My Favorite Television shows Currently

All of my posts so far have been reviews about movies and plays. So, I thought I would write about television shows for once. I wasn't sure what to write about at first. Should I do another movie review or something else? I am currently watching so many shows that I thought I should just write about five of my favorites. All of these shows are currently available on Netflix except for number 4. My plan is to write about two shows a week, although my favorite show will be in a post alone. So, here are my 4th and 5th favorite television shows.

Number 5:
My fifth favorite show right now is Doctor Who. This show is about a supernatural being called a time lord. He can travel anywhere in space and time. There are apprentices, normal people, that help him travel through time and overcome different challenges. I have been watching this show for about a year now, and I love it! It's one of my favorite shows because of how creative the script is. This show has been going for 50 years, and they still have a new idea every single episode. I think it's amazing how long this show has been airing. The main character, the Doctor (he has no other name) regenerates every few years. This means that a new actor will take on the role of the doctor every few years, allowing this show to basically never end. I love this show and hope it airs for 50 more years!!

Image courtesy of The Crescent

Number 4:
The next show that I love, which is sadly not on Netflix, is Teen Wolf. But, it is on MTV.com. One of my friends turned me onto Teen Wolf in October, and I finished all 3 seasons in 4 days! So, you could say I'm a little obsessed with this show. At first I was hesitant to watch the series because it seemed so STUPID!  But, to my surprise, it is one the best shows I've ever seen!! This show is about a teenager who is turned into a werewolf. My favorite element of this series is the characters. Every character on the show is different and amazing in their own ways. There is the right amount of humor and seriousness in every character which makes one great grow. If you enjoy shows with action, humor, and drama, then you will love Teen Wolf.

Image courtesy of Hypable

Those are number 4 and 5 on my list of favorite TV shows. Next week I will write about my 2nd and 3rd favorite TV shows. Also, feel free to leave a comment below on any TV shows that I should consider. Once I finish a show, I might even do a review.

Catching Fire

I have waited a long time for Catching Fire . It finally premiered on November 22nd. I saw it opening weekend but I decided to do a review of Disney's Frozen before I reviewed this movie. Anyway, this movie was amazing, spectacular, fantastic, etc. This film definitely deserves a rating of one out of ten.

This is one of the first movies I've seen when I read the book before seeing the movie. It was a different experience, watching the movie and thinking, "that's exactly how I envisioned that scene." This film followed the book very well. From the actors portraying the characters, to the scenery in the movie, everything was spot on.

The movie's casting was phenomenal. They chose the perfect people for each part. The actors brought the characters to life; even the minor characters were portrayed very well. This really added to the movie since the acting was superb. Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss was completely believable as if she were my neighbor. Since I am learning to act, watching people act so well on screen is a pleasure.

The movie had a great, suspenseful conclusion. It ended with Katniss discovering that the capitol obliterated district twelve, her home. Sorry if I spoiled the ending for anyone. In the ending at first after hearing this news Katniss looks very depressed. But, within seconds her face changes from depressed to extremely angry and rebellious. This gave nice foreshadowing to what the third movie may be about and how she will react to this tragedy. By looking very angry, she gives me the idea that she is going to react violently towards the capital and may try to seek revenge on the capital. The character may start a rebellion because she has the full support of the districts. This gives me hope that the people who live in these districts may have their freedom returned.

The movie was unbelievable!! If you enjoyed the first one you should definitely watch this movie!!! It was great and will give you a thrill!!!

Image Courtesy of sandiego free press

 

Frozen Gave Me Chills

Disney's new movie, Frozen, premiered on Thanksgiving day. I saw it a few days later. This movie absolutely blew me away. It was amazing. I am giving this film a rating of one out of ten (remember that is the best rating a movie can receive using my scale).  I love this movie.

Frozen takes us on an adventure with two princesses, Elsa and Anna. Elsa posesess magical ice powers, but it is difficult for her to control them. They become a problem for her even at a young age. Anna does not possess any special powers and she is ignored by Elsa almost her whole life because Elsa feels like Anna is in danger around her. Elsa looses control of her powers on her coronation day and leaves the city. Anna chases Elsa and tries to bring her back, but things do not go as planned.

