Soledad's Journal

So, I watched Independence Day 2 last night. TBH, I wasn't terribly impressed. But that's always the thing with sequels, isn't it? You're already familiar with the situation, you've already seen the monsters, so the tension is out of the whole thing and - unless you like the main characters very much - there's little reason to watch it at all.

I liked the original part well enough. Sure, it was more CGI than anything else, the plot was older than Moses and the solution completely unbelievable, but at least it was fun and didn't take itself too seriously. I don't even like Will Smith that much, but I laughed myself to tears when he slugged the carcass of the alien across the desert. The sequel was simply boring - a pale copy of the original, without a funny central character and the totally unoriginal addition of an alien Queen. Why do all aliens have a hive mind and a Queen that supposedly orchestrates their actions from the background? And they drilled so deep into the earth that nearly reached the planet core but caused neither volcano outbreaks nor earthquakes? Oh, please. I'd love to see a sci-fi flick that actually has at least a morsel of science in it!

This year I got two lovely Christmas gifts from my friends: the book The Fall of Gondolin from the_wild_iris and paid LJ time from my dear mirasaui. Thank you, my lovelies, and I'm really ashamed that I didn't send out any Christmas gifts, not even cards. My only excuse is that I had a really, really hectic time this year, what with retiring and the fair and all that. I think I'll have to atone myself with Easter cards and gifts, that's a much calmer time for me. ;))

On domestic matters, I finally brought up the energy to clean out one of the very small cabinets - a bedside table, actually, with a mere two shelves. I sorted the old magazines and story notes and whatnot, and the rubbish filled an entire bin and took me half the day. I'm scared of the thought how much work it would be to do the same to the book cabinet that fills two whole walls, and yet it has to be done eventually. *sigh*

Other than that, we're both doing a bit better. I hope this frigging cold has finally run its circles and will go away.

No, I'm not going to rant about Peter Jackson and what he did with Tolkien's world... this time. *g*

I'm discussing BDSM behind the tag (in connection with films), so if that's not your cup of tea you should stop reading, now.
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Of course, it is never easy to adapt for the big screen a story that is based so much on an inner voice, but still, it was all terribly flat, kitchy and boring. Much more than in my memory.

The film finally got out on DVD, so I bought it on the spot. Despite the fact that Peter Jackson's interpretation is lightyears away from mine, I admired Martin Freeman's acting a great deal, so I decided that it would be worth the investition.

Having the film on DVD has the advantage that I cold fast-forward the gratutious fighting scenes (honestly, who needs to see the same punch fom six different angles) and that I could watch it in 2D, without the annoying 3D effects and having another pair of glasses perched over the ones I already have to wear.
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Oh, and by the way - in an attempt of self-destructive madness, I ventured to the Hobbit section of FF.Net. Yeah, I know, curiosity killed the cat. I thought it couldn't be any worse than a LOTR-section after the first movie came out. Guess what? I was wrong. It's full of 'modern girl falls into ME'- Mary Sues, female!Bilbo insanity, Bilbo raised by Dwarves stupidity, Darwen incest of the worst sort, modern AUs where everyone is human and various other atrocities. I was never so relieved as when I found Dreamflower's drabble.

And we still have two other movies coming to spread the insanity. *headdesk*

Today, I finally broke and bought "The Pillars of the Earth" on DVD, after all. Consiering that I didn't like the book in the first place, it was perhaps a bold step - but I absolutely adore Rufus Sewell, so I couldn't let the chance to have him in an important medieval role slip. Even if his character does get killed off. Which was one of the reasons why I disliked the book. The other one being that the author so obviously enjoyed describing how women were abused and mistreated. Stupid, mysogynic fart!

Anyway, I bought it mainly because of Rufus Sewell, but also for the historic period, which is the same as of the Cadfael Chronichles. Besides, Sarah Parrish plays in it, too, and I like her very much.

Saw The Village yesterday on German TV. Gah, was that a stupid film! I liked the atmosphere and the mystery at the beginning, but when the so-called "secret" was revealed, I could scream in frustration. A shame, really; and I was so looking forward to see a well-made monster movie again. *sigh*

I watched "Prince Caspian" on German TV yesterday. To my surprise - I found the books terrible infantile and boring, though I gave them a hones try and read them in three different languages, hoping to find out where their charm lies - I liked it a lot. So, perhaps I will buy the DVDs - the local supermarket sells them as a boxed edition. I mean, good fantasy films are so rare, I need to build a good stock. *g*

Also, I watched some of the "Star Trek - Phase II" fanvids on YouTube lately. They are really good. In any case every bit as good plot-wise as the original series. Granted, the actors are amateurs, and it shows (although the guy playing Kirk gets the Shatner mannerisms down to the iota), but the special effects are good, and the whole thing clearly is made with love. I wish I didn't have to watch them on the computer screen - my eyes don't appreciate it - but one of them from time to time will do, I guess.

