My vote is on Shang and Mulan to win. Who would you pick?
Via 9GAG.
P.S. — I know I’m about 2 months late on this, but I absolutely LOVED The Hunger Games movie. I honestly believe it was the best book-to-movie adaptation I have ever seen. I can’t wait until Catching Fire and Mockingjay are released in theaters!
P.P.S. — Speaking of popular books, what’s the big deal with Fifty Shades of Grey? Is it worth reading? Is it just as the SNL Amazon Mother’s Day Ad portrays it to be?
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This is cute. Mulan could definitely kick some ass in the arena! I have heard so much about 50 Shades from everyone. A friend of mine read all three in one weekend and really liked them… This is convincing enough for me to give the first one a try!
Dude, seriously, the Beast! I mean, hello, he’s a beast. Beauty would probably keel over quick, but that’s ok. For the girl, definitely Mulan. She pretty much beat the Huns all by herself. That’s accomplishment right there. But then Hercules is a demigod, so he’d be tough to beat too… geez! This is too tough!
One of my favorite road trip debates with the hubs was which of the X-Men would we choose to be in the zombie apocalypse. I chose Gene for her telekinesis, but of course he’s all over Wolverine. Though if that meant he’d be Hugh Jackman I’d so be on board with that…
My husband and I have had the same conversation! And for me, I’d pick Rogue because she can absorb any other mutant power (and not be all wimpy about it like she is portrayed in the movies).
But then my thought is, what if she bumps into a zombie? Would that turn her into one?
I don’t know… I think they might be underdogs, but I might put my money on Pocahontas and John Smith! For some reason I just think they have what it takes to survive in the arena, lol.
I also wonder about which team would be the first ones eliminated. I think Eric and Ariel. Any thoughts as to which team is the weakest?
Hmm I think it’d be a close call between Eric/Ariel and The Prince/Snow White!
I wouldn’t count Jasmine/Aladdin out! He has some street smarts. I think Snow White might be the first to go – after all, she’s pretty careless about what she eats!
*Hunger Games Spoilers*
I read the series 2 weeks ago, saw the movie last week and then reread the series this week. There were things that I thought were pretty crucial to the books that the movie was missing. The pin was not from Prim and I think the gift being from Madge is important to the other books. I was also upset that Peeta kept his leg – I feel like that was crucial to understanding why Katniss held out the berries and is crucial to believing that she truly cares for him despite not being 100% sure she’s in love with him. My husband, who had not read the books didn’t understand that there was an element of Katniss pretending to love Peeta. I was fairly upset about it actually and wondered if Collins approved it, but then found out that she wrote a lot of the screen play and was heavily involved. It’s definitely not how I would have done it (I’d like to see a 6 part mini-series that really gets into the multi-layers – or a more epic length film like Lord of the Rings).
I thought those two changes (the pin and Peeta’s leg) were enough to set the movie apart from the book, but not so crucial as to change the tone or theme, so I applauded them. And I’ve spoken with someone who’s never read the books who understood that Katniss was conflicted and was only pretending to love Peeta, at least in the beginning — I guess it’s all a matter of interpretation?
I really don’t think Madge is all that important in the books. At least, not enough to warrant a mention in the movie as to who she is only to eliminate her later. To me, having the pin come from Prim meant more for the audience, rather than having to take time to explain the whole Mockingjay concept and Madge’s aunt and her relationship with Haymitch and all that.
I was a little sad about the leg, though. At least, about missing Katniss’ beserk reaction to being separated from him at the end. I wish they hadn’t downplayed that part so much
I completely agree with what you said!!!
I felt like the movie lacked an emotional connection between peeta & katniss vs gale & katniss as well!
And while I can understand how difficult it is to film a movie and “get into” the mind of katniss- i wish the movie would have filmed aspects of katniss’s life in flashbacks while she was trudging thru the hunger game arena so as to help build a foundation as to why she is conflicted/or felt she had owed peeta or gale her “allegiance”(?)
I certainly would have filmed parts of the book to movie differently. Hopefully with a new director in the next film it will make the movie story version better? Accurate?
I talked to a friend about this for a while – since the book is from Katniss’ perspective and you have the benefit of being in her thoughts, we thought the movie should have incorporated more of that voice somehow. I think a narrative, voice overs, etc. would have gone a long way in making the it more clear.
Hmm It’s funny because when I read the books, I honestly didn’t understand all the “Team Peeta” “Team Gale” stuff, because I felt like the love stories took a back seat to the central plot, as well as to Katniss’s love for her family. As such, I felt that the movie did a fine job of leaving some of that stuff out. But again, it’s all a matter of interpretation. I’ve read essays that agree with me as well as those that concentrate more on what you’ve said.
I agree with your assessment. The love interests were more of a sub-plot and weren’t the drivers of most of the action, IMHO.
Hi there! I’m soooo glad that you’re back to blogging. I hope all is well with you again. Cheers to a smooth recovery for you! ***Hugs***
Anyway, I really really wanted to like the Hunger Games, but I have to agree that there was a lack of emotional connection between Katniss with Peeta and Gale. I also expected district 12 to be more dystopic and less Appalachian destitute. The jerky movements in how the movie was shot also made me dizzy, and the special effects of the Capital was cartoonish and a bit skimpy for my liking.
Fifty Shades is over hyped. It’s poorly written with lack of character depth and development. The story takes place in Seattle, but the dialogue was distinctly British. Anastasia is immature and fairly plain and uninteresting. I could not see how Grey can be attracted to her. I did not buy into the fact that Christian Grey is a 27 yr old billionaire (a la Mark Zuckerberg)exuding sex appeal and control. IMO, men at that age are only beginning to fully mature, so I find neither Zuckerberg nor Grey sexy. However, to make the reading more tolerable, I imagined Grey to be Jim Caviezel (a la Person of Interest on CBS).
