What I learned from “Merlin”

Merlin. A five season show following a loose adaption of the legendary characters King Arthur, the Lady Guinevere, and the great magician Merlin… only before Arthur was king,  before Gwen was a lady and when Merlin was just Prince Arthur’s man servant. Well, Merlin was already a magician, he just had to hid it so he wouldn’t be killed. While being Prince Arthur’s manservant. Tricky, tricky. How he lasted five seasons without being detected is worth a round of applause.

I recently finished the fifth and final season of BBC’s Merlin and I gotta tell you; wow. What a good show. The finale was a punch in the gut, I even teared up near the end (didn’t actually cry, just teared up). And it’s left me a lot to appreciate.

The two character I liked the most were both Merlin and Arthur. Not just because they’re hilarious together but because they were realistic characters. The two start off disliking each other very much but over time they build a solid friendship with plenty of banter between them that made me laugh. But the two of them individuality go through excellent character growth that I greatly appreciated.

We’ll start with Merlin, because he’s my ultimate favorite.

Merlin is an extremely likable character; he’s funny, he’s way smarter then everyone thinks he is, he’s quick to learn, yet he can be clumsy and is not a good liar. He learns to accept his destiny as the the protector of Arthur and uses the magic within him to preserve his master and the kingdom he loves; Camelot. But he’s not perfect, and that’s what makes him a fully rounded, balanced, realistic character.

You know how in most movies, there’s always the cliched young protagonist who ends up going against what some figure of authority or elder has said, to do things his own way and it ends up alright in the end? Well, Merlin is imperfect in that against warnings from his mentor, the court physician Gaius, and the great imprisoned Dragon, he often does things his own way. The awesome thing about this, though, is that writers of this show make Merlin suffer the consequences of his choices.

Merlin, especially through out the first few seasons, does things his way but then later on, whether in a different episode or different season, the consequences of his bad choices come to threaten everything that he’s worked for or holds dear and he regrets going against the wise counsel given him. You don’t see this in most films, do you?

Merlin makes mistakes but he’s also wise and discerning, this baffling Arthur and the other knights who view him as just a clumsy friend to tease. Merlin has a soft heart, he’s kind to all. He becomes very loyal to Arthur and puts his life on the line for him an awful lot, saving his life, or the lives of the noble family many times; often without anyone’s knowledge except Gaius’. He does great things and learns to love doing those things without any self gain or reward. He’s a great title character and we could stand to learn a lot from him.

And Arthur, too; shall we talk about Arthur, now? Lets, because Arthur almost has more character growth then Merlin does.

We meet Arthur as spoiled, very prideful prince. That’s a long ways off from even being similar to legendary character who’s goodness and nobleness of heart made him one of the greatest kings ever. But that’s part of the beauty of this show, in meeting Arthur before he was a great king. We get to see him grow from being selfish and prideful into an extremely self-sacrificing and noble man who puts his kingdom before his pride. He learns to live out excellent skills in leadership and humility. And that was how I learned to love Arthur.

It’s also why I think most men today could stand to watch this show and learn from his example; that the greatest of men are the most humble and self-sacrificing. It was amazing to watch throughout the five seasons as Arthur learned to stand up for what was right, even against his own father the King; to see him humble himself before those he had wronged, including those who were enemies, and literally say, “It was wrong of me.” He made things right, often saving the spilling of blood.

One of the things I like most about Arthur was that when he knew something was wrong but his father, King Uther, was going to do them anyway simply out of pride, he would often stand up and say, “No, this is wrong and I can not do what you ask.” It takes a lot of guts to stand up like that, even to your own father who happens to be the king of Camelot. But Arthur learned to stand up and do the right thing. And I raise my hat to that.

The other thing that I really, really appreciated was that Arthur always kept his word. If he promised someone he would do something, he would do it, even if it was extremely dangerous. This was a great breath of fresh air for me to see someone follow through with his commitments.

By the end of Season Five, Arthur really was the noblest King Camelot would ever see.

