Tuesday Top Ten: 2015 Movies I Can’t Wait to See!

I figured it would be really great for me to do a Tuesday Top Ten that didn’t revolve around books! One of my bookish resolutions this year was to focus on some more nerd, dosage other than books, information pills even though books are my LIFE. But its time to bring more nerd into this and there are SO many amazing movies hitting the theaters this year, so let’s count the top ten that I can’t wait to see!

10. Cinderella

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I love Disney. I work for Disney. I love princesses and I love princess stories. And I think Cinderella is a fun story, not only the Disney version but the original versions as well. So I’m interested in where this version is going to go. I haven’t seen Malificent (I know, I know) but I heard it was actually pretty good and an interesting story so I’m sure Cinderella is going to be quite fun.

9. Jurassic World

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YES. There are so many things about this that just make me want to squeal with excitement. Chris Pratt, my god, yum. Dinosaurs. Yes. Weird new hybrid invented dinosaur. WHAT. There’s just so much awesome. I love the entire trilogy. I know most people won’t agree with me but I love every Jurassic Park movie so I’m dying for this new one. I grew up with this and I’m glad to have a new one coming SO soon.

8. Pitch Perfect 2

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Uh duh. I think everyone is ready for the Bellas to sing again. I love music. I love musicals. I love Glee and High School Musical and pretty much anything where there is singing and dancing and I absolutely adore Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow and Rebel Wilson so I’m really excited for this movie. Plus, I think my dad is even more excited about it and it might make a kind of cool daddy-daughter date haha.

7. Love, Rosie 

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Okay, I gotta be honest. I wasn’t a massive fan of the book. I liked the story, the concept but I had to kind of push myself through the book. But the story had a great concept to it so I’m really excited to see it done in the movie, especially since I heard the changes done might make me happier than the book did. Plus I absolutely adore both Lily Collins AND Sam Claflin SO much, so so much so I’m anxious to FINALLY see this movie!

6. The Avengers: Age of Ultron

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Um. Thor. Captain America. The Incredible Hulk. Hawkeye. And number one: Ironman. Oh god that Robert Downey Jr. Plus it will have Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill which makes me super happy as well, so I’m just excited. The first Avengers was fantastic and I’m eager to see another installment. I’ve been anxiously waiting for it, and I’m just so sure its going to be amazing!

5. The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials

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I was really super impressed by The Maze Runner when it released this past summer/fall. I liked the book well enough but it was kind of bizarre and I thought it translated SO much better on screen. Its a very visual concept so it was great to see on screen. Now, The Scorch Trials…I never even finished the book, so I’m determined to do so and I’m eager to see if what turned me off about the book is fantastic on the screen. Plus its more Dylan O’Brien and you can NEVER go wrong with that.

4. The Divergent Trilogy: Insurgent 

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YES. Tris and Four. And Theo James, and god, I love this book. I really like Insurgent. I know its not as good as Divergent and its sloppy but I love it. I love that we see Amity and Candor (especially Amity) and I love the struggle that Tris goes through. There’s so much that goes on this book. Of course that means we’ll be leading into the disaster that is Allegiant but I still am excited for this movie. And after The Maze Runner, I have hope that movies can take the flaws that I don’t like in a book and make it beautiful in a movie.

3. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 

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I mean, duh. I am SO excited. Its the END. SHIT is going to go down. My favorite character in the entire series is going to die and I’m going to crumble into a tiny little depressed version of Sara. Sigh. Plus it means the very last red carpet premiere and I’ll be so bittersweet about it. It’ll be fun to see the end of the series and to see how it all plays out, what is the same as the book and what isn’t and all that sort of thing. I’m SO SO very ready for it.

2. Inside Out

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I’ve always always always been excited for every single Pixar movie that comes out but I’m really excited for this because the trailer for it is FANTASTIC and HILARIOUS. I literally can’t handle it. I’ve seen it a couple times now and I giggle every time. I’m excited to see a truly original Pixar movie again, and to just have my mind blown. I’m totally ready to for it. Pixar is known for being original and new and fun and exciting and its been awhile since I really felt like they delivered on that but I have lots of hope for Inside Out.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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O.M.G. I literally….can’t even handle this. I can’t. Its SO long away and we’ve only gotten one small trailer with barely any information but its STAR WARS. Literally my favorite movies in the entire world, and my first ever fandom and I can’t handle it because its going to have Princess Leia and Han Solo again and the Millennium Falcon in the trailer legitimately made me cry. I can’t HANDLE it. Every time I think of it, I go through such conflicting feelings: excitement and despair…because its SO far away. Sigh.

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What movies are YOU excited for this year? Share in the comments!

Movie Review: The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner

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Rated:

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements and intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, malady including some disturbing images

Directed By:

Wes Ball

Based on the Book By: 

James Dashner

Cast:

Dylan O’Brien, try Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario.

Find the rest on IMDB here.

IMDB Movie Synopsis:

Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they’re all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow “runners” for a shot at escape.

My Review:

I am SO late with this but hey, I’m eventually doing it. This movie is heading into its second weekend at the theaters so its perfect timing to get you guys out there this weekend to see it!

Here’s the thing about The Maze Runner: I liked the book. I enjoyed it. But I didn’t love it. And I think its because while James Dashner is SUCH a kickass person and a great writer, it was hard to picture a lot of things in the novel. I was confused, bewildered and even my own active imagination had problems keeping up with the world. But I honestly thought that this story would just be so much better on screen. The action, the anticipation, the fear, the maze, the Glade, the Grievers…I felt like it would all just look so good on screen.

I was right.

The things that were so hard to picture in written form exploded on screen. This movie had me on the edge of my seat and this is coming from a person who has already read the book. I already knew what would happen, who would live and die, what would happen next, but I was still clutching the armrests of my seat because it was just so full of action and mystery and anticipation. I love a movie that can build it up and keep you on the edge of your seat and that’s exactly what this movie does.

Plus, its funny. You stick a bunch of teenage boys together to survive and you can either get a rag-tag group of friends that somehow keep themselves alive or you get Lord of the Flies. Thankfully, we don’t get Lord of the Flies. Instead we get a rag-tag society that is somehow working and a bunch of guys that can seriously make me laugh. There were several times that I was laughing, and I think it was mostly the character of Chuck, the youngest member of the group, the caused the giggles.

Which brings me to the casting. They had such a great mix of actors, a mix of known ones and a mix of people I’ve never heard before. You had Dylan O’Brien (from Teen Wolf), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (from Game of Thrones), Kaya Scodelario (from Skins) but there are fantastic performances from Blake Cooper, Aml Ameen and Ki Hong Lee as well, and I’m just impressed by all of them. And watch out for an appearance by James Dashner himself.

I think what really brings this movie together, and guaranteed the release of the sequel (coming to theaters in September 2015) is that it appeals more to both genders than a lot of the YA adaptations have in the past. While I think The Hunger Games, Divergent, etc can definitely appeal to boys, its not going to appeal to the wider audience that The Maze Runner does. Its unique when compared to other YA adaptations and its a majority male cast as well. Its definitely garnered attention from movie goers outside of the normal YA crowd, and that’s the real key to a YA movie succeeded, bringing in a broader audience than just those who have read the book, and it definitely accomplished that. Its full of action, its funny, the eye candy isn’t too bad, there is mystery and a sort of thriller feeling to it, and its just great.

If you haven’t been to theater to see this one yet, whether you’ve read the book or not, I definitely recommend going to see it!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

Giveaway: Win a Signed Copy of The Maze Runner!

Happy Release Day to The Maze Runner!

