Three things I love about THE FORCE AWAKENS

I know this is a book blog, but just go with my movie hype.

WARNING: THIS POST WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION



So with the warning out of the way, I would just like to say this movie was amazing. Like wow I can't believe I have to wait until I'm a sophomore in college to watch the next movie! It did so many things right (though not everything, but what movie does?) Following a discussion with my cousin we agreed it was A New Hope 2.0--new and definitely improved. And while there were nods and parallels to the original trilogy, this movie was unique in its own sense and displayed a new generation of characters that I wholly love.

Onto the three things I love:

#1: The score. John Williams has outdone himself again. With songs like "Rey's Theme" and "Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle" and "Torn Apart" John Williams has reintroduced Star Wars fans to classic tunes with new revisions. I am listening to the score as I write this, and to prove my point of my ever changing Top Ten Star Wars songs from my previous post, here is the list as of 12/19/15:

1. Torn Apart
2. The Abduction
3. Rey's Theme
4. Star Wars Theme
5. Forest Battle
6. Duel of the Fates
7. Clash of Lightsabers
8. The Scavenger
9. Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle
10. The Hologram/Binary Sunset

Different, right? Probably because over half of the list is from the most recent movie's score.

#2: I got what I've always wanted out of a Star Wars movie: a female protagonist wielding a lightsaber. And hot damn did this movie deliver. Rey (last name still ambiguous, though I hope she isn't a Skywalker) is everything I want and need. I loved how the trailers and advertising of this movie never showed Rey using the Force or Luke's/Anakin's lightsaber. It was just Finn with the lightsaber on posters and in TV spots. So I spent the whole movie wanting Rey to be the Jedi, not Finn (though I do love him), but not expecting her to. But when she touched Luke's lightsaber DAMN, and when she summoned it with the Force in her fight against Kylo Ren...that scene was amazing. So yeah I've fallen in love with Rey and several other characters which leads me to the next thing...

#3: The new characters, namely Rey, Finn, and Poe (and Kylo Ren). There was definitely not enough Poe in this movie, but the time he was on screen, he established himself as both lovable and awesome. I love this guy and he is such a badass pilot. Finn was interesting with his background as a Stormtrooper. It was cool getting a glimpse into the world of an average Stormtrooper and how they're not all bad. He's a sick shot but when he was using the lightsaber it never felt right, both to viewers and him. He rocks it with a blaster, not much with the Force. That belongs to Rey, who I have ranted about already (but I love her). Poe and Finn's friendship is so genuine and sweet, I wish they'd interacted more. I hope these three get all the glory they deserve. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren...I still don't know what to make of you. You are such a unique antagonist that I wasn't sold on being fully evil until YOU KILLED YOUR FATHER RIP Han Solo. Despite the fact that you killed a beloved character from the original trilogy, you remain to be an interesting villain. I look forward to the new Kylo Ren we're sure to see in the second movie following his training with Sith Lord Snoke. I also hope he and Rey duel it out again because that was awesome.


So yup there's three things I love about Star Wars Episode VII. Go watch it and love yourself and cry like I did. Or not...just know that you're missing out on awesome, unique characters and an amazing score.

I'm probably going to make another post concerning my 'fucking awesome sword fights in snow' theory because there was one in this movie and it was awesome but in a different sense than the other movies that fall in this category.

STAR WARS

There is one thing getting me through this school week (hello, 3 tests, 2 projects, and a crap ton of assignments) and that is (you guessed it) Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I am so excited I can hardly put it into words. So instead of sounding like an idiot, I'll talk about other Star Wars related things in the form of lists. Such as...

The Star Wars movies in order from favorite to eh:

1. The Empire Strikes Back: do I even need to explain? (you probably don't want me to anyway)
2. Return of the Jedi: I rewatched this for the first time in a while this past weekend and got anxiety throughout it. I know how it ends but it still makes me physically sick. I was sweating when the Emperor was electrocuting Luke and screaming at Vader to save his son omg.
3. A New Hope: a true childhood classic.
4. Revenge of the Sith: best of the prequels.
5. The Phantom Menace: the main thing that redeemed this movie for me is freaking Darth Maul and his awesome lightsaber. RIP bro. And Duel of the Fates. Bless John Williams.
6. The Attack of the Clones: LOL

And another list...

