The Hobbit Review

Wow... Where do I start? 

This is what I expected. I expected that I won't know what to expect. But this is beyond that too. This brings back the magic of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. There is always things that enchant us, but there are few things that goes out of its pages or frames and delivers to us an experience that would last a lifetime. The book have never seemed so alive to me. This is much better than my imagination.

The Hobbit won me over on the first frame. In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. That simple sentence means started so much. Bilbo Baggins was an ordinary hobbit, an ordinary person, just like us.  He never held a sword, he was never a hero, he just had a peaceful life. Until he sets out on an unexpected journey.

The movie adds much more to the book. Ragadast, the Necromacer, and the company was brought to life. Martin Freeman seemed to breathe as Bilbo. The animation was excellent, and I especially like Gollum's innocent look. The music was also awesome. I heard an echo of Rohan theme and others in LOTR, and also a completely new hobbit music. Connections to Lord of the Rings makes me feel more inside the story; more familiar with it, and more... at home. This is truly part of me now.

The plot of the story was simple to follow, yet it was complex. There was non stop action, and every event seemed to follow another almost immediately. There is humor every now and then, lighting up the dark story.

It seems impossible to find one bad thing about it, since "bad" and "hobbit" can't be fitted in the same sentence properly. I can say, though, that sometimes the camera movement is so much like a roller coaster ride. It makes it more real, which is good, but it'll also give you a headache if you're not careful.

In conclusion, this is something I will be thinking about over and over, marveling about how much my life seemed to change. It dazzled me with its sheer, utter brilliance. Once I stepped out of the theaters, I had more appreciation for the meaning of home. This is something you don't see every day- a story with passion and unexpected heroism woven on a journey.

So this is me right now, trying to take it all in, and my heart went over to fangirling.

I won't say more, since it will spoil the story, and I know this review would look poor describing the movie, no matter how hard I try to capture it's epicness. Since this is Lord of the Rings stuff, May the blessing of the Elves and Men be with you. Thanks for reading this, and hope you enjoy the movie! Please leave a comment; it'll make my day.

The Book Tag

First of all, before I do anything, I would like to thank you all for giving me 70 followers! You guys rock!

Now that that's done, let's get on with the book tag. Thank you Rebecca for tagging me!

What is the working title of your book?

Sapphire's Blood

Where did the idea of the book come from?

Several places. It started with one sentence actually, which I owe to Star Wars, not for the first time. "Every Saga has a beginning" somehow really inspired me. So I wrote the fan fiction with that as a starting sentence, but then I wanted to do much more. I found a quote on Facebook saying "It is darkest just before dawn". Before I knew it, a whole story was forming in my head when I lay in bed.

What genre does your book fall under?

I'm not really sure but I'd guess it will go to Adventure and Young Adult, though it has a bit of Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

What actors would you choose to play in a movie rendition?

This one's easy. ORLANDO BLOOM. At least, as one of them. Shena, you would be nice in there too... I have a character in mind for you... Who else? Jennifer Lawrence is nice as well as Keira Knightley and others, but I don't know for sure. Just as long as Orlando is in there. If I can be in there, I would be too, though I confess I'm not that good at acting as I want to be. I'm good at lying though. *guilty look*

What is one sentence synopsis of your book?

I'm not that good at this, but here goes: Sirita's destiny is certain, but can she follow it when she unknowingly gave someone enough love-and power-to break the core of who she is? 

That doesn't even come close to what it should be, because she doesn't even know if her destiny is right for her. But I guess that will suffice.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I'm leaning towards self-publishing.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

As I said, two words: Star Wars. Other books like Harry Potter and LOTR may bring a part, but mostly Star Wars.

What else in this book might pique the readers interest?

I'm not sure... but I guess there are somethings that may be different from other books. Firstly, the main character the EVIL. She's heartless, she kills without a second thought, and she could make a perfect Sith. Of course she would undergo changes in the story, but still. This tale is about choosing what is right and what is easy, and choosing between duty and love. To make things more complicated, what exactly is duty to her? She always thought she knew, but it's time for her to stop being naïve. I don't wanna give away too much.

The tagging!

Shena... and whoever else want to do it. I'm not sure if there are any other writers that aren't already tagged.

That's it... May the Force be with you!

Happy Birthday Voronda!

I wish you a VERY happy birthday!!! May the blessing of the Men and Elves be with you! And of course, May the Force be with you too!

How lucky we are to have found one another,
I couldn't spend so much time with any other.
I will always be there to watch over you,
To keep you safe and happy too.

Well my dear I wish you Happy Birthday once more,
An abundance of good wishes for you are in store.
A new year filled with lots of happiness and laughter,
And only the very best for you from here on after.

Today let's just smile and be friends like this.

But when you're birthday's over we'll go back to fighting him like this.

Hehe! Since we both want the same man, let's not look beyond today right now. I'm really glad to have you here, Voronda!

I hope you have a belated birthday and an awesome year to come!

PS- That doesn't change the fact that Legolas is MINE. :P Forget I wrote that. Just enjoy your birthday.

Announcements and A Necessary Bond Review

Hey guys! I noticed that I haven't been posting anything much other than reviews, but I'm not sure what to post. From the number of comments it seems as if you guys enjoy other things more. Do any of you have ideas? I'd love some, but of course I'll keep doing reviews. I'm thinking about doing a writing post. I need that to organize all my thoughts together.

Next thing... Christmas is in the air! I always get excited for this even though Thailand doesn't really celebrate Christmas. I put on some snow animations and Christmas lights, as you may notice. Thank you Rebecca for these animations! November and Thanksgiving passed so quickly! I didn't do a post because they don't celebrate it here, but I'm thankful for so many things that you probably already know - I thank George Lucas for creating Star Wars, I thank books for always being there for me, my family, you guys, etc.

December has always been my favorite month, even more than my birthday month in September. This is because there are so many things happening, especially this year. December the 1st is your birthday, Voronda, if I'm not mistaken. December the 5th is the king's birthday here in Thailand, December the 13th is Taylor Swift's birthday. That's a whole lot of birthdays! December the 14th the Hobbit is out! I can't wait! December 15th is the first post on my blog!



Next thing... I'm not sure when it has passed, but this blog is over a year old already! I remembered I started this blog sometime around here... so yeah. Happy Birthday to POTF (: I thought this funny gif would be nice.

Now, A Necessary bond. I thought it was a very good episode and it had a lot of surprising turns.

The action at the beginning was exactly what I wanted. Then there was action throughout the story, which was awesome too. I have nothing much to say here. I want to keep it spoiler-free.

Then there were the characters! As much as I hate to admit it, I am kind of seeing Covert Knight's point about Ahsoka, which is a bit negative. Obi-Wan was as good as awesome, and the ending reminded me of The Three Musketeers. Hondo is hands down my favorite here. His constant mood swings, Jack Sparrow-ish kind of dialogue, and the ending smile. I thought the youngling was going to hug him.

I was so afraid one of them was going to die- I even feared Ahsoka's life- since they played this sad kind of music sometimes. Without realizing it this episode got me to the edge of my seat.

I wanted more character development, and a few lines on Ahsoka and Grevious about their last confrontation so long ago. I would have liked it better if Grevious was *spoiler* outraged at the end because of their escape, rather than laughing that evil laugh. Slave I appeared out of nowhere and I wanted to know how that is. Did I miss anything? *spoiler ends*

When Obi-Wan said 'welcome home' at the end, the weird thing is that I really felt at home. Which means it doesn't really matter to me anymore whether Disney owns Star Wars or not, because George Lucas thought it was best. Star Wars, to me, would always be that place that will keep me sane.

I just had to say that.

Anyway, I can't wait for more of season five! Please comment below, it makes my day! May the Force be with you!

Top 10 Lightsaber Battles: Guest Post by James the Movie Reviewer.

Thanks Solace for asking me to write a guest post on your blog. I am James The Movie Reviewer from the Star Wars and all around film geek blog J and J Productions.

The Lightsaber and Lightsaber duel, one of the many iconic aspects of the Star Wars franchise. There have been many Lightsaber battles throughout the Star Wars franchise from the films to the Clone Wars TV series, many of which are among the best action scenes in cinema history. I am counting any action scene that uses a Lightsaber for this list and it can be from any film, TV series or video game. The scenes are being ranked by choreography, use of the environment, and importance to the franchise.

At Number 10: General Grievous Vs. Multiple Jedi (Clone Wars)

Note: This does not include the training battle with Dooku near the end of the video.

General Grievous' introduction into the Star Wars universe and it remains one of the best. Unfortunately, Grievous has never reach the heights of greatness since this original Clone Wars series. Although vastly different than many of the other battles on this list, the build-up added menace to Grievous making his intro all the more powerful. Not only does it feature popular Jedi Ki Adi Mundi, Shaak Ti, and Ala Secura, the animation in the action is amazing.

At Number 9: Count Dooku Vs. Ventress and Opress (Plus Opress Vs. Obi-Wan and Anakin)

Note: This Lightsaber duel include the fight that continues after this first one as well.

This was the first action from The Clone Wars were I was just thinking "Wow!" throughout the whole battle. Not only was "Witches of the Mist" my favorite episode of the series at the time, it featured the best Lightsaber duel of the entire series as well.

At Number 8: Yoda Vs. Count Dooku (Plus Anakin and Obi-Wan)

Although Yoda finally has uses his Lightsaber, I have always considered this the weakest major Lightsaber duel of the films. Not entirely sure why I do not like this fight as much as others, maybe it was too short. However, it is still awesome to see Yoda and Dooku fight as well as Anakin briefly using two Lightsabers against Count Dooku.



At Number 7: Grievous and Guards Vs. Shaak Ti and Jedi

Another battle from the magnificent Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars series as it leads into the opening scene of Revenge of the Sith. Possibly Shaak Ti's best moment from the Star Wars sage, her valiant fight to protect Chancellor Palpatine from the clutches of General Grievous and his Magnaguards. Again the series shows its amazing choreography and animation style in this scene. It very well could be the best action scene ever 2D drawn animation. The sense of speed and motion is excellent. Finally, Shaak Ti's final stand against the Magnaguards is truly incredible. Plus this is General Greivous' best moment of the entire Star Wars Saga.

At Number 6: Obi-Wan Vs. Darth Vader (Star Wars)

While it might not be as flashy as many of the Lightsaber duels later in the franchise, it was the first and no doubt deserves due respect. "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Is one of Ben's many memorable quotes and the moment were he sacrifices himself to save Luke is one of the best of the Saga. It must have been an amazing feeling watching this for the first time at the theater in 1977.

At Number 5: Obi-Wan and Ventress Vs. Maul and Opress

Thus far, this is the best most impressive action scene of the series. The Clone Wars team really went all out for fight, the choreography is amazing and the animation is very fluid and realistic. Adding some hand-to-hand combat to the fight changes it up with a unique angle. Plus the witty banter during fight was fantastic.

At Number 4: Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Vs. Darth Maul

No question the best moment from the Phantom Menace, the Duel of Fates gave us the first taste of the brilliantly choreographed action scenes to come. Darth Maul reveals his awesome duel bladed Lightsaber for the first time and Maul's unique fighting style really worked a lot better than one would think using a duel bladed weapon. This fight made the Phantom Menace completely worth watching.

At Number 3: Luke Vs. Darth Vader Vs. The Emperor (Return of the Jedi)

The ultimate final battle between the Dark and Light Side for the fate of the Galaxy. The Saga could not have concluded any better, the perfect ending battle to the perfect trilogy. The music is perfect, the choreography fantastic and the end were Vader throws the Emperor into Death Star's core brilliantly finishes Vader's character arc and turn to the Light Side.  

At Number 2: Anakin Vs. Obi-Wan (Revenge of the Sith)

If you are going to make a list of best Lightsaber battles, Anakin Vs. Obi-Wan or the next duel on the list has to be the top two, no question. The battle completely blew my mind, amazing choreography, inventive use of environment and stunning special effects. What more could you ask for in a final duel?

At Number 1: Luke Vs. Darth Vader (Empire Strikes Back)

As Vader would say this choice was "All too easy." From the choreography to the visual effects everything in this duel is perfect. This is my all-time favorite Duel from the Saga and I doubt that it will places on my list. Ending with the ultimate plot twist, not only is this the best Lightsaber duel, it is the best moment in film history.

Honorable Mention

Obi-Wan and Anakin Vs. Ventress (Season 3)

Ahsoka Vs. Pre-Vizsla and Bo-Katan

General Grievous Vs. Ventress (Plus Zombies)

Kit Fisto Vs. General Grievous

Obi-Wan and Vos Vs. Cad Bane

Anakin and Ashoka Vs. Ventress (Clone Wars Movie)

Dooku Vs. Nightsisters

Obi-Wan Vs. Jango Fett

What are your favorite Lightsaber battles? Please comment below.

Please checkout my blog J and J Productions for more Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Comic Book and all around geek, movie news, reviews and more. Also click on the links below to see the other parts of this list.

Part 1: 25-21

Part 2: 20-16

Part 3: 15-11.

you want to contact us or have any question please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.