Flashback Friday Post

In which I randomly select a year, a month and a post 

to look back upon

July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!!

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,

With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free

While God is marching on.

~Julia Ward Howe

Marvel Cinematic Universe Tag

     Saw this tag on Ink Calamities and on Geeky, Nerdy and Proud Of It. Normally I don't do tags unless I've been specifically tagged by someone, but this one looked like so much fun! Plus I needed a break from the onslaught of reviews I've been doing!

1. How were you introduced into the MCU fandom?

     - If X-Men counts, then in 2000 when I saw the first X-Men movie and I've been a big X-Men fan since. The first actual MCU movie I saw was Captain America: The First Avenger in spring 2012. Shortly afterwards I saw The Avengers and I was completely sold on the franchise!

2. What’s your favorite Marvel film?

    - Not a fair question! Probably...Captain America: The First Avenger. That was just a classic through and through! I actually love the entire Captain America trilogy, it's hard to have a favorite.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: Civil War

  Honorable mentions: 

     I love The Avengers! I'm mean who doesn't love that movie?? It's really what started the journey for me. The Avengers is about as perfect as a superhero film can get.

The Avengers

     Also, Endgame was amazing! It went above and beyond my expectations! I just couldn't believe how a movie could wrap up so much emotion from humor (it was hysterical) to heartbreak. It was a wonderful magnum opus for the MCU!

Avengers: Endgame

3. Top favorite Marvel character?

     - My favorite Marvel character has always been Professor Charles Xavier followed by Logan/Wolverine and then Steve Rogers/Captain America.

4. If you were transported into the MCU and had to trade places with one of the superheroes, who would you choose?

     - Maria Hill. Her loyalty, courage and calm is incredible and she deserves so much more praise.

5. What are some of your favorite quotes from the films?

You're missing the point! There's no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it!

-Tony Stark, The Avengers

****

Loki: Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.

German Old Man: [slowly rises to his feet] Not to men like you.

Loki: [smiling] There are no men like me.

German Old Man: There are *always* men like you.

(This was favorite scene in any Marvel film ever!!!)

****

6. Which crew would you want to be part of the most: Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Revengers?

     - Even though I'm not a big fan of the movies, I would totally want to be in the Guardians of the Galaxy crew! They were just awesome!

7. Favorite and least favorite ship?

     - My favorite would have to be King T'Challa and Nakia. They were just perfection!

     - My least favorite...that's difficult because relationships have been done so well, but probably Bruce and Natasha, unfortunately. They just kind of came out of nowhere and I didn't really see a lot of chemistry. 

8. Favorite and least favorite villain?

     - Favorite villain hands down is Red Skull! He's terrifying!

     - Least favorite is Ultron. I just couldn't find any character in him at all.

9. Unpopular MCU opinion?

     - Jane Foster is freakin' awesome and she and Thor deserved so much more!

10. What’s your favorite Stan Lee cameo scene?

Flashback Friday Post

In which I randomly select a year, a month and a post 

to look back upon

February 6, 2012

Downton Abbey Confession #4

My God, this is a gorgeous man!

Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley

I think I may have mentioned that more than once on here...but hey, the truth still remains.

New layout!

I thought it was time for a nature aesthetic on my blog!  

Les Miserables (BBC) - Episodes Three & Four

    The truth will set you free. A subtext that is certainly relevant in Episodes three and four of BBC's miniseries, Les Miserables. After years of lying and hiding, Val Jean now holds a man's life in his hands. Javert in his own self-righteousness, believes himself to always be on the side of truth, regardless of who may be destroyed in the process. Both Fantine and her daughter, Cosette must painfully experience truth found in the darkest parts of humanity. Young Marius Pontmercy confronts his grandfather on his lifetime of lies toward his own father. The Thenardiers histories of deceit and lawlessness comes to an end, only to start again and becoming infinitely worse. 

    The truth is hard, painful, ugly and maybe at times, unjust. How does one judge what is truth and what is deception? And where is the line when it comes to life and death?

Episode Three

     Upon finding out that a man assumed to be Prisoner 24601 has been arrested, Jean Valjean now has an escape. If this relatively obscure prisoner is proven to be him, then he can no longer live in fear of being discovered. He can no longer hide from Javert. He can finally be freed from all past imprisonment. And yet, he is a changed man. He dismissed Fantine for lying to him about her child and therefore, ruined her life. How can he stand by and let another pay for the mistakes of his own making? While this prisoner is by no means an innocent in the eyes of the law, in the eyes God, he is innocent of being Jean Valjean.  

