Mockingjay Pt. 1 Review

[Sorry this took so long. I started writing this after I saw MJ for the first time.]

I got out of Mockingjay, and I really enjoyed it.  It was very close to the book, and they still kept with different perspectives in addition to Katniss', which I have really enjoyed throughout the whole series.

Mockingjay is really, stylistically speaking, a continuation of Catching Fire. You might think it's just part 1 of 2 of Mockingjay, but it has some similarities with Catching Fire. You get the sense that Katniss is isolated, her against the world, struggling with PTSD.

The sets and special effects are wonderful; to note, the ruins of District 12.  New characters are great. Jennifer is awesome. Love the dynamic between Katniss and Prim. Elizabeth is great. Julianne adds a complexity to Coin. Part of me loved her, and yet kind of hated her at the same time, because, well, I know how part 2 goes.  Plutarch got kind of annoying from all the propos. He's in full gamemaker mode here. 

[I totally missed that the actress who plays Mira on Homeland played Snow's speechwriter, until I took Mom to see it, and she pointed it out.]

The music.... I loved the music. It's basically taken from Catching Fire (someone else mentioned Hunger Games, too), so there's continuity in that respect. The Hanging Tree was really good, I liked it. The way the setting had been described in interviews didn't really make sense, but when you see it in context,  it does. It's pretty and haunting. Can't wait to get the score.

I wish Katniss had taken the time to explain the background of "The Hanging Tree," but that probably would have taken too much screen time, and anyway, you get the gist of it with the scenes of the other districts rioting.

One point I got stuck on was Finnick's story- really, the timing. I wondered at first why they put it during the rescue.  Then I figured it out. It was to distract everyone.

Ending. .. pretty much the way everyone thought it would end.
I loved the little tidbit at the end.

Overall feeling stark, dark, and grand. I can't wait for part 2.


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Into That Good Night: Interstellar

I went to go see Interstellar on Thursday.  It was a good movie.  It's a futuristic space film, where astronauts go very far into space to find humanity a new planet.  I was afraid it would be a bit out of my league, but it was pretty easy to understand, except for one scene near the end. Trust me, I was racking my brain trying to come up with some reasonable explanation.  And, I think I did.  Read on....

Matthew McCaughnahey, as Cooper, is a former engineer who has now been forced to farm for a living.  In the future, there have been serious droughts and dust storms worldwide, and certain crops have failed.  Wheat failed a while ago, there's one crop that's nearly gone, and corn will soon follow.

He and his daughter, Murph, stumble- literally- upon a very big and secret plan to hunt for worlds that might be good for humanity.

First, I am so, so, so sorry that I missed the IMAX boat on this one.  The special effects, especially the galaxy sequences are awesome.  Orchestration was a bit different from a standard film, it was mainly a pipe organ, so I could understand why people were complaining about the sound being too loud and unbalanced.

I loved the father-daughter dynamic between Matthew and Mackensie.  She was so good.  I had flashbacks to the locket scene before the battle between Bella and her daughter Renesmee in Breaking Dawn 2; especially when Cooper is saying goodbye to Murph.

I really loved the robot, believe it or not.  He was funny, and the design was great.  He was truly three-dimensional.

I was a bit worried that the plot would lean a little too much in the direction of  "2001: A Space Odyssey", and it did towards the end, but it wasn't too bad.  I also appreciated, at the beginning, the use of dust bowl testimonials.  You aren't sure at first if it's a cool parallel with history... or something else. If you get my drift.

Matt Damon does have a small but important part in the film that wasn't widely publicized. When you watch the film, you realize why they couldn't say very much.  He does have a sort of HAL-like streak. That's all I'll say about that. 

Going back to the sound issue.... I don't know if it was the actors just getting emotional, but there were a couple of instances where the dialogue got muffled, Anne Hathaway and Matthew, to note. 

The astronauts do visit a couple of planets.  Not really sure who thought they would be good planets in the first place.  The second planet at least has land.  Would days with longer hours really mean a shorter life span? 

About the issue of time...one could think of time as both physical and abstract.  At one point, near the end, you have to believe that time is physical.  And, if something is physical, it can be manipulated.  I'll leave it at that. 

My title, in part, reference a poem recited by Michael Caine: "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night."  It seems to talk about regret.  Perhaps, on another level, it implores the reader to change what you regret, and not going gently. 

That is what this film is about... trying to fight the hardest to change what seems impossible.

Mockingjay Roundup, etc.

Mockingjay Roundup, etc.

I'm honestly not trying to turn this blog into a Mockingjay fan blog... really.  I just haven't had that much to write about. I need ideas, badly.

