It's So Classic Tag!

Greetings!

Rebellious Writing is celebrating two years of blogging, and are hosting the It's So Classic Blog Party!

Awesome, right? Classics are some of my favorite books so I'm excited to fill out their tag, but it will also be really hard!

It's So Classic Tag:
Rules:
1. Link your post to Rebellious Writing (http://www.rebelliouswriting.com/)
2. Answer the questions
3. Tag at least 5 bloggers.


1.What is one classic that hasn’t been made into a movie yet, but really needs to?


*cracks knuckles* Now, this is my kind of question. The thing is, I know that there are a lot of film adaptations of classics that I haven't seen yet. I'm just going to copy Nicole and say the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia books. I love them so much! Movies of The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle would be so great! As long as they don't mess them up! Make them like how they made The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

2.What draws you to classics?


(Note: Most of the classics that I read were written before 1900, so that is what I'm talking about.)
Whenever I am having a reading slump, or can't find any good books I go back to the classics because I know that there is a point, a message, or a moral. I know that I can find a story that will teach me something.


3.What is an underrated classic?


North & South - by Elizabeth Gaskell! I just read it this year, thanks to a friend's suggestion, and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. Ah! But, no one has ever heard of it! Every time I mention it people ask, "Oh, is it set during the Civil War?" The question makes sense, but no, it is set in England, now go read it.

4.What is one classic that you didn’t expect to love, but ended up loving anyway?


Well, I don't love it, but I was expecting to hate Frankenstein - by Mary Shelly, but it actually is really thought provoking. The characters do some really bad things that makes you want to pull your hair out, but that is the point. It shows that there are consequences to your actions, and that if all you show someone is hate, you will turn them into a monster.

5.What is your most favorite and least favorite classics?


No! This question is way too hard! Pick one favorite out of all of the many that I love?? Fine, I'll decide.:
Most favorite: Anne of Green Gables - by L. M. Montgomery. It is so beautiful! (It is also my favorite book of all time).

Least favorite: Candide - by Voltare. It is terrible.


6.What is your favorite character from a classic? Or if that is too hard, one is your favorite classic character trope (e.g. strong and silent, quiet sidekick, etc.)


(This was the hardest. question. ever.)
Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Ever since I started The Hobbit, I loved him. I actually wrote a post about him HERE (It was one of my first, so don't judge.).


7.What’s a popular classic that you felt wasn’t actually that great?


Popular? I know that 2001: A Space Odyssey - by Arthur C. Clarke is really famous, but it is so long, not a lot happens, and it is very confusing. Not my favorite.

8.Who is your favorite classic author?


Jane Austen, of course!


9.In your opinion, what makes a classic a classic?

"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." 
~ Italo Calvino

10.Relating to newer books, what attributes does a book need to have in order to be worthy of the title “classic”?


As I said in question #2, there has to be a deeper meaning. When reading books like A Tale of Two Cities - by Charles Dickens, and To Kill a Mockingbird - by Harper Lee, I thought that they were super boring. It was only after I finished them, and I sat back, just thinking about the stories, did I realize how truly amazing they were, and are now two of my favorites. I am currently reading Agnes Grey - by Anne Brontë, and I think that the first line in there sums up what a lot of newer books are:
'All true histories contain instruction; though, in some the treasure may be hard to find, and when found so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut.'
Whereas, to be a classic, the message or theme might be hard to find, but when you do, it is so great, you'll never forget it.

Okay, rant over.


And I tag:
PioneerGirl
Kara Lynn
Korin
Megan Chappie

I don't know how much you guys like classics, so only do it if you want to!


Happy Blogoversary to Rebellious Writing!

Thank you so much for reading! What do you think of my answers?

MovieCritic

Book vs. Movie Review: The Princess Bride

Hello!
Welcome to my second day of my Halloween Blog Party!

I am super excited to review this because there are a few movies that I have always remembered seeing, and this is one of them! Plus, this year is the 30th anniversary of the movie!!!
"Do you always begin conversation like this?"

My older sister came up with this idea after I said I wanted to be Captain Hook, and I agreed that it was a good one! And now to do a review....

"It won't be easy."

"Try ruling the world sometime."

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless it says so. 

