The Hunger Games!

The Hunger Games.  The first of a series of three---is an amazing book.  And to those comparing it to Harry Potter and Twilight: STOP RIGHT NOW.  All three of those series are so different and should never be compared to each other--so stop it.

The Hunger Games is a series that appeals to a very large audience--men and women; teenagers, young adults, adults; readers and non-readers.  It's full of political, economical, and ethical issues that will stay with you as you read about a government so controlling that it throws 24 kids into an arena to fight to the death once every year while forcing everyone to watch and celebrate.  It's not a book focused on the violent actions themselves so much as the cruelty of the government: The Capital.  It's emotionally riveting and I highly recommend it.

And the move was fantastic as well.

As we maneuvered through the Effies, Katnisses, Peetas, and Haymitches (notice that no one dressed up as Gale) Paige and I discussed which scenes we were most pumped to see:





SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD-this will contain plot spoilers and spoiler photos from the movie

The cave scenes.  
I don't need to explain why to those who've read the books.  The movie didn't do every single cave scene--just the big ones.  And they were good.  The only drawback was that any middle school girl in the audience giggled and laughed because they are too young to appreciate it.  I'm also not entirely sure a non-reader quite understood Katniss' motivation in those scenes--and that's important. 

One the big things I wanted to see in the cave scene was Katniss forcing Peeta to pass out so she could go the Harvest feast to get the medicine he needed.  They didn't do that.  Instead she waited until he fell asleep and took off.  She also didn't pass out from blood loss as soon as she got back--but by that point she had already gone through a lot so I figured that's why they redid it a bit.  Which leads me to....


The Capital Outfits /Cinna and stylists.
Oh the "fashion" of the capital.   The film did not shy away from this at all.  It went wild with the outfits and the hair and it was really enjoyable.

Cinna is one of my favorite characters and I was super excited to see Lenny Kravitz play him and he did not disappoint. From his gold eye shadow to his calming tone of voice...sublime.






Tracker Jacker Scene.
Oh--this scene was phenomenal!  The set up, the trakerjackers, the dead body, the hallucinations----very well done.  I was so nervous for Katniss the entire time and seeing Rue and Peeta come to the rescue was awesome.  The camera and sound effects in this scene made it my very favorite scene in the entire movie. 

Mutts.
The mutts are one the scariest things in the books.  They're different each time you see them and they make their first appearance towards the end of the 74th Hunger Game.  Why are they so scary?  Because they are dead bodies that have been manipulated into a creature--in the film they resemble dog like creatures.  The film doesn't touch on what the mutts are though, which is fine--it may have been a bit hard to explain.

The Arrow to the Apple.
Such a fierce moment for Katniss: book and film. 


Rue.
Rue and Prim are the source of many tears for me--especially Rue.  In the film she is super cute and adorable and I was definitely caught bawling during a certain scene.

 
This scene was also fantastic.  Katniss glances up to the sky, waiting for them to stop her while Peeta, blissfully unaware of her plan, touches her braid lovingly.  It was a perfect display of what their relationship is at this point: Katniss playing to the audience to survive and Peeta completely in love. 

So Many Great Movies!

There a lot of great movies coming out this year and I can barely contain my excitement.  The only thing that would make it better would be if I could find a movie theater that would sell Red Vines instead of Twizzlers.  So here we go---a preview at the amazing things coming to a theater new year (hopefully in order)

The Hunger Games.  (March) To all those that don't know much about Hunger Games here is the most important thing you need to know:  IT IS NOT THE NEW TWILIGHT.  Twilight is not good.  Twilight is a lot like getting addicted to Sno Balls.  They aren't that good and yet you somehow feel compelled to eat them.

Anyways...The Hunger Games.  The books are phenomenal and I hope that the movies stand out on there own.  As everyone knows, the movies are never as good as the books--but that's not important.  The movies should be good on all their own. I already have my midnight ticket to this one and there is no one else I'd rather see it with other Paige (although if Sage could be here that would be awesome).

Titanic.  (April) Oh yes. I'm not including a trailer.  It's Titanic---everyone knows it.

Dark Shadows (May)  Based on an old soap opera involving a vampire.  I don't much about this one but what I do know is that it's a Tim Burton with Johnny---and that's enough for me






MIB 3 (May) I can't imagine this being bad.  The second one wasn't great but a lot of time has passed and Will Smith doesn't need this movie.  Therefore I assume if it's good enough for him to agree--it's good enough for me.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  (June) You read that right.  Abraham Lincoln--Vampire Hunter.  It's Time Burton without (gasp) Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter!

Dark Knight Rise (July) Nothing really needs to be said about this one.

Frankenweenie (October)  As a Tim Burton girl---I'm already familiar with this movie, I've seen the short and it was cute and demented.

The Hobbit (December)  No words.  Just the trailer.

May the odds be ever in your favor

Yes, yes, yes everyone is eagerly waiting for Breaking Dawn to come out.  I get it.  I'm going to see it a midnight myself.  But to be bluntly honesty, I'm not super excited about it.  I enjoyed Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse....I thought Breaking Dawn was ghastly.  But there are moments that are promising (like Jacob shirtless) and up until after the honeymoon I like the book.  In fact I didn't really hate it until the very end.

But I'm off topic.  Breaking Dawn's upcoming release might be overshadowing something amazing that happened today.  Today the new Hunger Games trailer was released.

What's the Hunger Games you ask?  Go read it.  It's fantastic. It's full of political, economical, and ethical issues that will stay with you as you read about a government so controlling that it throws 24 kids into an arena to fight to death once every year while forcing everyone to watch and celebrate.  Now for the squeamish out there--calm down.  The movie will be PG-13 and it's not a gladiator arena---it;s a huge wooded arena and the killing is very spread out. I devoured this book when I first read and immediately scarfed down the next two as quickly as possible.  I'm rereading the series now at a much slower pace to fully take in everything.

Anyways, here is the trailer.  Enjoy.  Look for Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, and Jennifer Lawrence.

The Magical Box

Do you remember when you were little and a large box contained an unexplored world of wonder?

You could get inside a box and be anywhere in the world.
You could be an astronaut in a rocket ship on your way to Mars to start a new life.
You could be a princess locked away in a castle while dragons wage war outside your walls.
You could be a warrior hiding out in a treehouse, with your bows and arows
You could be Harry Potter hiding underneath your invisibility cloak (oh wait.  that was when I was 12. <insert awkwardness>)

It's such a simple thing.  A box.  And it's amazing to think of how much fun and creativity it contained when we were young and let our imaginations run wild.

But as we grow older, so many of us loose that gift of uninhibited imagination.  Personally, I love moments when I can get swept away in imagination (most likely why I enjoy reading so much) and it was a fun surprise to find a large box in my living room the other night.  Ashley and I immediately became children again, jumping in the box to relive a moment from childhood.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." Roald Dahl

The Nook or the Kindle?

I've spent a good deal of time in the past couple of weeks researching this very important question: Which one should I buy?  The Nook or the Kindle??  What I learned was this: there is no clear answer to this question.  Both come with great features and lack in other features....in reality if they combined the e-readers together it would be an almost perfect product.

Almost.  But not quite perfect. 

So I reached my decision.  Which e-reader will I buy?  Neither. Because in the end with all the cool stuff that a Nook or Kindle can do--it still isn't as cool as a book is. 

Can I build my own little book nook in my library with a Nook? No.  Can I flip the pages of a new book against my thumb on a Kindle? No.  Does a Nook come with that new book smell?  No. Does a Kindle display the type of elegance a stack of books does? No.

I don't care that carrying around a book in purse is a hassle.   I like it that way.  So to those people out there that say the e-reader is the new library and is an improvement to the world of literature:  I will not conform. 

Packing Up

I have bags and bags and bags of stuff I've thrown away and clothes I'm donating....and yet I still have more stuff to shove in my car than I know what to do with.  But here was my favorite moment of packing:

Books.  It was also the most time consuming thing to pack because I paused to read a little bit from each of them.  It saddens me to think that reading and literacy are being lost on the new generation.  Spelling and grammar is quickly declining and it's downright sad.  I know people in their early twenties who have no idea that friends is not spelled freinds, or the silverware is not spelled silverwhere, or that jealousy is not spelled jelosy.  I wish I was exaggerating.  Sadly I am not.