“The Mother and the Father made us in their image, Hugor. We should glory in our bodies, for they are the work of gods.”
The gods must have been drunk when they got to me, thought Tyrion.

Check it out!

Expressions of a Game of Thrones Fangirl

It’s amazing how much of the show is NOT computer generated:

You’re very welcome :)
Really, anything for a fellow bat-fan! :}

Someone once asked me… “Why do you love Game of Thrones so much?”

The answer was much too complicated to be expressed in a short conversation, so I decided to explain myself here, on this blog.

…and yes, if you have not been reading the books, or watching the HBO series, there will be SPOILERS- I never hold back- you’ve been warned!

I’ll begin by explaining the premise of the story- because I know some of you failed to heed my warning of the spoilers… am I right? ‘The Realm’ consists of several kingdoms which are ruled by one most powerful king on a throne. During the beginning of the story line, Magics had once existed… thousands of year ago- magic, dragons, warlocks, children of the woods… and other magical creatures which are now nonexistent. There are also only two seasons… Summer and Winter.. but each season can for years.. up to decades even, so when winter comes to the Realm, it is very difficult to survive unless you are assured that you have enough food and warmth.

Anyway, this premise is something that we’ve seen before in the fantasy books… but what makes it so interesting is that this is much like what our world is today- sure, we don’t struggle as much as these characters to survive, BUT there is no sense of real magic in our world, and definitely no dragons.

This setting is a realistic one. One in which we can all relate to. As the story progresses, we find out that magic is slowly returning and so are its creatures including the dragons, warlocks, children of the woods… and most unfortunately… the white walkers…. which are creatures who control the dead to do their bidding. As the magic and fantasy part of the story increases… it does so in a gradual manner, which brings a shock factor as it is compressed into this realistic world.

Realism and fantasy aside… If you just started getting into Game of Thrones, or are watching the show lightly, you may notice that you’re having a hard time keeping track of the characters. That’s another reason the show is so intriguing- The entire story is 100% character driven. All of the magic, the creatures, and the supernatural in in the background, keeping the character on top of the game the entire time. Not only are there many characters, but each character has a carefully sculpted history which in one way or another intertwines with every other character in a carefully crafted manner.

Another plus to the story, which will always keeps you on the edge… is that there is never a clear ‘good guy’ or ‘bad guy’ as you would find in any other show. Every character has their reasons for doing something bad. Jaime Lannister pushed Bran out of the window, not out spite-but to protect his family. We see both a good side and a bad side to each and every character- which boldly implies that these are no mere characters meant to serve a purpose to a plot, but instead that they are actual human beings attempting to survive in the dangerous world of The Game of Thrones.

If you’ve read the books, you understand the spiderweb of character interaction that I speak of. In fact, the list of characters is so vast… you may want to study this page before watching the series- if you dont want to read the books: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Game_of_Thrones_characters

But the characters harsh decision-making and reactions are not the only thing that make this a realistic world… in fact, the world of the realm itself expresses the realism that we feel towards the characters.

I’d hate to compare this to ‘The Vikings’ -because I’ve been doing this a lot lately- and that’s not fair to either shows, because they both are representing two entirely different worlds and times. But here I go… In the Vikings, we hear certain characters with different dialects -which is fine seeing as the actors have different nationalities, and perhaps the characters had traveled from far away (which isn’t explained in the series itself). It may be subtle but its there. But at the time the Vikings began… we don’t see the history behind the different dialects… which leaves us with questions like ‘why do they have different accents from the king of England?’ or ‘where did they come from, that they should have different dialects when they speak?’. In Game of Thrones- we do not need to ask any of those questions Because the entire story takes place in different ‘countries’ of the Realm that is their world. We hear people with accents from ‘Braavos’, ‘Velantis’, we even hear all the different languages from these places, and witness the kindness or brutality of their culture. To me, in this case it feels as though more effort is being put behind a fantastical world, while very little effort was placed behind a true and historical time frame.

(also, you just can’t compare a modernized ‘history channel’ script to one which is being produced by a world-renowned author… just saying!)

The entire first three books express the words of House Stark, which is, “Winter is Coming”.
This is a word of warning… since winter in the realm lasts for years and years, possibly decades, everyone in the realm needs to ensure that they have enough food to last that long. Winter is a dark time in the Realm, and very dangerous. But the words “Winter is Coming” also foreshadows the dangers of the magical presence being brought back to life. For the white walkers intent to attack ‘The Wall’ as Winter falls.

