It seems as if everyone in Los Angeles came or stayed in the area because of their dream to be in the industry. One of my colleagues at the gym is an actor and screenwriter, but when I told him that I was going to see April and the Twisted World, he claimed that animated films aren’t really his thing. Well, Hungry & Fit are fascinated with animated films, but our fascination rocketed to a whole new level with this somewhat dark and comical animated treasure.
The Greyjoys.
Recently, as I was driving through LA, I saw this apple TV banner. While I haven’t watched Game of Thrones since the end of the first season came out live, I’ve heard a lot about it from others. Since we read the books before the TV series was out, we were shocked to find out they were making a series in the first place. No one else knew what A Song of Ice and Fire was since it came out in the early 90s. I can’t imagine there were too many people out there that were more excited about this show than us.
Mr. Lucas gets a lot of hate ever since he created the subpar Star Wars prequels (in my humble opinion). Sometimes, I feel the same hatred when I see some of the writing and lack of direction and think about how they kind of tainted the backstory of the originals. Yet…we must remember that he is the Master of this universe, despite how some of us think he spun some of it into garbage. George Lucas has seen so much scorn it is said that he avoids the internet where trolls await. He has also turned somewhat bitter in the process, but can you blame him? However, at the end of the day, George Lucas should be proud.
*Spoilers about Creed coming up*
Creed was extremely predictable, as it followed the patterns set forth in the original Rocky movie. By doing so, it was a successful film and almost unarguably the best since the first two. (I know some of you, myself included, have a certain love for the fourth.) Before the final match even began, we all knew that Pretty Ricky was going to secure a victory by decision, but Adonis would earn his respect and give him the fight of his life in the process. Rocky himself foreshadowed it by saying that Apollo was the better boxer during his lone victory over the GOAT, but his heart pulled him through.
It’s that time of the year and at this point, you’re already three weeks into ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas. There are the classics like A Christmas Story, Home Alone, Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and A Miracle on 34th Street. There are amazing animations including The Polar Express and The Year Without a Santa Clause. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is a staple in almost every home and some people even share a laugh over Jingle All the Way and Fred Claus. Then you have those people whose favorite Christmas movie is Batman Returns or Harry Potter just because of the short scenes that time of the year in Gotham or at Hogwarts. Let’s not forget about Die Hard either.
As I sit in bed at 1:30 am after watching the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I am filled with many different thoughts, feelings, and emotions. As you know, I did my best to avoid trailers, billboards, or spoilers of any kind. Star Wars is a universe near and dear to my heart. I was very excited to see the movie (hype that was dramatized even more so due to our theater sucking and delaying the screening) and definitely want to see it again. Here I will share my very first, brief thoughts and feelings regarding the new film. There will be no spoilers beyond things you have already seen in trailers. My apologies for the disorganized scatter of thoughts below.
Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan, you KNOW that the new Star Wars movie is coming out this week. It’s all over the news, the face of any possible medium of advertisement, and if you have any friends, they’ve probably mentioned it. The world is buzzing. It’s a monumental week.
Have you ever seen Secret of Kells? It’s a wonderful story told through brilliant animation unfolding Irish mythology. Its animation, graphics, music draw you in like little other animations do. Its rich story is told through an enchanting way that makes you love the characters and simply get lost in the “scenery.” The creators of Secret of Kells recently came out with a new movie: Song of the Sea, another story concerning Irish mythology, this time of a selky. As soon as I saw that GKIDS (the movie company) was coming out with another movie, I jumped on the opportunity to see it. With the same rich animation, I knew it would be worth seeing on the big screen. Luckily we have the Nuart theatre who is playing the movie all week. We ate at the Red Tiger and went to the theatre early for good seats and some popcorn.
Our dinner and a movie!
For me, the entertainment value was high. The animation, again like in Secret of Kells, was magical and enchanting. The voice actors and actresses were spot on in capturing a small family in a remote part of Ireland. I particularly loved Saoirse, the little girl who the movie focuses on. Her sweetness and pure wonder makes the world blossom for you as it does for her. You didn’t get to know the characters very well, but that is also how Secret of Kells is. It doesn’t draw too much away from the movie, but it would be nice to have a morsel more of information. However, the characters all have their quirks that make you smile because they are simply them. I didn’t like it as much as Secret of Kells, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
This movie deserves some Oscars. The layers and depths of the animation in this movie is hard to wrap the mind around, let alone describe in words. As the journey unfolds, there are multiple patterns of animation going on all around the screen. The animators use the graphics and drawings to reveal more about the story and the world without using characters to tell it. I find it absolutely remarkable. It is transfixing and your breath catches when you watch it.
If there were two “X-Factors” of this movie, it would be the animation and the music. You know about the animation, seeing as I have gone on and on about it, but the music is also part of the enchantment. With the music and animation partnered hand-in-hand, you are transported into another world of mythology and wonder. The animation is incredibly unique in style. The music has roots in the Irish culture (which is already a winner for me). The music is full of song, melody, and rhythm. It sways you and brings you along for the journey.
Hungry and Fit gives this movie a big thumbs up. If you’re in the Los Angeles area or in an area playing this movie, go see it on the big screen. The music and animation are worth it enough. Get ready to be transported into a world of Irish mythology and a child’s journey to discovering who she truly is. Enjoy Song of the Sea and prepare to have your breath taken away. And as always, stay hungry and fit!
