Film Review: The Return of the King, Part 1

All set the for the final film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? I am. I'm not actually sure how long this is going to be. I'm aiming for six parts, like all the others, but it may wind up being a little bit longer; it's a very long film.

In this part we catch up with all the remaining members of the Fellowship, some of whom are reunited. Things seem to be going quite well for Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Gandalf. Things do not go so well for Saruman and Wormtongue. And things are on a definite downhill slant for Frodo, Sam and Gollum.

1. Final film in the trilogy. I still remember all the feelings sitting in the cinema watching this opening. Well, not this exact opening since I'm watching the Extended Edition, and obviously I saw the theatrical version.

2. Actually the Sméagol and Déagol bit was in the theatrical version, wasn't it? Was it?

3. I really need to rewatch the theatrical versions some time.

4. I like that we get to see Andy Serkis out of his inksuit costume.

5. I always think the perspective looks slightly off when that fish is pulling him along.

6. How different would this story have been if Déagol kept the Ring instead of Sméagol?

7. If Déagol hadn't hooked that fish, he never would've found the Ring and the pair of them would've just had a happy day fishing instead of everything that happened afterwards.

8. I like the way there's a sort of pulse in the background of this scene. It's really oppressive and stressful.

9. I imagine anyone who stumbled into the cinema not having seen the first two films would be wondering what the hell they'd walked in to!

10. Oh and I love how they do the transformation from Sméagol into Gollum.

11. Does kind of look like his face is melting though.

12. It's cool how that flashback is then sort of carried on with the way Frodo is looking at Sam and the Ring. They could almost have had big flashing words on the screen saying 'LOOKIT! IT'S THE SAME THING!"

13. Everything is very grey. And oh look, rumbly ground. This is not a pleasure trip.

14. I love that Sam is carefully conserving food so they'll have stuff for the way home. I'm not sure if he's really optimistic and just can't see the bad or just genuinely wants to be prepared for everything. I love Sam.

15. And now we get to see Théoden, Gandalf, Aragorn and the gang. They're wandering through a forest that wasn't there before.

16. Oh, and this film is called The Return of the King, just in case you weren't sure.

17. Yay! Merry and Pippin!

18. I love Billy Boyd's interview about this scene and how they did loads of different takes with them drunk, stoned, really drunk, etc.

19. Aww, half the Fellowship have been reunited.

20. Of course, at the end of the day, it all boils down to food.

21. I can't help but notice how Théoden's horse has to answer the call of nature as they all walk towards the tower of Isengard.

22. Weird fact: Word puts a squiggly red line under Theoden, but doesn't put one under Théoden.

23. No one could have done the Voice of Saruman bit as well as Christopher Lee. He's also the voice I hear in my head when I read Death in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.

24. Gandalf is kind of the Samwise Gamgee of the Istari. He's so optimistic that he can bring Saruman back to the good side. It's too late, mate.

25. And Saruman's got a big shiny marble. Everyone's shocked by this revelation.

26. Saruman does have a fair point. Frodo has kind of been sent to his doom, especially as no one actually told him how to get into Mordor.

27. Gandalf's just like, 'oh fire, please, I did battle with a Balrog, man.'

28. He's kind of casual the way he says 'Saruman, your staff is broken'. It's not like a spell, it's just like it's something he's noticed. Gandalf has serious power!

29. Yeah, I'm not sure I'd want Gríma back. That's why I'm not King of Rohan.

30. I am kind of disappointed that we didn't get The Scouring of the Shire and I can see why Sir Christopher Lee was pissed about his death scene, but this film is neverending enough already. Cinematically it works.

31. Moment of appreciation for the fact Christopher Lee's character has been killed with a stake through his heart.

32. Oh and he's lost his marble.

33. 'S okay, Pippin's picked it up.

34. Ooh yay! Rohan music. And Éowyn's waiting.

35. I would totally live in Rohan. If I couldn't live in Bree. Actually, I think Dale would be quite nice (post-dragon eviction).

36. Théoden totally ships Aragorn and Éowyn.

37. "It's the Dwarves that go swimming with little hairy women!" O.o

38. This scene makes me wonder just how much wine the Elves in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug must have drunk to knock them out. Unless Dorwinnion wine is a lot stronger than Rohirrim ale.