    In an utter act of faith, Jean Valjean reveals himself to be prisoner 24601. Now he has literally put himself into Javert's grasp. Meanwhile, Fantine is dying in the infirmary, praying to see her daughter. Valjean has promised to reunite mother and daughter, but his decision to uncover his true self has put him back into the galleys of the prison ships. Fantine dies without her daughter, but Valjean promises that he will find Cosette and he will protect her from the world that destroyed her mother.

     Two years later, Valjean has escaped from prison (although we're never told exactly how) and he makes good on his promise to find Fantine's daughter. He does find Cosette, in the worst conditions imaginable. The Thenardiers have abused Cosette to every possible degree. She is beaten for entertainment of the guests, given hard manual labor, dressed in rags, forbidden to talk or play and has increasingly no hope of future happiness. That changes when Valjean finds her in the forest and is incensed by her brutal treatment.

      It doesn't take long for him to put Rosalie Thenardier in her place, demanding that Cosette play as a regular child while Madame Thenardier gets his food instead. He pays an exorbitant amount of money to secure Cosette's release from her abusers and threatens Thenardier when he goes too far. Things only get worse for the detestable family when they reach financial ruin and are left completely destitute. 

     The only person that is never too away from Valjean is Javert. Ever vigilant and consistent, Javert tracks down Valjean and Cosette in Paris where they have been hiding. Both of them have begun to develop a loving father/daughter relationship. Valjean teaches Cosette how to read and she impresses him with her wit and overwhelming sweetness; not to different from her mother. When this little happiness is threatened by Javert, Valjean and Cosette find shelter in a convent and all girl's school. They are finally safe.

     For a while at least.

Episode Four

     Nine or ten years later, Cosette has grown into a lovely young woman who is lively, vibrant and curious about the outside world. Having no family or money, Cosette has little chance of a proper marriage or a life in society. Her only option is to become a 'bride of Christ,' (a nun). Discontent with staying behind the walls of the nunnery for the rest of her life, she begs her father to leave, wanting to see the world for herself. 

     However, Valjean is hesitant to do so. He has seen the world and all its cruelty and unjustness and believes that Cosette is too fragile and innocent to understand it. Yet, even in spite of her past life with the Thenardiers, Cosette wants to believe that there is good and she wants to see that good for herself.

    Valjean eventually agrees and purchases a small home for him and Cosette in the upper middle class section of Paris. To get there, though, they must pass through the worst parts of Paris' poverty stricken streets. Beggars, thieves, the sick and the dying are all there to greet Cosette on her first visit to the outside world. 

     As Cosette is getting introduced to outside Paris, young law student, Marius Pontmercy is introduced to some startling information about his own past. His whole life, he has been told by his grandfather that his own father was a traitor to France and a coward. Yet, he is told the truth by an elderly man in church and then proceeds to know more about the former Col. Pontmercy. Marius is outraged by his grandfather's lies and corruption and immediately leaves his once comfortable life. He ventures out into the lower echelons of Parisian society that are a stark contrast to his once well to do livings. 

    Marius comes into the company of several politically minded students, some more fiery than others. He also has the misfortune of renting a room next to the infamous Thenardier family who are strangling money from every person they meet. They use their two daughters, Eponine and Azelma in every way possible to lie and cheat strangers and other tenants. Meanwhile, their youngest son, Gavroche is left to fend for himself, but the charming little boy knows how to run the streets.

     Eponine Thenardier, a raggedy and homely thief has taken an especial interest in the handsome law student. She is surprised by his genuine kindness even though he believes he is taken advantaged of. Her manipulative nature begins to wear away the more time she spends with Marius, but it's not long before his head is turned by a beautiful, golden haired angel walking in the Luxembourg Gardens with her guardian. Marius becomes besotted with the young girl named only Cosette, but her father is less than pleased.

    Valjean is still trying to shield his daughter from the world, but Cosette just wants more. She is desperate to be a part of society, but her new home has become another prison and her father becoming more and more a jail keeper. 

     Things become even more strained when they cross paths with the Thenardiers again. Still holding a grudge toward Valjean for taking Cosette and blaming him for their financial losses, Thenardier plans on getting his revenge of Valjean once and for all. And unfortunately Marius is put right in the middle, having to choose between all the lies and the truth itself. 

Goodreads Reviews: Cormoran Strike #3 - Career of Evil

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Robin (now Strike's partner) receives a gruesome severed leg in the mail, with the only clue being lyrics from Blue Oyster Cult, Strike believes that this is a personal attack on him. There are four men that are capable of committing such a heinous act, all of which he has convicted in the past. All of them with vendettas toward him.

Terrence Digger Malley - a criminal who has a reputation of mailing severed body parts

Noel Brockbank - a pedophile that Strike convicted while in the army.

