Movies That Everyone Must See

There are few movies that can be labeled a "must-see." But here are some that everyone, no matter what walks of life they come from, should watch at least once in thier lives.

The Lord of the Rings
You saw this coming, didn't ya? A classic tale of good vs. evil, resisting temptation, and that no victory can come without sacrifice.

War Horse
To quote a good friend: "I never understood war until I saw War Horse." Without being grusome it portrays war in a sobering way, and also shows that light can shine through the worst of struggles.

How to Train Your Dragon
Undoubtedly the best animated movie ever made. (Sorry, Pixar.) A great message about loyalty and what it means to be yourself.

Up
Poignant and funny, this movie helps us find the child in all of us.

The Sound of Music
A classic story set against WWII Austria. No other reasons except...well...It's The Sound of Music.

It's A Wonderful Life
The first great movie. A fantasic moral and watchable all year round. (As a plus, James Stewart!)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Quotes Part 1

Picture by David Vargo
"But he hasn't said thank you at all!" said Hestia indignantly. "He only said he didn't think Harry was a waste of space!"
"Yeah, but coming from Dudley that's like an 'I love you'," said Harry, torn between annoyance and a desire to laugh as Aunt Petunia continued to clutch at Dudley as if he had just saved Harry from a burning building.

"In short: Pius Thicknesse thinks he's got you cornered good and proper."
Harry could not help but agree with the unknown Thicknesse.

"I won't blast people out of my way just because they're there," said Harry. "That's Voldemort's job."

"Harry, he's taking over the Ministry and the newspapers and half the Wizarding world! Don't let him inside your head too!"

"The sooner this wedding's over, the happier I'll be."
"Yeah," said Harry, "then we'll have nothing to do except find Horcruxes...It'll be like a holiday, won't it?"

"Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?" asked Scrimgeour.
"No, I'm not," retorted Hermione. "I'm hoping to do some good in the world!"

"You may wear that scar like a crown, Potter, but it is not up to a seventeen-year-old boy to tell me how to do my job! It's time you learned some respect!"
"It's time you earned it," said Harry.

The letter was an incredible treasure, proof that Lily Potter had lived, really lived, that her warm hand had once moved across this parchment, tracing into these letters, these words, words about him, Harry, her son.

"You got it?" shouted Ron, raising himself a little higher on his pillows. "No one tells me anything! Blimey, you could have mentioned it!"
"Well, we were running for our lives from Death Eaters, weren't we?" said Hermione.

The life he had lost had hardly ever seemed so real to him as at this moment, when he knew he was about to see the place where it had been taken from him.

The sun was coming up: The pure, colorless vastness of the sky stretched over him, indifferent to him and his suffering.

"Look what he asked from me, Hermione! Risk your life, Harry! And again! And again! And don't expect me to explain everything, just trust me blindly, trust that I know what I'm doing, trust me even though I don't trust you! Never the whole truth! Never!"

"You've sort of made up for it tonight," said Harry. "Getting the sword. Finishing off the Horcrux. Saving my life."
"That makes me sound a lot cooler than I was," Ron mumbled.
"Stuff like that always sounds cooler than it really was," said Harry. "I've been trying to tell you that for years."

"Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback."
"Wait," said Bellatrix sharply. "All except…except for the Mudblood."
Greyback gave a grunt of pleasure.
"No!" shouted Ron. "You can have me, keep me!"
Bellatrix hit him across the face; the blow echoed around the room.
"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," she said. "Blood traitor is next to Mudblood in my book."

Score, Anyone?

I love the Tangled soundtrack.
There's no getting past it--Alan Menken is a genius at coming up with catchy tunes with clever twists.
But the main reason I adore the soundtrack is the score. I can't help but feel that Mr. Menken is underappreciated in that department.
I mean, I absolutely adore the songs that the characters sing. But my main loves are the the instrumental ones on the soundtrack. Because who doesn't love "Kingdom Dance"? It was actually the song that--when I saw a clip for it--made me decide that "Hey, this movie might not be so bad. I may actually go see it."
And "Waiting for the Lights" is stunning, and "The Tear Heals" is utterly climatic.
My absolute favorite, however, has to be "Campfire". It's so beautiful, so romantic, and reminds me slightly of the works of James Newton Howard.

So, I just thought I'd get a little love for the score out there. It really is splendid.

Concerning Hobbits

I saw this last month on theonering.net.

Just thought I'd share it:)

Dorky Cover; Ripping Good Tale

The Sword of Shannara

by Terry Brooks

I opened this up and began reading disinterestedly.

