Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

November 19, 2014November 19, 20141 Comment

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

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Rated:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material

Directed By:

Francis Lawrence

Based on the Book By:

Suzanne Collins

Cast:

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Sam Claflin, Julianne Moore and more.

Find the rest on IMDB here.

IMDB Movie Synopsis:

When Katniss destroys the games, she goes to District 13 after District 12 is destroyed. She meets President Coin who convinces her to be the symbol of rebellion, while trying to save Peeta from the Capitol.

My Review:

Here’s the thing about Mockingjay. Its my least favorite book in the entire trilogy. I read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire about a month before Mockingjay came out. I remember reading the first two and just being absolutely blown away by it and then just feeling disappointed by Mockingjay. So much potential there but it just felt kind of sloppy, rushed, weird.

BUT, that being said…I was really looking forward to this movie. I liked the first movie well enough but the second movie just completely blew my mind and so I was really looking forward to this one. I went to the premiere and was on a complete high from the red carpet and went into the theater really excited for this movie.

One thing that really impressed me is that Francis Lawrence continues the trueness to the book that he showed us in Catching Fire. I knew what was happening next at every turn because it just felt so true to the book. Scenes that I wanted to happen, lines I wanted to hear, that sort of thing, were all there. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that actual lines from the book were said. That always means a lot to me because the worlds that we show in these movies were created by the words of the author and to use those words in the movie, it means a lot. Those words are important to the reader. We quote those books. So hearing them said by these actors that do SUCH a great job is just fantastic.

I loved that a lot of my favorite scenes were in the movie. I don’t want to say which ones because this is spoiler free but I really loved that the scenes that stood out to me in the books are the ones that ended up on screen.

Julianne Moore as Coin? Loved it. She had a nice balance of kind of weird and untrusting and at the same time, a passion for the rebellion and a control over the people she governs. She really brought that character to life. Natalie Dormer as Cressida? UGH. Love. She’s amazing. I cant wait to see more of her in Part 2.

Sad face every time that Philip Seymour Hoffman came on screen. KILLED me. There is so much of him in this movie, and I just loved it.

Jennifer Lawrence. Liam. Josh. Elizabeth. Donald. Sam. All of them are just so great.

I love where they cut it. Its great. Its kind of what the fandom expected but just a bit more and that’s what I loved. Because they probably assumed the fandom would know where they would logically cut it, it was really cool to see them twist it a bit. Still completely true to the book but just a fantastic end to the movie until we get Part 2. Can we get Part 2 now?

They added SO much action to it. Action that already existed but it really stood out on screen. It felt so real and frightening. The movie was pretty long but it didn’t feel that way because the action of it kept you wrapped up in it the whole time. It was so great to see Katniss really fight, and to see others fighting beside her, especially Gale. We don’t see much of Gale in the first two movies because she ends up in the Games both times so it was great to see more of him. I LOVE Gale as a character, and his passion for the rebellion, no matter the cost, so I loved seeing him fight and stand up for his rights and his thoughts.

There were two added scenes and I loved both of them. I can’t say much more than that. One was completely made up but stayed true to the events taking the place in the novel. Let’s just say my friend, who is a District 7 girl, was like “Yes! District 7! That’s my district!” in the theater last night. It was a really epic addition. The other addition was something that most definitely takes place in the novel but is kind of off screen because Katniss is not involved so therefore we have no perspective on it. I loved that they added it, it was just SO great, and intense and caused me lots of anxiety, even though I’ve read the book a bunch of times and know how it ends.

All in all, I’m massively impressed with this adaptation. Francis really knows what he’s doing. They capture the soul and essence of this book, stay true to the story and the characters but really bring it to life on screen. They take something that is so small in the books and blow it up into a huge, significant and beautiful scene on screen and I was really impressed by that. The performances by all the actors were incredible and I seriously can’t wait to see the second part. I think the movie gave the opportunity to straighten out those things that were messy in the book and I’m eagerly looking forward to the epic finale next fall!

OH! One last thing: my favorite part of the entire film was Jennifer Lawrence singing “The Hanging Tree”. It was SO flippin epic. It gave me total chills, all up and down my body. I need that song in my life. I was really just blown away with how they did that scene. Ugh. Perfection!

Rating:

5 out of 5 stars

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 White Carpet Premiere in Los Angeles!

November 18, 2014November 18, 20145 Comments

Hello everyone!