The Princess Bride - by S. Morgenstern (William Goldman):

"As you wish..."
Buttercup is just a farm girl, but she is the most beautiful woman in the world. She loves Westley, but after a few accidents, she catches the eye of Prince Humperdink who wants to marry her. She begins will marry him in a few weeks, but she is kidnapped!
"You understand nothing, but it really doesn't matter, since what you mean is, you're glad to see me, just as I'm glad to see you because no more loneliness."
Genre: Adventure, Romance, Swashbuckler!
Characters: 9, they are pretty great, Mr. Goldman did a great job!
My favorites:
Westley, 'The farm boy had eyes like the sea before a storm...'
Fezzik
Inigo
Buttercup
Miracle Max, "Let's be honest with each other; sure, you're a genius, but even a genius gets rusty."
Words: 7, a few bad words and swearing.
'It was death chess and he was international grand master.'
Notes: In the "abridgement" Mr. Goldman mentions The Wizard of Oz.
Notes on introduction: The book is pretty clean, but the introduction is not so much (swearing, suggestive stuff). And if you read the first chapter of the "sequel" it has suggestive stuff.
Storyline: 6, there is revenge, fighting, kissing, talk of killing, drinking, torture, and death.
"Excuses are the refuge of cowards."
Good For: Adventure lovers!
Overall Score: 8! It is a great book! "That is perhaps the most childishly obvious remark I have ever come across, but what can you expect from a strangler."


VS.


The Princess Bride (1987):

Based on the book by William Goldman:
"As you wish..."
A Grandfather decides to read The Princess Bride to his Grandson. "When I was your age, television was called books." A book of "Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..."
Buttercup has lived her whole life on a farm, until Prince Humperdinck decides to marry her. One day as she is out on her daily ride, she gets kidnapped!
"Life is pain, highness, anyone who says otherwise is selling something."
Oh, and did I mention the awesome fencing scene?

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Swashbuckler!
Length: 98 minutes (approx.).
"Move that thing...and that other thing!"
Costumes: 9, they are all so beautiful! There are a few scenes where someone isn't wearing a shirt.
My favorite:

Script: 9, it is brilliant! There are maybe one of two bad words.
"Inconceivable!"
"You keep using that word, I do not think that word means what you think it means."

Crew:
Directed by: Rob Reiner.
Produced by:
Andrew Scheinman,
Rob Reiner.
Based on: The Princess Bride, - by William Goldman.
Screenplay by: William Goldman.
Starring:
Robin Wright as Buttercup.

Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdinck. "I think everything is a trap, that's why I'm still alive."

Cary Elwes as Westley.
Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya. "My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die."

Peter Falk as Grandpa/The Narrator.

Fred Savage as The Grandson. "I wasn't worried, maybe I was concerned. It's not the same thing."

Christopher Guest as Count Tyrone Rugen.

André the Giant as Fezzik. "Am I going mad or did the word 'think' escape your lips?"

Wallace Shawn as Vizzini. "Did I make it clear that your job is at stake?"

"I'm waiting!"

Billy Crystal as Miracle Max.

Carol Kane as Valerie, Max's wife.
Peter Cook as The Impressive Clergyman.
Mel Smith as The Albino.

Malcolm Storry as Yellin.
Willoughby Gray as The King.
All these actors and actresses are so perfect for their parts!!!

"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to kill you."

"You seem a decent fellow, I hate to die."

Music: 10!! My favorite is "Storybook Love", here it is:

Music by: Mark Knopfler.
Quotes: 10! My favorite ever is super long, so I'll just put part of it:
"No more rhyming now, I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut?"
Notes: Eels instead of sharks.
Storyline: 7, there is death, kissing, fighting, talk of killing, revenge, creepy R.O.U.S's and torture. I can't be picky about how it relates to the book because William Goldman wrote the screenplay! It is a great movie!
"Is this a kissing book?"

(Look at this sword!)

Good For: Everyone, People who love swashbucklers!

"The cliffs of insanity!"
Overall Score: 9!!!
"Have fun storming the castle!"
"Do think it will work?"
"It'll take a miracle."


The movie wins!!! (Wow, that's a first!)


"Who are you?"
"No one of consequence." ~Thoughts on the Dread Pirate Roberts.

'But--
--in the farthest corner of the Great Square--
--in the highest building in the land--
--deep in the deepest shadow--
--the man in black stood waiting.
His boots were black and leather. His pants were black and his shirt. His mask was black, blacker than raven. But blackest of all were his flashing eyes.
Flashing and cruel and deadly...' ~The Princess Bride - by William Goldman.

"Once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you, and it's nothing but work, work, work all the time."

"Good work, sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning."

(Because of spoilers I can't say much but he really is a great character!)

About my older sister's costume:

"I am not left-handed."
My sister is actually left handed.

Anyway, the costume was really simple, the mask was a little bit harder.

"Why are you wearing a mask?"
"They are rather comfortable, I think everyone will be wearing them in the future."

How does she compare to the movie?

What do you think?

Also, since Daylight Savings time is coming up...

Thank you for reading!

MovieCritic

Book vs. Movie Review: Peter Pan

Hello!
Welcome to the first day of my Halloween Blog Party! It is time to start revealing what my sisters and I were for Halloween 2017!!!

Today I will be doing my costume. Mwahaha! Clue: One of the scariest villains ever. You'll never guess, unless you just read the title of this post.