There are a lot of other things that I could try to cover but there really is too much to discuss, so I’ll keep this shorter then longer. A few of these will quickly sum up a few things that I just love about the show; besides, I need my moment to share some fangirly stuff, I haven’t really talked about this show on here like I have Sherlock or even Dr Who, and I’ve only seen the first season of the latter.

I need this…

…. I laughed a lot watching this show, it really did help relieve some stress even though it wasn’t supposed to be a comedy.

So, what did I learn from Merlin? You don’t need recognition to do the right thing. The best men are the humblest men. Great leaders are those who put their people ahead of themselves. Give ear to those around you, especially great Dragons who can see the future, they might have some good counsel for you. Always stand up for what is right. You never know what the future holds. Your friends will tease you a lot because they are just that comfortable around you to do so; that’s how you know you are good friends. Never judge a person by their cover, your man servant could be the most powerful sorcerer in existence.  True love always prevails. And embrace your destiny, it was given to you for a reason….

Thank you, Merlin, for finding me when you did. Thanks for being there for me and for setting some noble examples. I greatly appreciated it.

~Jamie

cold body. warm heart.

I saw my first zombie movie about a few weeks ago; Warm Bodies, a pleasing twist to the classic Romeo and Juliet tale told in a dark but comedic way from the zombie’s point of view. Yeah, I know, sounds bizarre but when I first saw the trailer last year I knew I would want to see this movie. It looked clever, funny, dark, sweet and something new. Seriously, it’s a good trailer, watch it here if you want. (It’s also going to be the only place you’ll get from me on a plot summary; so if you want actual plot summary, go find your friend Wiki…)

Well, I went and saw it at a local cheap theater by myself (yes, my Mom knows I went and saw this, she dropped me off, lol) and I loved every minute of it. I’m pretty sure I was the only girl in there, too. lol.

For a film about zombies, who obviously eat people, there was little gore, which I appreciated. There was less language then I expected, only a few s words and one f that slipped in. The romance was not annoying and moved at a realistic pace, which always makes it way more enjoyable to watch. And it was humorous; I was smiling throughout most of the film from R’s commentary. I would agree with the rating of PG-13 for viewer recommendation.

R is my new favorite character right now, besides Merlin and Nick Burkhardt. He was protective of Julie, kept her safe and provided for her. For a zombie, he was quite the gentleman; reassuring, kind, knew when to give her space and time to herself, was never angry at her when she did things her own way and ended up putting herself in danger. And he loved her, and it was this love that began to cure his deadness. But more on him later.

Julie is the link between the zombies and the last of the human race. She is decent character in my opinion because she’s balanced. In a lot of movies, females are often portrayed as two extremities; their either completely dependent on the male hero in that she can’t even stand up on either of her feet and her complete happiness rests on someone else and she’s just useless. Or their completely independent, extremely able to kick-butt while in their high heels and their don’t need anybody for anything. Julie hits the healthy center between these two (both of which are unhealthy for anyone in existence ever.) She’s strong, she’s daring, she can shoot, she’s brave. She also is human. She’s fearfully like anyone else; while she can stand on her own two feet, she learns to except the help R is offering to her. And that’s not a sign of weakness.

The romance was good and pretty clean.  A lot of romances especially based after the Romeo and Juliet structure often have outrageously unrealistic relationships where both sides instantly fall in love and it’s just not believable at all*islookingatWestSideStory* (“instantly falling in love” is often confused with “instantly feeling your chemistry” in a lot of movies; learn to tell the difference between human chemistry and real ‘love’.) While R was instantly attracted to Julie and it’s not really explained how (considering he first sees her during a battle), it still works. Okay, just believe me, it works. However, Julie has a realistic amount of time for her feelings to grow from absolute fear, to curiosity, to being just friends to having real feelings. And R is patient with her; he doesn’t rush things, he waits for her to feel comfortable around him. And the longer they were together, the more human he became.

