WAIIIIIIIIIIII. (requisite fangirl post)
http://www.bridgetothestars.net/news/1154357209
SO MUCH SQUEE. I have never been able to imagine anyone BUT Kidman in the role. (Funnily enough, she seems to be prime fan-casting choice for a lot of cold-and-sexual female fantasy antagonists -- like Cersei in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.)
I'm so excited about this movie. Recent casting news has all been very positive. I know a lot of die-hard Tolkien fans hate what New Line and Peter Jackson did to LoTR, but seriously, if New Line puts as much effort into bringing this series into fruition as they did with LoTR, I WILL DIE HAPPY.
(Speaking of fantasy movies, Dan Radcliffe in Harry Potter 5 appears to have an astonishingly bad haircut. I actually kinda liked the floofy hair in Goblet of Fire. Of course, there's no beating their kiddie-looks way back in the first two movies. XP)
(And speaking of casting, ODAGIRI JOE AS GINKO = SQUEE. Actually, I'd already known this from a while ago, but I don't think it was actually confirmed then. not that i'm an odagiri joe fangirl or anything, not at all)
----
Other new object of fangirling: http://www.errantstory.com/
I'm not really into the webcomic scene, as I don't usually like the art, characterization (primarily limited to snarky and cynical), or plot (long and convoluted and episodic, although this is something more inherent in the medium itself rather than a legitimate complaint on my part). This particular series was a completely random discovery; I think someone mentioned it as a fantasy webcomic in the comments of some post somewhere, and I decided to look it up because fantasy seems to be a pretty rare genre in manga/comics. Good fantasy, anyway.
I was amazed first of all by the art, which is neither cartoony or anime-derivative, but more of a unique and rather distinctive style (though it does show slight anime influence). And good art is not limited to the character designs -- the world/setting, clothing, weapons, etc. are all very well done, neither skimping on detail nor being *overly* detailed.
Second of all, the plot: the prologue is intriguing, though with the elf/human pairing depicted in the first half I was afraid it was going to turn out to be some really cliched thing. The second half of the prologue helped assuage that fear with a really kickass introduction to the "current" world.
The first chapter then becomes something of, as I think the artist jokingly referred to it, a Harry Potter/Negima wannabe. Well, probably more accurately a parody of such magic school series. If it hadn't been for the serious prologue, in fact, I would have assumed Errant Story was just another boring fantasy parody. Which it isn't. (And how can anyone NOT cheer for someone who decides to take over the world for her senior project? XD) And it just keeps getting better from there, as more and more things are revealed.
The thing is, the humor and the seriousness fit together seamlessly in this comic. (And the humor is actually, well, you know, funny.) Part of what makes it so refreshing is that Michael Poe takes a lot of cliches and standard fantasy tropes, and doesn't so much turn them on their head without any explanation whatsoever (which would give you your standard fantasy parody in place of the standard fantasy) as he *twists* them into something of his own. The story in itself is serious, but doesn't take itself overly seriously, if you know what I mean. But at the same time it doesn't just turn everything into a shallow joke, either. This is probably the only comic I've ever seen with such a well thought out and consistent background/world/history, and one of the few "Tolkienesque" (in that it employs the standard races like elves, dwarves, blah blah blah) fantasies that doesn't come off as derivative. And one in which there is no clear black and white AT ALL, and the characters act realistically, like mature adults (well, the adult chars anyway). I.e. no pointless angst and/or squabbling over stupid things.
Last but not least: lots and lots of kickass females. (Elf lady Sarine is HOT.) Always a plus in my book. (And ninjas! Duking it out against gunslingers! XD)
---
My priorities have been shifting a lot over the past two years. I've been drifting a lot. It takes a long time for me to adjust to changes, and I guess there had been way too many changes for me to keep up with, and I was indulging in escapism for a while.
I think, though, I'm beginning to fumble my way towards something more tangible. A better idea of who I am and what I want from life. Several recent decisions I've made reflect that (though one is still pending discussion, so will refrain from talking about here). Strangely, I feel a lot freer now, and less burdened, now that I've decided to stop running away. Compared to like a week ago, before I'd made some of these decisions, I am much less pissy and moody. I am, in fact... rather happy. Just a calm quiet happiness twinged with a bit of apprehension regarding the future. It's a good feeling, even if a bit scary.
Maybe this is just the same foolish optimism that always sets in around this time of year, but I really do think that this time, I'll finally be able to back up my words with actual action. I've changed a lot, though in more subtle ways than I have in past years. My relationship with my family especially has been shifting, mostly in a more positive direction. Yes, they still get on my nerves, and quite often at that, but I think we've all changed a lot recently. I'm not sure why, and it, like my current feelings, is occasionally scary.
But it's kind of nice to be able to trust people again, even if I doubt I'll ever be able to trust to the extent that other people do. It's in my nature to doubt. I just hadn't realized there was that much distrust and unhappiness on my part, before.
