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. 

Dark Shadows

Hey remember my previous post?  The trailer for Dark Shadows hadn't been released it.  But now it has! ENJOY

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.

Chronicle/Woman in Black

"It's a short movie.  It's less than an hour and 30 minutes"
"Well, some movies are better shorter than long and drawn out.  Take Breaking Dawn for example, it should have been only 30 minutes."
And as my brother and I discovered, an hour and 23 minutes was the perfect amount of time for Chronicle.  Later I discovered that an hour and 35 minutes was also the perfect amount of time for Woman in Black.  It was refreshing sitting through a short and sweet movie---even though both Chronicle and Woman in Black were far from being "sweet" films.  Of course, not every movie should be short.  I fully expect my butt to be numb after I watch The Hobbit---each minute of that movie is bound to be glorious and well deserved.

Cameron loved Chronicle.  When we left the theater he raved and raved about it--long enough for me to realize that he was not being sarcastic.  Not that I thought it was horrible---I just didn't think it was fantastic.  I had low expectations for it to begin with and while it exceeded my expectations it's still not a movie that was remarkable or something I would watch again.

The movie centers abound three--high school? college?--kids who find a stone type thing that gives them telepathic abilities.  As almost anyone will tell you--not everyone should be granted with powers.  Because one emo kid will ruin the fun for everybody.  You easily sympathize with Andrew, the abused, poor, misfit, emo kid.   But  you also enjoy the other two confident, easily popular kids as well.  It's extremely well done.  The effects are well done.  It's just a little to predictable for me.  But it as fun movie to watch.


I had to drag myself to go see Woman in Black. In fact is Ashley hadn't been persistent I probably would never have gone to see it.  Not that it looked bad--I just don't handle scary movies well.  This episode from Boy Meets World still freaks me out:

Well, to be honest, I can't give the best review of the movie considering I spent a considerable amount of time with my eyes closed, fingers in my ears.  Or doubled over in my seat so I couldn't see the screen.  Or with my hands over my face, leaving a small enough gap in between my fingers to see Daniel Radcliffe's face.  But from what I did see, I thought it was well done.  It's not revolutionary but it's a scary movie with secretive British people and a freaky marsh. 

Daniel Radcliffe's character has to travel to this town to got through the paperwork in an old house---in the middle of a marsh.  Conveniently, you're stranded at the house often because when the tide comes in on the marsh and the road is in accessible.  Perfect setting for scary crap to happen.  So many warning signs for his character to get the heck out of dodge.  The people in the village want him gone, the house is in the middle of a marsh causing you to be stuck at the marsh except when the tide is low, and the house looks like this:

Um. Yeah.  I would never have even stepped foot in that house.  But he does....because he's Harry Freaking Potter (you're a legend man to us all---oh AVPS).

It was great seeing Daniel Radcliffe in a different on screen role and he did great.  All in all it was a jumpy, scary movie that will keep your heart racing.

Thanksgiving Movie: The Muppets

Oh. My. Gosh.  What a wonderful movie.  It's time to meet the Muppets. 

After accidentally walking into the wrong movie theater I narrowly escaped watching Breaking Dawn again and found my way safely to The Muppets.

I wasn't super hyped about going to see The Muppets, but my mom really wanted to go see so Cameron and I went along.  I remember the muppets, I watched them a great deal growing up--including the muppet babies.  In fact, my favorite Christmas movie is The Muppet Christmas Carol--but I still would have chosen another movie to go see.  However, within 5 minutes I realized what a treasure of a movie this is.  It was cute, funny, and fresh.  And I'm not the only one who loved it.

The movie opened with a 98% critic review on Rotten Tomatoes---the highest this year (Breaking Dawn Part 2?  28%.  But that's a heck of a lot better than the new Adam Sandler movie-Jack and Jill-which got a 4%).  What I wasn't aware of was that Nicholas Stoller wrote the scrpit with Jason Segel---I already love Jason Segel, and now I love him even more.  His cuddly bear in a big body is always amazing and it continued to be in this movie.  And of course Amy Adams is as charming as ever and jaw droopingly better than most actresses out there these days.   If you  loved Enchanted then you really shouldn't miss this movie. 