Donald Laing - An army officer who Strike arrested for the abuse of his family

Jeff Whitaker - Strike's stepfather who he accused of murdering his mother, but was acquitted of all charges.

All four of these men are possible suspects, but for Strike to relive the past is almost unbearable. However, these men are running around free, committing crimes, posing as law abiding citizens, harming people as well as threatening him and Robin. To protect his partner, Strike must go back to the the most evil and haunting cases that he has worked and eventually confront the man who took away his beloved mother, still wanting to bring justice to her and her death

Through all this, Robin reveals some shocking information about her life prior to working for Cormoran and his agency. However, it also brings to light secrets from Matthew's--her fiance--past and none of it too delightful either. This puts an even greater divide between the young couple who are already at odds with each other, due to Robin's job and her ever growing relationship with Strike.

Strike and Robin's complex relationship gets even more intense, with Robin's approaching wedding, her petulant fiance, and startling revelations that Strike never thought he would hear from her. Yet, he remains ever constant and faithful in her and her growing abilities as a detective, even when no one else will. However, when Robin becomes too confident in her talents and she almost gets herself killed, she may have put an end to every relationship she has.

Seriously, this is the absolute best book in the series so far! Going back to Strike's life was incredible--as well as heartbreaking. He loved his mother, Leda, in spite of her carelessness and inability to be be a good mother and Strike still maintains that his stepfather, Jeff Whitaker is responsible for her death. His love for Leda, is what fuels his absolute hatred for his stepfather and the men that he has convicted for abuse against women and children.

Flahback Friday Post

In which I randomly select a year, a month and a post 

to look back upon

May 20, 2012

What were the total odds??

I'm actually going to see Endgame tomorrow!!

I'm swear this was completely picked at random!

The Avengers

The Avengers (2012)

    I've never been a big comic-book, superhero fan. I've always left that to my older siblings (and my best friend, yeah, you know who you are). Although, I've always liked Batman and X-Men, but that's about it. So, when I went in to see The Avengers last week, I really didn't know what to expect.

Here's what I gathered from the characters:

Thor: All brawn, no brains.

Loki: All brains, no common sense.

Clint Howard/Hawkeye: Dark mystery man who never smiles.

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow: Pretty, practical, and pragmatic with no sense of humor.

Dr. Bruce Banner/Hulk: Comic book version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Capt. Steve Rogers/Captain America: The nickname says it all.

Tony Stark/Ironman: Well...lets just say there's no one else in the world like Tony Stark and he'd probably be the first one to tell you that.

Then, I saw it again and seeing it a second time I was really able to get a better understanding of the characters, their personalities, their gifts (or curse), and their constant struggle to be accepted into society without being made to conform.

~ ~ ~

Thor

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

     Big, blonde guy with a big hammer. The legend of Thor has always been something of a running joke in my family because we're German/Scandinavian and there's a lot of blonde haired, blue eyed people. So, I've really had a hard time taking the character of Thor seriously. He actually annoyed me at first, but eventually I grew to like him. He's courageous, compassionate, and honorable. What I found most endearing about him was how he constantly seemed to be fighting for his brother and not against him. I mean that by saying, he was willing to look past the damage that Loki had done, forgive him for his wrongs, and have him come home. He was fighting his brother in hopes of possibly saving him. Of course it doesn't work, but even at the end of the movie, Thor has not given up on his brother.

~ ~ ~

Clint Barton/Hawkeye

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye

     I didn't know anything about this character, but he definitely had the strong silent type personality. Which was kind of a relief. Especially when compared to the six other men in the Avengers who couldn't shut-up long enough to let anyone else speak. Throughout most of the story, he's under a spell-like trance caused by Loki. After a really hard kick in the head, he comes out of it and is immediately overcome with guilt by the destruction he helped cause. Underneath all that hardness really is a gentle, almost caring side to him.

And I got to admit, he's pretty easy on the eyes in his own simple, rugged, handsome way.

~ ~ ~

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanov/Black Widow

     I'm always a little skeptical when it comes to bringing a single, beautiful, female superhero in the midst of men. I had the idea that she was going to be a hard ass, alpha female, who had this 'my way or the highway' attitude and was in constant competition with all of the other men. I didn't see any of that. Natasha was a great character, with a certain vulnerability about her. She genuinely cares about who she works with and is a fierce believer in what the Avengers stands for.

     Now, it's made very clear that Natasha is not a saint. She's a former assassin and spy. And she hopes by helping save her friend, Clint Howard/Hawkeye, while he's under Loki's control will help redeem herself from her hard past.

