Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Percy Jackson: Book vs. Movie


I'm going to do this for real. I just want you to know now that I am not one of those readers who hate  movie adaptions of books because they aren't EXACTLY like the books, nor am I one of those watchers who hate the books because they aren't EXACTLY like the movie. I am one of the in-betweeners. The only book/movie adaption I absolutely hated was Eragon.

So. With no further ado, I begin my study of the movie/book adaptions of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief.


PERCY JACKSON: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

I enjoyed both the movie and the book, but I must say that I enjoyed the movie more than the book.

...Are you over your initial shock? Let me explain.

For one, I made a massive mistake. You see, my sister read all of the books and had just borrowed the second series's first book, The Lost Hero, from the library when I finally said, "Okay, fine, let's see what this is all about." So, I downloaded The Lost Hero onto my Kindle Fire.

It. Was. Amazing.

I was so shocked and enthralled that the books were this good that I immediately downloaded The Lightning Thief with great anticipation. But when I started reading it, I was disappointed. Wait a minute, I thought. This isn't nearly as good as that second series book. What's going on here?!

I then realized that Rick Riordan was writing from a twelve-year-old's point of view. Thus, logically, writing the book for a twelve-year-old audience.

You see, as the series progresses, Percy Jackson gets older (approximately a year every book, so far as I know). I didn't know this in the beginning. I just assumed he was about the same age as he was in the movie, fifteen or sixteen.

Since the book was written for a younger crowd, it didn't appeal to me as well as the movie did. But know that I enjoyed the book!


BOOK VS. MOVIE: STORYLINE

I was actually pleasantly surprised that the movie had about the same storyline as the book. Other than the placement of the battles (as in the hydra battle, the Medusa thing, Lotus Casino, etc.), the whole pearl-teleportation thing (which me and my sister both agreed they played out better in the movie), and of course the shortening of the book to fit in movie time, the plot was basically the same. They left out some scenes (I would have liked to see Percy in St. Louis on the arch, falling into the river), but I thought the movie was pretty good in its own little way. More action-packed, less time for resting like in the book, where you have action, rest, action, rest.


BOOK VS. MOVIE: CASTING AND CHARACTERS

Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson in
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief
PERCY JACKSON: I thought Logan Lerman played an awesome Percy. The only qualms I have with him is that he doesn't really seem that ADHD. You can sort of tell he's a little hyperactive, but not exactly ADHD. Otherwise, he played Percy well, except for the ADHD and the slight lack of quippage. I mean, the Percy in the books is ridiculous. But maybe they did that on purpose.

Now I heard from one girl I met that "LOGAN LERMAN IS TOO OLD!! FOR GOODNESS'S SAKES, PERCY'S ONLY 12! HEL-LOOOO!!!" But the reason they made Percy 16ish is so, like I mentioned above, the movie would appeal to a larger audience. I understand how this would get some readers angry, but personally I would much rather watch a 16-year-old fight dragons than a 12-year-old. It just wouldn't seem real.


Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth
Chase in Percy Jackson:
The Lightning Thief
ANNABETH CHASE: I've heard all sorts of arguments about Annabeth.

  • She's not blonde.
  • She's not as scary as the real Annabeth is.
  • She's not blonde.
  • She doesn't act like Annabeth.
  • She's not blonde.
But I give the directors credit, because they at least tried to make Alexandra blonde in the second movie.

Anywho, the point is, though Daddario didn't play the best Annabeth Chase, I though she definitely played a kind of Annabeth Chase. After reading the book I realized what others were talking about, how Annabeth in the movie wasn't as scary as Annabeth in the book. In the movie, she plays up the wise girl more than she does the fighter-strategist type. And personally, I always imagined Athena as a dark-haired person. Plus, Daddario looks like a very wise person (those eyes kill me).

But yes, she is nothing like Annabeth in the book, and I must admit the movie would probably be more interesting if Annabeth was calling Percy "Seaweed Brain" and threatening him with a dagger all the time.


Brandon T. Jackson as Grover
in Percy Jackson: The
Lightning Thief
GROVER: In book terms, Grover stunk horribly.

He looks nothing like Grover. He acts nothing like Grover. Overall, he is not Grover.

But I LOVE THE MOVIE GROVER. And I HATED the book Grover.

So I'm totally okay with them changing him up. Scaredy-cat Grover drove me crazy in the books and it was just seriously annoying. But in the movie, he was one of my favorite characters.





Jake Abel as Luke Castellan in
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief

LUKE CASTELLAN: Jake Abel was an amazing Luke, Son of Hermes. He had the looks exactly: mischievous, sly, the required "tall, handsome, short-cropped sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, an athletic and muscular build, and a sneaky look". And he did awesome with the acting. I have no complaints against him, other than I'm really sad as I always am that he [spoiler]. And that he lacks what would have been a really epic dragon scar on his face.




