Gloria Oliver's Blog, page 37
November 25, 2015
Picture Kaleidoscope 11/25/15 - Puerto Rico edition
Morning!
Figured I'd start sharing my Puerto Rico pics. Will be setting up a gallery for them all, but it's not ready yet. These are all phone camera pics. The gillion others were with my camera. So expect all sorts of photography mayhem soon.
Heh heh heh
Puerto Rico - a property of the US. Only need a drivers license to go there. Currency is the US Dollar. Main language is Spanish.
View of a little island we spotted from the plane.
Amazing skies. Clouds are the main thing you miss when you move away from PR.
Panorama from my uncle's house in the mountains.
More views from his porch.
He has a set of Hibiscus bushes as a partial fence.
I love the flowers from these bushes. Always make me think of home.
View from the balcony of the condo we got to stay in overnight.
Panorama from the top of the 1st viewing tower at El Yunque - PR's protected rain forest.
Pano of the other side on the tower.
Pano at El Morro. Spanish fort in San Juan. All the pink shirts are students on a field trip.
Different pano view from the fort.
View from El Morro looking out. Huh, something happened as this bugger looks stitched! lol.
These are Quenepas. I'd not had some in 20 years! Last two times I'd made it home, they've not been in season. Ran across some when we went south. YAY! You bite the green to peel off the top. Then you use the bottom half as a cup. The fruit strands are stuck to a large seed. You put it in your mouth and suck off the strands. So good!
More torture to come later. :)
Figured I'd start sharing my Puerto Rico pics. Will be setting up a gallery for them all, but it's not ready yet. These are all phone camera pics. The gillion others were with my camera. So expect all sorts of photography mayhem soon.
Heh heh heh
Puerto Rico - a property of the US. Only need a drivers license to go there. Currency is the US Dollar. Main language is Spanish.
View of a little island we spotted from the plane.
Amazing skies. Clouds are the main thing you miss when you move away from PR.
Panorama from my uncle's house in the mountains.
More views from his porch.
He has a set of Hibiscus bushes as a partial fence.
I love the flowers from these bushes. Always make me think of home.
View from the balcony of the condo we got to stay in overnight.
Panorama from the top of the 1st viewing tower at El Yunque - PR's protected rain forest.
Pano of the other side on the tower.
Pano at El Morro. Spanish fort in San Juan. All the pink shirts are students on a field trip.
Different pano view from the fort.
View from El Morro looking out. Huh, something happened as this bugger looks stitched! lol.
These are Quenepas. I'd not had some in 20 years! Last two times I'd made it home, they've not been in season. Ran across some when we went south. YAY! You bite the green to peel off the top. Then you use the bottom half as a cup. The fruit strands are stuck to a large seed. You put it in your mouth and suck off the strands. So good!
More torture to come later. :)
November 23, 2015
Mind Sieve 11/23/15
Still trying to catch up on everything now that I'm back from vacation, so this week's post will be short. (I am dreading going to work! What has imploded while I've been gone? Eek!)
Here's three quick videos from my vacation last week!
View of the wall of a large cistern in the River Camuy Caves.
A gurgling brook in El Yunque - protected rain forest in the middle of the island.
And my favorite! A panning shot of the beach at Luquillo. Look at that sky!
Hopefully I will be back to normal schedule and items by next week!
heh heh!
Here's three quick videos from my vacation last week!
View of the wall of a large cistern in the River Camuy Caves.
A gurgling brook in El Yunque - protected rain forest in the middle of the island.
And my favorite! A panning shot of the beach at Luquillo. Look at that sky!
Hopefully I will be back to normal schedule and items by next week!
heh heh!
November 22, 2015
Virtual Tourist - Final Fantasy XIV 11/22/15
Vacation is over...waaaahhhh!
Final Fantasy XIV
Main Storyline
Mr. Badass! :P
He's got him a dragon. Not a good thing.
