Monday, February 29, 2016
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Everything Wrong (and Right) with Divergent
So here I am, trying to get on the blogging train by reviewing one of several new YA books made into a movie. Be brave and let's go.
As far as YA novel adaptions go, Divergent was pretty good. It worked well as a stand alone movie and tried to keep to the book as much as possible. It was a heck of a lot more faithful than those ridiculous Percy Jackson movies, but not quite as book-synced as Hunger Games was. That being said, there are a lot of things that Divergent totally did right, but several it messed up on. Here are some things I noticed.
1.) The paint ball guns. If you've read Divergent you no doubt recall the epic capture the flag paint ball scene. If you've seen the movie, you no doubt recall that no one uses paintball guns. They use painful dart guns, designed to imitate a real gunshot wound. Lovely.
2.) The ferris wheel scene, however, was perfect. It stayed faithful to the end and I have no complaints. it was awesome.
3.) Beating the fear. The point of the last stage of Dauntless training was getting over your fears by submerging yourself in them and trying not to totally freak out. While the Dauntless int eh movie stated this, they didn't put it into practice. When Tris is in Four's fear landscape and suggests they calm down and jump off a building to conquer the fear, Four rejects this, saying, "That's how a Divergent would do it," and begins to lecture her on how to conquer fear like a Dauntless--basically running away from your fears and doing everything in your power to stop whatever's causing your fears. No, no. Don't face your fears, all you Dauntless, just get yourself out of the scary situation and that'll be great.
4.) Not enough Uriah.
5.) How old are they? In the book Tris is 16 and Four is 18, but let's be honest, Four looks like he's at in his mid twenties. So did Tris and Four have their ages bumped up, is Four a bit creepy, or does he just look like a very old 18 year old? Leave a comment.
6.) How is Tris doing that? Super human evolution? So Tris get's shot in the arm, right? If so, how come she's running at full speed, firing guns, punching people, raising her injured arm, letting people touch her injured arm, doing a bunch of fancy wrestling, and pulling herself onto a train? And how come Jeanine can still move her fingers and totally function with a knife in her hand? Are humans suppose to have evolved enough that a gun shot wound is no biggie and a knife in the hand is just a mild annoyance? Seriously.
7.) Mrs. Priors death is not nearly as bad ass as it was in the books. She doesn't go out in a blaze of glory after sacrificing herself in an awesome way for her daughter. She gets shot when shes' not paying attention.
8.) Mr. Prior, however, ran in front of the baddies with his gun out and took those zombies down. Boo-yeah!
Overall it was a great film and a pretty good adaption. It's not Hunger Games, but not Percy Jackson, and it was better than the Mortal Instruments, so that's great. Yep....
What did all of you think of the movie? One star or five? Leave a comment.
Be brave.
As far as YA novel adaptions go, Divergent was pretty good. It worked well as a stand alone movie and tried to keep to the book as much as possible. It was a heck of a lot more faithful than those ridiculous Percy Jackson movies, but not quite as book-synced as Hunger Games was. That being said, there are a lot of things that Divergent totally did right, but several it messed up on. Here are some things I noticed.
1.) The paint ball guns. If you've read Divergent you no doubt recall the epic capture the flag paint ball scene. If you've seen the movie, you no doubt recall that no one uses paintball guns. They use painful dart guns, designed to imitate a real gunshot wound. Lovely.
2.) The ferris wheel scene, however, was perfect. It stayed faithful to the end and I have no complaints. it was awesome.
3.) Beating the fear. The point of the last stage of Dauntless training was getting over your fears by submerging yourself in them and trying not to totally freak out. While the Dauntless int eh movie stated this, they didn't put it into practice. When Tris is in Four's fear landscape and suggests they calm down and jump off a building to conquer the fear, Four rejects this, saying, "That's how a Divergent would do it," and begins to lecture her on how to conquer fear like a Dauntless--basically running away from your fears and doing everything in your power to stop whatever's causing your fears. No, no. Don't face your fears, all you Dauntless, just get yourself out of the scary situation and that'll be great.