Sorry that I’ve basically been out of touch the last few days. I’ve been lax on both blogging and writing for NaNo (uh oh!) because I’ve been busy with work AND the premiere for Mockingjay Part 1!

The premiere was yesterday in Los Angeles, order CA at the Nokia Theater at LA Live in Downtown Los Angeles. This is where they’ve had all the premieres for the movies in this trilogy so far and I think its a great place to have it. As soon as the date was announced, I put in the request for the day off and eagerly awaited the premiere.

Now, the plan was this: show up in the morning and take a chill approach to the premiere. I wasn’t down for the stress, though stress is a part of premieres, always, and I had seen pretty much everyone that I had wanted to see last year at the Catching Fire premiere. I knew I’d have to go the night before to get in line but I just didn’t feel like it. Plus, my dad was in the hospital due to some heart issues (he’s okay!) so it was just a bunch of mess.

Well, my good friend, Jade (who you might recognize from Teens React on YouTube) went the night before, and let me know that she could save us a spot in line because she’s awesome and because we’ve helped save her spot at events before :) So I was going to get some sleep and then head to the premiere in the early morning.

I didn’t get ANY sleep at all. I couldn’t sleep. It was way too early for me. Oh well. We packed our things up and headed down to Nokia.

This is me in line at about 5:30 am. Jade was first in line! Even when I don’t try and be first in line, I end up first in line. I have no idea how this happens.

We spent the day hanging out and snacking and talking books and such. I kept trying to nap but it just didn’t happen. I was running on adrenaline basically.

I was really disappointed in SPEC this year. SPEC runs all (well, most) of the red carpet premieres and Charles, the main man, and his guys usually run a really great show but yesterday was just sloppy and disorganized. There was almost NO communication at all and they have this really stupid promotion going on so even if you waited all day in line (like we did), you still had to go in after about 200 people that were part of this promotion. It was ridiculous and frustrating. They were SO disorganized. I couldn’t even believe it. I’m up for a fan camp again, because that was just sloppy as hell.

We finally got let in and headed toward the bleachers where the fans were set up. I ended up in the second row with my friends, which wasn’t a bad spot. The carpet was set up, and it looked cool but honestly? Not nearly as cool as it did last year.

I was helping out debut author, Tonya Kuper, while I was at it though. Her novel, which is published by Entangled Teen, is coming out next week and I helped by passing out postcards to promote it! I thought she’d get a kick out of this!

The Mockingjays on the carpet were super cool though. The carpet was half white carpet and half white tile. I kept waiting for someone to just take an epic spill.

At first, the security wasn’t going to let us stand at the barricade. We stood at once point and they sent us back to our seats. I was VERY VERY frustrated. I wouldn’t wait in line, with no sleep, if I wanted to just wave to them from the bleachers. It made no sense. Some of the stars started coming closer so we all kind of went back up to the barricade and the SPEC guys were like, fine, just behave. Easy cheesy. At least in my opinion.

Getting ready for the stars.

The first person I saw was Joey Graceffa, who is on YouTube. I admit, my knowledge of YouTubers is pretty much nonexistent so I didn’t know who he was BUT my friends Sylvia and Cassie were SO super stoked so I had to take a picture too haha.

This little guy, Emjay Anthony, is going to be playing Hector in the Insurgent movie. I had to get a picture of him because we all know how I feel about the Divergent trilogy <3

We were waiting for more people to come when Jade suddenly said “Is that Mark Hoppus?!” and it was, completely with mohawk (not pictured). I FREAKED out because come on, Blink 182! No one seemed to know who he was, so Jade and I started yelling at him to come over. He just kind of smiled and we were like, agh, no Mark, come back! So he came over and took pictures with us. I’ve already met Travis Barker so I’m SO stoked to have met Mark. I just need Tom!

I had no idea who he was until I googled the premiere and figured it out haha. His name is Cody Johns and he’s a really really small actor, though he was in I Am Number Four as one of John’s friends in the very beginning. I just thought he was SO super cute. I’m terrible haha. Also my friend Sylvia’s face in the background haha.

Me and Erica Bierman, who plays President Snow’s daughter in the films. She was SO sweet and she fangirled HARD over Jade because she watches YouTube. It was actually quite adorable.

So, last year, I was devastated when I could not meet Suzanne Collins. She signed for very few people before leaving. This time, she took her time, took pictures and signed for people and just seriously made my whole day. Its all about her! She created this! I was also in a weird spot that got a ton of weird light. My first picture with her was all LIGHT and she noticed, and put her hand up to block it and we got this beauty!

