Movies of 2012

Plenty of new movies came out last year and some of them were decent enough that I could watch them.   These would include The Avengers, Mirror Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Amazing Spiderman, Brave, John Carter and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  I was actually surprised at how many new movies I ended up watching this year.  Normally the movies are so bad that I only end up watching one or two.  There were only two I watched in theaters (The Hobbit and The Avengers) and the others I waited to watch at home.  So here are just a few thoughts on each of these movies.

A FEW SPOILERS

The Avengers

I really enjoyed this superhero movie.  I have never been much into superhero films, only having seen up to that point the three spiderman movies. However, after watching The Avengers, I went backwards and watched Thor (which was okay but not really that great), and Captain America (which I enjoyed almost as much as The Avengers).  I liked The Avengers for its action, which wasn't too gory, hilarious lines, and good story plot.  There was really little objectionable about the movie, just a few bad words and some slightly too tight clothing on Black Widow.

Mirror, Mirror

I watched the trailer for this and thought it would be funny.  After looking it up to make sure there wasn't anything too objectionable in it I asked my Dad and he said it was okay.  Unfortunately I made the error of watching it with my little sister.  I wasn't too impressed with this movie and really I could have just stuck with the trailer and the funny lines and never watched the movie.  There were too many shots of shirtless guys and too much emphasis put on them.  It presumably was suppose to be funny but I just found it annoying and in very poor taste.  The likeliness of me watching this again is slim.

Snow White and the Huntsman

I had lower expectations of this movie than I did of Mirror, Mirror going into it but I actually it enjoyed it more out of the two movies.  Yes, despite Kristen Stewart, the movie actually was good. I felt that the story line was good and it was a really rather interesting twist on the original Snow White story.  However, even if as I said despite Kristen Stewart the movie was actually good, because of her it wasn't great.  She is an entirely emotionless actress that you just really couldn't bring yourself to really care for throughout the movie.  Another thing I didn't like about it was their shots of the queen mostly undressed (though nothing really bad was shown).  All in all though I thought it was a good movie and I plan to watch it again.  My dad liked it as well, which is always a good sign. :)

The Amazing Spiderman

As I said before, I had already seen the other three Spiderman movies and enjoyed them more or less.  I went into this movie with fairly high expectations but came out disappointed.  I didn't feel like the story telling was as good as the original trilogies, I felt like Peter was far more immature than the other one and a little too full of himself as well.  Also, and this is just my opinion, but I think Spiderman took off his mask too much.  I didn't appreciate that he promises Gwen's dad as he is dying not to date her and then at the end of the movie you are given to understand that he is going to go ahead and do it anyways.  I felt that his uncle dying happened too fast for us to really get attached to him and the fact that Peter didn't stop the robber because of something so dumb as not having enough money to buy his stupid milk was just ridiculous and again, immature.  I liked that it was closer to the original comic strip story line. All in all I enjoyed it well enough and I will probably watch it again sometime.  However, I like the original trilogy better and don't see why they had to remake it, especially so soon afterwards.

Brave

This one I ended up watching by accident because a cousin was watching it over Christmas.  My brother had seen it in theaters and had given me his thoughts on it and I had decided I wasn't really interested in watching it.  As it was, I am glad that I watched it but it still was a disappointing movie.  I felt the story was pretty good but if they had just left out all of the crude things it could have been a decent movie.  For Pixar, this was a level down.

John Carter

I was looking forward to this movie and had high expectations for it due to a review I had read of it.  While I did enjoy it and certainly didn't have as negative opinions of it as some people did, it was another disappointment.  The story line wasn't strong enough and the clothing of Deja (the heroine) just wasn't modest enough.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I already reviewed this film earlier but her are a few short thoughts anyways. Being a fan of the books and the LOTR movies, I was really looking forward to this film.  Thanks to my older brother, who was geeking out about it incessantly for the last two months, I got to hear about all of the possible turns the movie could take.  Let's just say I was thankful when we finally saw the movie and that was over.  Of course though I had to hear all about his opinion of the movie now that he had FINALLY seen it.  Anyways, I did love the movie a lot.  It was far above my expectations and I was wholly impressed.  Read my full review of it here that I posted earlier.

So these are all of the new movies of 2012 that I watched and my thoughts on them.  One I haven't watched yet that I would like to is Wreck it Ralph, but that will have to be sometime in the future.  Overall there were some disappointments, a few okay ones, and a couple great ones.  Not a bad year considering normally, as I said before, I don't see but a couple new movies.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- January 2013

Another year gone and another month for resolutions.  This month I am going for simplicity.