39. Woo hoo! Hobbit drinking song. I'm so sad, I can't help singing along with them.

40. Aragorn is so confident that Frodo is still alive and making his way to Mordor. Gandalf isn't so sure at first, but Aragorn bolsters his spirits.

41. Bit of contrast to go from happy celebrations in Rohan to another Gollum/Sméagol conversation.

42. I like how they used the same formula from The Two Towers, but then did it with Sméagol having a conversation with his Gollum reflection. Didn't they have a bit like that in the first Hobbit film?

43. Have to add that right now my rat, Yoda, is really interested in the TV. Apparently he likes Gollum... or Sméagol. It must be the voice.

44. Uh oh, turns out Sam's heard the conversation.

45. Unfortunately Frodo's on Sméagol's side.

46. I also think that perhaps shouting the way they are isn't the best course of action when they're in enemy territory.

47. Ooh, Gollum's so evil. Poor Sam.


Check back next week when things get dramatic in Rohan. Fool of a Took!

Chapter-by-Chapter: Twilight, Epilogue

Woo hoo! We've made it to the end of Twilight. There were a couple of times when I thought we'd never actually get here. But now we've arrived and it feels fantastic.

The last chapter saw Bella getting caught up to speed in the hospital, seeing her Mum and establishing that Edward has no intention of turning her into a vampire. That last bit was news that Bella didn't take too kindly to. Oh, and Bella's announced she's staying in Forks.

On to the Epilogue: An Occasion.

What Happens?

Edward and Alice get Bella all dressed up. She's disappointed to find he's taking her to prom and not to be transformed into a vampire. Jacob shows up to pass on a warning from Billy as well. With that out of the way Bella and Edward are able to get back to enjoying the prom and discussing Bella's desire to be with Edward forever.

Thoughts as I read:

I have no idea what could possibly happen in this chapter. I guess it's asking too much to find out more about Alice and all that stuff with the tracker. Perhaps it's just Bella getting out of hospital, that might be an occasion. Hell, walking from one side of the school to another without injuring herself would be an occasion for Bella!

Oh wow! This chapter doesn't begin with Bella waking up! I'm shocked. I have no idea what to expect at all from what follows!

Edward helped me into his car, being very careful of the wisps of silk and chiffon, the flowers he'd just pinned into my elaborately styled curls, and my bulky walking cast. He ignored the angry set of my mouth.

So she's out of hospital… and she's really annoyed about it?

Okay, I'm kind of with Bella on the surprises thing. It's find if it's a genuine surprise, but these 'I've got a surprise for you but I'm not going to tell you what it is' surprises are really frustrating. Edward's also dressed up. My first thought was that he was going to take her out for a meal (not like that) but then I remembered Edward doesn't eat so that would be kind of pointless.

Seriously? She's wearing a stiletto heel and a cast? Has Stephenie Meyer ever worn an ankle cast? That would so not work. It's either sensible flats or trainers and if you're in a cast for any length of time the pair will be ruined because you'll wear one down and not the other. And when you consider how clumsy Bella is it just seems like another broken leg waiting to happen!

"I'm not coming over any more if Alice is going to treat me like Guinea Pig Barbie when I do," I griped.

Hehe, I love Alice.

I'm glad to see the Charlie issue is being address, however briefly. He's convinced Edward is a problem so now Bella has curfews and visiting hours but despite this he's currently phoning Edward. It's because Tyler has shown up at Charlie's ready to take Bella to the prom. So that's where they're going. As you can imagine, Bella is thrilled.

This actually makes Bella cry. They're not happy tears. They may smudge her make up. The horror!

It seems as though Bella has just now realised that wearing one show might be a bad idea:

"I'll go quietly. But you'll see. I'm way overdue for more bad luck. I'll probably break my other leg. Look at this shoe! It's a death trap!" I held out my good leg as evidence.

No, Bella. It's a plot point.

Edward's response is to perv at Bella's leg. He's such a gentleman.

We also get an update on how Bella's getting on with the other Cullens. Generally good, except Rosalie. Not so much there. Emmett seems entertained by Bella's predisposition towards falling over, so she's got that going for her at least.

Once at school Bella pretty much refuses to get out of the car. Edward does make a valid point:

He sighed. "When someone wants to kill you, you're brave as a lion – and then when someone mentions dancing…" He shook his head.

Bella's still not impressed by the whole prom thing when she gets inside. The only people who are dancing properly are the vampires, everyone else is sort of pushed off to the sides of the dance floor. Of course dancing in a cast isn't easy so Edward has Bella stand on his feet. Classy.

This romantic scene is interrupted by Jacob showing up. Rather strangely he asks to cut in and he's grown since the last time we saw him. Edward lets him take over and walks away. Billy sent Jacob to tell Bella to break up with Edward. This is all because of Bella getting hurt and Billy thinks Edward had something to do with it. Which would make Billy right.

That's not all Jacob was sent to tell Bella though. She's being warned 'we'll be watching'. Bella thanks him and Edward returns in a bit of a snit. Part of the reason for this latest mood swing is because Jacob was the reason he had to let go of Bella, after he promised not to let go of her all evening. Oh look. Edward made a funny. And Jacob only called Bella 'pretty' when she's clearly 'beautiful'. D'oh.

Bella asks to know why Edward's gone to all this trouble for her because, after saving her from a vampire who wanted to eat her, taking her to the prom is a really big deal!

He ignored me, staring up at the moon.
"Twilight, again," he murmured. "Another ending. No matter how perfect the day is, it always has to end."

What he says next kind of makes sense. He doesn't want Bella being with him to stop her having a normal human life. Bella points out that his idea of normal isn't so accurate; she never would've gone to the prom anyway.

Turns out that Bella was hoping the fancy outfit was going to be because Edward had decided to change her into a vampire. Because one should always look one's best when having one's blood drained in order to become the Undead.

Edward says as much as this. He's sad that she'd be that happy to give up life and all the alive people things he's no longer able to do. Like eating. And breathing. And having a pulse. He misses them all so much.

For a moment he makes out like he's going to do it. Then stops and reminds her he will stay with her. It's not quite enough for her though.

He frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. He exhaled, and the sound was practically a growl.
I touched his face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than everything else in the world combined. Isn't that enough?"
"Yes, it is enough," he answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."
And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.

Okay. That wasn't such a bad ending to the book. The very last couple of pages felt like they could've been written by someone else entirely compared to the rest of the book. It was actually a Bella and Edward discussion I quite enjoyed and actually understood what was being said. That was quite novel.

Just two questions to finish up the book:

• Is Bella annoyed about getting out of hospital? No, she seems to be annoyed about having to get dressed up and not being told what it's all in aid of.
• Stiletto heel and plaster cast? Seriously?!

Finish This Book: Blind Contour Drawing

It's been a while since I shared my progress through my Finish This Book, mainly because although I've been carrying it around in my laptop bag, I've not opened it for a few weeks. Now I'm trying to get back on track with both it and my Wreck This Journal and hopefully I'll have more to share in the coming Thursdays.

The instructions on the BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING page explain that as an investigator it is important to be able to draw occasionally. You're told to find an object and draw its outline without looking at the paper or lifting your pencil from the page as well as to research 'blind contour drawing'.

As you can see from the photo, I had mixed results with this one, though I did improve after my research.

You're not aiming to create a true to life picture, it's just a simple outline. My last two that I did were the teddy bear and the top of the bookcase and (aside from the poor teddy bear's head) they're pretty accurate.

My research (good old Wikipedia.org) told me:

It's a drawing exercise which involves drawing the outline of an object without looking at the paper. You should track the object's outline with your eyes and follow the movement with your hand. You should also aim to draw one long continuous line without lifting your pencil from the paper.
There are two different people who commented on blind contour drawing. Nicolaides suggested it improved one's drawings by using both sight and touch while Edwards argued it used the right side of your brain over the left.
Seems to improve drawings by getting your hand and eyes to work together, creates more realistic drawings because you learn to follow the actual lines not memorised symbols, you learn to see all the details.
It's often used as a drawing session warm up.

I did improve once I followed the instruction to closely follow the outline with your eyes as your hand traces it. I wish I had a photo of how the top of the bookcase looked at the time I did the above drawing because it is so close. Once I finished it I stopped because there was no way  could get any more accurate than that.

It's an interesting activity though I think you'd need to practice a great deal to see any improvement in your drawing ability.

Have you ever tried blind contour drawing?

Wordless Wednesday: Dig

Book 3 of 2015: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I mentioned in my Emma review a fortnight ago that I'd started the Reading Challenge with the intention of reading more classics and books by authors I'd never really read before. Well, top of my list of authors whose books I wanted to read was Jane Austen and when Week Two's topic was 'a classic romance' there was really no question about it being anything but Pride and Prejudice.

Even if you've never read Pride and Prejudice you're probably familiar with the story since it's one which has been reproduced numerous times for film, TV as well as in other stories and media which are based heavily on the story. Basically Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr Darcy and immediately sparks fly. Her mother is keen to marry off Elizabeth and her sisters, but they need to marry well, and Lizzy has her sights set on someone else. But Mr Darcy keeps cropping up and there's only one way that's going to end.

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this story as much as Emma and Northanger Abbey. With those stories I felt compelled to keep on reading which wasn't a compulsion I really felt as I worked through Pride and Prejudice. There are a couple of reasons for this though the main one was just the fact that I'm really familiar with the story already.

Although this was a first time read, I already knew the story from the BBC adaptation, the more recent film version, and the host of films which used it as the basis for their own stories (Bridget Jones's Diary, Bride and Prejudice, the more I think about it, the longer the list gets). It just meant that I didn't have same sense of urgency as I read because I already had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen and how.

I did also read it over the week when Mr Click and I travelled to Wales for our 'second Christmas' which meant that I had a lot of other things on. This also didn't help with my speed, though it's telling that it took me from the 8th to the 14th of January (at 291 pages long), whereas Emma clocked in at 514 and I started it on the 1st then finished it on the 4th.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I did. I especially liked the characters of Lizzy and Jane but I didn't like Darcy all that much. He strikes me as a person with really poor social skills which I guess is the time when it was set but an awful lot of hassle could've been saved if the characters had actually spoken to one another. I guess that just made it frustrating.

What also frustrated me were the characters of Lydia and Mrs Bennett. The former just didn't seem to care about anyone but herself or how her actions might affect her family; the latter just wanted her daughters to marry above their station and that was all she wanted, regardless of how they might go about achieving that. Every time their names appeared on a page I cringed inwardly.

It's a book that I am glad to have read, though I'm not sure I'll read it again any time soon. Perhaps the feeling will take me at some point in the future when I've rewatched one of the adaptations.

Review: Jacob's Cracker Crisps

At the end of last year I signed up with BzzAgent which allows members to fill in surveys and receive free products to test and review. They warn you that you may only get one BzzCampaign a year because they'll only send you an invitation if it's something that will be relevant to you, but thus far I've been pretty lucky and received several products to review. They always show up at convenient times as well.

One of my most recent Campaigns was for Jacob's Cracker Crisps.

I'm always excited when I get an invitation for a new Campaign and when I read I would be sent three packs (one of each flavour) of the new Jacob's Cracker Crisps I figured they'd be little sample size packs. I was wrong, I received one of each Sweet Thai Chilli, Sour Cream and Chive, and Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar to try out and report back to BzzAgent about.

As I was looking for some good snackies to pack in my bag on the way to and from Wales, I was thrilled. I mean, who doesn't want to get free edible stuff?

The Cracker Crisps are basically a cross between a cracker and a crisp. Think Mini Cheddars but with a lot more flavour and they're supposed to be a lot healthier than crisps. This latter point appealed to me since, along with the girls I work with, I'm on a health kick. It's a bit of a failing health kick (since as I'm writing this I'm munching on some chocolate) but the intention is there and when I'm choosing snacks I am thinking about what's in them.

I'm not really a fan of spicy food so I knew from the start that the Sweet Thai Chilli ones would probably not be up my street. I did try one or two though, as a BzzAgent it is my duty after all. But I soon passed them on to Mr Click who is far more spicily inclined than I am. I did eat enough to note that they have a really strong flavour and, if you like spicy stuff, they've got a bit of a bite to them.
I made do with the Sour Cream and Chive ones which were much more to my liking. They're incredibly more-ish and it took quite a bit of self-restraint not to eat the whole packet with my lunch. I wanted to save some to take on the picnic walk I did with some of the girls from work. As I have to report back to BzzAgent on the products I try, I like to try and share them with as many people as I can.

They were a big hit. Everyone agreed that the flavour was really strong and that they would probably go well with a dip of some kind. You could stick bowls of them out at a party for people to help themselves to, or have them as a side dish with a sandwich, salad or small snacky meal. They were perfect for a picnic.