Top Ten Star Wars Songs:

1. Star Wars Main Theme
2. Duel of the Fates
3. Battle of the Heroes
4. The Forest Battle (Concert Suite)
5. Tales of a Jedi Knight
6. Cantina Band
7. The Clash of Lightsabers
8. The Imperial March
9. The Emperor Arrives
10. Emperor's Throne Room

Do Note: I could write this list every day for the rest of my life and it would never be the same. John Williams is a genius and the whole soundtrack (of every single movie) is brilliant. This list is today's opinion, and I was in pain when I realized I reached number 10 but still had 3 songs ready to put down. 

And okay I was lying I'm going to mention one thing about The Force Awakens, and it's not going to be a list. Just a mini rant:

  

IM SO PUMPED FOR THIS SCENE. I have a theory (which I may one day address in a blog entry) that the best sword fight scenes happen in the snow. And what do we have in this frame? Kylo Ren (I love his name so much) with his fucking awesome lightsaber in the snow. According to the trailer, he'll be fighting Finn here (and there's bits with Rey) so I'm hoping that this lives up to my theory.

So overall, I'm so excited I can cry but I won't but I probably will when I see it after my stats test on Friday :,)

Christmas Wrapping #1: Covers

As a way to wrap up the year, we will be posting our "Top 5's" every Friday until 2016! We are calling it "Christmas Wrapping" because puns. This week's Top 5 is on our favorite book covers. 


The majority of books are from our 2015 reading list with some 2014 exclusions (Fran didn't read that many good books this year)

LYS

5. The Assassin's Blade

4. Tell the Wolves I'm Home

3. Slaughterhouse Five

2. Watchmen

1. Catcher in the Rye

 FRAN
5. Crown of Midnight
4. Magnus Chase and the Swords of Summer
3. The Ask and the Answer
2.Eleanor and Park (2014)
1. Between the Notes

If you want to see the list of books we've read this year, check out our Goodreads accounts!
Lys's: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27125119-alyssa-skvarla
Fran's: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19755098-francesca

Top 10 Soundtrack

Tbh I really got into soundtrack music for writing/reading because of Fran and Sarah J Maas, and now I'm addicted (thanks). Picking a Top 10 is so hard but I'm going to attempt it. Mine will actually be a countdown to my favorite soundtrack piece of all time so here we go...

10. Welcome to Jurassic Park by John Williams
9. Land of Shadows by Audiomachine
8. Short Hair from Mulan
7. Tales of a Jedi Knight by John Williams
6. Forest Battle by John Williams
5. To Die For by Hans Zimmer
4. Transformation from Brother Bear
3. One Summer's Day from Spirited Away
2. King of Pride Rock by Hans Zimmer

and the ruler of my soundtrack playlist:

1. Ihojin No Yaiba from Sword of the Stranger 

I could write an ode to this song oh my god. First off the fight scene that goes to it (scene from it on the right) is bloody brilliant and beautiful but also when taken out of context the song remains to be a terrific score excerpt for me to read/write to. When listening to it, I can easily imagine worlds I'm trying to create, journeys I wish my characters to embark on. It's honestly the best and I can listen to it for the rest of my life and never be annoyed. I can't do it justice but please do yourselves a favor and listen to it.

FRAN'S Top 10ish Soundtracks

FRAN'S TOP 10:
These tracks are in no specific order. Because I've experienced playing in a string orchestra, I tend to listen to a lot of orchestra-type film scores because I appreciate them more. All of these are non-lyrical. John Powell, Joe Hisaishi (Studio Ghibli), and Disney comprises most of my favorites.

1. Arrival of the Birds by The Cinematic Orchestra
2. Suns and Stars by Really Slow Motion
3. The Stag from Disney's Cinderella
4. Romantic Flight by John Powell
1. Battle of the Bewilderbeast by John Powell
2. Battling the Green Death by John Powell
5. Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru
6. The Wind Forest by Joe Hisaishi
1. Howl's Moving Castle Main Theme by Joe Hisaishi
2. Day of the River by Joe Hisaishi
7. The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams
8. The Last Airbender Suite by Jeremy Zuckerman
1. Red Lotus from Legend of Korra
9. Flying from Peter Pan
10. Mermaids by Hans Zimmer

Film adaptations

Hello misses and misters,

Woke up this fine Veteran's Day to big news for Sarah J Maas and her fans: A Court of Thorns and Roses is getting a movie!