Study for the TEAS test

A goal I did nothing about last month but I definitely need to get done this month.  I have registered for the test for February and I won't have as much time to study for it when school gets going so I had better start now.

Read or Re-Read at least 5 books

Obviously last month I way over thought how many books I could get read.  So THIS month I'll just go for 5 and see how it goes.  As my dear friend eBeth suggested, I am going for a Tolkien month.  I'm going to re-read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, read the Silmarillion, perhaps re-read The Hobbit, and then I have a set of books about The Lord of the Rings that I want to read as well.  Then, if I have any time left I'll try and read some other books on my mental "want to read or re-read list".  However, I doubt I'll have any extra time. 

Do Plyometrics at least 3 times per week

This goal is only for the first two weeks. Over Christmas break some of my cousins and my uncle took up plyometrics and I joined in.  Being as incredibly out of shape as I am, it killed me the first couple days and I was limping all over the house groaning over my sore legs.  However, since I am going skiing in just three weeks, I had better get into shape or suffer the devastating consequences. 

Take one walk per week

I am a little more conservative with my walks this month as I'll be doing all that delightful plyometrics.

Write at least three more blog posts this month

Again it is a minuscule amount so hopefully I can be an overachiever this month. :)  Note that the three blog posts do not include the ones about my resolutions because that would be cheating. 

Post inspired by Kelli at She Learns as She Goes.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Report Card- December 2012

December certainly just flew by.  So did this whole year actually.  I can't believe it is 2013!  My resolutions were off and on this month but I came out okay.

Get all A's in my classes- A+

As you saw from my mid-month progress report, I was able to get all A's in my classes.  I get an A+ for this one because not only did I get all A's but I was on the President's Honor roll. :)

Have a cheerful personality- C

I didn't work out very well but I made it through decently enough. :)

Clean out and clean up my desk- A

As I said in my mid-month progress report, that was completed the day after my last final.  So another A.  I just hope that it will stay clean. :)

Start Studying for the TEAS test- F

Never got that done.  However, thankfully I have January to work on that.  

Read or re-read at least 10 books- D

I read 4 books (Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit by Corey Olsen, and Douglass Wilson's books The Deluded Atheist, God Is, and Letter From a Christian Citizen. and re-read 2 books (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass both by Lewis Carroll), which makes a total of 6 books.  I didn't quite reach my goal but I was still pleased with how I did as in the past months it has been maybe one or probably none.  I really don't know what I was thinking when I decided that 10 was the number, though the excuse I keep telling people is that it is a nice round number.  My OCDness is going to be the ruin of me. :)

Spend the time I have with my family- C

I was able to play games with my family, talk with them and spend time with my sweet little brother.  However, I still spent a lot of time pent up in my room.

Serve my family- C

Nothing above average.  

Take at least two walks per week- B

I did it every week accept for two where I only got one walk in.  However, I have taken up plyometrics to get me ready for skiing so that is kind of a bonus.... right? :)

Eat Healthy- B

It was okay but not great.

Write at least three more blog posts this month- A

Achieved!

Overall I had a mismatched bunch of grades.  My total grade was a B- .... my GPA was a 2.5.  I think next month I'll try for less goals.  Check back later today to see my goals for January 2013!
Post inspired by Keli at She Learns as She Goes.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Movie Review- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

WARNING: SOME MINOR SPOILERS

I am sure you have already read one and a million views about this movie and (if you have watched it) probably have formed your own opinion as well.  However, I offer my thoughts on the movie too.

First off, I personally would have preferred a movie of The Hobbit that was the less adventurous and less epic children's story.  However, I knew that would never happen, not after The Lord of the Rings.

Secondly, I really enjoyed the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.  I felt in many ways it erred closer to the book than any of the Lord of the Rings movies.  There was a good bit added in from other works of Tolkien as well as Peter Jackson adding in something that was only mentioned as happening in the book- the purging of the Necromancer from Dol Guldur.  Another aspect that Jackson added to the movie that ended up changing a lot of the feeling of the movie was the white orc.  In the appendices of the Lord of the Rings it tells how Thorin kills the white orc after it killed his father.  In the movie, they change that up a bit by making it that Thorin thinks that he killed the white orc but really it recovered from its wounds and now has sworn to have Thorin's head. Of course once Thorin discovers the white orc still lives he wants to kill him too.  This instantly makes the movie darker. However, I don't mind too much the dimension this plot change adds.  There are other little differences that I don't think really detract from the story and in some ways add.  Overall, I felt most of the changes that Jackson made were good.

Other things I liked were of course the soundtrack (which is INCREDIBLE), the acting job of all of the  actors in the movie (I felt everyone was perfect for their roles), and of course the gorgeous shots of New Zealand.