What was so interesting about this movie was that it wasn’t just one genre. The romance didn’t control the story but it was a large part of the plot. R’s commentary was funny and clever but the film wasn’t a comedy. And it wasn’t a zombie-gore-o-rama blood and guts film; there was little gore but there was some actual plot structure and character growth to it as well. I’m pretty sure that’s missing from a lot of zombie movies.

And the parallels to Romeo and Juliet were fun and different; instead of two warring families, it was humans against zombies. There was even a balcony scene that wasn’t cheesy. There was more at stake for R and Julie then just ‘their feelings’ for each other; there was the recently discovered ‘cure’ for turning the zombies back to humans and that was human love and interaction. Julie ultimately had to make her father (who was the leader of the human resistance) realize that many of them were changing because of what they saw in her and R; it reminded them of something they once had as humans. So, their relationship was actually important and influential; more then just selfish ‘but we’re in love and we want to be together’ crap.

So, that was very appreciated.

Ultimately, the message of the movie was that being alive, being human; life in general, is precious. R, a zombie, knew he was missing something and as he became more alive began to actually feel things that we feel everyday. So, you end up leaving the movie feeling grateful for things that you never thought about before; the fact that you can feel cold, the fact that you can sleep at night and dream your own dreams, that you have memories, and that you can interact and connect with others. That you can feel emotion.

This was excellent for me, because when you’ve gone through very hurtful situations where you feel rejected by those you need the most, the heart ache and hollowness can make you wish that you simply couldn’t feel things anymore. You start wishing that you didn’t have to care about anybody ever again because caring means you will eventually get hurt. And you start to close yourself off from everyone because that’s the only way you can think of to keep from being hurt. Again.

I’ve felt like an emotionally and mentally dead zombie for a while now because I’ve been so hurt but not given a chance to properly heal before getting hurt again. So I just started to feel dull and closed off. Yeah, I’m standing up and eating and moving through the day but the ‘you’ is dead. Like a zombie.

But R helped me appreciate my feelings in general. Life will always hurt, emotions will always be there to confuse me and people will always let me down. But being hurt means being human and being human is one of best things in the world. Because while love can really suck and it can also really heal. Like R, I’m want to start healing, to start changing, to start feeling again. Because being a zombie is both really inconvenient and no fun. If you stay that way, you eventually loose anything that was human about you and become something bitter and twisted, like the Bonies from the film. And there was absolutely nothing redeemable about them.

I know this movie probably wouldn’t appeal to a lot of you, but it means something to me. It’s helped face me towards a road of healing because I emotionally and mentally related to R in many ways. That might sound weird, but I’ve found over the last few years that hope and help come from the strangest places.

So, I highly recommend this film to the appropriate age group. It’s not a film for everyone, but it strangely helped and comforted me. I can’t wait to add it to my DVD collection.

Zombies. Whodathunk?

~Jamie

I’m catching up on a lot…

So, I’ve been watching plenty of movies lately; with everything that’s going on my mom gave me a green light to check out lots of stuff from the library to help serve as a type of distraction (seriously, it’s been really bad, I’ve really needed distractions.) My mom has been really understanding and she’s been driving me back and forth to the library pick up stuff and drop off stuff and all in all I’ve recently been watching a ton of things. And that sounds shallow, but seriously, it’s really helped.

And instead of wiping out my blog with a bunch of long reviews, I’ve decided to do just one post to quickly cover several at a time with my brief thoughts. No, you’re not going to get plot summaries from me, that’s what Wikipedia is for. Haha. Seriously, I’m not a very good at summing up films quickly, so, it’s just not going to work for this post. Yeah. Let Wikipedia be your friend this time.

I’ve been going through a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp stage and dark movies/tv shows in general. I’m also really digging fantasy right now. And Sci-fi. But I’ve been loving sci-fi for over two years now, so that’s not really anything new.