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of this movie for quite some time, rx and was able to see it last night at the 10 pm showing and I’m SO blown away by it. As much as I enjoyed the book, I think the world that James Dashner created exploded even more on screen and it was just brilliant. Great casting, great effects…I could go on for ages but I’ll save that for later in my review of the movie!

Now, unfortunately there was no Hollywood premiere for the movie so I was unable to meet any of the cast for the movie.

BUT!

Fear not, my dear followers! I promised to have a Maze Runner giveaway and I have not failed you.

Think about this: this movie would not exist without the awesome writing and creativity and world building of one James Dashner. He’s the brains behind this operation and he’s honestly just brilliant to meet in person too.

So here’s the prize!

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One Copy of The Maze Runner signed by author, James Dashner!

The Rules (yes, there has to be rules!)

The contest will run from today, September 19th to October 1st!

The winner will be contacted within 24 hours of contest end. If winner(s) do not respond within a 24 hour period of contact, their prize will be forfeited and a new winner will be chosen.

Come back every day to share on Twitter and Instagram to earn more entries!

If you check off an option on the rafflecopter, please make sure that you have fulfilled that option. Please be honest! I double check every winning entry and if you are dishonest, you will not win the prize!

This giveaway is in NO way endorsed by any authors, their publishers, the movie studios or any other affiliates.

What A Nerd Girl Says is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged prizes. It HAS happened before, but only once!

How to Enter: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*****

Good luck!

Don’t forget! Get to those theaters and see the movie! YA movies depend on every ticket sold to do successful in order for sequels to have so go see the movie and see it again and tell your friends all about it!

Weekly Fangirl Round-Up

Nerd Girl News

Check out all the information on the movie tie-in edition of If I Stay!

New Maze Runner stills have been revealed!

E. Lockhart’s most recent novel, sales which is getting SO much buzz, viagra 40mg has officially been optioned for film!

One of my favorite childhood story characters, medical Paddington, is heading to the big screen; check out the new trailer!

New images from the newest Jurassic Park film have been released, featuring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Divergent fans, what you’ve been waiting for is finally here! Our Uriah has officially been cast for Insurgent and has arrived for filming!

More casting news for Insurgent, Rosa Salazar has been cast as Lynn!

In other Divergent news, Hector, the younger brother of Lynn and Marlene, has been cast as well!

Two new cast members have been announced for the adaptation of The DUFF.

A Song of Ice and Fire author, George RR Martin has officially joined twitter!

City of Bones star, Lily Collins, has been cast as the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice and Zomibes!

The first official trailer for Legend of Korra season 3 has finally been revealed!

Its happening, 90s kids, Netflix orders a reboot of The Magic School Bus!

Interesting announcement for video game fans: Sony has a Sonic the Hedgehog movie in the works.

Anomaly, featuring Ian Somerhalder and Noel Clarke, has a trailer!

Vanity Fair has chosen 23 women that will be the new wave of the future.

Check out all these new behind the scenes photos of the filming of Divergent.

The official author list for YALLFest 2014 has been announced and its MIND BLOWING.

Posts and Vlogs

Monday Missions #9

Girls Gone Sci-Fi at Mysterious Galaxy: Book Boyfriends Dating Game!

The Darling Buds at The Hotel Cafe-Recap and Live Video

Tuesday Top Ten: Best Books I’ve Read so Far This Year

Beta Readers Needed for The Awakened! Apply Now (til June 30th)

The Darling Buds at Gibson 90210-Recap and Live Video

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Tuesday Top Ten-Movies to Look Forward to in 2014

Hello everybody! How are we doing this week? We’re now a few weeks into the year, approved and a new year brings so much: new year, pills new goals, new you, new books, new movies!

I get excited every year around new year because I think…oh all those movies I’ve been waiting for are now closer than ever!

