Why I'm NOT blogging...

Just saying. I'm finally watching Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1 right NOW. As in 1 hour 33 minutes right now. IT'S SO INTENSE. Though did that locket horcrux's buzzing noise hurt anyone else's ears?

And hey, I hope it's a good enough excuse. With some eye candy:

has anyone NOT seen this? 8DDDDD

I find it interesting how the light blocks most of Ron's face... and H&H are together.

I really wish I could go to the midnight showing of part two (with my HP/just Harry-obsessed friends!), but I'll be doing a week long summit for my internship. ): But:

Are YOU going to a midnight showing? How are you showing your HP pride? :D

Anyways, back to HP craziness. OHMYGODRONNNNN. *flails* I NEED TO GO BACK NOW, SORRRRY. More TFFOS goodness coming tomorrow, and I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

Winner & The Host's Melanie!

First, the winner of the In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap contest. The greater powers that be at random.org declare the winner is:

Jeanna (#36)

Congrats, Jeanna! I've sent you an email, and thanks to everyone else who entered. :)


Also, I heard from readingteen.net (which was from deadline.com) about the casting of Melanie from The Host by Stephanie Meyer. WOW, it's finally starting along the path of a movie. I present Saoirse Ronan:

I've heard she's good, but I haven't actually watched any of her movies. As for whether she looks the part, perhaps if you dirty her up a bit... Saorise's eyes are stunning though, as is her name. I can kind of imagine her as Melanie if you cut her hair short or put it into a ponytail and make her face more tanned. Overall, not bad casting, though as for whether the movie will be as good... hm, we'll see. I've learned to be cautious about these things. What do you think?

(Sorry for all the double posts these days~ )

Anime Movies: My Top & My Thoughts

The world is against me. First it refuses to let me post a vlog, next it's no internet and major headache. I was planning on posting reviews but though I've literally read about 10 books in the past few days, I'm just not... feeling the review? So I've decided to post about some anime movies to spice things up - woo! Basically the movies I love, what I'm thinking about watching, and what I've just started.

First off, HAYAO MIYAZAKI. If you haven't heard of him, under which rock do you live?! The white pebbled one over there or the rocky one I found today in my driveway? THIS MAN CAN DO NO WRONG IN MY BOOK. No joke. He has awesome instrumentals and graphics too. :D

My absolute favorite is Howl's Moving Castle, which is definitely a must-see. The art is stunning, the music is unbelievably catchy in addition to beautiful, and it has solid lessons mixed in with a bit of romance. It may be that I love this one the most because I'm a complete sucker for happy endings and innocent romance - okay, so I rewinded and watched the one quick kiss about 20 times - but that makes it perfect for fans of Disney movies. I included the movie poster below because it has pretty movie snapshots but the DVD cover, which I own, is a bit more bland. This is a movie I'd show my kids (if I had some), though I'd watch out for some bombs. It does say war is very, very, very bad.

If you're looking for more, I'd watch the classics: Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, which I've actually never watched but have heard is great. I've watched many more though and the oldies-but-goodies I'd recommend are: Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (snapshot below) and Princess Mononoke. The older ones are a bit more graphic though and shouldn't be watched by a younger audience. Still, if you're up to a little gore, I was surprised by how good the graphics still were.

Another pretty recent one I've watched is The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It's also a pretty well-known one and one that I thought was pretty good. It can get a bit sad and bit slow at the beginning, but overall the graphics are appealing and there's some interesting originality to the plot.

Here's a quick list of some anime movies that I've heard are EPIC but have yet to watch (if you're interested): Akira, Vampire Hunter D, and Ghost in the Shell. They all lean toward the slightlier heavier side with darker art, so I haven't really worked up the nerve to watch those yet.

\And, finally, what I'm watching now: 5 Centimeters Per Second. It sounds like a heart-rending love story and I'm getting the tissues ready as I type. I've heard it's realistic but oh-so-good. Fingers crossed and I'll report back! I'm also looking into another of Makato Shinkai's movies, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, though I haven't started it yet. It's on Netflix on Instant Play though! ;)

 

 

So what about you? Do you have any anime movie recommendations or thoughts? Anything you're watching now? I'd love to hear! :)