Hungry and I are creative people. We use our creative juices and energy to create ideas, stories, concepts, and so on. With creativity, comes the need for inspiration. Lately, I haven’t been as creative as I’ve once been. I’m not writing much (besides blogging) and I don’t feel that pull to create, even though I know it would be wonderful once I start. Sometimes the best way to do it is just to start, period. However, there are other ways as well.
This past weekend, we FINALLY saw the last installment of The Hobbit movie series. We were a little late on seeing it because of conflicting busy schedules and whatnot. The Lord of the Rings trilogy on both paper and screen holds an incredibly special place in our hearts and minds. Even though The Hobbit movie series isn’t as good as the book (duh) or doesn’t come close to the Lord of the Rings movies, we still appreciate and enjoy Peter Jackson’s heart and humor. How pure Bilbo can be in the face of greed, danger, and death and how brave and understanding Gandalf can be after all things.
As I watched, I got a twang of inspiration from the whole thing as a picture. The backdrop, the setting, the story, the characters, the heart, the battles–everything. Someone had thought of all this, someone had created this entire world, this entire story. You become inspired by a hobbit’s willing to risk the worst in order to help others, to watch good triumph evil, to see what really lies beneath people’s actions. It was a wonderful stroke of inspiration that made me want to go create my own stories and my own characters.
We don’t just watch movies because we enjoy them. We don’t just go to the movies for the popcorn, candy, and drinks. We go to the movies because they inspire us. They make us appeal to greater things and strive higher to become who we want to be. This may not apply to Love Actually (though, love can be a wonderful muse) or comedies, but next time you’re at the movies, really think about it. Let yourself become open to the experience and try to draw some inspiration from the story, the characters, the setting and see what happens. And as always, stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: What movie inspires you?
BONUS PUPPY PIC
Noke being a silly sleeper
Today, for Veteran’s Day, I was lucky enough to have off. Plus, today was Chris’ late day which meant we had the entire first half of the day together which was nice. After a fun, sleepy arms workout, we went to a morning showing of Big Hero 6, a movie we’ve been eagerly looking forward to. The movie is based on of a Marvel comic of a team of superheroes. Although the movie diverts quite a bit from the comic, it still has its roots in the comic. I had never read the comic, so that didn’t affect my movie experience. Overall, we really enjoyed Big Hero 6 and would encourage anyone to see it!
The movie starts out with a young teenager, Hiro (our leading character), his brother, and their aunt. The parents died when Hiro was three and we don’t learn much more than that. Hiro graduated high school when he was 13 (he’s a genius) and has done nothing since “bot-fighting” since then. Bot-fighting is an illegal gambling sport where two people put their small bots to fight each other for money, but Hiro is very good at it. His brother wants him to do more with his brains and takes him to his “nerd lab” where his brother and his colleagues are inventing amazing things. Hiro is inspired by all that he sees (from super-lasers to super-magnets to super-carbon and beyond), but especially so by his brother’s invention, Baymax. Baymax is an adorable health care robot trying to serve those who need help. Hiro wants to join the school so in order to be accepted, he needs to showcase something incredible. He creates an absolutely amazing invention (Chris and I don’t think people appreciated enough how epic and awesome it is) and skipping a handful of scenes, his invention lands in the wrong hands. This leads to the necessity of gathering the Big Hero 6 team together and making things right.
I won’t spoil any more of the plot than that, but–trust me–it’s good. The cast is fantastic. Some big names include Alan Tudyk and Maya Rudolf (personal favorites) and everyone played their character so very well. I wasn’t expecting how “emotional” it was going to be. Not that I was tearing up every other minute, but that despite being a kid’s movie and a Marvel movie, it really told a true story of human attachment and loss. That was probably my favorite part of the movie and why I liked it so much. It made you understand and feel for the characters. That was a really great part of it and I’m glad they took the time to craft that delicately. The characters themselves are great (my favorite is the Aunt played by Maya Rudolf and Baymax played by Scott Adsit). Baymax is just the best–you want to squeeze him to death. The humor is spot on and you will find yourself grinning and laughing on the regular with this one.
Another great component (though not necessarily major component) of the movie is the lesson it teaches. While I was watching the movie, I kept thinking “these people are so incredibly themselves.” I believe this movie teaches kids (and adults, for that matter) to be yourself whoever that may be and thrive doing so. If you’re a crazy-about-pink-talks-miles-a-second kind of person, be that person. If you love everyone around you and are not afraid to show what you love, do that. It really encouraged everyone to just be them and not hide the brilliant fact that they are them.
The animation and effects were wonderful, but who would suspect anything less from Disney and Pixar. Everything was beautiful and crisp. You really felt as if you were with Hiro, running and flying around to save the day. It was interesting and fascinating that they combined San Francisco and Tokyo–made for a unique setting. The sounds were spot on and kept you reeled in as the adventure unfolded. There was a plot hole that bothered us, but in the end, it didn’t really matter. Hungry and Fit give a big thumbs up on this one. Never quit being yourself and put that brain to use! As always, stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: What did you think of Big Hero 6?
BONUS PUPPY PIC