I didn't try the Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar ones until I was travelling down to Wales, saving what I thought would be my favourite ones til last. I have to admit though, the Sour Cream and Chive ones are actually my favourite. The Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar ones are a little heavy on the vinegar. I wouldn't say it's overpowering but I can't go back to them as easily as I can with the others.

Hopefully they'll increase the range in the future because these are definitely something I'll pick up again in the future.


If you're in the UK and you want to try these, leave a comment below because I have three 50p off coupons for the first three commenters who want to try some. Just leave a comment and I'll send you the link.

Weekly Rundown: Not Growing Up

Is it just me or has it felt like a long week? It's felt like a long week and yet I don't seem to have done a huge amount. Except colouring in. I've done a lot of colouring in this week.

An awful lot of colouring in.

Apparently I've not changed a huge amount in the last twenty years since the main things I've been up to this week are the same sorts of things I was doing when I was nine. What is is they say about growing older but not growing up?

When I was travelling to Wales I picked up Portable Colour Me Calm which is divided into sections with different themes, so you've got designs inspired by nature, water, geometry and mandalas. They're nice and quick to colour in and I spent half the week wandering round with it and a pack of colouring pencils in my shoulder bag for free moments when I felt a little bit of colouring in was necessary.

As of yesterday morning I've moved on to my Enchanted Forest colouring book. It's so pretty. I'm very keen to get Secret Garden and Lost Ocean (which doesn't come out for a little while yet) but I'm fairly certain Enchanted Forest is going to keep me going for a while yet. Especially as I still have my two colouring books I got for my birthday as well. I think I'm going to need to get some more colouring pencils soon!

It's keeping me from my knitting though. I really need to pick that back up in the coming week. Joseph is currently still armless (though they've been knitted, they're just sitting on my side table waiting to be sewn up. He also needs his hands knitted; once I've done that and his hair it's pretty much done so I have no excuse. Aside from the fact I keep on coming home and getting my colouring pencils out instead of my knitting needles!

In terms of reading, I'm slowly working my way through The Dwarves. It was lent to me by a colleague who thought it would appeal to me. It took a while to get into but now I'm halfway through it, know who all the characters are and more or less know what's going on, I'm enjoying it. It's just it's a monster book and makes my bag really heavy (especially if I've got a colouring book and colouring pencils in there as well). It's also not very comfortable to read in bed. The night before last I was dozing off as I was reading it and kept bopping myself on the nose with it!

It's delaying my next week of the Reading Challenge which I'm hoping to get to by tomorrow. I've got to read a book set in the future, so I'm going with H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, mainly because it's a book I've wanted to read for years but also because it's another one I can get on Project Gutenberg so I can read it on the go on my phone.

I've started seriously gearing up for NaNoWriMo as well. I'm making use of OneNote on my new laptop. It's really handy with the different pages and the fact you can copy stuff from different webpages and it includes the link to where you got it from. It's a little bit like a scrapbook except you can take stuff out and move it around a lot more easily. And it saves on ink from printing things.

Obviously being in a writing sort of mood has put in the right frame of mind for clearing up a little something that was bothering me about my rewrite of Behind the Scenes. That's the story I've been working on since I was about sixteen/seventeen and it's currently in it's third draft (and being heavily expanded). All this time I've had one character always knowing that he was the father of one of my main characters, just this week it occurred to me that maybe he didn't know he was her father.

Suddenly he's become a much more sympathetic character because he's not been hiding this dark secret for the last seventeen years, he's just as surprised as she is when the truth comes out and so they're both muddling around in these new unfamiliar waters together. I'm so proud of my brain for slotting it all into place, even if it does mean that there will need to be changes made in the last ten chapters I've rewritten because I was dropping clue to set up the big reveal that don't need to be there any more.

I'm also a little bit embarrassed to admit that Jeremy Kyle helped with getting those pieces to fall into place. It was on in the canteen at work one day this week and I happened to look up while they were talking about DNA tests. It's been bugging me for a while that my seventeen-year-old character, Abby, would probably have seen her birth certificate naming her actual father. I much prefer him just being 'UNKNOWN' on the paperwork and Jack having his suspicions all along, so deciding to get them tested.

The one problem is, there just aren't enough hours in the day to plan my NaNo, knit, colour in and renew my enthusiasm for Behind the Scenes, so I'm having to sort of prioritise.


At least I'm not short of things to keep myself occupied.