Sunday, February 28, 2010

Avatar the movie

10 Questions on Avatar
1. Why can't the humans convert the unbreathable air in Pandora into oxygen?
2. What happens to the "dragon" that the main character rides after he jumps off its body and starts to control the rook?
3. Why are the Pandorians so spiritual?
4. How do the Pandorians grow so tall?
5. Why don't the humans use cruise missiles or long-range missiles to destroy the scared tree?
6. Are there the 4 seasons on Pandora?
7. If the humans can master space travel, why haven't their wood cutting technologies improve?
8. Where do the humans get their electricity to power their spaceships and buildings?
9. What do the humans need the uranium for?
10. If man can turn humans into Avatars, why can't they just turn the Pandorians into humans?

Thoughts/ Feelings about Avatar
I feel that Avatar has a mind boggling story line. In the beginning, I did not understand what the story is about until the main character was sent on a undercover mission and act as one of the Pandorians in his Avatar. I did not understand why the humans were trying to do at the start and also why the Pandorians kept using the term "Eywa" until near the end of the movie, where I finally understood that it was referring to the wise spirits in Pandora. I could only fully understand this movie near the end. I feel that this movie is a little bit far-fetched as travelling to another solar system takes a few hundered light years so it will take a very long time for humans to master space travel and i feel bad for the humans who were defeated when they are sent back to the near-dead Earth(after men's act of pollution and deforestion) as I think that the general of the army is the only "bad guy" and that the other soldiers are only listening to his command, so they should be given the choice of returning or staying.

Percy Jaclson and the Lightning thief

10 differences between book and movie:
1. In the movie, the pen transformed into riptide, a sword, when Percy clicked the pen. However in the book, the pen transformed into riptide only when Percy uncapped the pen.
2. In the movie, Percy, Annabeth and Grover searched around the United States to find the three pearls. Whereas in the book, the three pearls were given to Percy by a Nereid, a spirit of the sea.
3. In the movie, Luck placed the bolt into the shield he gave to Percy. But in the book, Ares placed the bolt into the bag pack which he gave to Percy.
4. In the movie, a fire-breathing hydra attacked Percy at his second destination. However in the book, Echidna and the Chimera attacked Percy at his second destination.
5. In the movie, Hades sent his monsters after Percy to get Zeus Master Bolt. Whereas in the book, Hades sent his monsters to retrieve his Helm of Darkness.
6. In the movie, Percy captured the red team's flag after defeating Annabeth and some of the red team. But in the book, Luke captured the flag when Percy was fighting the sons and daughters of Ares.
7. In the movie, three black dogs guarded the mansion of Hades. However in the book, a three-headed dog guarded the entrance to the underworld.
8. In the movie, Luke stole Zeus Master Bolt and Hades Helm of Darkness as he wanted a war among the gods as he disliked his father and wanted a change in the gods' ruling. Whereas in the book, Luke stole Zeus Master Bolt in order to make the gods fight with one another and become weak, thus allowing his master, Kronos to rise again.
9. In the movie, the Minotaur's horn snapped off when it struck a tree and tried to pull itself out, resulting one of its horns to get broken. But in the book, Percy pulled out one of its horns when he was riding on the Minotaur's neck.
10. In the movie, Percy, Annabeth and Grover kept Medusa's head by wrapping it in a jacket. However in the book, Percy mailed Medusa's head in a delivery box and sent it to the Olympians.

My Thoughts/ Feelings about Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief:
I liked reading the book more than watching the movie because there are more descriptors and is more detailed than in the movie. I also preferred the first-person point of view in the book to the third person point of view in the movie, as allows the reader to concentrate fully on the main character rather than concentrate on every person in the fantasy.
I liked the part when Percy, Annabeth and Grover going to the Underworld and meeting a three-headed dog, Cerberus, guarding the entrance to the Underworld. As Cerberus starts to decide that he's hungry and is going to eat them, Annabeth pulls out a red rubber ball and to Percy's and Grover's surprise, Cerberus becomes an obedient dog as he is attracted by the ball. I like this part because it shows a good and cute side of a fierce and scary three-headed dog. This tells us that no matter where you are, everyone, including monsters, need a little attention once in a while.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Little Ironies-SCAMPER

My group(group4) has chosen the tittles of "The Father" and "The Teacher". As a Substitute, we have replaced Mui Mui in "The Father" with Tan Goek Peng, a girl in the story of "The teacher". As for Combine, we have brought together the plots of "The Father" and "The Teacher". As for Adapt, the father was filled with remorse after beating his daughter up to death after she scored a F9 for her composition. Lastly, for Modify, we have changed the setting to a modern day house and made the father bigger and stronger.