So, this book has become one of my favorites. I always was a little, let's say, reluctant to grow up. Not anymore after reading this book. It is so amazing! If you haven't read it, GO!

I also wanted to say the J. M. Barrie donated the rights of the book Peter Pan to the Children's Hospital in London.

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless it says so.

Peter Pan - by J. M. Barrie:

(Also titled: Peter & Wendy)
"All children, except one, grow up."
When the Darling children are visited by Peter Pan, he decides he and his "lost boys" need a mother so he takes Wendy and her brothers off to Neverland where children never grow up.
"'You just think lovely wonderful thoughts," Peter explained, 'and they lift you up in the air.'"
Genre: Adventure.
Characters: 10, they are brilliant!
My favorites:
Wendy Angela Moria Darling.
Mrs. Darling.
Mr. Darling.
Nana.
Mr. Smee.
'Odd things happen to all of us on our way through life without our noticing for a time that they have happened.'
Words: 9, there is one bad word.
'We ought to use the pluperfect and say wakened, but woke is better and was always used by Peter.'
Storyline: 7, there is death, and smoking and the like. But this book is SO AMAZING.
'Not a sound is to be heard, save when they give vent to a wonderful imitation of the lonely call of the coyote.'
Good For: EVERYONE.
Overall Score: 9!! I love this book.


VS.


Peter Pan (1953):

Based on the book by J. M. Barrie:
"All this has happened before and it will always happen again..."
Peter Pan whisks away Wendy, John, and Michael to Neverland, a place full of Mermaids, Pirates, and Indians. A place where you never have to grow up.
"Come on everybody, off we go!"

Genre: Adventure, Animated.
Length: 77 minutes (approx.).
Costumes: 8, they are drawn very well! There are some points where people aren't wearing shirts, and were a skirt is a little high.

Script: 10, no bad words!
Crew:
Directed by:
Clyde Geronimi
Wilfred Jackson
Hamilton Luske
Produced by: Walt Disney
Story by:
Milt Banta
William Cottrell
Winston Hibler
Bill Peet
Erdman Penner
Joe Rinaldi
Ted Sears
Ralph Wright
Based on: Peter Pan - by J.M. Barrie

Starring the voices of:
Bobby Driscoll as Peter Pan.

Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy Angela Moria Darling. "Just Wendy is fine."

Paul Collins as John Darling.
Tommy Luske as Michael Darling.
Hans Conried as George Darling.
Hans Conried as Captain Hook. "Well, well, a codfish on a hook."
Heather Angel as Mary Darling.
Bill Thompson as Mr. Smee.

Robert Ellis as Cubby (bear costume).
Jeffrey Silver as Nibs (rabbit costume).
Johnny McGovern as Twins (raccoon costumes).
Stuffy Singer as Slightly (fox costume).

Tony Butala as singing voices
June Foray, Connie Hilton, Margaret Kerry, and Karen Kester as the mermaids.

June Foray as Squaw.
Bill Thompson as the other pirates.
Candy Candido as the Indian Chief/Big Chief.
Tom Conway as the Narrator.
The Mellomen (Thurl Ravenscroft, Bill Lee, Bob Stevens and Max Smith) as the Pirate Chorus and Indians.
Music: 9. "You think of a wonderful thought..." The songs are pretty good! My favorite is "You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!"

Music by:
Oliver Wallace
Sammy Fain
Frank Churchill
Sammy Cahn
Ed Penner
Winston Hibler
Ted Sears
Quotes: 10, "Second star to the right and straight on 'till morning."
Notes: Didn't they rip the sails?
Storyline: 5, there is drinking, smoking, death, tattoos, and is missing a lot of things from the book and you don't get the same feel you get reading it. But, it is a classic.

Good For: Families.

Overall Score: 8!
"Oh Wendy, is that all you have to say?"


The book wins!!


"The world's most famous crook." ~ Thoughts on Captain James Hook.

Description:
'In the midst of them, the blackest and largest jewel in that setting, reclined James Hook, or as he wrote himself Jas. Hook, of whom it is said was the only man that the Sea-Cook feared. He lay at his ease in the rough chariot drawn and propelled by his men, and instead of a right hand he had the iron hook with which ever and anon he encouraged them to increase their pace. As dogs this terrible man treated and addressed them, and as dogs they obeyed him. In person he was cadaverous and blackavized, his hair was dressed in long curls, which at a little distance looked like black candles, and gave a singularly threatening expression to his handsome countenance. His eyes were of the blue of the forget-me-not, and of a of a profound melancholy, save when he was plunging his hook into you, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit them up horribly.' --Peter Pan, - by J. M. Barrie. And, his voice is a 'black voice'.