I finished it and claimed it a masterpiece of Fantasy, and one of my favorite books ever written.

I wasn't expecting it, but The Sword of Shannara stole my heart. Over a course of six days I looked forward eagerly to continue to embroil myself in the lives of the characters and intricate plots. It's a seven-hundred-page book, but I soaked it up like a sponge, it was so riveting.

But it didn't start out that way.
I picked it up expecting a Lord of the Rings rip-off. The beginning was a mite slow, but once the characters got out of Culhaven things started to pick up.
And I mean really pick up.

Half-man, half-elf Shea Ohmsford is unextraordinary in every way, living a safe life in the town of Shady Vale. But then the Druid Allanon appears, telling him that he has a destiny--as the last heir of the Elven king Jerle Shannara--to save the races from a powerful, returning enemy.
Shea is caught up in a quest for the legendary Sword of Shannara, the only thing that can defeat the Warlock Lord--and even then, only in his hands.
But Allanon isn't telling him everything. And every quest member has a struggle of their own...

The plot was intricate, but not confusing. At the end of the story I literally gasped aloud at a revelation within the story. And the characters...Each of them had their own lesson to learn, and each of them changed. Even the grim, forbidding Allanon changed.
I also loved the moral of the story about truth, and standing up against evil even if you stand alone.
There was everything! Humour, despair, romance, battles...Goodness me.
Naturally, it wasn't flawless, but I really adored reading it.

That said, it's a ripping good adventure, and I recommend it for anyone who likes hardcore fantasy.

Favorite Line: "Now don't tell me that you have any foolish ideas about trailing us and trying to get the gems back? That would spoil a very nice relationship because I'd have to cut your ears off..."

Objectionable Content: It is mentioned that some of the races have false gods, but it describes these as fake imaginings of pagan minds.

Related Reads:
The Lord of the Rings-J.R.R. Tolkien
Beyonders-Brandon Mull
Redwall-Brian Jacques

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Quotes II

"What is Dumbledore up to?" said Scrimgeour brusquely. "Where does he go when he is absent from Hogwarts?"
"No idea," said Harry.
"And you wouldn't tell me if you knew," said Scrimgeour, "would you?"
"No, I wouldn't," said Harry.
"Well, then, I shall have to see whether I can't find out by other means."
"You can try," said Harry indifferently. "But you seem cleverer than Fudge, so I'd have thought you'd have learned from his mistakes. He tried interfering at Hogwarts. You might have noticed he's not Minister anymore, but Dumbledore's still headmaster. I'd leave Dumbledore alone, if I were you."
There was a long pause.
"Well, it is clear to me that he has done a very good job on you," said Scrimgeour, his eyes cold and hard behind his wire-rimmed glasses. "Dumbledore's man through and through, aren't you, Potter?"
"Yeah, I am," said Harry. "Glad we straightened that out."

"This isn't how we imagined handing over our present," said George grimly, putting down a large wrapped gift on Ron's bedside cabinet and sitting beside Ginny.
"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," said Fred.

"They're the Montgomery sisters and of course they don't look happy, didn't you hear what happened to their little brother?"
"I'm losing track of what's happening to everyone's relatives, to be honest," said Ron.

"Voldemort himself created his worst enemy, just as tyrants everywhere do! Have you any idea how much tyrants fear the people they oppress? all of them realize that, one day, amongst their victims, there is one who rises against them and strikes back! Voldemort is no different!"

"He hated my Dad like he hated Sirius! Haven't you noticed, Professor, how the people Snape hates tend to end up dead?"

"It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness, nothing more."

Would he be responsible, again, for the death of a friend?

"I got the idea of poisoning the mead from the Mudblood Granger as well, I heard her talking in the library about Filch not recognizing potions."
"Please do not use that offensive word in front of me," said Dumbledore.
Malfoy gave a harsh laugh. "You care about me saying 'Mudblood' when I'm about to kill you?"
"Yes, I do," said Dumbledore, and Harry saw his feet slide a little on the floor as he struggled to remain upright.

"I'm the one with the wand...You're at my mercy..."
"No, Draco," said Dumbledore quietly. "It is my mercy, and not yours, that matters now."

The woman gave an angry little titter. "Think your little jokes'll help you on your deathbed then?" she jeered.
"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore.

"You have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?"
"That's right," said Fenrir Greyback. "Shocks you that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?"
"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," said Dumbledore.

It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated...