Snow-Day Assignment

Reading this year has been better than last as I have read more enjoyably and more freely. When I read a book that I love it seems to be the only thing I want to do, however when I don’t like a book it feels like a chore; the only obstacle of me being a constant reader, finding a book that I enjoy. So how have I been finding books that I love this year, two words; my sister. My sister has been giving me great recommendations and I have been able to pump out lots of books this year. Of course I have been primarily reading fantasy books that usually have a quest of some kind but they always seem to intrigue me. When I find that next book I go straight into my room in the corner where I have my comfy beanbag and read non-stop. I also like to turn on Pandora and play it softly while I read so I can take breaks occasionally and have some fun. This year I have changed to be a more satisfied reader and one that has started to enjoy reading. In my previous years reading has always been a skyscraper of an obstacle but this year it has shrunken to more of a hurdle and get smaller with every book I have read. For the most part I need to be pushed a little to read and I will do it, when the school year starts that’s also when my reading starts and I completely forget reading during the summer. However this summer I think I can change that and will definitely change it. This year I value reading a lot more and am hoping to fit it more into my schedule. I am also expanding in my book genre trying to read more of history because I love history especially war generals. 

Where the Wild Things Are

Without being subjective in my view of the quality and appealing nature of the film I would say that this was a successful film. You can’t define success because it is subjective but I tried to look at the core of the movie and look at the numbers. The movie made over 100 million dollars internationally which is a lot more than tons of movies. Just looking at that it obviously appealed to a wide audience of both children and older people. You might say that the trailer might have intrigued people and it wasn't a good movie but a disappointing one that was anticipated. In actuality the movie only made around a third of that money from the starting weekend, so it had to have people talking right? According to Rotten Tomatoes its dark tone and slenderness was a heartfelt adaptation of the classic children’s book. The movie also received a 74 which topped Fast and Furious, Riddick, and Despicable Me 2. These were tough competitors to beat, especially Despicable Me 2 which has the same fan base and is a sequel to a highly successful first film.

Other than numbers the critics seemed to for the most part enjoy the film adaptation which was hard to bring to life. I think the major adversity to the film and its production was the gaps left by Sendak because his book wasn't meant for a film. Spike’s plot line had to make sure not to compromise the integrity of the film while chewing up time. I think that Spike’s ideas were great and served that purpose well. This was another success to me and was probably the main goal the team was trying to achieve. The CGI was amazing for a children’s film in which I thought was going to be a joke. I could barely tell that the film used CGI for the wild things. This was great considering the importance of the wild things and their effect on Max. Not to mention the landscape and backgrounds seemed to be so real. One thing however I did not like was the acting job done for Max. The actor seemed to be so fake and a came off to be whiny who actually never learned anything. This kind of dropped the ball but luckily it got saved by the performance of the wild things. The voice actors were what I was expecting when I read the book and I did enjoy them. So overall I felt that the acting was par because Max was such a major character.

Last but not least the soundtrack of the film I felt was correct and corresponded for the most part with the film. The soundtrack in my perspective was original and worked with the film instead of against which can be the downfall for some movies. With all these contributions the film was a very successful movie even if I thought the movie was boring and not in tune with my interest. I think the lack of action and only one character who is young was a real physical actor hurt the movie but that was the books fault. 

Blog Post 5

The Son of Neptune is one of my favorite books of all time. So far I would be disappointed if the made it into a movie because the other Percy Jackson movies have been nothing but horrendous. That being said, if they got a new director and a better cast I would want to see this amazing book into a movie. Since I would direct it I could make a lot of revisions that could turn this franchise around. The cast would have to be someone younger than Logan Lerman since he looks about 24 in the movie and he really would be 17. For HazeI would choose someone with some history like Emily Beckets who is an amazing actress, lastly I would use the guy who was Neville Longbottom because he is good at being awkward. For all of the other actors and actresses I would use people who don’t cost that much since I would like to use that money on the setting and the special effects. I would set this in actual Rome since a lot of it in there. For the actual adventure I would use California for the water since it is tamer than the Gulf and more predictable. The final place I would use as a set is Alaska, that’s right I said it, Alaska. Alaska is actually a place they visit in the real book and would be perfect for the last scene since it is cold but can be open and vast. I would stay true to the plot unlike the movies now because they are not better and just ruin the series. I would only change minor things here and now but for the most part it would be the same plot. I would also work on the chemistry of the actors before actually starting to film because that is what the other films lack. The things I would change is the ending so I can make it a better cliff hanger by showing Percy meet Annabeth and show their reactions then immediately stop the movie. I would also change the fact that Percy is in a smaller copycat of Rome and just change it to the real Rome. The main focus of the money would be on the actors and CGI because that’s what kids really only care about these days. This movie can become a great movie with all the complex parts in it and can be enjoyed if done right. One of the better parts is the fact that we are dealing with gods who have abilities that regular people don’t. If I could show people how amazing the powers and action scenes are I could get almost every preteen to teenager to show up for this movie. And since Frank and Hazel have a relationship I could milk that and try to involve more relationship parts to extend the audience to girls. This series has great potential and all it needs is some work to make it. My main goal would to try to turn it into a new Harry Potter series because it would be great for kids to experience a series like that all over again.