Okay, let’s get started…

Corpse Bride

Gosh, this was a beautiful film; very fun with enchanting, catchy songs, very interesting animation style, and the story was simple but amazing. I usually do not like love triangles, but this one worked out perfectly and in a way that left me completely satisfied. I think around Halloween I’ll be borrowing this one to watch late at night. I also need to find the soundtrack somewhere. Overall: a new favorite animated of mine and nice dark and creepy romance with some great songs.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Okay, I know this adaption wasn’t liked by fans of the old movie, but I have to be honest and admit that I actually really enjoyed this movie. Why? It’s so similar to the book! I grew up with the book, and visuals of this movie, especially in regards to the different rooms of the chocolate factory, were nearly identical to what I pictured in my head as a little girl. THAT’S ALL I’VE EVER ASKED OF A MOVIE. Johnny’s Wonka made me laugh even though he was kinda weird and certainly the book Wonka. The only thing that I really disliked from this movie were the Oompa Loompas; they were very strange, not accurate and their songs did not fit movie. Otherwise, visuals brought a childhood favorite to life. And, heck yes, have no fears, my kids are growing up with the book. I’ll let them decide which movie version they prefer.

Beetlejuice

Oh. my. gosh. What a whacky, dark, creepy, absolutely fun movie this was! This is one of The Doctor’s favorite films and after he explained the plot to me I knew I had to watch it. And I enjoyed it more then I thought I would. The soundtrack is amazing, the couple in the film are so cute, the whole story was very clever. This is for adult viewers, there were a couple bad words throughout and Beetlejuice himself ifs an absolute pervert, so, not recommended for younger viewers, by yours truly. And you need to be a fan of dark, creepy gothic-like movies to actually enjoy this–there, I gave my disclaimers!  I personally really enjoyed this movie and I will own the soundtrack one of these days.

Pirates of the Carribean

You’re not believing that up until a couple weeks ago, I hadn’t seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean Since I was already watching movies with Johnny Depp in them (Charlie, Corpse Bride, and Rango) I went ahead and borrowed all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies from the library. So far, I’ve seen the first two, The Curse of the Black Pearl and Dead Man’s Chest. Loved. both. Curse of the Black Pearl is the best pirate movie ever; even my mom loved it. “Bring me that horizon! Drink up me hearties. Yo ho!” best. ending. ever. Everybody needs to see this movie at least once in their life. And if your up for it, go after the sequels!

Back to the Future

Where has this movie been my whole life? I literally just watched this last night; loved it. Honestly, any movie that deals with time travel and/or seeing how your life can be different by the different choices you make are some of my favorites. I spend more time then I would like to admit thinking about how my own life would be different if I had made different choices when I was younger, if I hadn’t met certain people at certain times or if my parents had made different choices when they were younger or how different everyone else might be if I never existed, “It’s a Wonderful Life” style. Anyway…. this was a really fun find! Had some really great moments and was pretty funny. I’m debating about watching the sequels….

Inkheart

A movie about someone who could read characters right off the pages into the real world? Makes for a super amazing movie. This was thrilling to see as both a writer and a reader of many fictional books of fantasy worlds and I heartily recommend to viewers over twelve. A very, very clever and beautiful fantasy film. It took my breath away. If your a writer or a just a lover of fantasy, this movie has your name written on it.

Okay, the rest of these are tv shows; I know, it’s a lot. But you understand my situation.

Merlin

So, I just started Season Four of Merlin, so it’s about time I say at least something short about this show since I’m nearly done with it… *sobs at the idea* I’ve read the legends and I’ve seen the musical Camelot but I’ve really enjoyed Merlin’s prequel take to the classic tales of King Arthur before he was… well, king. I’ve really enjoyed watching Arthur and Merlin become great friends and Arthur turn from being a selfish prince into a bright glimmer of the great king we all know he would become. And Merlin is absolutely adorable. He reminds me of my cousin Ben; the goofy grin and just his different facial expressions, even in just how he can be underestimated but witty. Overall, I’m loving it and I’m liking the dark feel of Season Four so far.