Me and the beautiful Jena Malone, who plays Johanna Mason in the film, and quite well.

See what I mean about that light haha. Stef Dawson, who plays Annie Cresta. She’s seriously SO fabulous and amazing. SO adorable.

Me and Meta Golding, who plays Enobaria. She also is in the newer version of The Tomorrow People, which I am obsessed with (RIP), so I have to go back and figure out who she is!

Stef and Meta were SO happy to see each other. It was adorable.

Wes Chatham, who plays Castor, part of Katniss’s camera crew. He was SO nice and his wife was adorably pregnant. I wanted to rub her belly, which, you know, is not creepy in the slightest. I had Sylvia’s book and asked him to sign it and Jade is like “because she’s in the bathroom!” so he signed it to her, personally, and asked why she was in the bathroom. All in her book. It was adorable.

Me and the super legend, Donald Sutherland. His voice is even more awesome in person.

AW. Such a sweetheart in Nina Jacobson who is the producer for The Hunger Games movies :)

Then Jennifer Lawrence came by. I loved seeing her this time because I was actually at the barricade this time AND she seemed much happier than at Catching Fire, where she was freezing and SICK. She is awesome because even though she doesn’t take pictures with people, she tries to sign for each and every fan which is just incredible. I did try to some selfies while she was signing my book and I got some blurry, creeper ones haha.

Julianne Moore came in. She’s a new addition to the cast, playing District 13’s president, Alma Coin. She didn’t stop to take pictures BUT she signed my book so that was awesome, and I managed to get some pictures of her as well.

AW. My beautiful and darling Sam Claflin. He’s such a doll, and so good to fans. He plays my favorite character of the whole trilogy, Finnick Odair. I got to meet him last year but I was more than happy to do it again.

Liam was another one that wasn’t taking pictures but I didn’t mind because, like Jen, he wanted to try and sign for as many fans as possible. I got a few pictures of him as he signed for people. A lot of people aren’t much into his new bearded look but I thought it looked fantastic on him.

AGH! Elizabeth Banks! I was SO excited because I wasn’t able to get her at all last year, not her autograph or anything! She stopped to sign my book, and I was going to just take pictures of her signing, like I did with Jen but she saw and leaned in and I got to take a picture with her. Made my whole night. She is SERIOUSLY perfect as Effie.

In consistency with the others, Josh Hutcherson also didn’t take pictures with fans in order to sign for as many as possible. However, I was getting pictures of him anyway, and then Jade asked him for a picture because she had never gotten one, even though she’s been to all three premieres so far. Sylvia and I both saw the opportunity and jumped right in.

I also jumped in for a picture with Jeffrey Wright with Jade.

He also signed my book too but I didn’t get a chance to take a picture and totally jumped into this one haha.

I got to see Lea Thompson again too! I saw her months ago at the Vampire Academy premiere but I was stoked to see her again. She’s from one of my favorite movies of all time, Back to the Future, and now she’s on Switched at Birth (which I’m massively addicted to) and Dancing with the Stars. She is also the mommy of my future girlfriend, Zoey Deutch <3

The last person that went on the carpet was Natalie Dormer, who you probably know from Game of Thrones as Margery, and who is playing Cressida in Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2. I wanted her SOOOO bad, she was my number one goal but she blew past because she had to go into the movie. I’m determined to get her at the Part 2 premiere!

After the carpet was over, we were instructed to sit down and then we would receive our tickets to go in and see the movie!

My friends and I with our tickets!

The movie was ABSOLUTELY fabulous and I can’t wait to share more about it once I write my review (check for that tomorrow!). I had a blast at the premiere. I was tired and hungry for sure. I thought the organization of the event was terrible. Even after the carpet, it was just ridiculous. I could barely get into the theater, and we just made it in as soon as the movie started. Then getting our phones after the movie and everything…it just a wicked mess. I hope they clean that up next year and either come up with a better system OR do a fan camp again (please!).

If you’d like to see all the pictures of the day at the premiere, click this link and you can check them out on the official What a Nerd Girl Says FB page!

Til next year, Mockingjay Part 2!

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Willow Shields Signs Catching Fire at Midnight Release Party!

March 7, 20142 Comments

Happy Catching Fire Release Day everyone!

I hope that you’re all about to go out and purchase your copy of Catching Fire, approved or that you download it on iTunes or Amazon Video, viagra or any of those. Its an amazing movie, one of the BEST YA adapts I’ve ever seen and I’m so excited to finally have my hands on my copy. In fact, I’m watching it while writing this post.

