn off for the musical when I only heard about it was picturing Javert singing. Somehow they pulled it off beautifully.

I want to write characters as complex and intriguing, as consistent yet changing, as human and yet bigger than life as Javert. And I'm going to keep studying Victor Hugo until I can. I know I'll never master it, so this probably means I should die with Les Miserables in my hands, but I want to learn all of it I can.

What do you think? What other characters really stand out to you in fiction? They don't have to be good. They just need to feel real and fascinating. How do authors do it?

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian