Into the Woods

     This was one of my take it or leave it films. I 'm not a big musical fan, but I' have seen a variety of ones from The Sound of Music, to Sweeney Todd, and even Les Miserables, just to give you an idea of the range of musicals, I've seen. I've seen more than those.
     Into the Woods wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it didn't surprise me either. It was kind of in the middle of the road, compared to the others I have seen. Though it wasn't bad, it just seemed to get a little lost in the woods at the end. It was like they were trying to be a bit different, put a twist on it, and it fell a little flat.
     Though I do admit that Johnny Depp surprised me. I thought, him as the wolf. I know he can sing, that wasn't what surprised me. It was how a song with the right kind of slightly disturbing but fitting lyrics for a human eating wolf, and the right facial expressions and movements, made this wolf done by Depp, really creep me out.
     The songs weren't bad, and I liked how the fairy tales had elements from the older, original versions collected by the Grimm brothers. The story wasn't bad either, but in my opinion, I don't think its all that, and worth paying theater prices to see it. On stage, would be different. But if your looking for something to see at the movies, this wouldn't be an awful choice.

Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (audio book)

     I watched Season Two of Game of Thrones before listening to this book, and discovered that I liked the book a bit better this time than the show. There was more character and story depth than was in the show, but then again, things have to be tweaked when put into film for whether it be a series, or just one film.
     This installment I finished faster than the last. It really kept a roller coaster pace about it, and I love the narrator and his voices. His story telling is natural, and never rings false. It will be a little while before I move on to book three, but I understand why this series is so popular.
     A great mix of characters, story, a wonderful world of magic and human intrigue. This is the kind of book that I think those not really into fantasy could get into.
     This is book two in the Song of Fire and Ice Series. The first book is Game of Thrones, and the TV series by the same name is really good too.
     Whether you read it or listen to it, it is worth the time to check out.

The House of Gaian by Anne Bishop

This is the third and final book in The Tir Alain. The first is The Pillars of the World.

     I liked the first two installments of this book. I gave up after finishing about a quarter this one. I debated for a bit on trying to get back into it, but it began to feel like I would be reading it because I had to, like a literature class assignment and I decided it was best to move on, and put this into my small pile of I couldn't finish it books.
     I finally realized my issue was the lack of any sort of interesting story line, for the most part. Occasional story bits that progressed the tale a tad. But to me, it just seemed to be a slow progression of the characters, moving toward the final battle between good and evil. I really think this book should have been half its size, and a good chuck of it cut out.
     I don't have an issue with books that don't have a lot of adventure in them. But the story plot has to move, things of interest have to be going on at some level, and this just seemed to get stuck in the mud. To be honest, I think two books would have sufficed over three.
     Usually, enjoy her books, but again this was just stalled. Still, the first two books were good, I just wouldn't expect the third to be great.
     Anne Bishop's Black Jewel Books, and Ephemera books are good reads too.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Not sure if any one cares, but I do apologize for not posting anything in a while. Life got in the way.


      I did see the previous two films and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. This final installment of the Hobbit, wasn't bad. But it did seem to drag on a bit too long. It had nothing to do with the battle sequences, The Two Towers flew by fine, but this film was a tad too long and the others didn't feel sluggish at all. Still it was good film, and worth seeing in 3-D and the big screen, especially with Smaug.
     If you haven't read the Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings trilogy, read them. There worth it, and film adaptations aren't word form word of the book.