The wall which was once built thousands of years ago in attempt to keep these creatures in the north, protecting the rest of the Realm from their dangers… but now, since it’s been so long since these creatures have attacked, no one truly believes they exist, and do not support the few who are defending the wall..

What happens when all of the countrymen battle for a throne, rather than defend the living from the dead?

That one question is definitely the biggest reason I submerse myself into this world… because that question leads to more questions… and in the end… you just want to know….

what will happen next?

~Virginia James

I think Someone is going to be disappointed -if they’re wishing happiness for Joffrey- because in the book… this is definitely not a great occasion for Joffrey

Evil Dead (2013) Review:
**Spoilers**
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Summary: Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence possesses them until only one is left to fight for survival. {source: imdb.com}
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Review:
Spoilers*
For those of you who have seen the original EVIL DEAD- I applaud you! The original film was a cult favorite, and a favorite of mine… as well as Evil Dead 2, and Army of Darkness. For this reason, you will be reading some comparisons between the two- the original, and the 2013 reboot throughout this review. With that being said, lets get on with the 2013 reboot.

The film beings with a group of friends who take a loved one to a secluded cabin in the woods to help her detox from a drug addiction. This is already a different direction from the original, where they had to a cabin for college spring break. Seeing as the reasons for staying in the cabin are substantially different, I do believe that a drug detox would be a quite relatable situation- or at least -something believable. The entire film might not have had enough ‘jumpy’ scenes for my taste, and definitely not enough of a psychologically disturbing foundation. It did, however, overflow with gore- and that is definitely a plus. *Differences between original, and Reboot* Among the differences, we do not get to see the character Ash on screen in this reboot, which is unfortunate for us fans of the original. We do, however, get to see the brother attempting to save the sister, and the death of his girlfriend- which mirrors the original. But when we expect the brother to be the sole survivor, the reboot expresses a twist, where the original possesed character, Mia, is the lone survivor towards the ending. This goes to show that the entire premise of the film, her ‘dug detox’, was in fact reflecting her ”detox” from the posession. We don’t see this type of metaphorical mirror in the original, and I think it’s something which the original was missing (I still consider it a favorite among my horror collection). Among the differences, we also see that in the 2013 film, one of the characters decides to open up the book of the dead himself and read it outloud. In the original, Ash finds that the person who had previously discovered the book, left several recordings of the sumerian text- by playing the recorder, the demons are released.

All in all, we get lots of visual references to the original film. We see the Michigan State University sweater, the necklace given to Mia, we see the chainsaw, the shotgun, and the book of the dead itself which is bound in human flesh, and inked in blood. Cinematics remain similar, with the camera swooshing through the woods, and focusing on particular objects a character uses while ‘building’ something of significance.

Review by: Virginia James
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My Score:
4 out of 5 hearts

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Interesting facts about the film:
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Do I really need to warn you?? ——-SPOILERS!
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[Source: imdb.com]

*If you take the first letters of the main characters David, Eric, Mia, Olivia and Natalie, the letters spell out DEMON.

*In one scene there are cards spread out on the table. The cards are laid out in the order that Cheryl reads them in the original.

*In the scene where the broken necklace is found outside of the cabin, it can be seen resting in the shape of a skull (which mirrors the scene from the 1981 version)

*Mia can be seen wearing a Michigan State sweatshirt. In the original version, the main character also wears a Michigan State sweatshirt in the opening scene. This is also a homage to original director Sam Raimi, who is from Michigan.

*When Mia tries to escape in the station wagon there is the sound of tires squealing on asphalt when the car is on mud.

*The double barrel shotgun keeps changing. It goes from having a pistol grip stock to a full stock.

*After Mia deals with the last demon, she walks into the distance, limping on the wrong leg.

*There is a scene in which Natalie takes a nail gun to shoot Eric and David (the nail gun is then used later by Eric to shoot Natalie). This could never happen as nail guns have a safety feature requiring the head be compressed for the gun to fire. Therefore the nail gun could never have been shot while simply being held out straight.

*There is a short scene after the credits in which the character Ash, played by Bruce Campbell says, “Groovy”.