Really the only aspect of the movie I didn't like was the "kids' humor".  Enough said.

Of course, when the movie ended I felt a horrible sense of incompleteness.  I had known where it was going to break off but it still somehow caught me by surprise when it did anyways.  I don't really mind too much that Peter Jackson made it into three movies, though I would have preferred two movies and I think it would have made more sense that way.

If you're a fan of The Lord of the Rings movies and books then I think you'll enjoy this movie as well.

Note: The facts I quoted to you from the appendices were actually information my brother quoted to me.  So no, I am not really as big as a Tolkien geek as I just made it look like I was.  I'm working my way up there. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Mid-Month Progress Report- December 2012

I can't believe we are already halfway through December!  The last couple weeks kind of flew by as I prepared for finals but now I am excited to say I am done with those!  So how am I doing so far this month for my resolutions?  Read on and find out!

Get all A's in my classes

Though I kind of sacrificed another of my goals (which I shall explain later) I was able to get all A's! My Spanish grade was cutting edge and as my teacher told me, I lucked out on my grade.  The rest though weren't near so close.  I feel so blessed to have made it through the semester and I think it might have been my busiest yet.  I am so grateful to have been surrounded by a great family who was patient with me more than I deserved and I am especially grateful for God blessing me with an amazing tutor for Microbiology.  I am really relieved to have this goal out of the way and done.  I guess this will be an "A" for sure on my report card. ;)

Have a cheerful personality at all times

This is the goal I ended up sacrificing for my A's, something I am disappointed I did.  As I said earlier, when stressed out, I can be very grouchy... and I was. :(  However, I still have the rest of the month to "boost my grade".

Clean out and clean up my desk

Done the day after my last final!  So proud of myself. :)  Another A completed ahead of time! :)

Start Studying for the TEAS test

Haven't started yet and we'll see if I do get any of that done before December is over.  This might end up being a bad grade if I'm not careful. :(

Read or Re-Read at least ten books

This is probably the goal I am enjoying the most but as to completing it, we'll see.  I have re-read Alice in Wonderland so far and in preperation for the movie to come out I also have read Cory Olsen's (also known as the Tolkien Professor) book Exploring J.R.R Tolkein's The Hobbit.  I enjoyed both of those books.  I am going to need to pick up the pace though if I hope to complete eight more books before the end of December.  Because of the minute amount of books I have already read, I am probably not going to be pursuing re-reading The Lord of the Rings or reading The Silmarillion until January as they are quite a bit longer books.  A friend suggested that I make January a J.R.R. Tolkien month and re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and then read The Silmarillion.  I think that is a fun idea and I will probably do that.  However, THAT is next month.  

Spend the time I have with my family

Now that school is over that is hopefully what I'll be doing.  However, I am super excited to announce that I will be going to Michigan after Christmas to spend time with my uncle, aunt, and my wonderfully crazy cousins.  So my time spent with my family might be cut a little short so I'll have to really milk the next couple weeks for all their worth. :) 

Serve my family

This is another goal that might be cut a little short with my going up to Michigan.  However, I am going to try and do my best to get my house looking great for the holiday.  I hope to also get some Christmas baking done.  Normally I am all over that but not this year so far. :(  There is a lot I can do to serve my family and I see it all happening this next week.  

Take at least two walks per week

I did it last week but lets just say that I haven't done it yet this week.  I need to get onto that!  The other night my mom and I did do our fifteen minute T-Tapp workout, which despite my not having done it in some months, I did great at!  I felt pretty good about that. :)

Eat Healthy

Let's just say I wasn't great, but I wasn't bad.  I needed that coffee to get me through finals week... actually that is probably true as I woke up at 4:00 one morning so I could put in some last minute studying before my microbiology test. However, I have been pretty good about sweets.  I weighed myself recently and I was rather happy about it, which is kind of sad as it wasn't anywhere near where I want to be with weight however it was also kind of good as I haven't gained any weight either.  I can look at it both ways.

Write at least three more blog posts this month

I didn't specify whether or not these posts about my resolutions counted but I was mentally thinking they didn't... so they don't!  However, if you have been keeping track of my blog, you'll have noticed that I have already posted two more blog posts this month so I only have one more to go!  I think this will be another A. :)

All in all, it looks like I'll have three A's and then some very shady grades after that.  Hopefully I'll come out with a good "GPA" though. ;)

By the way, what do you think of the new blog layout?  I am thinking a new blog layout every month will be fun just to change it up.  Love to hear you're thoughts so comment please! 