4.) Not enough Uriah.
5.) How old are they? In the book Tris is 16 and Four is 18, but let's be honest, Four looks like he's at in his mid twenties. So did Tris and Four have their ages bumped up, is Four a bit creepy, or does he just look like a very old 18 year old? Leave a comment.
6.) How is Tris doing that? Super human evolution? So Tris get's shot in the arm, right? If so, how come she's running at full speed, firing guns, punching people, raising her injured arm, letting people touch her injured arm, doing a bunch of fancy wrestling, and pulling herself onto a train? And how come Jeanine can still move her fingers and totally function with a knife in her hand? Are humans suppose to have evolved enough that a gun shot wound is no biggie and a knife in the hand is just a mild annoyance? Seriously.
7.) Mrs. Priors death is not nearly as bad ass as it was in the books. She doesn't go out in a blaze of glory after sacrificing herself in an awesome way for her daughter. She gets shot when shes' not paying attention.
8.) Mr. Prior, however, ran in front of the baddies with his gun out and took those zombies down. Boo-yeah!
Overall it was a great film and a pretty good adaption. It's not Hunger Games, but not Percy Jackson, and it was better than the Mortal Instruments, so that's great. Yep....
What did all of you think of the movie? One star or five? Leave a comment.
Be brave.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
National List Month Week 2!
It's National List Month, a completely made up project I'm doing all October! Here's week 2!
SPOILER WARNING: For the Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments, and Divergent series.
1.) Luke Castellan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
I don't know about you, but I totally started bawling when he died at the end of The Last Olympian. Why, Luke, why did you have to die? You redeemed yourself. Great. Fantastic. I loved that. But then you had to go and just die on us because of it!
2.) Voldemort (Harry Potter)
I know, I know. He's a mass wizarding murder who splits his soul, causes the death of our favorite characters, and eats puppies for breakfast. But come on--he started out as just a poor little orphan kid. Maybe if he'd just had a set of good family members to mold him, he'd be a teacher or a wizard lawyer or whatever. It can't be all his fault that he's evil! And anyways, he's just so awesome. Name one other villain as dastardly and awesome as him. Go on. Try.
3.) Snidely Whiplash ("Dudley Do-Right")
If you haven't seen "Dudley Do-Right," or "Rocky and Bullwinkle," I feel incredibly sorry for you. Sure, the show is a little cheesy at times, but come on. It's better than a lot of this newer stuff on TV.
4.) Raphael Santiago (The Mortal Instruments)
While he isn't techincly a villian, and isn't techinicly evil, he's deffinitly not the nicest guy on the Fictionary Literature Playground. He's a totally wicked vampire dude who, while still not a great person, still visits his family each week. How sweet is that?
5.) Al (Divergent)
We all pitied him. We all kind of liked him.We all were fooled by him. And admit it. We all cried a little for him.
5 1/2.) Peter, too. He's a horrible person, but you can't help but kind of like him anyway.
6.) J.K. Rowling
HOW DARE YOU KILL AND TORTURE OUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS! CEDRIC, SIRIUS, LUPIN, TONKS, DOBBY?!?!?!? HOW. DARE. YOU.
7.) And nearly all the other Young Adult authors...
STOP FEASTING ON OUR TEARS, YOU MONSTERS!!!
There you have it! I know I'm missing a bunch, but that's all I have time for today. Until then, stay geeky!
A Note on the Hamsters: I'm still trying to figure out how to get the thing off of the site (and figure out how it got there in the first place) but until then, feel free to play with it and stuff. It's actually kind of neat.
Villains You Can't Help but Love
SPOILER WARNING: For the Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Mortal Instruments, and Divergent series.
1.) Luke Castellan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians)
I don't know about you, but I totally started bawling when he died at the end of The Last Olympian. Why, Luke, why did you have to die? You redeemed yourself. Great. Fantastic. I loved that. But then you had to go and just die on us because of it!