Clips of 1981 movie version [EVIL DEAD]:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNbZdxCo1QE

geektalklove:

Woden was an Anglo-Saxon god associated with both fury and poetic inspiration. He also had a career in curing horses and carrying off the dead, and Wednesday is his day. Woden’s day has gone through various spellings—wodnesdaeg, Weodnesdei, Wenysday, wonysday, Weddinsday—but even though Shakespeare tried to match pronunciation with his very reasonable “Wensday,” it didn’t stick. Woden got to keep his ‘d’ and his day.

Thanks to mental floss :)

~Virginia James
Geek On!

Summary: 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.

The Hobbit Review: *Spoilers*
Before I begin my review, I’d like to state that I have read the book several times, and although that may have influence some of my opinions, I saw this film with a fresh mind, disregarding what i had read and re-read. So, let’s begin with the introduction of the film.

While the film began with BIlbo baggins in a scene which marks the beginning of ‘Fellowship of the Ring’- I found that this was not the introduction I was expecting. However, considering how long ago the ‘Fellowship’ came out- it was very nice to have a refresher for the audience as to what the story leads to. (Not that any nerd-fan-girl such as I needed any reminders) The visuals of Smaug the Dragon destroying Lonely Mountain were very mysterious. I’m very glad that his entire body wasn’t shown completely at once. Small teases make his appearance towards the ending of the last Hobbit film in the future much more satisfying, I believe. I’m also very glad that the introduction of the dwarves expressed their interest, or obsession with gold, gems, and other shiny objects. I could go on and on about how much I loved the intro story of dwarves - but alas, I must move on before my fingers begin to cramp on the keyboard.

The Brown wizard’s discovery of the necromancer was mindblowing -something that I do not recall reading in the book (although my memory can sometimes deceive me), but it was very nice to see in introduction to the necromancer, and the sword of the king being retreived to Rivendell.

The trolls turning to stone was one of the stories that we see Bilbo telling a circle of young child-hobbits at his 111th birthday party in ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’- and the scene with the trolls did not disappoint. Not one bit! The visuals of the trolls being turned to stone were amazing, and the suspense and fear of being eaten, skinned, or squashed into jelly felt very real -even for the audience.

Thorin not accepting Bilbo as one of his own brought not only a realness to the story, but a sense of humanity which lead to a struggling moment for Bilbo, and a heartwarming acceptance near the ending.

The appearance of Gollum had to have been my favorite scene. Although he had only appeared in once scene- it was definitely a memorable one! The riddle/guessing game expressed how Gollum struggles within himself. -the lost soul- i like to call him. And Bilbo expresses the same sympathy that Frodo eventually does in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Stealing the ring from Gollum, his buttons popping from his vest… and several other scenes for that matter, were very nostalgic for me, and it definitely made me appreciate the film a lot more.

However, while Bilbo Baggins was so reluctant to join the dwarves in the adventure, he seemed to have changed his mind rather quickly -this to me, I felt was rather rushed- however, considering the film is nearly 3 hours long… I forgave it quickly. :)

Gandalf, the dwarves, and Bilbo, still have a long way to get to Lonely Mountain. Not until the next film will we see how their journey continues …and I can hardly wait!

My Score: 4.5 out of 5 hearts:

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INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE FILM:
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*SPOILERS*
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*After Bilbo slips through the rock crevices fleeing Gollum, all of his coat’s buttons come flying off. A few moments later as he is outside the buttons are back on his coat again.

*Daniel Radcliffe, Shia LaBeouf, James McAvoy, Erryn Arkin and Tobey Maguire were considered for the role of Bilbo Baggins. However, Peter Jackson has said that his first choice was always Martin Freeman. Freeman was initially unable to accept the role, due to scheduling conflicts with Sherlock, but Jackson reworked the entire shooting schedule for the Hobbit films to accommodate him.

*Martin Freeman previously appeared in Hot Fuzz, which featured cameos by director Peter Jackson as “Santa Claus,” Cate Blanchett (Galadriel) as a CSI, and Bill Nighy (who played Sam Gamgee on BBC Radio) as a police officer. He also appeared in Shaun of the Dead, also opposite Nighy, as well as Penelope Wilton, who had been married to the previous Bilbo, Ian Holm.

*Gollum only appears in one scene in the book. Andy Serkis completed that scene during the first week of production, but stayed on as Second Unit Director.

*Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Smaug/Necromancer) both star together in the BBC production of Sherlock; Cumberbatch plays the title role with Freeman playing Dr. Watson.

*The Hobbit is the first feature film to be shot and projected at 48 frames per second, twice as fast as the industry standard of 24 frames. The intention of this is to provide the film smoother, more realistic motion with reduced strobing. This is particularly beneficial when viewing the film in 3D, as the higher frame rate helps to correctly synchronize the images for each eye.

*In the second trailer, Gandalf can be heard saying, “Home is behind you, the world ahead…” this is a quote from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, written by J.R.R. Tolkien for the books; it is part of the song which Pippin sings to Lord Denethor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

[Facts Source: imdb.com]

Peace & Love,

~Virginia James

The Hobbit + Les Miserables

by Virginia James

A Message for One Million Moms- and the followers of their site:

(onemillionmoms.com)

I’m not surprised you dont have a ‘contact us’ link on your site. I’m sure you would get tons of hate mail. Why? because what you put on your site gets reflected with responses. people reflect hate from your site back to you- this entire site should be considered a hate crime- why aren’t teaching your children the values of equality for all of mankind? instead you teach your kids to hate people because of their sexual orientation. you call yourselves christians. I’m sure if your God were to look down on us now- he would not be happy with you- he would want us to love and embrace each other! So, yes, i have an issue… it’s you- and i’ll never gaze upon your site ever again, and will definitely spread the word about you and the hate you are spreading to gullible zombies that are following you.
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It isn’t equal …if it’s sometimes- how far behind are we in our morals?

A couple of centuries ago, women were considered lower than dogs- so why is it that now that we are moving up in the latter, are we pushing others below us? Why?!

The following is from a research article found at www.soulforce.org:

“Biblical ignorance is an epidemic in the United States. Ten percent of the people who read the Old Testament believed Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife. This same kind of biblical ignorance is all too present around the topic of homosexuality. Often people who love and trust God’s Word have never given careful and prayerful attention to what the Bible does or doesn’t say about homosexuality.

For example, many Christians don’t know that:

Jesus says nothing about same-sex behavior.
The Jewish prophets are silent about homosexuality.
Only six or seven of the Bible’s one million verses refer to same-sex behavior in any way — and none of these verses refer to homosexual orientation as it’s understood today

Over the centuries people who misunderstood or misinterpreted the Bible have done terrible things.
Some examples: Ku Klux Klan, Interracial Marriages, Genocide, Executing women as ‘witches’, Women inequality, segregation, persecution of Jews and of course gays. Misusing the Bible has drenched the planet in blood and tears.

It is important to realize that Even heroes of the Christian faith have changed their minds about the meaning of various biblical texts. Even when we believe the Scriptures are “infallible” or “without error,” it’s terribly dangerous to think that our understanding of every biblical text is also without error. We are human. We are fallible. And we can misunderstand and misinterpret these ancient words — with tragic results.

I hope you’ll agree that we are family, all sisters and brothers of the same heavenly parent. We may be different, but we can still live together in peace.”

[bible research provided by: http://www.soulforce.org/resources/what-the-bible-says-and-doesnt-say-about-homosexuality/]

Peace and Love!

Dark Knight Rises Review

Considering that I am a major insanely dedicated Batman fan, I have decided to create two separate scores for this film, and rate it in two different ways; Once as a Film Critic, and another as a follower of the Batman cult in Comics, Animated movies, and animated series.
The first Score will be given as a Movie Critic: Score of the Movie
The 2nd Score will be given towards the end of this post, as a Batman Fan: Score of the films significance to Batman’s Origins, and main storyline in the DC Multi-Verse

Summary:
Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham’s finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy. For the first time, Batman encounters an enemy physically much stronger.