In the end she does find redemption and the courage to forgive herself for her past wrongs.

~ ~ ~

Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk

Mark Rufallo as Dr. Bruce Banner/The Hulk

     To be honest, I found him the most interesting out of all of the characters. Normally Bruce comes off as this awkwardly shy doctor who is a little reluctant to talk about 'the other guy' or his alter ego the Hulk. And when the other guy comes out...he goes all out. I loved how Bruce was constantly aware of his condition and his accountability to keep himself under control was pretty deep. When he does turn into the Hulk, he gets scary, like really scary. 

     Originally brought on to help with finding the tesseract (the little glowing blue cube that's caused all this trouble), eventually it comes to the point where they really do need the Hulks help. His one duty? Smash. Everything that doesn't need to be there...and to be Thor's smashing partner.

~ ~ ~

Capt. Steve Rodgers/Captain America

Chris Evans as Capt. Steve Rogers/Captain America

     I mean this in all honesty when I say that off all the movies that have been made of these characters Captain America is the only one I've seen. I liked it. It was interesting and totally peaked my curiosity of seeing The Avengers movie itself. As cheesy as his name is, Captain America is the embodiment of what America once was. A child of the WWII generation, the war the defined the American patriotic spirit, Steve still has the passion for peace that was there seventy years before. He also really is the only normal one out of all of the Avengers. Or maybe he still has his mind back in the 1940s, but either way, his calmness and immediate leadership in the midst of the destruction is a definite need not just for the civilians, but also for the Avengers themselves.

~ ~ ~

Tony Stark/Ironman

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Ironman

    I just watched the first Ironman movie last night and so I was able to get a better understanding of Tony himself. If you've seen Captain America you'll know that Tony's father, Howard Stark was one of Captain America's companions and held him in high regard. Well, his son holds very few people in high regard. With the exception of his secretary/girlfriend, Pepper Potts (played wonderfully by the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow) and Dr. Bruce Banner who speaks in his scientific language, Tony really makes no attempt to get along with anyone who disagrees with him, most especially his father's old friend.

     Desperate times call for desperate measures and when they do call, Tony is willing to suit up and fight along his almost-might have been adversary, Captain America. He goes the extra mile for everyone. Even if it means inviting Loki into his house, becoming Chitauri monster bait, and taking a missile out of earth.

So, he's the mouth of the group, but what he has to say is normally worth hearing.

~ ~ ~

Nick Fury

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

     The boss, the creator, the bad-ass leader who believed in peace and justification. Nick Fury has no actual superpowers, but he does have a dream, actually he has many dreams. Nick brought the Avengers together for the sole purpose of being the plan when all other plans fail. Nick's dream almost fails, but when given the Avengers the right push, they eventually are able to accomplish what Nick originally had them brought in for. Sometimes we have dreams for ourselves and sometimes we have dreams for others. I think the latter proves to be the better of the both.

~ ~ ~
  
Loki

Tom Hiddleston as Loki

     What a creep. Yeah, that's just about it. Loki had the stereotypical storyline of the angry, vengeful, adopted brother who was trying to take over the world to beat out his seemingly perfect older brother. He's as cowardly as Thor is brave, as cruel as Thor is compassionate, and as hateful as Thor is forgiving. After a while you begin asking yourself "Is Thor just wasting his time on him?" Loki is a slave to himself and the only way he can see any redemption is by enslaving all mankind. The scene with him in Germany is an incredible example of what hatred and revenge does to a person's soul. Sometimes you almost find yourself feeling sorry for the guy. The keyword is sometimes.

All in all, Loki was a pretty incredible villain who definitely got his comeuppance at the end of the story.

~ ~ ~

Courage is Immortal
 (tagline from the Thor movie) 

The Avengers

This really was a good movie. I began to see one residual theme throughout the film. Overcoming a guilty past. 

Natasha's past as a spy and violent fighter.

Clint's association with Loki (even thought it wasn't his fault).

Thor for failing to be a better brother.

Steve believing that he could have saved more lives if he had been stronger person.

Bruce for simply being himself.

And of course Tony has no faults to be guilty about : )

All of these very different people with very different powers and abilities, but are still susceptible to human failure and weakness. To me, that's what makes a hero. Forgiving yourself for a wrong lived past is far more powerful than taking out a mass load of giants.

Extra perceptions and superhuman powers mean absolutely nothing if you don't have a reason for using them. Fighting for a better world, protecting the weak, and defending the rights and honor of all mankind (Good God, I am beginning to sound like Captain America) is a far better use of ones abilities than using them for their own selfish gain.

Even superheroes need a lunch break.