Source: http://deadline.com/2015/11/tempo-court-of-thorns-and-roses-piers-tempest-jo-bamford-sarah-maas-the-journey-im-global-paisley-mcguinness-1201618575/

Out of the four Maas books I read this year (wow, I can't believe I read that many of her works) this one was definitely my favorite. It was nice to get a break from the world of Celaena Sardothien, a character I remain to be conflicted about. Feyre and her Fae Lords offered a nice new perspective for me to take on. Plus, as I mentioned in my Goodreads review, I'm a sucker for a fantasy world filled with sultry romance and high-points of action. Guilty pleasure, I guess.

However, in my enjoyment of ACOTAR, there lies a fear in this news. Will the film do the book any justice? Then, the bigger question. Will I enjoy any of the screen renditions of YA fiction that are dawning upon us?

In addition to ACOTAR, Maas' main work, the Throne of Glass series, has been auctioned off for a TV series. The 5th Wave will be washing over us in theaters in no time. The Shadowhunters is another attempt of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments to be brought to life. Anything can be better than the movie based on City of Bones that totally flopped, but still?

I also read The 5th Wave this year and freaking loved it (ty Fran for your recommendation). Moments after finishing the novel, I looked up the movie trailer and was met with disappointment. I can't explain it really. It's true that I'm excited for my favorite pieces of YA literature to be put on the big screen, but it also breaks my heart a little. It took me some time to realize this but I'm not one for movies. They're okay but I will always prefer the movie, except maybe Breakfast at Tiffany's. (see http://booksaf.blogspot.com/2015/09/alys-thoughts-breakfast-at-tiffanys-vs.html for my review of both film and book versions of Breakfast at Tiffany's) This said, I may be biased in my dislike for upcoming adaptations of novels dear to my heart.

The 5th Wave film has me heated over the casting for Evan (who is a literal babe in my head but definitely not on screen). Throne of Glass as a TV series might be the most hopeful out of this bunch. That is until they get past Season 1/Book 1. The casting for this also terrifies me in a way. I can't imagine a Hollywood actress embodying the overwhelming confidence and lethal grace of Celaena Sardothien. The Shadowhunters will obviously be better than its TMI on-screen predecessor, but will it be good enough to renew for a second season? Let's hope because TMI is a series I still love despite the fact that I read it years ago.

So this was my excessive rant to celebrate ACOTAR's film news! Very excited as you can tell haha. But sincerely, I can't wait to see who takes on the roles of Feyre, Tamlin, Lucien, and Rhys. I hope that the world of ACOTAR is properly brought to life so it may do the novel some justice. The same applies to all of the film adaptations I have mentioned above.

FRAN'S THOUGHTS: NanoWrimo

Halloween is over! and aside from the automatic transition into Thanksgiving preparation, the time has also come for NanoWriMo!

For those who are not familiar with the term, NanoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Yeah, it's a thing. Writers commit themselves to starting and finishing a novel within the month of November, and you become a winner by achieving your desired word count by November 30th! (AKA WHEN UC APPS ARE DUE HAHAHA H8 LIFE) 

Click here to participate!

Anyone who joins this insanity has my immediate respect. I have never been one to finish a novel even if I get a whole year as opposed to a month. So to honor this special time for writers all over the world, I thought I'd share with you the stories-that-I-thought-about-writing-24/7-but-never-actually-spent-the-time-to-finish.

• 2009: Love Story
• It was about a love story.
• 2013: Stonehaven Academy
• A story of long-lost twins named Lennon and Emerson who ran cross country for a living.
• 2014: Ryland
• A girl named Ryland who did the most badass things because her name was Ryland.
• 2014: Hero Battles Fanfiction
• Damn right I wrote fanfic
• 2014: A Story for my Mother
• A 5-page fictional message to help my mom cope with claustrophobia during her solo trip on a plane. (She never read it)
• 2014: Elite
• In which a group of Sherlock Holmes' prodigies come together to solve crimes throughout the universe. They may or may not have been spies as well. 
• 2015: Forest
• A treasure hunt occurs within the mystical forests of a parallel universe.