BOOK VS. MOVIE: "TONE AND FEEL"

The book had a very playful and kiddish tone to it, which I enjoyed with Percy's youthful point of view. The movie was much more mature, not holding true to the book but, again, in its own way achieving excellence.


OVERALL:

TRUE-TO-ITS-ROOT-NESS: Though the movie wasn't true to the book in some aspects, it did better than some book-to-movie adaptions that I have seen (*coughcoughERAGONcoughchoke*). I enjoyed the book and the movie separately, but compared, I personally liked the movie better. (Wow. I hope no one kills me for that...)

BOOK: The book is better for young people between the ages of 10-14. Not for us mature, boring 17-year-olds. Still, it's a good relaxing read for older teens, more humor than epic battle scenes (though there are some in there). Definitely worth reading. Do not not read this book. You must. The storyline is just so imaginative. I am so jealous sometimes. All the time. I cry at night.

MOVIE: The movie is aimed more towards older audiences, so for those who just can't get into the book but still want to know about the demigods, the movie provides an accurate representation of the book's world. Individually, I enjoyed the movie thoroughly. At first I thought it sort of fast-moving and low-budget, but once I saw the first part (the two times I saw it I always missed the first 30 minutes) I really understood the situation. Thus allowing me to enjoy the film better.

So what do you think about the Percy Jackson movie vs. book? Do you like the movie? Book? Do you hate me for liking the movie a little better (just a little)? Voice your thoughts!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Top 7 Best Anti-Heroes of All Time

Who doesn't admire those awesome, dark, powerful people who do all the wrong things for the right reason, or vice versa? Maybe that's why we have such an awesome lineup of anti-heroes. Let's see which one's made this month's list...MWAA HA HA HAAA...

(I love deciding the fates of someone else's characters on my badly planned on-the-spur-of-the-moment posts...)

This was actually really hard for me to come up with for some reason. I had a lot of trouble finding ten  anti-heroes to put on this post. So, unfortunately, I had to stick with only seven characters to stick on here. So please forgive me for any obscure and/or not-really-anti-heroes anti-heroes. It was a toughie. I can't say why but it was.



1. JACK SPARROW
Pirates of the Caribbean (movie series)
Perhaps the most famous character of the modern world. (And obviously for good reason too. "I've got a jar of dirt! I've got a jar of dirt!)
("Ah yes. I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.")
(...Staying focused now.)


2. SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG
Sonic the Hedgehog (video game series)
Let's face it. Shadow's the man when it comes to anti-heroes. (Who PS is way cooler than Sonic.) He is like, the definition of anti-heroism. His best friend is killed and he seeks revenge for her, but ends up saving the world. Now, you can find him blowing up bad guys with G.U.N.


3. SAMANTHA SHAW
CBS's Person of Interest (TV show)
Okay. So, Sam is some sort of government agent who's BFF gets shot on a mission gone bad. She goes all CIA agent on the guy that killed him, thus doing good by being bad. She's...yeah. She's awesome. In a complicated kind of way...you'd really have to watch the show to truly understand.


4. AXEL
Kingdom Hearts (video game series)
He's just trying to get his best friend back. It's just coincidental that the entire world depends on Roxas's non-existance. And that has nothing personally to do with Axel. Right?


5. LUKE CASTELLAN
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (book and movie series)
Again. One of those characters who are iffy on the anti-hero scale. But I certainly wasn't going to put him on the villain thing. Because frankly I wouldn't mind overthrowing Olympus myself.
"Where's your helmet?... No helmet? ...You're dead."
*long pause*
"...I'm messing with ya. Laugh a little."
(...Sorry. Focusing on focusing on staying focused.)


6. MURTAGH
Eragon (movie, book series)
(Sorry, awkward GIF, but it was the only one I could find.)
Murtagh is tricked into believing that he is doing something truly good for his land, when in fact he is fighting against what he thinks he is fighting for. Luckily he [spoiler] and [spoiler] at the end.


7. HAN SOLO
Star Wars (movie series)
One of those heroes who care only about the reward. He don't give a hoot for humanity, as long as he gets his dough. And that's cool with us viewers, apparently.


Monday, September 9, 2013

King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Storytelling


I am a strong believer in retelling old stories. I believe there is whimsy left over from those old tales people once fell in love with, whimsy we writers can use to recreate these old stories and make them into something entirely new and wonderfully magical. When you use an old story like King Arthur and twist it up, recreate it, and make it into something modern, you are retelling an ancient story. And I think that is amazing.

There's also some ease to creating new stories from old ones. You already have a setting all mapped out for you: with King Arthur it would be Camelot an old medieval places, and with Robin Hood the forest of Sherwood and the town of Nottingham, etc. You already have the basics of your characters—unless you want to completely reconstruct them, you have all sorts of potential heroes and villains waiting in the souls of Lancelot, Marian, and Alan-a-Dale.