I'm learning to trust myself a little more, as well.
SO MUCH SQUEE. I have never been able to imagine anyone BUT Kidman in the role. (Funnily enough, she seems to be prime fan-casting choice for a lot of cold-and-sexual female fantasy antagonists -- like Cersei in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.)
I'm so excited about this movie. Recent casting news has all been very positive. I know a lot of die-hard Tolkien fans hate what New Line and Peter Jackson did to LoTR, but seriously, if New Line puts as much effort into bringing this series into fruition as they did with LoTR, I WILL DIE HAPPY.
(Speaking of fantasy movies, Dan Radcliffe in Harry Potter 5 appears to have an astonishingly bad haircut. I actually kinda liked the floofy hair in Goblet of Fire. Of course, there's no beating their kiddie-looks way back in the first two movies. XP)
(And speaking of casting, ODAGIRI JOE AS GINKO = SQUEE. Actually, I'd already known this from a while ago, but I don't think it was actually confirmed then. not that i'm an odagiri joe fangirl or anything, not at all)
----
Other new object of fangirling: http://www.errantstory.com/
I'm not really into the webcomic scene, as I don't usually like the art, characterization (primarily limited to snarky and cynical), or plot (long and convoluted and episodic, although this is something more inherent in the medium itself rather than a legitimate complaint on my part). This particular series was a completely random discovery; I think someone mentioned it as a fantasy webcomic in the comments of some post somewhere, and I decided to look it up because fantasy seems to be a pretty rare genre in manga/comics. Good fantasy, anyway.
I was amazed first of all by the art, which is neither cartoony or anime-derivative, but more of a unique and rather distinctive style (though it does show slight anime influence). And good art is not limited to the character designs -- the world/setting, clothing, weapons, etc. are all very well done, neither skimping on detail nor being *overly* detailed.
Second of all, the plot: the prologue is intriguing, though with the elf/human pairing depicted in the first half I was afraid it was going to turn out to be some really cliched thing. The second half of the prologue helped assuage that fear with a really kickass introduction to the "current" world.
The first chapter then becomes something of, as I think the artist jokingly referred to it, a Harry Potter/Negima wannabe. Well, probably more accurately a parody of such magic school series. If it hadn't been for the serious prologue, in fact, I would have assumed Errant Story was just another boring fantasy parody. Which it isn't. (And how can anyone NOT cheer for someone who decides to take over the world for her senior project? XD) And it just keeps getting better from there, as more and more things are revealed.
The thing is, the humor and the seriousness fit together seamlessly in this comic. (And the humor is actually, well, you know, funny.) Part of what makes it so refreshing is that Michael Poe takes a lot of cliches and standard fantasy tropes, and doesn't so much turn them on their head without any explanation whatsoever (which would give you your standard fantasy parody in place of the standard fantasy) as he *twists* them into something of his own. The story in itself is serious, but doesn't take itself overly seriously, if you know what I mean. But at the same time it doesn't just turn everything into a shallow joke, either. This is probably the only comic I've ever seen with such a well thought out and consistent background/world/history, and one of the few "Tolkienesque" (in that it employs the standard races like elves, dwarves, blah blah blah) fantasies that doesn't come off as derivative. And one in which there is no clear black and white AT ALL, and the characters act realistically, like mature adults (well, the adult chars anyway). I.e. no pointless angst and/or squabbling over stupid things.
Last but not least: lots and lots of kickass females. (Elf lady Sarine is HOT.) Always a plus in my book. (And ninjas! Duking it out against gunslingers! XD)
---
My priorities have been shifting a lot over the past two years. I've been drifting a lot. It takes a long time for me to adjust to changes, and I guess there had been way too many changes for me to keep up with, and I was indulging in escapism for a while.
I think, though, I'm beginning to fumble my way towards something more tangible. A better idea of who I am and what I want from life. Several recent decisions I've made reflect that (though one is still pending discussion, so will refrain from talking about here). Strangely, I feel a lot freer now, and less burdened, now that I've decided to stop running away. Compared to like a week ago, before I'd made some of these decisions, I am much less pissy and moody. I am, in fact... rather happy. Just a calm quiet happiness twinged with a bit of apprehension regarding the future. It's a good feeling, even if a bit scary.
Maybe this is just the same foolish optimism that always sets in around this time of year, but I really do think that this time, I'll finally be able to back up my words with actual action. I've changed a lot, though in more subtle ways than I have in past years. My relationship with my family especially has been shifting, mostly in a more positive direction. Yes, they still get on my nerves, and quite often at that, but I think we've all changed a lot recently. I'm not sure why, and it, like my current feelings, is occasionally scary.
But it's kind of nice to be able to trust people again, even if I doubt I'll ever be able to trust to the extent that other people do. It's in my nature to doubt. I just hadn't realized there was that much distrust and unhappiness on my part, before.
I'm learning to trust myself a little more, as well.