The movie is bluntly honest and pokes fun of itself which really eases the audience in to fully enjoy it.   The plot is easy and--dare I say it--somewhat realistic?  The Muppets have been gone for awhile and when there is threat to tear down the Muppet's studio in order to drill for oil they attempt to reunite and reintroduce the world to the Muppets in order to save the studio.  It's realistic in the fact that is the Muppets were real--this is totally what would happen.  They have been gone awhile and Selena Gomez has no idea who they are (there are a TON of cameos in this movie-so brace yourself).  There are also tons of fun little lines like "Let's travel by map!" and "The was an expensive looking explosion.  I can't believe we had that in the budget."  and "It must have broke during the dance number I was just in."  And if you know me at all you'll know how much I love when characters reference the fact they are in a movie :) 

I laughed the entire time and thought it was incredibly heartwarming.  I recommend it to EVERYONE.  Even if you have no ties to the muppets or no idea who they are, go see it anyways because you'll still love it.  And remember that life's a happy song when there is someone by my side to sing along.

Breaking Dawn: Part 1. Review. If you loved the movie just don't read this.

To be completely honest--I didn't like the movie.  There were some good moments but mostly it was just bad.  To be fair, I didn't like the book either for many reasons.  But an hour and 45 minutes of watching the characters stare at each other left me feeling that the life was drained out them.  Any depth the characters had before is completely gone--except Jacob.

I did enjoy the wedding and honeymoon.  In all fairness those scenes were pretty good.

I was shocked to realize afterward that the move was under two hours because it felt incredibly long.  It felt like three hours.  There were so many moments where it felt like they were drawing out scenes to justify it being two movies....believe me I know what fluff looks like.  I've written many papers filled with fluff--I can see a fluff when I see it.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was split in two movies-and yes it had a couple of fluff moments but the split was done to finish off all aspects of the plot and to deepen the characters so you're more emotionally in touch during the final battle--and it was beautiful.  The plot in Breaking Dawn is basically the exact same plot of the others.  Bella loves Edward.  Edward loves Bella.  Jacob loves Bella.  Bella really really likes Jacob.  Bella wants to be a vampire.  Edward doesn't want to turn her.  Jacob wants Bella to leave Edward.   There is more plot introduced in Breaking Dawn (the book) but it could have been introduced and finished in one movie.   Sure, you would have had to skip some parts in the book--like the Denali sisters--but I could have lived without that part in the movie.  It was thrown in there awkwardly and I guarantee you non-readers had no idea what that was all about. 

To those ready to stone me--I'm sorry.  I've read the books, and enjoyed them (despite the fact that they are badly written) but I felt that this movie seemed more like a bad SyFy channel movie at some parts.  HOWEVER the very last scene and the clip after the credits were great and my favorite part of the movie and with that in mind, I think the next movie should be much much better than this one.

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.

Potter Post 2 3/4

Guess what came out on DVD/Blu-Ray yesterday?

There are several different ways you can go about getting HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
-Standard DVD
-Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack
-Part 1 and Part 2 pack
-Harry Potter films 1-8 (no special features though)
-WB's Limited Edition Collectible

Which at first glance seems to be to one to get.  However it's only a three disc set. While Target has the...




-Target's Exclusive four-disc edition (Which is the one I got)  Sure...it doesn't have an awesome cover or book like WB's but it does that the documentary that I mention a few weeks ago: When Harry Left Hogwarts  and that's what I really wanted.   And it's the version I suggest.


Meanwhile, check out this awesome video I found:

Potter Post 1 7/8 -When Harry Left Hogwarts

Good morning!
       
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Have I ever mentioned how happy I am that they didn't try to come up with a new name for the eighth film?) comes out on DVD on November 11 and with it comes a documentary.

Documentary?  You mean those boring, long movies about nothing?  No. First of all I love a good documentary--or mockumentary for that matter.  Secondly, this ones seems to have a real spirit behind it.

Morgan Matthew was granted access behind the scenes on the last two films in the Harry Potter series and judging from the trailer below, he seems to have really caught the insecurities and humbleness of the title characters.  For Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, these movies have been their life and now they've been released into the world.  Sure, Harry Potter has been my life as well, but I'm not in the spotlight.  The world is watching them.

Check out the trailer below:

Potter Post 1 2/3

So what is Harry Potter up to these days?

No not that one. (And again if you have no idea what this picture is in reference too.  I'm sad for you.  Send me a message and we'll fix this.)

But in case you're wondering what Harry Freakin Potter from AVPM is up to-- he's being pretty busy being totally awesome.  Check it out here:

But I'm talking about Daniel Radcliffe.   Currently he's on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (which ironically enough-Darren Criss--our Harry from above--will be taking over the role early next year for three weeks).  I hear it is quite good and I regret I won't be able to see it. 



But he'll be starring in the UK horror movie set to release this coming February--his first film since Harry Potter.  It's called Woman in Black (NOT The Woman in White my fellow literature people)...check out the preview:

And there is this trailer which is decidedly creepy.  I watched it sitting alone in my apartment in the daylight while waiting on cupcakes to bake and it still sent shivers down my spine:

Happy Saturday!

HP and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 *SPOILERS*

I am unbelievably excited and stoked about this movie.  I've been reading these books since the first one came out and my life hasn't been the same since.  Reading and involving yourself in a series for 12 years is huge--at the age of 24, that's over half my life.  So these characters have become like family, I know them inside and out.  So as I prepared myself for the final installment of the movies here is a list of the top five things I was most looking forward to seeing on screen:

(this was a hard list to write.  I want to see everything and my excitement is borderline uncontainable)
THIS LIST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS!!! DO NO READ UNLESS YOU'VE READ THE BOOKS!!!!

5. Hermione as Bellatrix-just because :)

 

***SPOILER*** 

4. Ron and Hermione's kiss--this kiss was moved to a different location than in the book-and it worked better.

3. Neville Longbottom.  Anything Neville. The latter part of the book becomes Neville's time to shine.  His character was always one to be laughed at most of the time due to his constant clumsiness and inability to really show his bravery.  But as the series progressed Neville became more and more comfortable with himself...and when the trio return to Hogwarts he has taken the reigns in heading up the Hogwarts riot against Voldemort and Snape.  He is brave and strong and the movies don't skip any part of that.  He steals almost every scene he is in and makes you root for him with all your might.

***SPOILER***

2.  Harry facing death with his head held high.  This one of the most torturous chapters in the books for me to read.  My heart pumped alongside Harry's and I wept.  The movie has no way at all to even come close to reaching the bar set by this scene in the books--but they tried their hardest and I still enjoyed it.  There are some things in books that no movie will ever be able to achieve.

 
1. Snape.  Oh my dearly loved Severus Snape.  I have maintained a vow of faithfulness to Snape since day one.  Yes--he has made me angry many times...but I've always believed he was good (just a bit mean and cheeky).  Learning his back story was a highlight of the series for me and I had high expectations for that scene in the movie.---I was not disappointed.  True, they left out some things but they did a wonderful job at showing Snape's true colors and it was beautifully done.  His death was gruesome and hard to watch but his final words were wonderful.   It was the highlight of the movie.  To my dear Snape:  I love you.

Surprising Scene: 

I've never been crazy about the Gringotts scene...no reason-just didn't care for it all that much.  It was one of my top five favorites in the movie.  Kudos.

I loved the movie, I liked Part 1 better but I'm probably in the minority.  Every second of this movie left me on the edge of my seat and crying for a good half of it. 

This will not be my last Harry Potter post.  I read the first book 12 years ago--these characters will always be a part of me.

We went and saw this movie at 2:45 AM...what happens when you are awake at that time?  You get faces like this:

Harry Potter Trailer

Yes.  Today the new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II came out.  So when my boss asks me why I was late today--this is why (actually it's because I accidentally clicked on the French version and couldn't stop because I just could not tear myself away from the trailer and then I debated about whether or not I had time to watch the English version for so long that I was already late.  Either way, it's Harry's fault.)

Watch.  Then read my comments.

Do it.

Now.

 Now dry your eyes and breathe :)

SPOILER ALERT DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK 

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I'm slightly worried that they gave a little bit too much with one of the deaths.  They very clearly show that it is a Weasley and to me, that was wayyyy too much to give away.

But other than that....loved it.

It seems to show a lot of Snape and Snape's story and to a Snape fan like me...that is freakin awesome.  Snape's story needs to be shown.  It answers so much and gives so much wonderful depth to our beloved Snape.  

Also, it appears that they vamp up the final showdown between Voldemort and Harry and this is obviously a diversion from the book.  However it makes sense.  The final showdown is packed full of wonderful dialogue and some great Harry quotes...but for a movie it wouldn't work as well.  So kudos to them for not being afraid to change something.  yea. I said it.

I'm also really glad they let Ron talk in the preview.  

July 13. :D

Hannibal Lecter

Sage and I have recently gone on a Hannibal Lecter binge. I'm aware this is strange--but I don't care.  Anyways, we watched Hannibal Rising the other night and to be honest, it was a complete let down.

The movie relied solely on gore and guts and the success of Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, and Hannibal has nothing to do with gore and guts--it has to do with the character of Hannibal itself.  The alluring and frightening personality of Hannibal Lecter is what makes it great-not the blood.  Also Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon are well written and carried out--Ralph Fiennes and Anthony Hopkins are superb.  Hannibal in Hannibal Rising is...well...boring.  He is predictable and has no personality (obviously this was not Anthony Hopkins being that it's supposed to be the story of the younger Hannibal).  He slowly becomes a serial killer and predictably hunts down his enemies and kills them in gruesome ways...just like almost every other serial killer movie.

BUT that's not the real reason I hated the movie.
Let's give some background.
Here is the chronological order of the movies (not the order they were released):
Hannibal Rising (how Hannibal becomes a serial killer)
Red Dragon (Hannibal is caught and put in prison)
Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal still in prison and then escapes)
Hannibal (I have yet to see this movie...)

Now here's the big plot hole in Hannibal Rising that has me all fussy.  Hannibal Lecter kills many people and it's known that he is the killer and that he's eating parts of his victims.  At the end he fakes his death and then goes to Canada to continue killing.  So...according to Hannibal Rising, Hannibal Lecter is a dead, cannibalistic, serial killer by the end of the movie.

We learn in the other movies that Hannibal was a world renowned psychologist and often helps out the FBI to profile criminals before he was caught (even after he was caught he was still used a source for profiling).

Now tell me friends...how does a man who is supposed to be dead and a serial killer successfully become a world renowned psychologist and friend to the FBI without changing his came?  Last I checked Hannibal Lecter is not a common enough to name to keep without being noticed.

And that is why Hannibal Rising was a let down.  Ahhh....now that I've ranted and gotten that I off my chest...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

The minute the IMAX at midnight tickets went on sale I bought them.  Three tickets, almost $50 bucks....but oh so worth it.  HM, CY, and I navigated our way downtown to the theatre and took our place sitting in line with every other Harry Potter fan hopped up on butterbeer and chocolate frogs.
Several notes for future midnight line camping:

• Take your camera.  I didn't because I thought it wouldn't be allowed and I missed a ton of picture opportunities...one of which might haunt me for the rest of my life.  
• Bring something to do while in line.  This is important not because it's quiet, but because you're with me and all I plan to talk about is how freaking excited I am.
• Hagrid won a Norwegian Ridgeback at a poker game, as an egg. Don't question me on this.  If you do a hundred other Harry Potter fans will stand up to defend my honor.  

Now on to the movie.  I loved it and it is by far my favorite (I have a feeling the very last one will be even better).  It has taken them this long to really get it right, but it's better late than never.  I'm not saying the past ones were badly done, but they never really truly held the same magic the books did.  What's truly amazing is that the seventh Harry Potter book is strikingly different from the previous six and therefore incredibly easy to make into a horrible movie and yet they managed to make it the best one yet.

It is a slower movie than the rest, but so is the book.  This part of the Harry Potter series is not action driven, it is emotionally driven and the movie really focused on that.  You can see and feel the agony and uncertainness that the characters are feeling.  The dynamics between Harry, Ron, and Hermoine are beautiful and you can really see how much they have grown.

Of course they have split the last book into two movies, and I am beyond glad that they did.  Yes it could have been done in one movie but it would have fallen short of the emotion required.  HP and the Deathly Hallows has some truly haunting moments in it and they deserve to be well played out in the movie.  I was nervous about where and how would they split this movie, mainly because I couldn't imagine I really great way to do it.  Thankfully the end point of Part 1 was well done.  It ended on a sad note with an extra scene that really got your blood flowing for the next part.

As a Harry Potter fanatic I was very pleased with this movie, and I won a free t-shirt at the showing.  It was a great night.  I'm already counting down the days till the final installment.