Last night, Sylvia, Cassandra and I (I’m starting to think of us as a Golden Trio) made our way to Orange, to the Walmart there, for a midnight release party of the movie. Our darling Willow Shields, who plays Primrose Everdeen, came out to celebrate and sign copies of the DVD/Blu-Rays for us.

We arrived fairly early (about 7:30 pm) and were about 20 in line, which made us VERY happy. The first 50 people were able to get a limited edition poster of Catching Fire artwork. I knew I had to get my hands on that poster and being there early made it possible. YES!

I love waiting in line. Maybe people think that’s the weirdest thing in the world but its totally true. We hang out, meet other fans, and talk LOTS of books. And its really fun.

We’re about to meet Willow soon! They handed out Mockingjay pin necklaces, and here we are posing with them. I’d watch out for a giveaway, if I were you ;)

Then a guy from Down with the Capitol came by and took a picture of us, which ended up being a really awesome picture. Thanks!

Then it was time to meet Willow. I had met her at Catching Fire fan camp but I was excited to have a little more time since fan camp can get kind of chaotic and rushed.

She was really super sweet, and it was awesome that we were able to stop and take pictures with her. Most events don’t let you do that so that was nice. We got our free posters AFTER meeting her so what did we do? We got RIGHT back in line, and decided to go through again, of course. Come on. That was an easy choice haha.

My beautifully signed copy of Catching Fire.

My equally beautiful signed poster :)

So then I went on adventure. After the event, I had to drive to take Sylvia home and then drive myself home. No big deal. I go to get my movie out of my bag and guess what? Totally NOT there. I’m, like, searching every where, and I’m texting Sylvia and Cassandra and its no where.

Keep in mind, at this point, its about 2 am.

So what do I do? I hop BACK into my car, drive alllll the way back to the store (which, thankfully, was a twenty four hour store), and try and find someone to find my movie, which they did. By the time I got home, it was 3 am, and I didn’t fall asleep til 4 am. So I’m a bit tired. But it was a FUN time, and now I’m watching the movie and getting all choked up and stuff.

Have you picked up your copy of the movie today? Take a picture of you and your DVD on Instagram and tag @whatanerdgirlsays to show me!

May the odds be ever in your favor :)

Tuesday Top Ten-Favorite Moments from the Oscars 2014!

March 4, 2014March 3, 20141 Comment

I’m not an award show person. I don’t watch them. I like to see who wins, ampoule and that’s what the internet is for. I watched the small moment when Jennifer Lawrence won her award last year because I’m all about the JLaw but other than that, no rx I just avoid them.

But I really wanted to watch this year to see who won Best Animated (I love Frozen, page but I still say The Wind Rises should have won…) and to see Idina Menzel sing “Let It Go”.

But I’m actually so glad that I ended up watching the entire ceremony. This year’s ceremony was full of hilarious moments and I swear, we should start a petition to get Ellen Degeneres to host the show every single year. I could not stop laughing. It was hard to decide which my favorite ten moments were but here they are. Enjoy!

10. This Picture of Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o

This is absolutely adorable. As much as I love Jennifer Lawrence and kind of want to be her wife, I was incredibly happy that Lupita Nyong’o won the Oscar. 12 Years a Slave was an incredible movie and Lupita did an incredible job in the movie. More on her later. This picture is super cute because you know that both are super supportive of each other and there’s none of that bad blood, competitive thing going on. Its just cute. Its fun. Its good natured. They’re both beautiful, talented actresses and this is just a total win!

9. Ellen Degeneres as Glinda the Good

Just moments before this, Pink rocked “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and then Ellen walks out in this getup and I nearly spit out my drink. She actually kind of rocks this costume, and I would have been so down for her hosting the entire ceremony in this outfit.

8. Emma Watson and Joseph Gordon Levitt…I totally Ship It!

The moment that Emma Watson and Joseph Gordon Levitt came on stage to present awards was the exact moment that I totally started shipping them together. I’m into this idea for life. They’re two insanely attractive people and I just totally ship it. Then this happened.

Yes. I so ship it.

7. Lupita Standing Up and Dancing With Pharrell

She’s just too cute for life. She was obviously having a blast at the Oscars. She brought her brother with her, and they jumped in on the best selfie in the history of all selfies and she gets up and dances with Pharrell during his performance of “Happy”. And she rocked it too. I think if I had to pick one person to be at the Oscars, it would be Lupita.