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Finals Week

It's a slower, more painful kind of torture.  The kind where you study your heart out for four different classes, trying to find the right balance of studying for each one.  The chances of over studying are slim but the chances of understudying are sky high.  We only hope that the final will not butcher the grade we have worked so hard to maintain throughout the rest of the semester.  In the last few hours we have left as time creeps up the final, we try to cram all of our knowledge into our heads, but there isn't any more room!!!  It is like that storage room that finally gets too full.  Something has to go.  We feel like it's going to be our head, with a great big BANG!  When we (finally) get to sleep that evening before our first final, our dreams are filled with images of us being late for the test, having our cellphone go off and getting thrown out, or... failing.  By the time we actually find our way out of those nightmares, our alarm clock is going off.  There is nothing for it now, it is finals or bust.  We slink out of bed and get ready to go, all the time trying to bring to mind all the information we had just been studying the day before.  It isn't working.  So frantically we pull out all of our notes and read over them a few times, but somehow it all seems to be in a different language... ah yes, it's Spanish notes.  It is time.  As the teacher prepares to hand out the final you realize there isn't really anything more you can do. You've prepared as well as you can, now it is in Christ's hands.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Who Says Kansas Isn't Beautiful?

These are the beautiful Gypsum hills in central Kansas just north of the Oklahoma border.  These photos are courtesy of my little brother.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Monthly Resolutions- December 2012

For some months now I have been following the blog She Learns as She Goes.  Every month Kelli, the blog's writer, posts her monthly resolutions and invites everyone else to as well.  Well THIS month I am going to do it too.

Get all A's in my classes

I know that sounds really immature and braggy, but that is still honestly one of my goals for this month.  I have worked hard and stayed strong throughout this semester and I just want to finish that way.

Have a cheerful personality at all times

Those who know would probably say that I am a very cheerful person.  However, my family members know that I can be moody at times, especially when stressed out.  With finals coming up I will most definitely be overly stressed out.  With the holidays and being around tons of people, I will need to remember to keep a cheerful personality because sometimes one person's mood can set the tone for the rest of the gathering.

Clean out and clean up my desk

This I will do when I am finished with my classes. I will need to go through all of my papers from this past semester and throw out whatever I need to and file whatever I feel I need to keep (which hopefully isn't much).

Start Studying for the TEAS test

The TEAS test is the entrance exam for nursing school.  I want to get it done early in the semester so I'll have it done and out of the way.  Therefore, I'll need to start studying early.  I'll probably cram most of my studying into January but I want to get at least some into December.  

Read or re-read at least ten books 

I have been woefully lacking in my reading life this past semester with being so busy with school.  I have done my best with re-reading a few books (since that didn't take as much concentration) but I have been dying to read more.  Books that are on my list to read include The Silmarillion (finally), Innocence of Father Brown, Gods and Generals and Far From the Madding Crowd,   Books I want to re-read include The Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass and Swiss Family Robinson.  Some more serious literature that I want to read includes Douglass Wilson's Letter from a Christian Citizen, The Deluded Athiest, and God Is.  I also want to re-read R.C. Sproul's Chosen by God.  There are so many other books that I really want to read or re-read but those are the ones that are at the top of my list.  We'll see how I do.  I might end up being an overachiever, or I might end up being an underachiever.  Hopefully not the latter.

Spend the time I have with my family

I am very good at sitting in my room with my precious laptop and I need to get out of there more.  Once school is over, this not only will be possible, it will probably be unavoidable. :) However, this goal does not contradict goals three or five.  I'll just need to work those into this goal.  If I am going to be sitting in my room, I had better be reading or cleaning up my desk, if not, to quote Blimey Cow, I'm doing it wrong.  I hope to spend more time especially with my older sister as during the school year we pretty much only see each other on the weekends as I am gone during the day at school and she is gone in the evening for work.  

Serve my family

Because I am gone most of the time during the week at school, I often don't get my chores done around the house.  So since I am will be home all of the time soon, I want to take the time to get all of my chores done, no excuses!  If there are other ways in which I can help that pop up, I want to cheerfully (This goes with goal number two) volunteer.  This could include making more meals for the family, helping my younger siblings with their school, or taking on some extra projects around the house.

Take at least two walks per week

Again, school has kept me at bay from this pastime.  Once school is gone and past, I can hopefully take some good walks so I won't be the worst skier on the slope when my family goes skiing in January.  Walking is just about my favorite form of exercise (passed only by contra dancing) and with this additional time, I hope to take some nice long hikes.  