One of his cronies - Nero tol Scaeva
Not a nice guy. :P
Limsa Lominsa - a neat towering city. That's the transport airship between major cities. City is by the sea.
Ticket Counter for the airship.
Leader of Limsa Lominsa
Ul'dah - the third city - dry arid lands.
One of the main ares at Ul'dah
Delivering the letter from Gridania's leader
Raubahn - dang! him and his peeps are tall!
You can actually see his face on this one.
Out and about on Ul'dah - you can see some player characters and my new pet airship! :) And look at that carpet!!!!
Off to another place.
It's turned cold around here! Hope you're keeping warm out there!
Final Fantasy XIV
Main Storyline
Mr. Badass! :P
He's got him a dragon. Not a good thing.
One of his cronies - Nero tol Scaeva
Not a nice guy. :P
Limsa Lominsa - a neat towering city. That's the transport airship between major cities. City is by the sea.
Ticket Counter for the airship.
Leader of Limsa Lominsa
Ul'dah - the third city - dry arid lands.
One of the main ares at Ul'dah
Delivering the letter from Gridania's leader
Raubahn - dang! him and his peeps are tall!
You can actually see his face on this one.
Out and about on Ul'dah - you can see some player characters and my new pet airship! :) And look at that carpet!!!!
Off to another place.
It's turned cold around here! Hope you're keeping warm out there!
November 18, 2015
Picture Kaleidoscope 11/18/15
Evening!
Running like super late, but hopefully it will be worth it. :)
Here's a preview of what I've been doing this week...
Mysterious caves!
Exotic vegetation!
Tower of views.
Awe inspiring vistas!
I'll be sharing more once I get back! Enjoy!
Running like super late, but hopefully it will be worth it. :)
Here's a preview of what I've been doing this week...
Mysterious caves!
Exotic vegetation!
Tower of views.
Awe inspiring vistas!
I'll be sharing more once I get back! Enjoy!
November 16, 2015
Mind Sieve 11/16/15
Hope you're having a great morning!
Fan Fun
Ice Age: Collision Course "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" - so cute! Scrat is baaaaacccck!
Warcraft Movie Trailer - they really are making an actual movie! Looks cool!
Finding Dori Official Trailer #1 - the fish are back!
Social Media/Author PlatformFacebook Retargeting Spend Increases: New Research by Suzanne Delzio at the Social Media Examiner. So that's why I see replicated ads of places I've been to! DOH!
Writing AdviceNaNoWriMo Triage Center: Helping You Get To 50K by Angela Ackerman. She shares some neat ways to get out of the NaNoWriMo Funk! :)
The Truly Dramatic Plot—Shakespeare, Instagram, & Why Macbeth is STILL Awesome by Alex Limberg at Kristen Lamb's Blog. Very catchy blog post title, no? :)
Last week was weird. Hoping this week is FUN! Here's hoping it's great for you as well. :)
Fan Fun
Ice Age: Collision Course "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" - so cute! Scrat is baaaaacccck!
Warcraft Movie Trailer - they really are making an actual movie! Looks cool!
Finding Dori Official Trailer #1 - the fish are back!
Social Media/Author PlatformFacebook Retargeting Spend Increases: New Research by Suzanne Delzio at the Social Media Examiner. So that's why I see replicated ads of places I've been to! DOH!
Writing AdviceNaNoWriMo Triage Center: Helping You Get To 50K by Angela Ackerman. She shares some neat ways to get out of the NaNoWriMo Funk! :)
The Truly Dramatic Plot—Shakespeare, Instagram, & Why Macbeth is STILL Awesome by Alex Limberg at Kristen Lamb's Blog. Very catchy blog post title, no? :)
Last week was weird. Hoping this week is FUN! Here's hoping it's great for you as well. :)
November 13, 2015
Movie Review - The Peanuts Movie
The Peanuts Movie
Starring: Bill Melendez, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Venus Schultheis, Trombone Shorty, Mariel Sheets, Rebecca Bloom, Anastasia Bredikhina, Alexander Garfin, A.J. Tecce, Noah Johnston, and more.
Directed by: Steve Martino Written by: Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano Based on the Comic Strip by: Charles M. Schulz Cinematography by: Renato Falcão Music by: Christophe Beck
Premise: Though bad luck and frustration have been his constant companion, Charlie Brown decides he wants to become a new, better boy when a cute red headed girl moves in across the street. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. And while most think he doesn't stand a chance, with his trusty dog, Snoopy, and a few close friends, maybe Charlie Brown can make things change and make a good impression. (Rated G)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: If you look at the cast, most of them are young actors. The fabulous part about this is that the actors they chose sound very much like the voices in the old Peanut specials on TV. Everyone does a great job.
Loved Bill Melendez - he's been doing Snoopy's and Woodstock's voices since 1966! Noah Schnapp was darling as Charlie Brown. Anastasia Bredihina was a perfect Peppermint Patty. Trombone Shorty took on the task of the Wahwah adult voices. (The film site has a link to a Wahwah machine. You can even share the wahwah for the words you type in. Too cute!) Lovely work by all!
2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Blue Sky Studios are the same people who brought us Ice Age and Scrat! That being said, we get a new Ice Age short called Ice Age: Collision Course - "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" - they went all out on this one. lol. (I have a link to the short on Monday's Mind Sieve 11/16 post so come on back by - hint hint. :P)
The studio normally does great work, but I think they went all out for this one. Charles M. Schulz and all the TV specials have a certain style and feel. Not only did Blue Sky Studios take that on, but they also decided to do this film in 3D! And it was marvellous! Despite the textures and the 3D depth, they made sure to keep all the bits from the actual strips - thought bubbles, Woodstock's flight trails, the facial expressions and eyes made with a drawn pencil lines, and more.
I also loved how in several places, they moved to thought bubbles and did the contents in the straight black and white line drawings of the 2D comic strip style. They really got inventive with this one. Awesome work.
3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Peanuts is a comic strip with years upon years of content, dozens of TV specials, and more. And Blue Sky Studios managed to pick all the nuggets which bring out all the best of Peanuts and presented them in a way that would not only tickle fans of the comic strip and TV specials, but also make it easy for those who've never seen The Peanut's world before to fall in love with it.
All the iconic stuff is there: the kite eating tree, the pitching mound, Lucy's psychiatry stand, the football, the typewriter, even the Great Pumpkin is mentioned. But best of all - lots of the Red Baron! We even end up with a story inside the story, as Snoopy plays out some of Charlie Brown's own troubles as the World War I Flying Ace and finds his own cute girl to fancy. Several elements were even shown as this being where they began. The way they threaded in the Red Baron was brilliant! They made him a force to fear in reality as well as in Snoopy's imagination. Lovely!
The story itself is interesting and full of all those pains we suffered through while growing up. As ever, Peanuts is entertaining, amusing, and even thought provoking. A really nice job overall.
4) Music - Total Thumbs Up: The Linus and Lucy theme of old is brought back to help give us waves of nostalgia (plus it's really a catchy theme!). They even brought in a clip from one of the specials - the caroling scene song - "Christmas Time is Here". Several of these bits were from the original scores by Vince Guaraldi Trio. Christophe Beck kept his part of the score light and airy and it blended quite well with the original scores - he even gives his own twist to the Linus and Lucy theme. All the music worked very well together.
Conclusion: The Peanuts Movie encapsulates everything you have ever loved about Charles M. Schulz classic comic strips and the ton of TV specials. It will make for a wonderful nostalgic trip. For those not acquainted with the comic strips, however, this film will be a marvellous introduction to all the awesome characters and lively imagination which endeared this strip to people the world over. Tons of fun for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
Starring: Bill Melendez, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Venus Schultheis, Trombone Shorty, Mariel Sheets, Rebecca Bloom, Anastasia Bredikhina, Alexander Garfin, A.J. Tecce, Noah Johnston, and more.
Directed by: Steve Martino Written by: Bryan Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Cornelius Uliano Based on the Comic Strip by: Charles M. Schulz Cinematography by: Renato Falcão Music by: Christophe Beck
Premise: Though bad luck and frustration have been his constant companion, Charlie Brown decides he wants to become a new, better boy when a cute red headed girl moves in across the street. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. And while most think he doesn't stand a chance, with his trusty dog, Snoopy, and a few close friends, maybe Charlie Brown can make things change and make a good impression. (Rated G)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: If you look at the cast, most of them are young actors. The fabulous part about this is that the actors they chose sound very much like the voices in the old Peanut specials on TV. Everyone does a great job.
Loved Bill Melendez - he's been doing Snoopy's and Woodstock's voices since 1966! Noah Schnapp was darling as Charlie Brown. Anastasia Bredihina was a perfect Peppermint Patty. Trombone Shorty took on the task of the Wahwah adult voices. (The film site has a link to a Wahwah machine. You can even share the wahwah for the words you type in. Too cute!) Lovely work by all!
2) Artwork/Animation - Total Thumbs Up: Blue Sky Studios are the same people who brought us Ice Age and Scrat! That being said, we get a new Ice Age short called Ice Age: Collision Course - "Cosmic Scrat-tastrophe" - they went all out on this one. lol. (I have a link to the short on Monday's Mind Sieve 11/16 post so come on back by - hint hint. :P)
The studio normally does great work, but I think they went all out for this one. Charles M. Schulz and all the TV specials have a certain style and feel. Not only did Blue Sky Studios take that on, but they also decided to do this film in 3D! And it was marvellous! Despite the textures and the 3D depth, they made sure to keep all the bits from the actual strips - thought bubbles, Woodstock's flight trails, the facial expressions and eyes made with a drawn pencil lines, and more.
I also loved how in several places, they moved to thought bubbles and did the contents in the straight black and white line drawings of the 2D comic strip style. They really got inventive with this one. Awesome work.
3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: Peanuts is a comic strip with years upon years of content, dozens of TV specials, and more. And Blue Sky Studios managed to pick all the nuggets which bring out all the best of Peanuts and presented them in a way that would not only tickle fans of the comic strip and TV specials, but also make it easy for those who've never seen The Peanut's world before to fall in love with it.
All the iconic stuff is there: the kite eating tree, the pitching mound, Lucy's psychiatry stand, the football, the typewriter, even the Great Pumpkin is mentioned. But best of all - lots of the Red Baron! We even end up with a story inside the story, as Snoopy plays out some of Charlie Brown's own troubles as the World War I Flying Ace and finds his own cute girl to fancy. Several elements were even shown as this being where they began. The way they threaded in the Red Baron was brilliant! They made him a force to fear in reality as well as in Snoopy's imagination. Lovely!
The story itself is interesting and full of all those pains we suffered through while growing up. As ever, Peanuts is entertaining, amusing, and even thought provoking. A really nice job overall.
4) Music - Total Thumbs Up: The Linus and Lucy theme of old is brought back to help give us waves of nostalgia (plus it's really a catchy theme!). They even brought in a clip from one of the specials - the caroling scene song - "Christmas Time is Here". Several of these bits were from the original scores by Vince Guaraldi Trio. Christophe Beck kept his part of the score light and airy and it blended quite well with the original scores - he even gives his own twist to the Linus and Lucy theme. All the music worked very well together.
Conclusion: The Peanuts Movie encapsulates everything you have ever loved about Charles M. Schulz classic comic strips and the ton of TV specials. It will make for a wonderful nostalgic trip. For those not acquainted with the comic strips, however, this film will be a marvellous introduction to all the awesome characters and lively imagination which endeared this strip to people the world over. Tons of fun for the whole family.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)
November 11, 2015
Picture Kaleidoscope 11/11/15
Morning!
Torturing you today with some of my own pics. :P
We had a ton of clouds for several days.
Found an App called Word Swag that lets you add words to your pics on your phone. It does add something, doesn't it?
Some really neat light filtering through the tree but capturing it on a photo proved elusive. :(
A lot of fascinating cloud formations and layers. So many I was not able to capture and share. Boo!
Killer orchids!
See what I mean about cool skies?
Playing with Word Swag again. Really had meant to put I'm Bat Witch but... heh heh. When did I get that extra chin?!?! (This was my costume for Halloween at the office.) :)
More Word Swag - Orchids are scary. lol
The end of the day.
The rain finally left us...
Hah! Got the sun and a star! Hah! (I just noticed that! lol) Could be a plan or a UFO too! Sweet!
And the day is done.
Have a great one!
Torturing you today with some of my own pics. :P
We had a ton of clouds for several days.
Found an App called Word Swag that lets you add words to your pics on your phone. It does add something, doesn't it?
Some really neat light filtering through the tree but capturing it on a photo proved elusive. :(
A lot of fascinating cloud formations and layers. So many I was not able to capture and share. Boo!
Killer orchids!
See what I mean about cool skies?
Playing with Word Swag again. Really had meant to put I'm Bat Witch but... heh heh. When did I get that extra chin?!?! (This was my costume for Halloween at the office.) :)
More Word Swag - Orchids are scary. lol
The end of the day.
The rain finally left us...
Hah! Got the sun and a star! Hah! (I just noticed that! lol) Could be a plan or a UFO too! Sweet!
And the day is done.
Have a great one!
November 9, 2015
Mind Sieve 11/9/15
Fall is definitely here!
Though the winds and rain have made it seem somewhat like spring. :)
Fan Fun
King Fu Panda 3 Official Trailer #2 - should be fun!
Preacher Trailer - looks funky
London Has Fallen Official Trailer #1 - dang!
Alice Through the Looking Glass Official Trailer #1 - looks way cool!
Social Media/Author PlatformHow to Use Hashtags on Instagram to Grow Your Reach by Julia McCoy at the Social Media Examiner. Some really good tips in this one! Nice!
Writing Advice5 Tips for Finding Point-of-View Errors - Guest post by Marcy Kennedy at Jami Gold's Blog. Some good tips!
So I followed Marcy over to her website and found - 10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter - to share. :)
Hoping for an awesome week for all! :)
Though the winds and rain have made it seem somewhat like spring. :)
Fan Fun
King Fu Panda 3 Official Trailer #2 - should be fun!
Preacher Trailer - looks funky
London Has Fallen Official Trailer #1 - dang!
Alice Through the Looking Glass Official Trailer #1 - looks way cool!
Social Media/Author PlatformHow to Use Hashtags on Instagram to Grow Your Reach by Julia McCoy at the Social Media Examiner. Some really good tips in this one! Nice!
Writing Advice5 Tips for Finding Point-of-View Errors - Guest post by Marcy Kennedy at Jami Gold's Blog. Some good tips!
So I followed Marcy over to her website and found - 10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter - to share. :)
Hoping for an awesome week for all! :)
November 8, 2015
Virtual Tourist - Final Fantasy XIV 11/8/15
Morning!
Since I've been playing FFXIV I figured I should point out a thing or two that makes it different from other MMO's out there.
The first difference is one that's a great boon to people playing with a loved one or friends who have less or more time to play than you. In FF XIV you can have your main class, as well other adventuring classes, gathering classes, and crafting classes all at the same time, but with all the xp for those other things NOT mixing with the main class your are using to play with your friends!
Let me explain... I took Lancer as my main class, hubby took Ranger. We play together and want to go up in levels together, so can't play without one another. But now we also have several gathering classes and a couple of crafting classes on the same characters. Well, if he has free time or I have an hour when he's busy with something else (work or other) we can login and gather and craft and not have that xp spill into the main class so we don't skew our levels! (This has been an issue on other games where the pool was all one thing.) So we can play together, but also can do other stuff in the game alone.