Movie Review:
(Do I really need to warn you?) The Review contains several spoilers!
*If you have not seen the film yet, you will most definitely get spoiled here*
-You have been warned-

Review as a Movie Critic:
The story begins 8 years after the events of Dark Knight. We see Bruce Wayne still recovering from the ending of the events of The Dark Knight. It was very nice to see him suffering physically and emotionally due to the previous events which included the death of Rachel. The realness of the effects come to play when Alfred pleas to Bruce to keep his cape and cowl off because he does not want it to cost his life.
Seeing Alfred leave was one of the plot-points that were used in keeping Bruce Wayne isolated. His return to Wayne Manor at the funeral was extremely heartbreaking.
This Installment of Christopher Nolan had one theme: chaos and isolation. Batman was put to the test both mentally, and physically. -With Bane breaking the bat, it really did seem as though hope had been lost. The people of Gotham had lost all faith in the police when it is revealed that they had been lied to about Harvey Dent’s previous actions. Selina Kyle was presented appropriately as a great introduction of Catwoman. I love how she wasn’t known just yet as ‘catwoman’ –it showed she still had to earn that title. John Blake was a very well integrated character, and expressed the intuition needed to confirm him as ‘the next batman’. There have been many hints about him turning out to be Robin, and although his first legal name turns out to be Robin, it appears that he will in fact be the next Batman, rather than the tooty fruity sidekick. This is very essential for the Batman world of Christopher Nolan. Why? Because Batman has always expressed in these films that he wants to be known as a symbol rather than just another man in a mask. The introduction of Bane was very intense; with many extremities of the character being at first a mystery, it leads to several plot twists that were enthused by Miranda, who turned out to be Talia Al Ghul (yet another twist!).
Nolan created several elements of hopelessness. Bane’s reveal of Commissioner Gordon’s secret that Harvey Dent wasn’t exactly innocent was among my favorite reveals of the film.
There were several key plot points and little details that would slightly anger some hardcore batman fans- these I’ll be explaining in my ‘Batman Fan Perspective’ Review at the bottom of this post-after the ‘Interesting Facts’. However, as a movie overall, this film tied all the loose ends of the Christopher Nolan Batman series very nicely. On my trip to the theater to see this film, I noticed the audience was extremely silent throughout the entire movie- everyone way entranced by it- this was something even ‘The Avengers’ did not accomplish (Not that I want to compare). This film was, the best of the Nolan trilogy :)

All in all Christopher did not disappoint! This movie exceeded my expectations (which were already high).
From a film-critic perspective, it was a GREAT movie.

For that reason, I’ll give it 5 hearts out of 5:

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE FILM:
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*SPOILERS*
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*Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Jessica Biel, Charlize Theron Emily Blunt, Vera Farmiga, Gemma Arterton, Abbie Cornish Eva Green Kate Mara, Blake Lively Charlotte Riley, Olivia Wilde and Keira Knightley all auditioned for the role of Selina Kyle.

*Christopher Nolan told the actors the ending of the film verbally to avoid any leaks.

*One of the reasons why Christopher Nolan cast Tom Hardy as Bane was because of his performance in the film RocknRolla. Hardy stated that he thought he was cast because of his role in Bronson. He arrived on set only to learn that Nolan has never even seen Bronson.

*To prepare for her role as Catwoman, Anne Hathaway worked out five days a week on a regime that involved vigorous exercise, stunt training and dancing. She called it her most physically demanding role to date.

*To prepare for his role as Bane, Tom Hardy gained 30 pounds in weight, and studied various fighting styles to use in the film.

*Reunites Inception stars Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, and Cillian Murphy.

*This is the fifth film in a row that Christopher Nolan has worked with Michael Caine. The other films were Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, and Inception.

*Anne Hathaway based her performance on Hedy Lamarr, who was the original inspiration for Catwoman.

*Tickets for the film’s premiere midnight IMAX screenings in New York sold out six months in advance.

*”The Dark Knight” took inspiration from comics “The Killing Joke” and “The Long Halloween.” This sequel takes inspiration from the darker Batman comics as well: “Knightfall” and “No Man’s Land,” in which an earthquake hits Gotham City.

*Christopher Nolan said that the film’s theme deals with “Pain” For Batman Begins, it was on “Fear”, while The Dark Knight deals on “Chaos”.

*According to producer Emma Thomas, the filmmakers elected to shoot the film in Pittsburgh to emphasize Gotham’s immense size and scope and because “[they] have literally shot every inch” in Chicago, where the previous two films were shot.

*Selina Kyle is never referred to as her famous alter ego “Catwoman” during the movie. However, various official merchandise and marketing material refer to Selina Kyle as Catwoman when she is wearing her masked costume.

*Out of respect for Heath Ledger, the Joker is never once mentioned for the whole film.