2.) Voldemort (Harry Potter)
I know, I know. He's a mass wizarding murder who splits his soul, causes the death of our favorite characters, and eats puppies for breakfast. But come on--he started out as just a poor little orphan kid. Maybe if he'd just had a set of good family members to mold him, he'd be a teacher or a wizard lawyer or whatever. It can't be all his fault that he's evil! And anyways, he's just so awesome. Name one other villain as dastardly and awesome as him. Go on. Try.
3.) Snidely Whiplash ("Dudley Do-Right")
If you haven't seen "Dudley Do-Right," or "Rocky and Bullwinkle," I feel incredibly sorry for you. Sure, the show is a little cheesy at times, but come on. It's better than a lot of this newer stuff on TV.
4.) Raphael Santiago (The Mortal Instruments)
While he isn't techincly a villian, and isn't techinicly evil, he's deffinitly not the nicest guy on the Fictionary Literature Playground. He's a totally wicked vampire dude who, while still not a great person, still visits his family each week. How sweet is that?
5.) Al (Divergent)
We all pitied him. We all kind of liked him.We all were fooled by him. And admit it. We all cried a little for him.
5 1/2.) Peter, too. He's a horrible person, but you can't help but kind of like him anyway.
6.) J.K. Rowling
HOW DARE YOU KILL AND TORTURE OUR FAVORITE CHARACTERS! CEDRIC, SIRIUS, LUPIN, TONKS, DOBBY?!?!?!? HOW. DARE. YOU.
7.) And nearly all the other Young Adult authors...
STOP FEASTING ON OUR TEARS, YOU MONSTERS!!!
There you have it! I know I'm missing a bunch, but that's all I have time for today. Until then, stay geeky!
A Note on the Hamsters: I'm still trying to figure out how to get the thing off of the site (and figure out how it got there in the first place) but until then, feel free to play with it and stuff. It's actually kind of neat.
Friday, October 4, 2013
A Note on the Hamster
It appears that a small furry virtual creature has attempted to take over this blog. Never fear, a team of trained warlocks is attempting to remove it at this very moment. In the mean time, feel free to feed it and stuff. Perhaps it is only seeking food and will leave once it attains enough...
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
It's National List Month!
After an incredibly long hiatus, I am back! And this time I've come up with a project.
This October is National List Month, a completely fake idea that I've just made up. Because of this, each week I will post a list of some sort. Here's week one!
This October is National List Month, a completely fake idea that I've just made up. Because of this, each week I will post a list of some sort. Here's week one!
Week One
Fictional Foods You Know You Want to Feast On
1.) Nectar and Ambrosia.
The minute I finished the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" books, the first thing I wanted to do was get me a big ol' plate of Ambrosia and a glass of Nectar. According to the books, it tastes exactly like your favorite food, plus it has magical healing powers.
2.) Anything from the Harry Potter books.
Chocolate frogs, earwax flavored jellybeans, cakes shaped like giant Snitches, who hasn't wanted to jump into the Harry Potter books with a fork and a knife to start feasting? Even the real life foods like Treacle Tart and Pumpkin Juice seem tastier in the book.
3.) Anything from The Hunger Games.
"The Hunger Games," was probably titled so due to the fact that you cannot reading it with out becoming hungry. Lamb stew, purple melon, tiny birds with orange juice flooding from it, miniature jello fruits--so many tasty treats! It might be worth facing 24 other kids trying to kill you for a taste of all that.
4.) Scooby Snacks.
Admit it. You've always wanted to know how they've tasted. I'd definitely face a bunch of evil monsters for a taste of these delicious looking dog treats! Scooby Dooby Dooooo!!!!
5.) Turkish Delight.
No, not the regular kind. The magic kind from Narnia. Even if it is cooked up by the White Witch, it still sounds pretty great.
6.) Blue Drinks.
Okay, actually I don't especially want to try this. If you've read "The Mortal Instruments," I bet you know what I'm talking about. Who would want to turn into a rat? Other than dark wizards in hiding after faking there death, I mean.
7.) Krabby Patty.
How could this not make the list?!?!?! If you've watched Spongebob before without begging to taste this, you are not human. Each time I imagine biting into one, I totally feel bad for Plankton.