Edit: Went looking for the Narnia movies. They were sold out. Typical.

Edit #2: Found the first three movies as a boxed edition in the Alexandra bookshop. Watched "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" today. Liked it quite a lot.

I tried to watch it on PRO7 a couple of days ago, mostly because I wanted to know what some of my online friends are often talking about.

I regretfully admit I didn't even make half-through it. It was just too boring for me. And none of the human characters were lieable enough to suffer through the rest. Please, guys, don't lynch me!!! I'm probably just too old for this stuff. *ducks from flying rotten tomatoes*

On a different note, I've just realized that Tom Milligan, Martha Jones' almost-fiancé in Doctor Who, was played by the same actor (Tom Ellis) as King Cenred in Merlin. Go figure.

He's sizzling hot in both roles - although I feel sorry for him to have give up Martha Jones for Morgause. Yes, I'm shallow, why do you ask?

Someone sent me a virtual gift to cheer me up: an adorable baby otter. Go to my profile and give it a pat - it's so very cute. So, whoever you are, anonymous benefactor, thank you!

Ventured into "Alexandra" today, which is the biggest bookshop in our proximity. Got DVDs. Yeah, I know - what's new? But these were important DVDs. One of them the Bakshi animated movie "The Lord of the Rings"; I already had it on videotape, but with Hungarian dubbing - now I can watch it in English.

The other one is "Excalibur", with Nigel Terry playing Arthur. It's a film I saw as a young girl and wanted to find ever since. Now, after all those years, it's finally mine. And it even has English subtitles! Yay!

Not all Hungarian-made DVDs have; the Torchwood first season doesn't have any, and neither does the New Who Series One with Christopher Eccleston, the one I bought in Vienna. I don't know why the Germans didn't gave us subtitles, either. Sometimes the actors are not easy to understand, especially for a non-native speaker. Oh, well, at least the British take us stupid foreigners under consideration. Or, most likely, their own people with hearing problems.

My Toshiko bunny spawned again. *sighs* As if I didn't have enough unfinished stories. But such the life of a writer.

... or, in other words, Christmas is approaching seriously. I've baked the last batch of cookies last night - now I've 12 different sorts and done with baking for Christmas. It's a really handy thing, these German recepies: you can do your cooking weeks before the actual feast and have time for the more pressing tasks right before Christmas.

Also, Christmas prezzies are snowing in (pardon the pun; looks out of the window warily at the steady snowfall). First came Merlin's Series Three, Part one, courtesy of the wonderful and generous the_wild_iris. Followed by rcfinch's present, a movie titled The Discovery of Heaven. I never heard of it before, but the summary sounds intriguing. Will watch it when I'm a tiny bit less brain-dead. Then, in this very morning, shiny-sparkly SF magazines arrived, sent by my good friend lhun_dweller. Since I have nothing domestic more to do for the rest of the day, I'll spread out on the sofa and indulge myself. *g*

Tomorrow, we're going to Vienna with a few colleagues. Hopefully, the weather will co-operate, at least to a certain extent, as Mum is coming with us, of course. We haven't seen the Vienna Christmas Markets for many days, I hope it will be fun. Weather-wise, I mean. It will be fun in any other aspect.

Oh, and have I mentioned that it's snowing? I hope atmospheric disturbances won't hinder me in watching Sherlock Holmes on Tele5 tonight. It would be the first time that I'd see Gareth David-Lloyd in any other role than Torchwood's enigmatic Ianto Jones; I'm very curious what he's like as Dr. Watson.

Edit: I gave up on the Sherlock Holmes movie after the first hour. It was boring; plus, the background music was so loud I could only understand every tenth word of whatever dialogue was doing on. Very crappy dubbing, I'd say.

GDL has an interesting look with wavy, collar-length hair. But a moustache isn't really his thing, IMO.

I felt a bit down due to yesterday's news, plus I had two hours between the end of work and the teachers' conference that ruined my otherwise half-free afternoon (and I only have two of those in the entire week!), so I decided to spend some money. It always helps.

So I treated myself to a decent meal in a nearby self-selving restaurant (the_wild_iris and rcfinch could give testimony that it's a good place indeed), and then I hit the bookshop next to it.
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Our choir is also starting to rise from the ashes. We've got quite a few new pieces this year, some of them very loverly.