Grimm

Quick disclaimer right off the bat; this can be more gory then I care for (I’ve watched parts through the cracks of my fingers; less grimacing somehow) and has had some scary, dark moments all throughout the first season (which I just finished). But dark fantasy is something I’m really enjoying right now– so, go figure. Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed this show, I have a long wait till Season Two is released on DVD so until then I will just have to go back and read some of the old familiar Grimm’s Fairytales. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Also, Nick is awesome. Really respect that guy.

Warehouse 13

Yeah, it took me half of Season One to really start liking it. But what can I say, now I’m hooked. Why can’t I just be a Warehouse agent and have a steampunk style gadgets like the Farnsworth and Tesla gun and track down supernatural artifacts to snag, bag and tag? I have to say thank you to Grace for recommending this show on her blog at the perfect time that I was looking for something unique and funny with a little dark and geeky-ness mixed into it. Even though a couple of characters annoy me a little *coughcough-Claudia-coughcough* I’ve still really enjoyed the show and I’m going to make Kayla watch it some time. By the way, I really Myka, and Pete has made me laugh pretty hard. And Artie is priceless. Why can’t I have Artie for an uncle, I would listen to him talk about artifacts all day. So… yeah, I’m looking forward to starting Season Three and seeing where the rest of this show goes…

Once Upon a Time

Fairy tale adaptions have never been so good. I don’t know about guys, but I think all girls would love this show, even you girls who think only action movies are you thing. Okay, this show is classic but dark with some amazing twists on these classic characters who are trapped in everyday life with no knowledge that they are the famous fairytale characters because of the curse of the evil queen with only one person there who can save them. This is pretty much the show that tipped me into adoring dark fantasy adaptions. Dresses are to die for, there’s awesome sword play and cape action and suspense and destiny and everything that’s needed for a good old fashioned fairytale with a modern twist. I convinced my Mom to give it a try and she loved it. We’re both slowly dying for Season Two to be released on DVD.’

So, what’s on my to-be-watched-soon list?

Only, like, The Matrix and Eagle Eye and National Treasure and At Worlds End and more Merlin and I’m going to give the first season of Castle a try. Yeah, I’m excited. And I get to do all this in my new bedroom. Talk about a new comfort zone.

Oh, while I’m thinking about it, any movie recommendations from you guys; movies or tv shows that I just have to see, because now is the time that I’m going to most likely have the time to actually check them out. Don’t be shy, I want to hear your recommendations.

~Jamie

PS. Thanks Mom for letting me indulge more then usual and for all the drives to and from the library, I’ve really apprecated it. And I’m glad you like Once Upon a Time and Curse of the Black Pearl. I hope you like Psych.

The Doctor and I

So, The Doctor and I are finally reading Sherlock Holmes again after several week’s break and it’s awesome.

Sorry, did you just ask, who’s the Doctor?

….I just laughed way too hard….

I know most of you know The Doctor as a BBC actors playing a time traveler who hops through time and space in a blue box called the Tardis while saving the world from all sorts of disaster; he has great hair, wears classy clothes, is full of witty comments and usually has a couple of traveling companions behind his elbows.

Well, I know The Doctor. And I’m going to explain now how I know The Doctor so you all don’t ask me in the comments what I’m talking about whenever I mention I’m doing something with “The Doctor”.

My best friend Dylan is one of the hugest, most enthusiastic Whovians I know. And every once in a while he’ll just shout in a British accent, “I’M THE DOCTOR” at the most random times. Most recently we’ve gotten to have excited conversations about saving the world and sonic screwdrivers and time travel. It’s simply another thing that we both mutually love; ever since we met nearly two years ago we’ve had a lot in common and have been inseparable partners in everything for all that time. We’re the freaking duo Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson; I have his back and I know he has mine and he’s pretty much one of the few guys I’ve met who’s not a jerk. To make this short, through books and many situations that have given us a chance to build mutual, unbroken trust in one another, we’ve become best friends. And we recently become another freaking duo, of yes, you guessed it, The Doctor and companion. However, he had the idea that anytime I mention him here on my blog, I should just refer to him as The Doctor. This is frankly the most hilariously fun idea ever. And I’m actually going to seriously do this.