And that about wraps up this weeks National List Week list.
Are there any other fictional foods your dieing to try? Leave a comment!
Note: If you're interested in more fictional food, I just found this great site-- Fictional Food.net!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Casting Coin
First of all, I just realized that Blogger has for some unknown reason
stopped sending me notifications when people post comments, so if you've posted
a comment on this site and I haven't replied to it, thank you for posting and
sorry I haven't replied yet.
Now for today’s post!
WARNING: Spoilers for the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
If you're a Hunger Games fan, then chances are you probably check a lot of sites like Down with the Capitol, Mockingjay.net, and HGFiresidechat. If you do, then you've also probably noticed that there's been a lot of talk about Alma Coin, the tough military president of District 13 in the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay." Nearly every Hunger Games fan site out there has thrown out suggestions of which actress should embody this amazing character.
So, although I'm not really a fan site centered on the Hunger Games, I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
First, let's talk about what we know about Coin. She first appears on page 10 of the U.S. hard cover copy of "Mockingjay." Katniss describes her as such, "She's fifty or so, with gray hair that falls in an unbroken sheet to her shoulders... Her eyes are gray, but not like those of people from the Seam. They're very pale, as if almost all the color has been sucked out of them." Already she sounds a little bit dangerous.
We also know that at first, everyone trusts her. Katniss doesn't necessarily like her, but she doesn't kill her immediately, which is a good sign. That not only means that the actress assigned to play Coin must get the audience to trust her, but that she still has to seem dislikeable enough that when Katniss kills her, they aren’t so taken back that the whole thing becomes unbelievable and they find it cheesy, or think that the writers needed something else to shock the audience, got lazy, and decided to kill someone off randomly.
That's probably the biggest problem with some of the fan casts for Coin. A lot of people are trying to get actresses that played villains into him past, to play a villain in this movie. If you saw the Wicked Witch of Narnia on screen playing Coin, you'd probably realize immediately that she was up to no good, and be shocked when any of the characters trust her.
So, no. I'm sorry. No villains please. Don't give away the ending.
There's also the opposite problem that the characters might trust her too much. If the audience trusts Coin too much, grows to care for her, and is head over heels for her, when Katniss shoots her, no one will be thrilled. Plus, if Coin doesn’t act suspicious enough, it'll seem pointless to kill her in the first place, and her whole character looses its purpose.
So what actor can act sincere enough to get the audience to trust her while still kindling a spark of suspicious in the back of their mind?
The fist actress that pops into my head is Alex Kingston. I've only seen her in Doctor Who (and I'm still only on the 6th season,) but she seems perfect for the role. Admittedly, she doesn't quite look the part--her hair doesn't fall in a perfectly straight sheet--but the makeup department can work that out;
Think about it. The more you see her in Doctor Who, the more you know something's up with her, and the more you suspect she may not always have the best intentions in mind. Despite that, you can't help but trusting her with the Doctor's life.
And that's exactly what Coin needs to do. She has to be a strong leader, who can convincingly play a woman willing to sacrifice anything for the greater good of the people while still seeming ruthless, and a little bit crazy.
Anyways, that's my little rant about casting Coin. What actress do you think should play Coin, and why? Do you think Alex Kingston would make a good Coin? What else makes a good Coin? Leave a comment!
Now for today’s post!
WARNING: Spoilers for the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
If you're a Hunger Games fan, then chances are you probably check a lot of sites like Down with the Capitol, Mockingjay.net, and HGFiresidechat. If you do, then you've also probably noticed that there's been a lot of talk about Alma Coin, the tough military president of District 13 in the final book of the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay." Nearly every Hunger Games fan site out there has thrown out suggestions of which actress should embody this amazing character.
So, although I'm not really a fan site centered on the Hunger Games, I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
First, let's talk about what we know about Coin. She first appears on page 10 of the U.S. hard cover copy of "Mockingjay." Katniss describes her as such, "She's fifty or so, with gray hair that falls in an unbroken sheet to her shoulders... Her eyes are gray, but not like those of people from the Seam. They're very pale, as if almost all the color has been sucked out of them." Already she sounds a little bit dangerous.
