It's Trailer Time!

First, a moment of silence for those in Boston today. Our prayers are with them.




 

  If you're a huge Hunger Games fan, you've probably seen the new Catching Fire trailer five billion times, right? And after watching all that, you're probably having a hard time breathing and sorting through all your awe-filled thoughts. 
  I'm going to make things a little more difficult for you and add my own thoughts, just because I'm cruel.

 The first thing I noticed is that the brilliant advertising team at Lionsgate is reusing their past strategy and keeping all the arena scenes hidden and unmentioned. There are hints about it throughout the trailer, for example, President Snow saying,”there whole species needs to be eradicated," and such, but we see neither head nor trident of Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, or even brave little Beetee. 
    Most fans will probably agree that this marketing strategy is pure genius. Instead of focusing on Katniss going back into eh Hunger Games, the trailer focuses on the rebellion, leading movie goers to realize this is not just a cheap repeat of the first film, and that if they spend their money on a ticket, it will be to watch something new, exciting, and different. Once again, Lionsgate, genius.
  
  The next thing I noticed is that Katniss acts a lot younger in this film, but in a good way. There were times, while watching The Hunger Games, when I felt Katniss acted or looked a little to mature to pass off for a sixteen year old. Of course, this might just be all in my head, since each time I see Katniss my brain screams out "Hey, there's that twenty two year old Jennifer Lawrence on screen!" 

   Even without my brains nasty tendency to shout out annoying things in the middle of movies, Katniss does indeed seem more like a desperate sixteen year old, just wanting to "save her skin" as Snow put it. Her voice is so helpless and scared in the scene with Haymitch in the D11 attic and her face is so frightened, every image of the confident and cool J-Law that I'm familiar with vanishes in a whiff of smoke. Or should I say, "Vanishes as it quickly catches fire." Ha ha ha, that was a lame joke.
  And then there's Peeta. His face is full of shock after he sees the D11 man get shot. Like, really shocked. If Beetee had wrapped his coil around him, let the lightening strike him, then burnt a perfectly good piece of bread for no reason, Peeta couldn't have looked more shocked.
  Poor Peeta. 

Next, of course, are the costumes. Effie seems to be wearing a grey mouse ears type wig before entering Snow's huge party, and Katniss dress seems to qualify as a lethal weapon. Look at all those spike feathers! Peeta, like usual, is wearing a classy suit type thing. There's probably a more accurate term, but I don't know it. Leave a comment explaining exactly what he's wearing, if you can.
  Also, Caesar’s hair is pink. Like a boss.

   Next, how dare they burn up the Hob! Then there's Gale, who, despite what the book says, is still conscious. Poor poor poor Gale. It looks so painful I cried. And ugh, that did not look like a gentle slap, Katniss. Put some snow on that--wait, where's the snow?

Okay, if I stay on here much longer, I'll just start crying again, so I’ll sign off.
  May the odds be ever in your favor.

Weekly Round Up

   Somewhere out there, there is someone else also calling there news round up "the Weekly Round Up" but I can't remember where, so...

1.) The Hunger Games teaser for the teaser trailer (Yeah, it's a real thing) has come out. Let me here a "whoop whoop!" And this Sunday at the MTV movie awards, the full teaser trailer will be released.

2.) The Divergent movie has officially started filming. 

3.) This Wednesday at 9PM ET, Stelecast, a Mortal Instruments podcast, will air it's first episode. So get your Steles and Witchlight rune stones ready and buckle down for a great time.

Watch out for demons all you Shadowhunters, and stay away from blue drinks!

A Few Good TV Shows

    Okay, so you've just read the best book of your life and already stated having symptoms of book hangover. However, there are no other good books available at your disposal, and you're beginning to go a little crazy. So of course, you turn on your computer, log onto Netflix instant and--
   Silence. Because you've just realized that no amount of TV is going to take the place of a good book, or speed up the wait until the next great book comes out. There is no Harry Potter TV show. The Hunger Games is fictional. Delirium's TV show won't be out for months. You start to panic.  
   The next thing you know, you're curled up on the floor, sucking your thumb and cursing the world's TV overlords for not inventing something to help. You're about to scream.
  Thankfully, all is not lost!
  Although a TV show can never truly take the place of a good book, here is a list of awesome shows that will help you through your book hangover rough patch, or simply waste an afternoon! Who knows, maybe you'll be sucked into a few TV related fandoms along the way as well.
 
1.) Firefly. I can't emphasis this TV show enough. In a nutshell it's a western dystopia in space, but crack open the nut and it's much more. The characters leap off the screen. The dialogue is genius. The settings seem so natural you won't believe they're not real. So watch it. PG-13.

2.) Dollhouse. It's a pretty complicated show, but another work of art created by the supreme ruler of all nerds and geeks--Joss Whedon. Therefore, it is good. Dystopian fans will really like this, especially if you enjoy things like "Divergent," "Matched," and "Delirium" but are a little sick of all the romance. PG-13.


3.) Teen Wolf. Many will pass this off as just a goofy Glee or Vampire Diaries spin off, but it’s less about the romance and more about the mythology. The characters break all stereotypes. There is action to spare. Of course, there is plenty of romance, but it's not as goofy as Glee, and the primary focus of the series isn't just on the main characters love life. It's about werewolves. And it rocks.
  Fans of "Wolves of Mercy Falls," "Delirium," and even "Percy Jackson" will enjoy this. Don't remember if its PG or PG-13, but it's usually appropriate if you have younger ones around. At least, most of the episodes are...

4.) Supernatural. This is all about monster hunting, ghost chasing, and sibling rivalry. There are guns, awesome cars, funny dialogue, (and after a few seasons) Angels and Demons. If you want something action packed and love interesting ghosts and monsters, watch this now!
Not sure what the rating is, but most episodes are probably PG-13ish. Some scenes are worse than others by far.

5.) Doctor Who. This needs no explanation.

6.) Once Upon a Time. It's a great fairytale meets reality show, but not in the same way "Enchanted" was. The actors are brilliant too.

7.) Sherlock. This is probably the best show currently on TV, and it is unexplainable. Watch it and wait for your mind to be blown. TV-14, because it can be a little dark...

8.) Arrested Development. Definitely TV-14, but totally hilarious. You will never laugh as much at a show than you will at Arrested Development. It's a true cult show, and it's so good, you'll thank me for the rest of your life. Plus, Netflix is ordering another season! Double awesome.

9.) Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog. And everything else by Joss Whedon.

   I realize there are about a dozen more great shows out there for people looking for awesome entertainment, but that's all for now. So get off this blog and start browsing Netflix!