The sex is explicit but unoriginal and fairly tame when compared to other erotica novels (Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty trilogy.) Kind of like reading a bad romance novel. The author was very repetitive in her description that I just mainly skimmed through those parts. My advice is to skip it and perhaps go see the movie.
Yes! The Capitol folks in the movie were too much Willy Wonka for me. I felt that the costumes lacked a futuristic imagination and instead relied too heavily on the same future prototype that’s been in use the past century or so.
I think it’s so interesting how some people loved the movie and others hated it — and oftentimes, it’s because the movie was, or was not, an accurate portrayal of how they interpreted the book. For example, I remember that I hated the second Harry Potter movie because Lockhart was so different from how I had imagined/interpreted him to be, but my sister loved it because the movie character was exactly how she envisioned it. So I guess what I’m saying is, I think I loved the movie so much because it was exactly how I had interpreted the book…and although there were changes, they were not to crucial as to take away from, or change the tone or theme of the books.
And thanks for your opinion on Fifty Shades!
Tame compared to parts of the Kushiel series as well, but my opinion differs from yours a bit on the depth of character. For short, romance-novel books, it’s not bad. I’ve certainly seen and read a lot worse. It’s not a full sci-fi or fantasy or even regular novel, by any means…nor is it one of the great classics.
Hi! I thought hunger games was good, I had never read the books, so I didn’t really know what I was going to watch. So, I have no opinion on how it was film vs. written.
I am really commenting to share a link with you… http://sweetnessitself.blogspot.com/2012/05/50-shades-ofconfusion.html
I know that you are a Christian, and a sweet friend wrote this post on purity and why she won’t be reading 50 Shades. I had not really heard about the book, but from what it sounds like it is about, doesn’t really sound very edifying.
Hope you have a peaceful day. Blessings.
I liked the Hunger Games movie too.
I read the first 50 Shades of Grey book and didn’t really feel compelled to read the others. The plot, characters, etc. just seemed so contrived I just found myself rolling my eyes throughout the whole book (“Laters, baby”–WHO SAYS THAT!?!). In any case, it’s a quick read so you might as well read it to say that you have. I’ll probably consider reading the other two books at some point, maybe they will be better… (I thought the first Twilight book was pretty bad, for example, but the rest of them turned out to be somewhat better)
..but I just started reading Game of Thrones so I think that will keep me occupied for awhile (HIGHLY RECOMMEND)
I absolutely agree with you. I thought the first 50 Shads book was poorly written and I had no desire to read the other two. My sister said the other two were worse.
Thanks for the tip on Game of Thrones.
Do NOT read the other 2 books in the 50’s series. They are even MORE horrible!!!! I made the mistake of buying all 3 books at once, so I was forced to read them all. But let me tell you, it’s the same plot being dragged out at how “conflicted” Grey is and how Anastasia is the only person who can “save” him. I wasted an entire weekend on this and wish I could’ve just just read something else. I’ll write a short spoiler at the end for those who wants to know what happened but don’t want to torture themselves through 2 more books.
Anyway, I love the Games of Thrones series on HBO, so I didn’t want to ruin it by reading the book (always comparing on how interpreted the scene vs. the show)just yet. However, I highly recommend The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie for anyone who likes this kind of genre. Very well written with great humor.
**SPOILER ALERT for 50 SHADES**
Basically, Anastasia was a big baby and broke up the relationship, so Christian proposed to her. All is well until drama with “Mrs. Robinson” arose and their secret was exposed to the family. Anastasia starts working and was hit on by a perverted boss, in which Christian came to her rescue and fired the boss. Then they married. Perverted boss exacted revenge by trying to kill them. In the end, they stayed happily married with 2 kids. The End.
So, glad you’re back to blogging!
I think it would totally depend on what the arena was like – if it was heavily wooded like in the first book/movie Tarzan would probably do pretty well. From the ladies, I’d pick Pocahontas to win.
I loved the Hunger Games movie too – I felt like the things that were different weren’t critical. Although, it’s been about a year since I read the books so maybe that helped too. A couple of my friends have issues with motion sickness though, so they didn’t enjoy it.
Glad to hear the reviews on Fifty Shades – I’ve been curious about it too. Same with Game of Thrones.
I read all 3 books in 50 Shades, and wrote a ginormous blog post about it (http://www.snotw.com/2012/05/fifty-shades-of-grey.html). If you want to avoid spoilers, my bottom line was this:
Yes, I thought it was poorly written. Yes, the main characters grated on my nerves. Yet, I continued to read, finishing all three books within a week. Obviously, there was something there pulling me in to the story. In the end, it’s just a romance novel – the classic fantasy of a rich man sweeping you up and giving you everything. It’s a Cinderella story, and one I’d say most women have dreamed about or fantasized about at one point or another. I like romantic movies, this is basically the equivalent, with a little kink thrown in. I liked the story okay, but I LOVE books with really, actually strong female characters and that was not this.
If you’re curious about it, why not read it? It’s not going to take up that much of your time. If you need some inspiration for your daydreams about meeting a rich man and being swept away, this could work. But if you are only interested because of the erotic element, why not just go to the erotic fiction section of your bookstore, or if you’re not ready for that, try literotica.com… You’ll find fiction that’s better written and just as hot.
If you do end up reading it, I would be very interested on your thoughts!
I think Hercules for boy and Mulan for a girl
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