We also know that at first, everyone trusts her. Katniss doesn't necessarily like her, but she doesn't kill her immediately, which is a good sign. That not only means that the actress assigned to play Coin must get the audience to trust her, but that she still has to seem dislikeable enough that when Katniss kills her, they aren’t so taken back that the whole thing becomes unbelievable and they find it cheesy, or think that the writers needed something else to shock the audience, got lazy, and decided to kill someone off randomly.
That's probably the biggest problem with some of the fan casts for Coin. A lot of people are trying to get actresses that played villains into him past, to play a villain in this movie. If you saw the Wicked Witch of Narnia on screen playing Coin, you'd probably realize immediately that she was up to no good, and be shocked when any of the characters trust her.
So, no. I'm sorry. No villains please. Don't give away the ending.
There's also the opposite problem that the characters might trust her too much. If the audience trusts Coin too much, grows to care for her, and is head over heels for her, when Katniss shoots her, no one will be thrilled. Plus, if Coin doesn’t act suspicious enough, it'll seem pointless to kill her in the first place, and her whole character looses its purpose.
So what actor can act sincere enough to get the audience to trust her while still kindling a spark of suspicious in the back of their mind?
The fist actress that pops into my head is Alex Kingston. I've only seen her in Doctor Who (and I'm still only on the 6th season,) but she seems perfect for the role. Admittedly, she doesn't quite look the part--her hair doesn't fall in a perfectly straight sheet--but the makeup department can work that out;
Think about it. The more you see her in Doctor Who, the more you know something's up with her, and the more you suspect she may not always have the best intentions in mind. Despite that, you can't help but trusting her with the Doctor's life.
And that's exactly what Coin needs to do. She has to be a strong leader, who can convincingly play a woman willing to sacrifice anything for the greater good of the people while still seeming ruthless, and a little bit crazy.
Anyways, that's my little rant about casting Coin. What actress do you think should play Coin, and why? Do you think Alex Kingston would make a good Coin? What else makes a good Coin? Leave a comment!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Book Review: "Legend" and "Prodigy" by Marie Lu
Once again I apologize for my leave of absence. I've been locked out of Blogger for about a month, now, (blame the pesky internet rats that lurk in every corner, demolishing websites, stealing passwords, and creating chaos) and thus couldn't post anything.
While I was locked out, though, I had plenty of time to read. This brings me to my subject for today--
Hey Hunger Games fans! Looking for a new exciting action-y dystopian book with interesting characters and a great plot? Look no further than Marie Lu's two books "Legend" and "Prodigy."
When I first heard of "Legend," I can't say I was very keen on starting it. The plot seemed unoriginal and the characters sounded stereotypical. Despite that, I picked it up at the library one day and forced myself to read it.
Then it got awesome.
The story is based on Valjean and Javert from "Les Mis," with a hard core police officer type guy chasing after a slippery criminal. Change Javert to a high ranking teenage female military officer with a revenge wish named June, and Valjean to an infamous teenage boy named Day, and already things are interesting. Add in a mysteriously deadly plague, a sweet little sidekick for Day, and an undercover mission that goes wrong--well, it's already looking like a bestseller.
Marie Lu really brings all the characters to life, making each flawed and loveable, and leaving the reader unable to choose which side to root for--June's or Day's.
The story is set years into the future in LA, still standing in the remains of North America after the poles melted, causing North America to flood. (Sound familiar, Hunger Games fans?) And while there are no white roses, or District 12s, the book ranks up there with other famous titles like "Divergent," "Delirium," and "Hunger Games."
Basically the plot of the story is Day trying to get a bottle of plague cure (for what reason, I will tell you not) and while trying to steal one, harms a top ranked soldier named Metias, brother of our other main character, June. However, angering June was not a smart move, for June is also a top solider who stops at nothing to meet her goals. She begins to track down Day, and--
Well, as River Song would say "Spoilers!"
And now for a cliché and cheesy book review ending that you will probably hate: If you want to find out what happens next, pick up the book and read.
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