From now on, whenever I mention my best friend, I will be calling him The Doctor. And you will get used to it.

Will this be confusing? Well, here’s how it’s going to work. There’s going to be The BBC Doctors, with their names, Chris, Tennant, and Matt. You’ll know I’ll be talking about them because I’ll always say, “The BBC Doctors” before beginning to talk.

And there will be The Doctor. The Real Doctor, my best friend. Because on the inside, he really is a young time traveler at both hearts. Seriously, he’s got his own awesome hair style, he’s pretty much the wittiest guy I know and he even knows how to tie bow ties. He could literally be the next regeneration of The Doctor, Doctor Twelve. But to me, he’s just The Doctor.

Before anybody asks, yes, it’s awesome knowing The Doctor. I’m not sure which companion I am most like but it doesn’t matter. This Doctor reads books with me. Speaking of which, did I mention we’re back to reading Sherlock Holmes? We’re almost done with that 1,000 paged collection of Arther Conan Doyle’s stories on my favorite detective. I don’t know what we’re going to do when we get to the end and we’re done. A piece of me just might die. I suppose we’ll just hitch a ride on the Tardis back to the early 19th century together after we’ve finished it; I’m going to find Doyle and plant the idea of Sherlock in his head and The Doctor will probably stop some Daleks from taking over England, which will ensure that Doyle will be able to write about Sherlock in the first place. It’s going to be awesome.

….oh my gosh….

Just now… I just came up with that plot idea for the time traveling story I’ve been trying to make work in my head, right there above. Wow, my gosh, it all came to me just like that. This is awesome, this post wins the ‘helping me figure things out just like that’ award. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.

And…. I’m rambling now. Great. This post needs to be wrapped up.

Oh. I’m sorry. Did I forget to mention I’ve seen the first season of the Dr Who reboot? Forgive my forgetfulness of mentioning how my sister and I became Whovians over two months ago. And yes, you can expect a review on Season One and Eccleston’s Doctor in the near future…. that is if I don’t get caught up in time traveling this week…….

…. I have a Sherlock Holmes short story to start.

~Jamie

PS. Just because I’m a little curious, I’d like to ask my fellow Whovians, who have seen more of the show then I, what companion do you think I’m most like, just from reading my blog? I’d really like to know your opinion *is looking at James expectingly* *grin*

Sherlock Season Three Filming Has Begun!!!

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?! IT’S THE 18TH TODAY!

*My Happy Reaction*

If I wasn’t going to be so busy today, I would totally bake a cake and ice it saying, “SHERLOCK SEASON THREE FILMING HAS BEGUN!” When I am finished writing this post I am going to go text Kayla in all caps with this joyous news.

I am so excited, and unless you’ve seen the show yourself, you will really not understand how excited. You really won’t know what this means!? It means we are one step closer to learning how Sherlock did it! We are one step closer to three more episodes! We are one step closer to getting some new pictures of Benedict and Martin in character! One step closer to the continuation for one of the best Sherlock Holmes adaptions EVER!

I think it’s about time I break down and start looking for a proper Sherlock Holmes t-shirt to add to my collection of fandom shirts (just this past Saturday I got my first Toy Story shirt–It has Buzz Lightyear on it and no I am not embarrassed about liking the Toy Story trilogy. But moving on.)  I already have a pipe from my sister (which has the initial S on it) I own and have read nearly all the stories outside of one set of short stories and when it’s cold enough I tie my scarf like Sherlock. If only I could pull off the witty comments without sounding like either a complete failure or a jerk, that would be awesome. But a shirt and even a poster to add to my wall of fandom would be amazing. When I move into my new room I plan on putting “221b” on my door so I can pretend I’m living on Baker Street.

I’m a serious Sherlockian, people, if you haven’t noticed.

In summary, thank God Almighty they have finally begun filming. Can I hear a amen from my fellow Sherlockians, now?!

~Jamie

PS and yes, YAY for Doctor Who, too! I know all my Whovian friends are also dying right now, I am also very happy for you as well!