*In the comics, Bane carried an apparatus that contains a steroid that amplifies his strength and fighting ability. In the film, the apparatus he carries contains an anesthetic as he is in constant chronic pain due to a neurological disorder.

*When Commissioner Gordon talks about “giant alligators” being in the sewer line, this may be an intentional nod towards Batman villain Killer Croc.

[source: imdb.com]

COMPARISON TO THE COMICS

Review From a Batman Fan’s Perspective:

Review from the Batman-obsessed geeky Comic-book girl:

When looking at the film from the perspective of a Batman fan, one such who is dedicated to comics, and animated series, and animated movies, this film fell a bit short.
There were certain aspects in the film that paid respectful tribute to the comics, however there were certain things that were a bit too difficult to ignore. Being a huge Batman fan, I kind of have to be a bit finicky when it comes down to it, causing this portion of the review to be a bit long.

First, I’d like to mention a tiny little detail that Christopher Nolan seems to always get wrong: Character Origin and ethnicity. Of course, these are extremely tiny things that the usual movie-goer wouldn’t even notice, but of course, I have to be a bit finicky.

Ra’s Al Ghul:
We all know that Ra’s Al Ghul was always meant to be Arabic. His name translates from Arabic to “the ghoul’s head”- So, why did Nolan have a British actor play Ra’s al Ghul, and why did he have a French daughter? Since we are on the subject of Ra’s al Ghul, it appears that no one in the film knows how to correctly pronounce his name, which should be pronounced: “Rayshe al goul”. I didn’t like that Ra’s al Ghul appears to Bruce Wayne while he is healing up from his broken back. The symbolism was not clear-his mention of being ‘immortal’ perhaps was meant to be interpreted as him being immortal within Bruce Wayne?. In the comics, Ra’s al Ghul is somewhat immortal due to the Lazarus Pit, which was basically a pit full of liquid that regenerates Ra’s Al Ghul, and revives him –the prison in which Bruce Wayne was locked away in the film, was referred to as ‘The Pit’ which was direct symbolism of the Lazarus Pit. Batman enters The Pit as a broken bat, and rises as the Dark Knight from it. That I thought was a great representation of the Lazarus Pit, and a very nice nod to all of the comic book fans.

Talia Al Ghul:
Talia Al Ghul in the film sleeps with Bruce Wayne and gains his trust only to deceive him. This is the same type of personality that she expresses in the comics, however, in the comics, she is more torn and is in constant debate within herself about whether she loves him or hates him. Eventually, Talia does sleep with Bruce in the comics, and she does know his secret identity- but some things happen in the comics that don’t even get mentioned at all in the movie. First of all, she doesn’t die… second, she ends up impregnated with Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian Wayne who grows up getting trained by the league of assassins. Talia brings Damian to the bat-cave to convince Bruce to continue to train him, in hopes that he would infiltrate Batman’s operations. However, Damian quickly takes Batman’s side, and becomes the latest Robin. Too bad none of this was mentioned in the movie. I would have loved it if it Talia would have at least said there was a possibility she was with-child before she died…. But oh well! Also, Talia, in the comics was usually the one who would tale Ra’s Al Ghul’s body to the Lazarus Pit to revive him, making him ‘immortal’

Bane:
Bane was always one of my favorite Batman verse villains- why? Partly because he’s Latin-American- just like me! Secondly, because he is among the most overpowering villains that Batman could physically not take. Unfortunately not only did his ethnicity get changed in the film, so did his back story. In the comics, he was a prisoner of ‘Pena Dura’ in the south American Islands of ‘Santa Prisca’- where he was forced to undergo several experiments in creating a formula called ‘Venom’ which was originally intended to create super soldiers. However experiments made him so strong, he was able to break free and escape. In contrast, the film portrayed a British man who was forced to wear a mask that helps him inhale an anesthetic to ease the pain of a neurological disorder. However, there is one element in the film that was an insanely huge nod to the comic fans, and that was the breaking of Batman’s back –I couldn’t help but wear a huge ear to ear smile when this occurred :) –was this moment worth all of the mal-interpreted misrepresentations of Bane? …maybe.

Selina Kyle:
Batman Year One introduced Selina Kyle as an ex-exotic dancer who was struggling to make a living, and became a jewelry thief. This was basically the same plot direction the film took. However, there was not much emphasized about Selina’s stripping days. Everything else in the film seems to reflect Selina Kyle in her origin days more nicely than any of the other characters. Oddly enough- she was the one character I’ve heard the most complaints about…. Weird.