I have never seen a Disney princess movie in the theaters because I was too young to have any interest in going. But, after seeing the movie, Tangled, at my house, I have always wanted to see a movie about a princess in a theater.

I will admit that at first I was not impressed by the movie's trailer. But, I remembered the trailer for Tangled was not that appealing either, and I thought Tangled was fantastic. So, I decided to watch Frozen in the theater the weekend it premiered.

My eyes were glued to the screen through the whole movie. There was not a dull moment. There was even a big twist ending. It was also interesting to have two princesses, instead of just one.

Character Development was great in this movie. Every character was different and very interesting. I am having difficulties choosing a favorite one because they were all great! Often in animated movies certain characters are unrealistic and boring.  When this happens, the movie becomes less interesting. Frozen had great characters which gave the movie a special touch.

I highly recommend you see Frozen. It was a great movie! This film appeals to all types of movie lovers. I promise you will be very entertained when you see this movie.

Image courtesy of Everything Disney Animation 

First Play and My Rating System

This weekend my dad and I watched 33 Variations. This play is about the 33 variations that Beethoven wrote on the famous waltz by Diabelli. The main character, Doctor Katherine Brandt, studies classical music and tries to uncover why Beethoven spent so much time during the end of his life on this waltz. She does not understand why he would waste his time on this waltz. Throughout the play both Beethoven and the Doctor become progressively ill. Beethoven starts to become deaf, which frustrates him and the people around him immensely. But, he still continues to write the variations. Doctor Katherine has ALS, and she becomes increasingly worse throughout the play. This also affects her and the people around her.

The play was absolutely amazing!! I loved it!!!

Before I give this play a rating, I would like to talk about my rating system. This rating system is not very original, but I feel it works well. A play, movie, or song will be rated on a one to ten system. One is the best, and ten is the worst. One meaning the piece of entertainment had a minimal amount of mistakes, and ten meaning the piece of entertainment had a very large amount of mistakes.

I am giving this play a one and a half out of ten. I loved this play, and I really did. But, there was one thing missing for me. In my opinion, I feel as though some parts of the play were too slow. Some scenes, when the main character Doctor Katherine was looking through Beethoven's journals, were rather slow. At first, these scenes were very interesting. But, after several similar scenes, I didn't want to watch them any more.

Other than those couple of slow scenes this play was fantastic, and I would absolutely watch the play again!!! One thing that I really enjoyed about this play was the character development. It had great characters that were very well developed, and I identified with the characters. This is a quality I feel every work of art should have. One of the reasons I watch plays and movies is to see a story. If I don't identify with the characters, I feel like the story was not told well enough.

One thing that was different about this play was that I knew the actress, who played the main character, personally. This was such a different experience than I have ever had. Knowing the main character helped me realize how different people are on stage from how they are in real life.

I recommend this play. As far as I know it is not currently on broadway. But, since I just saw it about a week ago, I am fairly certain it is still playing in numerous places around the U.S. If you would like to find out more information about this play you can visit the link above.

Image courtesy of silver summit theatre

Fantastic, Amazing, and "Epic"!

Since I was little, I have always been a fan of animated movies, and I still am today. I don't know what it is about these type of movies that I enjoy so much. It may be the innocence, or it may remind me of my childhood.

This past weekend I watched an animated movie called Epic. The title fits the movie because this movie was epic! My sister tried to convince me to watch this movie for about 4 months. Every time she has asked I have said no because of the trailer. The trailer does not do this movie justice. The trailer makes the movie seem like every other animated film, but this movie had a great plot, great characters, and a great ending. All the ingredients for an epic movie.

Let's start by talking about the plot of this movie. It was fantastic, awesome, and epic even though it was similar to the average cartoon movie. The beginning of the movie gave some clues about the main characters. The middle has more character development. But, the ending was different from the average cartoon movie. There was a boy and a girl in the movie and obviously they had feelings toward each other. But, they didn't end up together. I personally enjoyed this part of the movie. It made the film more realistic.

