Catching Fire Review

Okay. I know.  I'm finally getting around to it.  Here it is:

I went to go see catching fire on opening day. I wasn't that bowled over by it. But I couldn't find much to complain about. I thought it was a very solid adaptation, and it is very faithful to the book. Maybe that's why; I knew what was going to happen.

(Unlike that little battle bit in BD2.)

Here's what I really liked...

The world of Panem. We see more of it.  The various districts, etc.

Finnick. Sam C. was good. His character won't be more fully examined until Mockingjay. I just really liked his demeanor.

Johanna.  I loved, loved, loved Johanna. Jena was perfect.  A great mix of (slight) insanity and uncertainty.

I loved the ending sequence with Katniss being told about her district, her last scene.  One unexpected surprise was the morphing of the mockingjay.

The only thing I missed from the book was Plutarch's watch dialogue with Katniss.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Mockingjay.

PS: a special thanks to The Hob.org for the contest tickets! 

I went to go see it again last week, so here are some additional observations:

-President Snow was very creepy.
-The "documentary" style still kept, in a way (I.e. Caesar's interview)
-same music cues from The Hunger Games were used.
-Haymitch, you can tell, is starting to care about Katniss.

A 2nd thanks to The Hob for the shirt from the contest. :-)

We Fandoms Don't Riot....

Tonight I learned that having two emotional season finales in a row cannot be easily handled. It's harder if you happen to belong to more than one.

Case in point: The Walking Dead. It had been rumored for at least a couple of weeks that one of the major characters from WD was going to depart, and some people had a pretty good idea who it was going to be. People have made these "Internet pictures" saying "If _____ dies, we riot." [Insert favorite character here]

I'd liked how the season had been going. The story lines, plenty of drama, etc. The suspense.
And then came the mid season finale. It was still shocking when it happened, and it was sad. But by the end of that episode we pretty much got what we wanted, albeit with a cliffhanger.

When Herschel died, we didn't riot, we pretty much got depressed. That sums it up.

Fast forward to tonight. Homeland. If you've been watching it this season, you know it's been a bit of a mixed bag. Slow starters. Cliff hangers. Twists. More slow moments. I ended up liking it. It came to a big cliffhanger tonight. But the viewer slowly came crashing down back to earth with 20 minutes to go.

I was just left staring at the screen. What just happened? Did that just happen?

Yeah. It did. Nicholas Brody died. With Carrie- and us- watching it all. No rioting. Pretty depressed. Again.

My Twitter feed seemed to consist of subdued disappointment. And the seemingly collective feeling that Homeland couldn't continue.

Apparently, it can. There'll be a fourth season. But we- the fandom - doesn't think it should be for long.

So... Damian... If you ever see this... Thanks for a great job.

Better Late than Never

Yes, I've been meaning to write more often.  I really have.  Honest.

I did get "Allegiant" when it was released, and I've been reading it here and there.  Reluctantly.  I've been having a hard time with it; namely, the two perspectives.  If I had sat down one weekend and read it straight through, I probably would have had an easier time with it.  Thanks to Amazon, (*sarcasm*) I know what happens at the end, but I'm still going to finish it.  Maybe V. Roth should have just written it in "chunks," like Stephenie Meyer did with "Breaking Dawn." One character talks for several chapters, then the other takes over.  Something like that.

I did start a fanfiction piece for "The Hunger Games."  And I desperately need to finish my Twilight one.

I am absolutely STOKED for "Catching Fire."  I've loved all the scenes and TV spots that have been released.  Although, I must admit, I will have to start a self-imposed spot-fast starting now.  I got my gear from Hot Topic.

And, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I'd won one of the contests that The Hob was conducting.  Yay!  Looking forward to getting the package.

Perspective and Gumbo

Last night was Walking Dead and Homeland. Walking Dead was good; the suspense and questions commence now. I still question whether or not animals are able to transmit the virus.

Best Tweet of the night: (not mine) "#ifDarylCoughsWeRiot"

After that was Homeland. I know the jury's been mostly split on how this season is going, given that Carrie and Brody have two separate story lines; at least for the time being. Saul is being very mean right now. There's a whole camp of Dana-haters, but she's interesting, at least. How else would a teen in this situation react?

We have another session of the mysterious "suits" following Carrie, and finally figuring out what they want. There's a very scary three minutes of thinking Carrie's going to be found guilty of espionage, but--- Oooh, what's this? Carrie's going to see Saul? Showdown!

Wait, what??? It was all a ----??

My twitter-wishes were granted, to say the least. And it reminded me that in film, tv, and books, we aren't always shown every perspective.

And that's what makes it good.

PS: Mom makes a good half-homemade gumbo. Take however many cans of Cambell's Chicken & Sausage Gumbo you need. Add frozen okra. Add some more frozen okra. If you like extra okra. Add some thawed cooked shrimp at the end, and heat it through. It's very good.

Also... Just finished reading "The Boy on the Wooden Box." It was very good; it tells the story of one of the survivors from Schindler's List. I interrupted "Dead Man Walking" for "Carrie's Run," so I need to finish that.

I do have books about the Mossad, and Queen Elizabeth II, that I need to start. But there's probably going to be another interruption for "Allegiant."

Instrumental Work

I have always been rather fond of a good instrumental piece.  I basically grew up with an orchestra in church.  I've taken music lessons off and on throughout the years, although I needed to practice a lot more than I did, frankly.  And I still have a desire to play the piano again.  Guitar, too, for that matter.  Rather, learn how to play the guitar.

So, that being said, there are some instrumental pieces from films that I've grown to love.  

"Bella's Lullaby"- by now it's no secret that I love Twilight.  "Bella's Lullaby" is a very sweet, relaxing piece with a lovely piano solo.  I do wish it was longer, though. "Bella Reborn" (from "Breaking Dawn part 1") has a selection from that piano solo.  And the unique thing is, just before the solo, the strings section sounds like something from a sweeping Western.  (YouTube it, and you'll get what I mean.)

"Soul Inside"- this is from the film "The Host." It's a very lovely acoustic guitar-driven piece.  I've been meaning to get the rest of the score. You might like this if you're partial to the acoustic guitar. 

"Father Christmas"- this is my favorite selection from "The Chronicles of Narnia," and I would still love to hear this live.  This is going on my Christmas playlist.  The only thing is, it segues into a darker part where the Pevensies are being chased by wolves; but it's all one track.

"Nessun Dorma"- technically, this is from an opera, sung by Luciano Pavarotti.  I love it.  One place you can hear it is in "The Sum of All Fears."

"Theme from Schindler's List"- very moving, and thoughtful.  

"Deep Shadows"-  This is a piece, strangely enough, that is not found in any film at all.  It was used in a trailer for "The Hunger Games."  And as it turns out, apparently a bunch of people liked it, and subsequently were disappointed that it wasn't in the film.  Myself included.  (But the artist made it available to purchase online.).  There's another good piece the artist did for the "Catching Fire" trailer.

Do you have a favorite?  Happy listening! 

Two New Arrivals

This previous weekend was pretty busy. Comic-Con was wrapping up, and so we got the new trailer for "Catching Fire." It was really neat; there was a lot of great tidbits in it.... Katniss and Peeta... The new tributes, more of the Capitol, and even a bit of the Games. You could tell the special effects are greater. It was just a great trailer, overall.

And the second arrival... A little baby named George Alexander Louis.

Sent from my iPad 2

Sprouts

I have gone to my fair share of concerts, and attended DVD release parties for Twilight and Hunger Games.... I'm used to waiting in line. (And yes, I'm wishing I could be at Comic-Con...) 

But today was the first time I'd ever waited in line for the opening of a grocery store.  I'd heard interesting things about Sprouts, and this morning I was able to go to the grand opening.  

I got up very early....

5:11am
"I got here about 10 minutes ago and there's about 15- or so people in line. Most of them brought their camping chairs. Weather isn't too bad. I got about 4 hours of sleep."

5:45am
"There's about 15 more people behind me now.  I've been sitting on the ground. Leaning against the row of grocery carts.  Someone near me brought a blanket to sit on and is watching a DVD.  We're lucky it's not raining. Listening to my "Twilight" playlist and have tried to get a little shuteye. Enjoyed part of my PB bagel 'sandwich.'"

6:05a -- 

They are giving out muffins and coffee. Got the muffin [I don't drink coffee, really....] Employees gave out bands for the free goody bag, and there were about 20 or so more people in line. And a local high school band arrived. They started playing early. ** I wondered if they got paid, or at least got free food. **

At around 6:30, people stood up and "officially" got into line, which now stretched to Panera.  

The store opened on time, and the employees welcomed everyone inside, giving high fives.  I went to the bulk section.  It was very neat.  12 flavors of gummi bears? Yes, please.  I eventually made it to the outer aisles, where I found my favorite Annie Chun's seaweed snacks.  Buy one, get one free? Of course!  In all reality, I should have bought more (only bought 4, total).  

It was very crowded, but still fun.  And I swear I ended up in one of their pictures on Facebook.    :-). I'm looking forward to going back.