John Blake:
Or Robin John Blake:
Being as intuitive as his character is, he would have been a great replacement to commissioner Gordon, rather than batman. Since this character is brand new and created specifically for the film, it is difficult to think of him in the comics… until it is revealed that his first name is Robin. The character Robin taking place of Batman towards the end of the film seemed somewhat appropriate if you think about it. Robin in the comics (Dick Grayson) takes Batman’s place for a good while before returning as Nightwing. This portion of the film could be a nice tribute to that particular story in the comics. However, it seemed a bit awkward that his name was ‘Robin’ in the movie. Couldn’t they just call him Dick Grayson? Naming him ‘Robin’ gave many the misconception that he would go on to become the sidekick Robin.

Things that I would have liked to see:
*The Lazarus Pit
*Talia survive and confess to Bruce in the ending that she was with-child
*John Blake’s real name being: Dick Grayson
*Rather than Scarecrow doing the ‘sentencing’, I would’ve like to see a villain that has not been shown in the film, such as dead shot, Harley Quin, Ventriloquist, Count Vertigo, Black Mask, or maybe even the Riddler, making people figure out what their sentence would be through ridiculous riddles
*OR, If scarecrow really had to be doing the sentencing- it would have been nice to use his mask and fear gas to scare people into deciding their fate

Things that I’m glad were mentioned:
*Comissioner Gordon mentions seeing a big lizard in the sewer: good reference to Killer Croc? I sure hope so! :)
*Bane “breaking” the Bat
*Selina Kyle was given a good reason to have been following Bane, and helping him trap Batman
*John Blake had a valid background- being in the same orphanage Wayne Corp was funding.

There were quite a few issues that any Batman comic fan could argue. Nonetheless, I was speechless throughout the viewing of the film
For that reason, as a comicbook fan, I’ll give if the score of 3 hearts out of 5:

Peace & Love,

~Virginia James

Review for Dark Knight Rises

NASA’s Cassini orbiter has already taken some stunning photos of Saturn and its moons, but the latest snapshot from the multi-billion-dollar mission might be its most impressive yet. After swinging down to the southern hemisphere of Titan — Saturn’s largest moon — the high-powered orbiter captured images of a massive vortex forming at its pole, and scientists can only guess as to why it’s suddenly appeared.
The massive collection of swirling gas has gathered at Titan’s south pole, which measures approximately 3,200 miles across. The whirlwind has never before been spotted, and it remains unclear how long it has been forming. Cassini — which first arrived near Saturn in 2004 (and shot the stunning images below) — had been orbiting the moon too far north to have captured it, until now.

Prior to this discovery, the probe spotted images of a large “hood” on Titan’s north pole, which researchers believe is the result of cell convection — a process where dense air sinks towards the surface, pushing air at its edges upwards to create clouds. As Titan’s seasons change, scientists believe that the same mechanism may be at work at the moon’s southern pole, but they can’t be sure.

A single year on Titan lasts approximately 30 Earth years, making the study of each season a lengthy endeavor. The planet is composed of rock, water ice, and methane, making for some weather formations not typically seen here on Earth. The gigantic, swirling anomaly — which is spinning at four times the speed of the rest of the planet — appears to be yet another interesting characteristic of Saturn’s most interesting satellite.

[Image credit: NASA]

Hello all,
After receiving quite a few messages from my fellow tumblrs’ (or would that be ‘tumblr-ers?), I have decided to take this moment to post this message:

I would like to state that I am not a professional film critic, and everything that I state on my blog is solely my opinion, and no one else’s.

When I strip a film down to component parts, and discuss my feelings on them, I do not expect everyone to follow my opinion -please feel free to watch the film yourself, and make your own opinion, and let me know what you think :)

I have gotten a few messages about these short reviews, and I am grateful to have other people with different views on films reading my reviews. However, I would like to state that what I post on these reviews (other than the “interesting facts” section), are purely opinionated, and do not represent the thoughts of anyone but myself. With art and film- there is no good or bad, although at times I may state a film is good or bad, that is opinionated, and not factual. I may hate a film that you may like- so feel free to explore the films I have mentioned no matter how many ‘hearts’ I’ve given it. :)

Thanks for your support

Much Love,

~VJames