The one thing missing from the movie was one character's development. Most of the movies I review seem to be missing at least one character's development. The main characters were very well developed, but the movie did not show enough of the villain. With most animated movies they spend more time developing the villain. By the time you finish watching an animated movie the villain should be cemented into your brain. How about Tangled for example? When I had finished watching Tangled I could not forget the name of the villain, Mother Gothel.  Epic did not have this affect on me; sadly, I have already forgotten the name of the villain. So, the one thing that could have been improved is the character development of the villain. Other than that, the movie had great character development.

Even though the movie was missing this one element, I still recommend you see this movie, especially if you are a fan of animated movies that are different. Go watch it soon and I assure you will have an epic time!

Image courtesy of imp awards

What's the magic word?

Do you believe in magic? This week I watched Now You See Me. This movie surprised me. I really liked the movie even though it was completely different from I what I thought it would be. One thing I enjoyed was the plot. The plot had a solid introduction, middle, and conclusion.

The introduction was probably one of my favorite parts of the entire movie. It began with a quote that made me think (I love quotes like that). "The more you look, the less you see. The closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see."  The tone of the movie was set. It implied to me that these magicians are going to be extremely tricky.

The middle of the movie was very interesting.  It was entertaining to watch the incompetent law enforcement officials. Wow, I guess they could have used the help of the N.S.A. The law officials made the mistake once of thinking that they were ahead of the magicians. However, the magicians were one step ahead of the law officials. This made the movie very humorous and interesting.

The movie begins through the eyes of an anonymous person.  This individual observes the magicians as they perform various acts.  One assumes that this person is responsible for bringing the  magicians together. When it was revealed at the end, it was not at all who I had thought it was going to be. I should have listened to the quote at the beginning of the movie because I was sure I knew who this person was, but it turns out I was completely wrong.

Character Development in this movie was very interesting. I'm not sure if I liked or didn't like it. At the start of the movie the characters magic skills were introduced, but their personalities were not developed. I was disapointed. I would have liked to have seen more background on the characters and more dialogue between the characters. There was some character development based on the characters' acts, but it was not enough for me. Someone, who I was talking to about the movie, made a valid point about the characters. Her point was that the writer may not have developed personalities because the movie is about magic. So, maybe the writer was trying to keep the characters mysterious. I do agree with this, but there still could have been a bit more personality in the characters. In conclusion, I think the characters are interesting and make the movie more mysterious. But, I would have enjoyed more character development.

 This movie deserves a 4.5 rating because everything was spot on except for the characters. I recommend this movie if you love to think and if you love big surprise endings!

Image courtesy of Collider

Are You Ready To Gamble!

Image courtesy of Pie Magazine 

If you enjoy acton and adventure movies with bits of comedy you would really love this movie.  This week I watched James Bond Casino Royale.  The movie was action packed to say the least.  It also had a great plot, and was very different form previous James Bond movies.  It showed a more human side to the character.  The movie had beautiful cinematography from all over the world.  Which added a little bit more for me to the movie.

Although this movie showed a different side of James bond; it still had the same basic plot of every James Bond movie, including a great opening scene.  The opening scene was so packed with adventure I was drawn in from the first moment.  Opening scenes in movies are very important; they can either hook or bore your viewer.  This opening scene, for sure, hooked me.  I loved the bits of humor that were added.  The lines provided relief in some slower scenes.  Although the slower scenes were very limited.  

For some reason I prefer this movie over any other James Bond movie I have ever seen.  There was one part in the movie that made me very uncomfortable, but it was a very effective scene.  This scene was when James Bond had been captured by the villain, and was being tortured.  That's all I'm going to say about that scene because I don't want to ruin it for anyone.  In my opinion that was the only inappropriate scene. Every other scene was very entertaining.

In addition there was one main element to the movie that I really enjoyed.  In contrast to other Bond films the character development was fascinating.  He seemed more emotional.  For example, he showed more attachment to other characters than he usually does.  It was a pleasant surprise.  I saw strong emotion in him as well when he was losing in a 10 million dollar poker game.  Yes, a 10 million dollar poker game that's just what you have to pay to get into the poker game.  In regards to the poker game the other players still had to gamble more money.  During these couple of scenes with the pressure of playing well.  He could not get over some of the awful things that had happened to him.  Overall, this movie was great, and I highly recomend you watch it some time.