There are a TON of great movies hitting the theaters this year, and I’m excited for them. Here are my top ten:

10. The Giver

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August 15th

I’m not going to lie, this movie makes me incredibly nervous. I love this book. This book was the first dystopian novel that I ever really read and that was when I was twelve years old. This novel has definitely stuck with me, and I’m hoping that when it hits the big screen, it’ll be as beautifully filmed as it was written. The fact that there are all these big names makes me nervous because none of the people who are being cast seem to fit what I’ve imagined. I’m also not happy that Taylor Swift has any part of this movie. I mean, I can’t even handle my disappointment in that. But I’m holding out hope that despite that, and despite the most random of an ensemble cast, it’ll be the script from a beautiful book that makes this a great movie.

9. Maleficent

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May 30th 

It seems to be the hippest thing now to do fairy tale retellings now. And I’m totally okay with that. I love Disney movies, and have loved them since I was a kid. All these retellings just make it so that I can enjoy those favorite stories again and again as an adult, in a new way. I’m not an Angelina Jolie fan, honestly, she kind of bothers me. I was telling my friend that if she wasn’t such a good mom (or at least she appears to be), I would probably really dislike her. However, I think she’s an absolutely perfect pick to play the scary Sleeping Beauty villain and I think it’ll be a great movie. It already looks super great, and I’m really really really looking forward to it. The teaser trailer is just enough to make me want to watch.

8. Love Rosie

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No Release Date…Yet 

I literally have such little knowledge on this movie, its ridiculous. I know that its based off a book, but most movies are, so that wasn’t hard to conclude. But it has two of my favorite people in the world in the movie: Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. Both of whom I’ve met too! Which I just thought of and totally made me happy. But this was being filmed around the promotion time for City of Bones so it came on my radar and I’m excited to see it. There is no real release date for it because I think its super indie but I definitely want to see it, and hopefully read it, as well. I think Lily Collins is a great actress who hasn’t quite caught her break yet, and I adore Sam, who ROCKED Finnick in Catching Fire. Its bound to be a good movie, in my head.

7. X-Men: Days of Future Past

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May 23rd 

I wasn’t a huge fan of the “original” XMen trilogy. The first one was decent and the other two were just a yawn. They just didn’t impress me much. So when the prequel came out, I honestly didn’t have a huge desire to see that at all. Eventually I did watch it and I was blown away. I think the prequel was infinitely better than the original trilogy and I loved the cast immensely: James Mcavoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, January Jones and so on. I loved it so much. I would say they made one mistake in casting someone else for Banshee instead of sticking with their original choice of Robbie Sheehan. But that’s just because I’m biased and love Robbie. But because that first movie was absolutely incredible, I am DEFINITELY looking forward to the sequel. I think its going to be just as good, maybe better, and they got rid of Rogue and I’m SO okay with that.

6. The Maze Runner

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September 19th 

I really am looking forward to seeing this movie for several reasons. First off, I adore Dylan O’Brien. I wish that Teen Wolf would have grabbed me more than it did because he is SO great. So being able to see him as the main character of TMR is something I’m very excited about it. I’m also excited because it really was a good book. James Dashner is a great writer, and The Maze Runner is an incredible novel. Its also a really weird, bizarre novel, which leads to another reason I’m looking forward to seeing this movie: maybe things will make a little more sense to me when I can actually see them. Maybe seeing the maze and the Grievers and all that. I also think that its a very action-y book so it’ll work really well on the big screen. Thomas and his fellow Runners are constantly risking their lives to find a way out and I think that will translate SUPER well onto film.

5. The Fault in Our Stars

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June 6th 

Despite the fact that the fans of The Fault in Our Stars is kind of starting to get on my nerves and I’m starting to push more indie, unknown or underrated authors now, instead of just always John Green, I am looking forward to this movie. I enjoy John Green’s books and I did really like TFiOS a lot so I’m eager to see this movie. I also have a soft spot for Ansel, and I swear, it has nothing to do with his abs ;) I’m also excited because Ansel and Shailene will play brother and sister in another highly anticipated movie this year (look below!) and so I’m eager to see how they do both of them. They obviously have a chemistry on screen enough to be in two different movies together. I wish my favorites of John Green, like An Abundance of Katherines or Will Grayson, Will Grayson, on the big screen but there’s no way it’ll ever happen. So this is the next best thing. Let’s see how well they translated this book to the work of film.

4. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

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November 21st 

Duh. I mean, do I really need to go into detail with this? When I first saw The Hunger Games, I definitely enjoyed it. Its a great movie, but it wasn’t…perfect, you know? There were things wrong with it, and I liked it but it wasn’t a huge favorite. When I saw Catching Fire though, it blew my mind. Its not perfect because a movie will hardly ever be as perfect as the book but it was pretty damn close. I wanted to stand up and tackle Francis Lawrence and all the brains behind CF with hugs and kisses because it was SO SO good. I was only partly looking forward to CF because HG was just okay. Now I’m dying to see Mockingjay because I have high hopes for it. I honestly think its going to be just amazing, and the casting they have been doing for it is great and I want to do fan camp again. The whole Catching Fire experience pulled me so much back into The Hunger Games world and I’m dying to see the first part of the finale. I still don’t know why its split into two parts but whatever. Let’s just enjoy it.

3. Vampire Academy 

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February 7th 

This is only a few weeks away which makes me incredibly excited. I just read the books within the last six months but they have quickly become favorites of mine. The title and the idea of it sounded awful but Richelle Mead blew me away. Its an incredible series so I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. I’m so freakin excited. Plus I have huge crushes on both Zoey Deutch and Danila Kozlovsky and I want to see their chemistry as Rose and Dimitri. I am a bit nervous because it seems very “mean girls” but then I see a clip or a still of Zoey kicking ass and I get excited all over again. She’s super beautiful and perfect for the casting of Rose and I think its going to be a really fun movie. And I hope to get my butt down to the premiere so I can fangirl again and again over Zoey and Danila.

2. The Hobbit: There and Back Again

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December 17th 

I wasn’t overly impressed with The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug but I still feel like I need to go back and re-read the book and then rewatch the movie so I can really see whether I like it or not. It just didn’t effect me as much as the first one did. That one was just so amazing to me, the fight scenes and the elves, and Rivendell and the riddle scene with Gollum. Agh. But I’m hoping with the conclusion, it’ll comes together nicely. The end of The Hobbit is great, and a whole lot goes down so I’m ready to see that. I’m ready to see Smaug destroy the town, and I’m ready for Bard and I’m ready for Thorin to kind of go crazy and I’m ready for Bilbo to become an even bigger badass than he already was. I have some seriously high hopes for this movie (I mean, it is number 2 on the list) so I hope I am not disappointed.

1. Divergent

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March 21st 

I can hardly contain my excitement for this movie. When they first started casting for it, I admit, I was nervous. I was not a fan of Shailene Woodley. All I had ever seen her in was The Secret Life of An American Teenager and…no, just no. But the more I saw her transformation into Tris, the more I felt comfortable with her as Tris. Then I saw The Spectacular Now with my boyfriend at a special screening and it was SO good, and she really impressed me. She did such a great job. That, combined with the casting of Theo James as Four, made me more excited about the movie. I mean, have you seen Theo James. I need a bucket of cold water to the face every time I see him. Since then, we’ve gotten a TON of stills, really amazing trailers and I am just so excited for this movie. Once I saw the first full length trailer, I really thought, “wow, this could be good”. I love these books, I feel like I’m one of a small group that absolutely loved the ending and I can’t wait to see my favorite Divergent characters come to life in March. And to hopefully be at that premiere because, come on, its Divergent!

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So there you have it! My Top Ten Most Anticipated Movies of 2014! Check in next week to see my top Ten reasons why I want to be an author :)

What are some movies that you are looking forward to in 2014? Share in the comments!