Eat Healthy

That's broad, I know but the way I am going right now I am going to be broad. :)  Not saying I eat horribly, but I don't eat super well either.  I have cut a lot of the usual suspects out of my diet but I need to be more careful yet.  Pretty much I want to be careful to not eat too many sweets over the holidays.  I also want to be careful with snacks.  Since I won't be at school pretty soon, I won't be drinking all that coffee with all the cream and sugar so that should help some.

Write at least three more blog posts this month

Minuscule amount I know, but if you follow my blog, you know how hit and miss I have been recently with school taking its toll on me.  Hopefully I will write more, and most definitely hopefully I won't write less. :)

So that's all my resolutions for this month.  I had a little trouble thinking up some at first but then they came pretty fast.  Probably I'll think up some more halfway through the month so I'll just throw them into January or something like that. :) I just hope I can keep up with those that I've made.  As Kelli does, I'll try and post a mid-month "progress report" to see how I'm doing and at the end of the month I'll post a "report card".  This is my first time so cut me a little slack, not too much now, just a little. :)


Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Christmas, Candles, and Chai

Now that Thanksgiving is past, I can officially listen to Christmas music and think Christmasy thoughts.  My new favorite pastime is lighting candles, drinking a mug of chai tea and playing some Christmas music.  Of course with finals just around the corner to find such time is rather impossible, so I have made that my study environment.  My friend recently began her own candle making business (Prairie Lights) so I have a ready availability of great smelling beautiful candles.  Between the candles, chai, and music, studying doesn't seem quite so bad. :)

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.

Movie Review- Pride and Prejudice (2005)

If you keep up with my blog much or know me in person, you are probably aware that I do NOT like romance novels/movies.  That said, I do not like the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.  However, don't misinterpret me, I love the book and the 1995 TV series.  I watched the 2005 version when it first came out on video and, to prepare for writing this review, I watched it again a couple days ago.  I assure you, I tried quite hard to find good points about it so I wouldn't sound all negative but try as I might, I could only find one- I like Judi Dench as Lady Catherine de Bourgh.  Besides that, nada.  Naturally I am heavily comparing the movie to the book, and then to the TV series.  Maybe if I had never read the book or seen the TV series I would feel differently about it, however, I have, so I don't.  Anyways, the movie fails on some cultural levels as well.

Let's start with the cultural.  First off, the dress that Miss Bingley wears at the Neverfield ball was completely wrong.  It looked more like the underdresses that the girls wore rather than a dress in itself.  A lady wouldn't wear a sleeveless dress.  It would be scandalous.  Secondly, ladies did not wear their hair down in public in those times, and that is something that Elizabeth does several times in the movie.

Another problem that I have with the movie is the social standing that this version places them in.  In the book they are middle class, but they are gentry and therefore have a higher social standing.  This movie seems to put them in a lower social standing then they really are.  This is shown by them having their livestock so close to the house, a pig running through it, and the fact that they seem to have no one to fix Jane's hair (I assume that is why it always looks messy).

When it comes to Mr. Darcy, I am sorry but in my mind there will only be one Mr. Darcy, and that is Colin Firth (although I guess I do really like Lawrence Olivier's performance too).  Matthew McFayden just doesn't cut it for me.  First off, he just isn't proud enough.  He doesn't have the domineering look that Colin Firth gives off so well.  And then, he always looks like his is going to cry, or that he is bored, I can't tell which but whatever it is, it isn't Mr. Darcy.  Additionally, I just didn't feel like he changed, at least enough for me to see.

For Elizabeth, I feel like Keria Knightley might have done a good job if she had had a better script.  As it was, I thought she was far too silly throughout.  She acted more like Lydia than like Lizzy.  Something I was really sad they left out and I think that if they had put it in would have made it far better was the close relationship between Lizzy and her father.  That is, in my opinion, an integral part of the book and something that shouldn't be left out.  Without it, you don't see as deeply into the two characters.

Jane and Bingley, I'll group them together.  Jane was sillier and more outgoing than in the book, in other words, her character in this movie was uncharacteristic of what was in the book.  Enough said.  Bingley, was an idiot, period.  I wouldn't have married the Bingley in this movie, I think I could have married the Bingley from the book.

Overall, you just can't make a good movie of Pride and Prejudice and rush it that much.  Everything moved ridiculously fast so they could fit the whole story into two hours.  It didn't work.  When it comes down to it, why I really didn't like the movie was because it wasn't a movie of Pride and Prejudice, it was the romance story from Pride and Prejudice and then everything else taken out.  That's not Pride and Prejudice.  I don't love the book for its romance, I love the book because of the incredible insight Austen gives us into human nature as well as the witty and thought provoking lines imbedded throughout the book.  Pride and Prejudice is not in my mind a romance novel, it is far more.


Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.