Heck, they even let you save groups of equipment for these different classes so that with a click of a button all my Lancer armor and add-ons come off and are replaced by the level appropriate equipment I've saved for the other class!
Super neat concept!
New Gridania
Some of the pet handling class pets! The player's armor is pretty cool looking as well!
Here's another cool one!
This is a conversation with the botanist guild master. You do a quest for the class every 5 levels. As you can see I have different gear for gathering.
Airship as we leave New Gridania for Limsa Lominsa, the second of the three starting cities! Have a mission to deliver letters to some of the other leaders.
Isn't the doc marvellous?
And yes, I am still so very cute!!!! :P
All their movies are so detailed. Love it!
Being waved off by the Adventurer's guild leader as well as the two mysterious helpers. I'll be seeing them all again I am sure. :)
Another flashback to things which have previously occurred. Ships from aliens who have plans for our world. Whether we want them to or not!
Cool ship though!
This man is a very angry person. Heh heh.
Invasion gone wrong due to...
Dragons!
Massive destruction.
Who's bad? Who's bad? You know it!
Have a great day!
Since I've been playing FFXIV I figured I should point out a thing or two that makes it different from other MMO's out there.
The first difference is one that's a great boon to people playing with a loved one or friends who have less or more time to play than you. In FF XIV you can have your main class, as well other adventuring classes, gathering classes, and crafting classes all at the same time, but with all the xp for those other things NOT mixing with the main class your are using to play with your friends!
Let me explain... I took Lancer as my main class, hubby took Ranger. We play together and want to go up in levels together, so can't play without one another. But now we also have several gathering classes and a couple of crafting classes on the same characters. Well, if he has free time or I have an hour when he's busy with something else (work or other) we can login and gather and craft and not have that xp spill into the main class so we don't skew our levels! (This has been an issue on other games where the pool was all one thing.) So we can play together, but also can do other stuff in the game alone.
Heck, they even let you save groups of equipment for these different classes so that with a click of a button all my Lancer armor and add-ons come off and are replaced by the level appropriate equipment I've saved for the other class!
Super neat concept!
New Gridania
Some of the pet handling class pets! The player's armor is pretty cool looking as well!
Here's another cool one!
This is a conversation with the botanist guild master. You do a quest for the class every 5 levels. As you can see I have different gear for gathering.
Airship as we leave New Gridania for Limsa Lominsa, the second of the three starting cities! Have a mission to deliver letters to some of the other leaders.
Isn't the doc marvellous?
And yes, I am still so very cute!!!! :P
All their movies are so detailed. Love it!
Being waved off by the Adventurer's guild leader as well as the two mysterious helpers. I'll be seeing them all again I am sure. :)
Another flashback to things which have previously occurred. Ships from aliens who have plans for our world. Whether we want them to or not!
Cool ship though!
This man is a very angry person. Heh heh.
Invasion gone wrong due to...
Dragons!
Massive destruction.
Who's bad? Who's bad? You know it!
Have a great day!
November 6, 2015
Movie Review - Spectre
Spectre
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, Dave Bautista, Rory Kinnear, Alessandro Cremona, Jesper Christensen, and more.
Directed by: Sam Mendes Screenplay by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth Story by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade Based on Characters Created by: Ian Fleming
Premise: Though put on suspension, James continues to pursue an unofficial case left for him by M upon her death. The deeper he goes, the stranger the case gets, especially when he comes across documents relating to his dead foster family. All this on the cusp on the double O program being merged with MI5 and a huge push to get all countries to share information between intelligence agencies. Worse, all of it might be connected. (Rated PG-13)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Daniel Craig once more reprises his role as James Bond 007. As always, he is quite smooth. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw do great work as M, Moneypenny, and Q. It was lovely to see the last two get some play! Andrew Scott was nice and slimy as C. Christoph Waltz created quite a presence as Oberhauser. Léa Seydoux also did a great job as the unwilling Dr. Swann.
2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Cool gadgets, explosions, planes, loads of fun treats from the special effects team. The prop plane scenes were very reminiscent of the Roger Moore period. The facility in the desert harkened back to the Sean Connery period as well. A lot of subliminal homage seemed to be going on. Very nice!
Super kudos on the whole "Day of the Dead" celebration in Mexico. The parade scene and the super cool floats were outstanding! The girls with the turning dresses almost appeared to be floating along. (Hiding Segways underneath perhaps?) :)
3) Story - Thumbs Up: The film starts with a sentence - "The dead are alive" and aptly starts on the "Day of the Dead". The entire film uses this theme in a myriad of ways. It also ends up tying together all the previous Daniel Craig films as pieces of a greater whole, and a much larger threat to the world than any of them ever imagined.
But more than just Daniel's films got represented. There were a ton of tiny moments or bits paying homage to many of the previous Bond films as well. The way the prop plane was used, the thug Hinx, who was very reminiscent of Jaws in Moonraker, and more.
While the mini mission starting the film was definitely awesome, a couple of things were odd. The main being why James hit the helicopter pilot when the man was unarmed and a plaza full of people lay below, especially since the pilot was the only one keeping it in the air. Later, yes, he needed to hit him, but when he had his hands full with another man at the beginning? It was odd.
The way Christoph Waltz is introduced in glances and bits was very well played. The entire scene in the meeting in Rome was fantastic and said so much about the man, without him actually doing a lot. Later, his character is diluted a little, his explanation for his involvement and interest in James pushed as the reason he's done certain things, yet, not quite fitting with everything. His main scheme was evident, but the group's ultimate goal? Not so much. Or at least what was presented didn't seem enough? I could have missed something though.
Madeleine Swann was fun. Unexpected things for her and James in the film - the past once more affecting the future. What was funny is how much is given away during the beginning song! Almost a trailer in its own right. lol. (Heck the title song "Writing on the Wall" also seemed to be an in-joke as you'll note on a wall towards the end!)
One more bit of fun - Moneypenny, Q, and the new M get a bit of action too! Nice to see them get involved. (And that Moneypenny is NOT waiting for James. heh heh.)
4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of hand to hand combat, car chases, car crashes, airplanes, helicopters, and more! The stunt department was kept very busy. Shaky cam came into play during the foot chase in Mexico, but thankfully it didn't last long and not really used again during the rest of the film. Yay!
Loved the fight scenes on the train! Talk about destruction and beat up stunts! This fight also has elements which will remind you of the Roger Moore James Bond films.
5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The film has bits all over the world, so a ton of different locals are used -- Mexico, Italy, Austria, Morocco, England.
As I mentioned earlier, the "Day of the Dead" celebration in Mexico City was fabulous! The cinematography took full advantage of the parade as well as all the other locations. The giant scope of some of the scenery were perfect for grandiose sweeps to feed the eyes.
6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: They totally had me on the "Day of the Dead" sequence - the costumes and masks were totally awesome. Jame's costume is the one you see in the back on the movie poster, making several layered in-jokes since James is an assassin and therefore death, but also merges well with the name of the evil organization. :P Check out the cool dresses and the painted skeleton parts on the ladies, and the nice suits for the men. Loved that whole section!
Conclusion: "Spectre" is full of all the things we love about James Bond - lots of action, foreign locals, cars, guns, and more. A nice ending to a long, unexpected story arc are things are brought together.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Andrew Scott, Monica Bellucci, Dave Bautista, Rory Kinnear, Alessandro Cremona, Jesper Christensen, and more.