In my own writings, I've played around with recreating some of the oldest fables in history. In my Knights of the Round Table edition, Lancelot is my protagonist, and I overhauled his background and gave him a new one. In my head, Lancelot was the son of a low-ranking lord and lady who both died of an illness soon after he was born. A little rogue boy found baby Lancelot and raised him until he too died of the illness, and Lancelot was left on his own. He was a thief and a crook and a no-good-doer, and soon his name was posted all over the kingdom on WANTED signs. As a young adult he broke into a high-ranking lord's house and met Elaine, for whom he changed his ways and eventually married. Together they had Galahad, met King Arthur by running from Elaine's revengeful father, and soon Lancelot was made a knight.

This is just a sampling of what you can do with these old stories. I created an entire new clan of natives for the backstory of Lamerak, who came from his warring tribes as the last alive of his kind.

I am still having trouble imagining a new way to imagine Robin Hood. In my head, he is something his enemies mortally fear and his allies both fear (in a different way) and respect. Sort of like the Batman of Nottingham. I want to make Marian afraid of him at first, and have her related and living with the Sheriff of Nottingham somehow. I am both excited and eager to see where God takes me with these passions.

The best of luck,


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Inside the Character: Dirco Storyteller

September's ItC is...

DIRCO!!!

DUN DUN DUUUNNN...

No, he's really not that bad...usually...

Ahem.

Continue on, Dirco.


1. If you were in a movie, what actor would play you?
Dirco: *reclines back, hands behind head* Nice to be here, really is... I am quite the celebrity...
Me: Ahem. Dirco. Question.
Dirco: Oh, right. Of coooourse. Well. If I had an actor, it would probably definitely be NO ONE because really no one can catch my true essence.
Me: It's true, no one can.
Dirco: ;D
Me: But as for looks, Kenton Duty is as close as it gets that I've found so far.


Of course, the hair would have to be paler, and his eyes would have to be ice-white, but the overall facial/body structure is pretty accurate. I guess.

2. What are some of your best qualities?
Dirco: Storytelling, comical relief, painful truths, and magic.
Me: To the point.
Dirco: Are you going to commentate everything? Because I'm gone if you do.
Me: Yeah, I get it, you'll go all puppet-strings on me again...

3. What are some of your friends, and what do you like best about them?
Dirco: Alli, because she's...ah...well...I guess I've had to put up with her for so long, that without her it's just sorta...eh. Eadën is not really my friend, more like a vague acquaintance, and Vette is a friend. She's...uh...cool.
Me: Care to explain?
Dirco: No. Not really. It was spontaneous and strange.
Me: Good thing I changed most of that.
Dirco: Yeah...AWKWARD...

4. So, you went through a puppet phase. What was that like?
Dirco: Well, the true story is that my writer here tried to make me something I wasn't. Emotional. And I was like,
"UM, NO WAY I DON'T WANNA. YOU GOTTA LET ME HANG LIKE I DO. LOOSE AND COOL. AND JUT LET ME EMOTION LIKE I WANNA EMOTION."
And she was like, "I'M YO WRITA YOU'D BETTA LISTEN TO ME OR I CAN TAKE YOU OUT LICKETY-SPLIT."
And I was all like, "Oh yeah, well, fell the wrath of DIRCO!!!"
And she was all like, "I don't feel NUTHIN."
So then I was forced to go puppet-strings on her. And then she cursed me out some more. And then I decided just now to come out and say hello. :)

5. What annoys you more than anything?
Dirco: Jerk-faces and doofuses. Like...um...oh, Jzän, and Flame. And her guards. And my writer telling me what to do, obviously.

6. What is your worst experience?
Dirco: Being tortured by Jzän. ...Yeah, that's all I want to say about that. *rubs back absently with a grimace*

7. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?
Dirco: Methuselah. Because dog-gone, that guy was so OLD. He had, like, ten generations worth of stories to tell! And I could have SO written them down!

8. Is 'Storyteller' your given name, or a pseudonym, or what?
Dirco: If you must know, Dirco Storyteller is my self-given title. It's like, King Ivérsid. Or Sir Lancelot. Dirco Storyteller.

9. Last question: What's is your opinion on the Sentinels (book and people)?
Dirco: Frankly, The Sentinels book scares me. I'm in my writer's head and the stuff she's throwing around is kinda freaking me out. So yeah, I'm not happy with it. Which is why I went puppet-mode at first. But now I'm over it and I'm kinda like, WHOA...I could actually like die and stuff. The Sentinels people are pretty okay, I guess. I hate Areul because he's a bigheaded fool, Theydr freaks me out with his 'coolheadedness', Wyl is...actually not that bad, and Zerrjjn is a bird, hello. Bird's aren't scary. Sorry. The only scary bird around here is Big Bird. *shudder*


Pinterest boards:
Dirco's character board
The Cycle of Time storyboard