Captain Hook, might have been a good man once, or if not he might have become one, but once he began thinking of revenge, he could never go back. He was propelled by his hand, or what was his hand, because he had to look at it every day. Instead of being forgiving and making the best of it, he let that anger burn inside him, making him the most feared pirate. He actually became quite good with his hook and was able to do things with it.

About my costume:

No one can decide which hand the hook was on! In the description in the book Peter Pan (see above) it says that his right hand was cut off, but in the 1953 movie, it was obviously stated: "Oh no, John! It was the left hand." Because of that, I just put it on my left hand because I am right handed and it was easier for me to do things.

I can't tell you how long we looked for a hat. We never did find quite the right one, but I am happy with the result. And I am so happy that we found the coat! It is one of the most famous parts of Captain Hook, am I right?

I can't stop laughing at how different I look in this picture. I am naturally blond, but I look pretty cool in a black wig!

The sword was a last minute addition, I was spray painting things pretty quickly.

Here is a close up of the hook:

So, what do you think?
How did I do compared to Captain Hook in the 1953 Peter Pan?

And compared to Dustin Hoffman in the movie Hook (1991)?

Captain Hook is also mentioned in:
Pan (2015) [movie].
The Land of Stories [book series].
Once Upon a Time [TV series].
Peter and the Starcatchers [book].

Thank you so much for reading! Check in tomorrow to see what my sisters were! What were you for Halloween?

MovieCritic

Book vs. Movie Review: The Jungle Book

Hello Everybody!
Today 50 years ago the Disney movie The Jungle Book came out! (Not the 2016 version, the 1967 cartoon!) Because of that I will do a review of both the book and the movie!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless it says so. 

The Jungle Book - by Rudyard Kipling

"We be of one blood, ye and I."
A man cub is found in the jungle, and the animals decide to take care of him instead of eating it. Mowgli and his friends come upon many, many adventures in the jungle of India.
"What is has been. What will be is no more than a forgotten year striking backwards."
Genre: Adventure.
Characters: 8, there are quite a few good ones!
My favorite: Bagerra, Kaa.
"The English, they had been told, were a perfectly mad people, who would not let honest farmers kill witches in peace."
Words: 8, Very good! But, there are a few places were there is name calling.
"Last year's nuts are this year's black earth."
Storyline: 5, there is death, gruesome things, people mentioned as being nude, smoking, and blood.
"My heart is heavy with the things that I do not understand."
Good For: Animal lovers, People who feel they are different.
Overall Score: 7!
"He turned on his heel and walked away with the Lone Wolf, and as he looked up at the stars he felt happy."

VS.

The Jungle Book (1967):

Based on the book by Rudyard Kipling:
"Many strange legends are told about the jungles of India..."
Being abandoned in the forest, Mowgli grows up with the animals, learning the animal ways. All is well until Shere Khan comes, and wants Mowgli to be no more.

Length: 78 minutes.
Genre: Adventure
Costumes: 6, nothing great, and Mowgli doesn't wear much. But, I do like this:

Script: 8,
"Don't spend your time lookin' around for something that can't be found."

Crew:
Directed by: Wolfgang Reitherman
Produced by: Walt Disney
Screenplay by:
Larry Clemmons
Ralph Wright
Ken Anderson
Vance Gerry
Floyd Norman
Bill Peet
Starring:
Bruce Reitherman as Mowgli.
Phil Harris as Baloo.

Sterling Holloway as Kaa.
George Sanders as Shere Khan.

Sebastian Cabot as Bagheera/Narrator.

Louis Prima as King Louie.
J. Pat O'Malley as Colonel Hathi/Buzzie the Vulture.
Verna Felton as Winifred.
Clint Howard as Junior.
Chad Stuart as Flaps the Vulture.
Lord Tim Hudson as Dizzie the Vulture.
John Abbott as Akela the Indian wolf.
Ben Wright as Rama the Father Wolf.
This really is a 5-star cast!
But, wow, the characters are quite mixed up. The thing with Walt Disney films, is that they are so great you love them, all the characters are classics. Even though Baloo should be like Bagheera, and Bagheera should be like Baloo, and Kaa is a good guy.

Music: 10! Who doesn't love "The Bare Necessities"!? And, "I want to be like you"?!

Music by:
George Bruns
Terry Gilkyson
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Quotes: 9, So, my favorite quote is so long that I am just going to put a video of it:

Notes: This has some recycled scenes from Winnie the Pooh!

Storyline: 5, the storyline has nothing bad in it, it just is really not a lot like the book. But as I said, you can't say anything bad about it because it is a classic!

Good For: Anybody who feels different, Anybody who has to do a hard thing.

Overall Score: 7!

It's a tie!

I read The Jungle Book, for Heidi's Adventure of Reading Challenge! Go check it out! One done so far on my list! I have read others, but I haven't gotten to review them yet!

Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic