Hunger Games

Remember when I used to post kind of regularly and actually had some interesting stories?  No?  Me neither.  Ah but such is life.


I did realize that I have desperately failed you by not posting ANYTHING about The Hunger Games.  No book review, no movie review, no post about how much I LOVED this series.  So I'm going to do it here.


For about the past year, everyone I know and their grandmother was reading The Hunger Games.  Big blockbuster books always make me a little nervous - what if I don't like it as much as everyone else?  Then you're the weird girl who constantly has to explain why she didn't like the book that everyone else is obsessed with.  


But after I had heard from the 14736867926th person that I needed to read The Hunger Games, I decided to take the plunge.  After my exams were over in December I bought the first book.  And read it in a day.  And loved it.  And proceeded to read the second book.  In another day.  And then the third.  In a third day.  And then I had this weird Hunger Games hangover and couldn't really adjust back to reality for a few days.  


The series was mesmerizing.  The books are Young Adult (YA) and very easy to read.  The story, however, is geared to a much broader audience.  I honestly cannot remember the last time that I had a reading experience like I had while reading The Hunger Games.  It was similar to my Harry Potter experience, but different in an important way.  I waited for years in between Harry Potter books (where I read the available books again and again and again). But all of The Hunger Games books were already out!  No waiting!  It let me get absorbed in the series in a different kind of way that I liked.


So without further ado, my review of The Hunger Games.  


Many years in the future, after famine and war and floods and eventually a new peace, the U.S. is no more.  Instead there is the Panem which is made up of Twelve Districts and a Capitol.  To maintain its dominance over the districts the Capitol requires each district to send a boy and girl tribute every year to the Capitol to participate in the annual Hunger Games: a brutal, televised fight to the death that is required programming for all citizens of the Panem.  The winning tribute brings riches, fame, and glory back to their district in a hopelessly self-perpetuating style.


Enter Katniss Everdeen.  Katniss is a sixteen year old girl from District 12, located near modern Appalachia.  Her father died years before in a mining accident and has dedicated her life to taking care of her mother and younger sister, Prim.  When her sister's name is drawn to be the District 12's Tribute, Katniss volunteers to go in her place.  Peeta Mellark is chosen as District 12's male tribute.  Together Katniss and Peeta head to the Capitol with their coach, Haymitch, and District liaison, Effie, to participate in the 74th Hunger Games.


I won't say much more about the plot, I don't want to give anything away, but I really do think you should go read it.  You can purchase The Hunger Games here.


Now for the movie.  I loved it.  I thought it was a really great film adaptation of a really excellent book.  No movie is ever exactly like the book, it can't be.  But I thought that this movie was pretty true to the book.  They spent some time showing what was going on outside of the arena while the Games were going on.  I liked the context that those scene gave.  I liked how they portrayed the differences between people from the Capitol and people from the Districts.  


What didn't I like?  I felt like a few of the details of the movie were confusing.  In the book they really explain Haymitch's role in the Games.  In the movie it was just explained in passing that he was their coach and mentor.  I also found that a few of the relationships fell a little flat.  But as a whole, I think they did a great job and I'm excited for the sequel!

The Muppets

I thought I'd take a page out of my pal Hannah's book and write about a movie I'm DYING to see.  (Hannah, by the way, is one of my fabulous law school friends who manages not only to be my study buddy but is also able to keep up with her winningly witty blog which you can find here.)


I grew up in a Muppet household.  I don't remember a time in my life when there wasn't Kermit the Frog or Miss Piggy.  From The Muppet Movie to The Great Muppet Caper and from Muppet Babies to Kermit's stint as a special reporter on Sesame Street, I have developed over the course of my life time a deep-seated and very important admiration for the Muppets.  Christmas was celebrated with this (it never quite feels like Christmas until I hear all the Muppets sing the ba dum dum dums during the 12 Days of Christmas):

The BEST Christmas album EVER

Anyhoo, I have been looking forward to this day since LAST Christmas when I first heard about the Muppets' new movie.  Once I heard that Jason Segel (of How I Met Your Mother fame) had not only written the movie, but was also set to star in it, I was more than sold, I was ready to buy my tickets then and there.

This morning Jason Segel appeared on Live! with Kelly (now without Regis, sad).  He started talking about why he loves the Muppets, and it was EXACTLY why I love the Muppets.  I wish I could find a clip somewhere, but it only aired this morning and quite honestly, my google skills are not quite up to par.  To paraphrase, Jason Segel talks about how the Muppets represent the best part of ourselves, how we're always better together than apart, and how they somehow symbolize the innocence of childhood, just teetering on the brink of chaos.  It was fantastic, if you can find the clip (and love the Muppets) then I strongly recommend checking it out.  It was wonderful.  Almost as wonderful as Miss Piggy.

P.S.  In case you have yet to see it, here's the trailer for the latest Muppet wonderfulness, coming out in TWO DAYS!!!

ANY MOVIES YOU'RE DYING TO SEE OVER THANKSGIVING WEEKEND?

ARE YOU UNABASHEDLY IN LOVE WITH THE MUPPETS?  WHICH ONE?

Emily Giffin

I invested a lot of my free time this summer into one woman: Emily Giffin.  And honestly I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.  Emily Giffin is the author who penned Something Borrowed (that inspired this movie) and Something Blue.  These two books found their way into my beach bag this summer and I saw the movie with a friend of mine.


Honestly?  I did not like either the book or movie version of Something Borrowed.  I did, however, LOVE Something Blue.  Let me explain.


Both of these books are about long-time best friends Rachel and Darcy.  Rachel is bookish and smart, but she is not assertive and lets people walk all over her.  Darcy is vivacious and selfish and takes advantage of Rachel's insecurity.  Rachel is a lawyer (actually so is Ms. Giffin, the law school bits were super realistic).  In law school Rachel meets Dex, develops a crush on him, and then introduces him to Darcy.  Darcy then falls in love with Dex and they get engaged (this is all explained very, very early on in the book, so no spoilers here!).  


At Rachel's thirtieth birthday party, Darcy gets crazy drunk and steals the show (again).  So Rachel sleeps with Dex.  


My biggest problem with this book was this: yes, Darcy was terrible.  She was an awful, self-centered friend.  But she didn't do anything that would justify her fiance cheating on her with her best friend.  I didn't find it to be quite the moral dilemma that I think Ms. Giffin was hoping for.


Now the movie.  Ok, so the story line carried over which I already didn't care for.  My other big problem with the movie was casting.  The guy that played Dex was crazy hot.  But my problem was that John Krasinski (also known as Jim Halpert) played Rachel's other close friend, Ethan.  There are few men that I love more than Jim Halpert so I had a really hard time rooting for Rachel and Dex to get together as I was really rooting for Rachel and Ethan to live happily ever after.  


I was glad to be done with Emily Giffin, but then THREE of my friends told me that I had to read Something Blue.  I'm glad I listened.  As awful as I thought Something Borrowed was, I loved Something Blue.  Where Something Borrowed is written from Rachel's perspective, this book is told by Darcy.  Which I liked a lot more than I expected.


At the end of Something Borrowed some sh!t gets real.  The sequel picks up where it left off.  Its really about Darcy growing up and becoming a good, honest human being.  While there's some sort of endearing quality about Darcy, this book is also missing the moral dilemma that misses the mark.  


So basically, read Something Borrowed because you need to read Something Blue and quite frankly the sequel won't make as much sense without reading the first book.  Happy reading!

WHAT'S CURRENTLY ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?

DO YOU READ BOOKS  YOUR FRIENDS RECOMMEND?

DO YOU LOVE JIM HALPERT TOO???

Movie Time!

When I was little, my family had a tradition that we would each pick our favorite Christmas movie and watch one a weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

I love Christmas movies.  They make me cry happy tears.

Here are five of my favorite Christmas movies, in no particular order.  If you've never seen one of them, you should ASAP.  Because I promise you, its awesome.


1.  Elf (2003)

Buddy, a human raised by the elves working for Santa, leaves the North Pole and heads to the big city to meet his dad, who is on the naughty list.  Hilarity ensues as Buddy navigates New York City and teaches his newfound family the meaning of Christmas.

Not much of a tear-jerker, but I promise you'll laugh out loud!

2.  A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

I love this movie more than I can say.  As in, I can, and do watch this movie at least ten times between turkey day and Christmas.  It features my favorites, the Muppets, and it is SO TRUE to the book (as are most Muppet book to film adaptations, but that's another story for another day).  Besides what can be more Christmasy than the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge?

This movie is funny and heartwarming.

3.  Its a Wonderful Life (1946)

My dad's favorite, and the movie that is guaranteed to make me cry.  Its simply a classic.  I don't think my words can adequately do justice to this film.  Watch it and you'll understand.

4.  A Christmas Story (1983)

Christmas is funny.  If you don't believe me, watch as Ralphie plans and plots to get an Official Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas.  Its on TBS for 24 hours starting on Christmas Eve.

5.  Home Alone (1990)

Macaulay Culkin before he got weird.  I actually don't watch this one every year, but have been dying to see it this Christmas.

Kevin Arnold gets left home alone when his family goes to Paris for Christmas.  Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern are bumbling burglars trying to break into the Arnold house (which is absolutely stunning by the way).

That's all for now!  Happy movie watching!