Directed by: Sam Mendes Screenplay by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Jez Butterworth Story by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade Based on Characters Created by: Ian Fleming
Premise: Though put on suspension, James continues to pursue an unofficial case left for him by M upon her death. The deeper he goes, the stranger the case gets, especially when he comes across documents relating to his dead foster family. All this on the cusp on the double O program being merged with MI5 and a huge push to get all countries to share information between intelligence agencies. Worse, all of it might be connected. (Rated PG-13)
Review:
1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Daniel Craig once more reprises his role as James Bond 007. As always, he is quite smooth. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, and Ben Whishaw do great work as M, Moneypenny, and Q. It was lovely to see the last two get some play! Andrew Scott was nice and slimy as C. Christoph Waltz created quite a presence as Oberhauser. Léa Seydoux also did a great job as the unwilling Dr. Swann.
2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Cool gadgets, explosions, planes, loads of fun treats from the special effects team. The prop plane scenes were very reminiscent of the Roger Moore period. The facility in the desert harkened back to the Sean Connery period as well. A lot of subliminal homage seemed to be going on. Very nice!
Super kudos on the whole "Day of the Dead" celebration in Mexico. The parade scene and the super cool floats were outstanding! The girls with the turning dresses almost appeared to be floating along. (Hiding Segways underneath perhaps?) :)
3) Story - Thumbs Up: The film starts with a sentence - "The dead are alive" and aptly starts on the "Day of the Dead". The entire film uses this theme in a myriad of ways. It also ends up tying together all the previous Daniel Craig films as pieces of a greater whole, and a much larger threat to the world than any of them ever imagined.
But more than just Daniel's films got represented. There were a ton of tiny moments or bits paying homage to many of the previous Bond films as well. The way the prop plane was used, the thug Hinx, who was very reminiscent of Jaws in Moonraker, and more.
While the mini mission starting the film was definitely awesome, a couple of things were odd. The main being why James hit the helicopter pilot when the man was unarmed and a plaza full of people lay below, especially since the pilot was the only one keeping it in the air. Later, yes, he needed to hit him, but when he had his hands full with another man at the beginning? It was odd.
The way Christoph Waltz is introduced in glances and bits was very well played. The entire scene in the meeting in Rome was fantastic and said so much about the man, without him actually doing a lot. Later, his character is diluted a little, his explanation for his involvement and interest in James pushed as the reason he's done certain things, yet, not quite fitting with everything. His main scheme was evident, but the group's ultimate goal? Not so much. Or at least what was presented didn't seem enough? I could have missed something though.
Madeleine Swann was fun. Unexpected things for her and James in the film - the past once more affecting the future. What was funny is how much is given away during the beginning song! Almost a trailer in its own right. lol. (Heck the title song "Writing on the Wall" also seemed to be an in-joke as you'll note on a wall towards the end!)
One more bit of fun - Moneypenny, Q, and the new M get a bit of action too! Nice to see them get involved. (And that Moneypenny is NOT waiting for James. heh heh.)
4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of hand to hand combat, car chases, car crashes, airplanes, helicopters, and more! The stunt department was kept very busy. Shaky cam came into play during the foot chase in Mexico, but thankfully it didn't last long and not really used again during the rest of the film. Yay!
Loved the fight scenes on the train! Talk about destruction and beat up stunts! This fight also has elements which will remind you of the Roger Moore James Bond films.
5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The film has bits all over the world, so a ton of different locals are used -- Mexico, Italy, Austria, Morocco, England.
As I mentioned earlier, the "Day of the Dead" celebration in Mexico City was fabulous! The cinematography took full advantage of the parade as well as all the other locations. The giant scope of some of the scenery were perfect for grandiose sweeps to feed the eyes.
6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: They totally had me on the "Day of the Dead" sequence - the costumes and masks were totally awesome. Jame's costume is the one you see in the back on the movie poster, making several layered in-jokes since James is an assassin and therefore death, but also merges well with the name of the evil organization. :P Check out the cool dresses and the painted skeleton parts on the ladies, and the nice suits for the men. Loved that whole section!
Conclusion: "Spectre" is full of all the things we love about James Bond - lots of action, foreign locals, cars, guns, and more. A nice ending to a long, unexpected story arc are things are brought together.
Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)