That being said, I've bought my share of Doritos bags.  Lionsgate has been running a contest. People enter codes online to unlock each of the 12 districts, and eventually,  district 13. Each district represents a certain prize pack,  and 13 Is a trip to The premiere.

The cool news is that I actually won codes through that contest to use for the movie tickets.  It was a long three- week period of waiting, but they finally arrived in my email a couple of days ago.

About the soundtrack. .. I'm not really enthusiastic about it at all.  I've liked a bunch of songs from the previous two films, but not this one. I do like Lorde's song "Yellow Flicker Beat," but that's it. 

One fan site got the track listing for the score, and I'm interested in that.  But the titles- save one- sound kind of dull in general. I would have been interested in the job, really, haha. One job I'd love is to give titles to DVD chapter menus, but that position seems to have fallen permanently by the wayside.

One movie I'm really excited about seeing is Interstellar. I'm planning to see it the night before Mockingjay. 

I tried reading Gone Girl, but it's just too heavy for me. I might still try to finish it.

"There's that word again: "heavy." Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?
" (Doc Brown, "Back to the Future")




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That Rocks!

I was able to go to the Houston Museum of Natural Science a few weeks ago, where they are having a minerals and gemstones exhibit.  If you've seen my Pinterest boards, you'll know I have a thing for gemstones and rocks.  It was really cool; I had a good time.

Along with all of the minerals, there was a rather lavish jewelry collection. 

Coming to a Theme Park Near You

Book equals theme park?

Your favorite book.... coming to a theme park near you! Ok, for one franchise this has already come true: Harry Potter, in Orlando. Well, recently, there's been talk of Lionsgate (the studio who does The Hunger Games) wanting to open a Hunger Games theme park.

Needless to say, this has gone over like a lead balloon with the fandom.

What would there be in this theme park, anyway? Archery? Survival skills? Baking?

Yes, these are great, but all of these separate things don't necessarily come together great.
This is not just thinking outside the box, this is way over the box.  The bottom line is, it just doesn't gel with the series' themes. 

Some people are suggesting, and I'm one of them, to just do a museum with costumes and props from the films.

No one mentioned doing a theme park for Twilight. Well, there sort of is, already. It's called the Pacific Northwest. 

E-Books: Dystopian Kids Club

Yes, I'm here. Abject apologies. I meant to do this last week.

I subscribe to a couple of free and reduced price e-book newsletters. A lot of times the books are available for more than one program, but I usually order them through the Kindle app. Just to save space.

So, I've really liked two of the recent books I've read. "Monument 14" is a cross between "Lord of the Flies", and "The Mist" (with no mutant insects). I really liked it. It's about a bunch of kids who get stuck inside a store when a disaster happens. My only complaint is that it's a trilogy. I have nothing against trilogies in general, it's just that I wanted a resolution! I'd like to read the others.

The second book I'm reading is "Banded." It's a lot like "Divergent," but not quite as sinister. At least not yet. I'm still reading it. Like I said, it's a lot like Divergent, but it's good so far.  There's also a concept in the story that could be interpreted as being similar to the film "In Time." The story is about children who must leave their families at 16 and live in different groups they are screened for.

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Mockingjay Trailer Theory

We got a couple of very interesting tweets this morning.  We''re getting something Mockingjay- related tomorrow. Commence the pins and needles. So, I came up with my own theory about what a teaser might include... 

Katniss thinking about Peeta, sad and morose, intro to 13, her needing to be the Mockingjay, maybe some cuts of the rebellion,  Peeta on tv, and his "dead by morning" quote to 13. And of course, the Mockingjay symbol. 

Of course, if anyone has their creative juices flowing at Lionsgate, they'd make it like one of Beetee's propos. That would be fun.   

If Lionsgate sticks to the MPAA guidelines, though, they can't release it earlier than Friday....

The Fault in Our Stars

After "The Fault in Our Stars, " I was sitting in a restaurant trying to process thoughts. I had called mom as I was leaving the auditorium.  She asked, "How was it?" I started bawling. That should tell you something.

 It's a sweet, simple story. Sad, but lovely at the same time.

 Wilem Dafoe plays a jerk, although he somewhat tries to redeem himself at the end. Kevin Bacon is no longer my most "hated" actor.

 I cried during the parent moments, mainly between Hazel and her Mom. Got teary when "All of the Stars" played at the end. (I love several of the songs off the soundtrack.)

 Gus pursues Hazel, and finally, she lets him in. Gus seems kind of pretentious, maybe even forward, but when you think about it, what does he have left? Besides time? And secretly, I think we girls want to be pursued like that.

 There is a moment where Hazel and Gus are in the Anne Frank house, and you hear a snippet of a quote from Anne: "Think of all the beauty left in the world and be happy." That is kind of what Hazel and Gus did, with the little infinity they had.

"Thirteen is alive and well, and so am I."

Apparently Beetee hacked my blog. :)

Book Musings and More

Hi.  Here's another issue (well, maybe it's the first) of book musings.... 

Sometimes I wonder about book characters.

- Did Katniss forgive her mother after Mockingjay?  Did she forgive Gale?
- I wonder if (in The Help) "Baby Girl" Leefolt remembered Abileen, and if she grew up believing she was kind... smart... important.

I can get pretty sucked into a book- imagination-wise.  I get a picture of the setting, and that setting sticks.  For example, when reading Stephenie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn," I mostly imagine an acquaintance's house, instead of the Cullen's in the film.  This is even after I've seen the film a few times.  It's kind of interesting. 

We have a pretty strong need to defend our respective fandoms.  I guess it's kind of like high school, in a way.  And don't get us started about downing our favorites.  Case in point: Twilight.  Lately, these graphics have been popping up on Pinterest.  The "creator" takes literary/film heroines, such as Hermoine and Katniss, they saved people, helped their friends, etc.  Then there's Bella Swan... who did nothing except get a boyfriend.  Stuff like that.  Kind of drives me nuts.

(They must not have read the end of "Breaking Dawn.")

Repeat after me: They. Are. Different. Stories.  You'd like another word?  Here you go: Genres.

*Steps off soapbox* 

I'm talking to all of my fellow children of the eighties here: How would our lives be different if all the books we love now were available back in high school?  I mean all of us who are *slightly* out of the suggested range for YA (young adult) literature.  It would have been fun.  But we would have been more low-tech about it-- The Internet was just a baby when I was starting high school. 

OK, I think I'm done. 

Currently reading: "The Book Thief" and "How I Live Now."

Movie List for the summer:
- Godzilla
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- The Fault in Our Stars
- Maleficent

The Book Thief

Last week, I watched The Book Thief on pay per view. I was looking for something to watch, and I hadn't heard too much about it. I have seen the trailer but it hadn't gotten enough coverage in the States. It should have gotten a lot more than it did frankly . This movie deserves it.

It's about a girl named Liesel who is sent to live with a German foster couple, just before World War II.  She's rather lonely; her brother dies on the trip where she's given up by their mother.  The foster mother is really... quite mean.  The father, however, is very sweet.  To top it all off, she is behind in school because she doesn't know how to read.  The other children give her a bad time, but she does make friends with a boy named Rudy.  

As time passes, the father helps Liesel learn how to read in the basement. 

Let me take a moment to say that this film, as well as the book, is narrated by Death.  Slight spoiler alert.  Also: you will be VERY tempted to write off the foster mother. DO NOT DO IT. Be patient.

Some time passes, and the War starts to heat up.  Neighbors start to be called up for war. One pivotal moment is when Liesel and her father go to a Nazi book burning.  Publicly, the father supports the Nazi Party, but you can tell he really isn't into it.  During the demonstration, Liesel knows that this is wrong.  After the burning, she is around the pile of smoldering books, where she decides to take one, and reads from it. 

More time passes, and Liesel's parents decide to take in a Jewish man named Max.  He becomes ill shortly after, but recovers.  There is a very memorable scene where the foster mom comes to Liesel's school to tell Liesel that Max is well.  

During his time in the basement, Max makes Liesel a gift of a journal from a painted-over Nazi propaganda book.  Also, Liesel helps deliver laundry that the mother takes in.  One of the stops is at the Mayor's house, where she encounters a mysterious woman who lets her read in her library.  Before Liesel meets the woman, however, her second act of book thievery is from this library.  But the woman lets her read as long as she can on her laundry trips.  

Remember how I said the film is narrated by Death? It's for good reason.  But stick with it.  The ending is bittersweet, but so worth it.  

I've been reading the book; I haven't finished it yet.  It's actually quite poetic, for a non-prose book, so to speak.

I Miss the 90s

I don't know about you, but I thought the 90s were the best Decade for Contemporary Christian Music. 

(Warning: waxing nostalgic will occur. Proceed with caution.)

I first got into it in high school, freshman year or so. That was about the time I discovered Point of Grace.  They were four women out of college, and they sounded really good. The first song I heard of theirs was "The Great Divide." I was hooked. 

The next artist I remember liking was Jaci Velasquez. She was 16 at the time, and had a great voice. Jaci's music had Spanish influences, and she released a Spanish-language album a few years later. She even went sort of "indie rock" for one album. 

CCM even had a brief foray into dance music (well, what I call dance) in the early 2000s, with the ladies' trio ZoeGirl. I liked them, but they really sounded great when they changed their sound to rock around the third album.

About my senior year I was introduced to The Katinas. They are five brothers from Samoa, and they sound great. 

Other artists I loved included Carman, and Twila Paris. 

Fast forward to now. A lot of the artists I liked have either retired or slowed down. ZoeGirl disbanded. Twila Paris has slowed down, at least touring-wise. Jaci hasn't done a lot of music or touring, due to family.  But we still have the Katinas; and Point of Grace, even though they've changed one or two hands. 

It'll be a sad day when they retire.

In short, what do I love about CCM?  The music. The voices. The message. 

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Once You See It

This photo was taken by an employee, who gave me permission to use it. This was found by a manager at night in a NW Houston Walmart. Please... Caption this!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Possibly my favorite combination in the world is chocolate and peanut butter.

What I'm about to tell you will change your life. Ok, not really,  but it is really good.

Take a chocolate rice cake. I use the big ones, I guess you could use the small ones, if you wanted to. Spread peanut butter on that thing. Eat. You're welcome.  I got Mom to love it.

The second thing is really simple, although it does take some time. Get a bunch of regular-sized marshmallows. Dip them in melted chocolate. And sprinkles; I've also done sliced almonds. Let harden.

If you really want something fun, before you dip those marshmallows in chocolate, spread some peanut butter on the "top". Fluffernutter fans, rejoice.


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Fangirl, Party of One

So... Thursday night I went over to my Walmart to await the Catching Fire DVD release. After biding some time in McDonald's, I went to the electronics section.

And waited.

And waited.

Not a soul.

I'd pretty much assumed that "they" would be doing something because ... well, stuff had been done for Hunger Games, and the last two Twilight films.

Oh, well. You live and you learn. At least I preordered the DVD from Target. It arrived the next day.

That reminds me... If you preordered it from Target, they're SHIPPING THE POSTERS. I have a feeling that the hotline has been taking calls from fans today. I dealt with a very nice (and I'm sure, patient) employee over the phone.

Almost There!

We're almost there! For the release of the Catching Fire DVD! I'll be going to a midnight release party tonight, so I'll see you later...

Sent from my iPad 2

Ice, Ice, Houston

Yes, I went there.

This morning we got a rather late-season freeze. It had been preceded by a night of rain, cold temps, and the occasional rumbling of a thunderstorm.  I estimate that I lost power momentarily, only this happened every hour for a few hours.

I walked out to find this....

So I had to go to work, and Mom took some more pictures. 

 

This is the latest that I've ever seen a freeze in the year. Apparently it won't last too long. 

And... The Little Couple is on now!

The Writing of Snark

I don't think I'm capable of writing snarkiness.  Probably I exude it once in a while.  Mom got the sarcasm gene. I have to work at it some more. (Not that I actively do that in the first place...)

I recently read "The Fault in Our Stars." I picked it up after hearing about the movie, and it seems a lot of people enjoyed it.  I like it. Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group and fall in love along the way. Hazel and Gus are snarky characters, the kind of people you secretly want as your best friends. 

There's a ton of great quotes in here.

I finished it a couple days ago, and even though it was sad at the end, I'm looking forward to the movie.

PS: I started learning how to play the guitar recently. Barely started, mind you, but I like it.

Also... Can't wait until the Catching Fire DVD!

Cat Grass

(It's not what you think.)

The person who invented "kitty grass" must have never had a cat. I remembered today how my cat, Punky, would sometimes sneak past me out the door. 

I lived in a second floor apartment at the time. Punky would slip past, race down the stairs as fast as she could, and start chowing down on the little patch of grass by some bushes.

Now at this point, I would try to rush to get her as fast as I could. I didn't want her munching on the grass.

Because a few minutes later, the results weren't pleasant. In case you need a hint, dogs chew on grass for the same reason. 

Yeah, so I wanted to keep that from happening. 

Once Mom had a chive, as well as catnip, plant. She and I were out for the day, only to come home to...nothing. 

Punky ate the whole thing. Mom wasn't happy. 

I Will forever regret we were gone the day the catnip plant was eaten. 

What happened that day, we will never know.

 

Don't Be Afraid to Try

I tend to get slightly overwhelmed/depressed when I go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby. I see a bunch of stuff--

-oh, I need to finish that scarf loom thing.
- i want to try Mod-Podging.
I need to finish that bracelet.
Ooh, look at these beads...

You get the picture.

I got watercolors for Christmas, and I tried them out a couple of weeks ago.

I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, and my mom knows it. Just prior to me trying these out she told me not to be (rather, expect) perfect and get frustrated. Which I do. Sometimes. So I was just playing around. Turns out with art, you don't have to be perfect. Elements of my drawing were good (I thought) and I liked it. Even mistakes can turn out to be something you end up liking.

So don't be that perfect, and try.

Happy New Year!

This year, I resolve to... blog more!  I really do. :) 

 

Have a happy New Year!