6. Benedict Cumberbatch Photo…Hem, Cumberbomb!

Benedict Cumberbatch was, like, a child at Chuck E Cheese at the Oscars last night. It was his first time, and he wasn’t nominated for anything, though he went on stage to present an award and as part of the acceptance group for 12 Years a Slave. But he was obviously having a blast. He was jumping in on U2’s picture on the red carpet and then he jumped in on Ellen’s selfie with Chitwetel. He was so insanely adorable. I seriously want to be his wife or something. Just his best friend. Something. I want to meet him one day.

I just noticed that Brad Pitt totally photo bombed too. Oh, these celebrities.

5. Jennifer Lawrences Falls…Again!

This just makes me love her that much more. I don’t know if its a hoax or a play on the audience, but Jennifer Lawrence is so amazing and if her love for food or the ridiculous things she says in interviews or her falling all the time is all fake, I’m still loving it. She’s adorable and hilarious. Only Jennifer Lawrence could fall at the Oscars…TWICE…and people love her for it. I know I do.

4. Lupita’s Acceptance Speech

Um, yeah, so I’m pretty sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when she delivered her speech. She was beautiful and humble and incredibly sweet. And so encouraging. This line made me tear up like crazy and I may not be a little child but I won’t forget that my dreams are valid. Crap. I’m gonna get all teary-eyed again!

3. Idina Menzel Singing “Let It Go”

Is there anything on this planet that Idina can’t sing? I waited pretty much the entire show for this and was not disappointed. I love “Let It Go” and Idina is incredibly talented (Elphie! Maureen! Elsa! SO MANY MORE!). She rocked it, and I seriously want to see her live one day because she’s incredible.

2. Ellen Degeneres Actually Ordering Pizza

Seriously. She asks the audience if they want pizza (did you see how fast Kerry Washington’s hand went up? Hey now, she’s preggers) and then SHE ACTUALLY BROUGHT PIZZA! It was the most beautiful moment ever haha. I couldn’t stop laughing. They all started digging in and Brad Pitt is out there, passing out paper plates. I don’t know, everything about it was just beautiful haha. I love that, as the show continued, and the camera panned out to the audience, there were A-Listers just chowing down on pizza. It just made my whole night. And I think, even though she didn’t get an Oscar, Jennifer Lawrence totally won. We all know what she thinks about pizza haha.

Also I love how Bradley Cooper’s…wife? Girlfriend? Date? Who know?…is totally like, Jen, this pizza is bomb!

1. The Selfie that Rocked the World

Ellen literally asks Meryl to get into a selfie to get the most retweets, and then Julia Roberts and then Channing Tatum, and then all these other people run in, and it was honestly the most hilarious and beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I’m afraid to ever take a selfie ever again because it will never be as good as this.

And the result?

Its just too beautiful for life. And can just talk about how they all look insanely beautiful and awesome in the most random, rushed, one-time selfie ever? I would have take like 37 pictures to get myself to look as flawless as they do. And Kevin Spacey’s face in the background? Amazing. The fact that Jared Leto ran from his seat WAY on the other side? Hilarious. But is anyone gonna talk about Lupita’s brother? He’s just, like, I am SO jumping in on this right now, and he’s in the best selfie of all time. Its just too hilarious and amazing haha.

Also? They did break the record. They also broke Twitter for awhile there. I don’t know that this ever happened before haha but I’m glad it happened for this epic picture.

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So what were YOUR favorite Oscar moments? Share them in the comments! GIFs are most DEFINITELY accepted ;)

Tuesday Top Ten-Movies to Look Forward to in 2014

January 21, 2014January 21, 20144 Comments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Fictional Crush of the Week-Katniss Everdeen

January 18, 2014January 18, 20141 Comment

Character Name:

Katniss Everdeen

Jennifer Lawrence, <a href= viagra Entertainment Weekly, May 27, 2011″ src=”https://whatanerdgirlsays.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Jennifer-Lawrence-OUttake-4.jpg” width=”317″ height=”475″ />

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Hunger Games Series

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Author/Creator:

Suzanne Collins

Played By:

Jennifer Lawrence

Who They Are:

Katniss Everdeen is the main character of the incredibly popular, standout novel series, The Hunger Games. She is a sixteen year old girl from the futuristic United States, called Panem, where the country is divided into Districts. She lives in the poorest: District 12, in charge of coal. She illegally hunts for food and trades on the black market in order to ensure the survival of her family. When she is reaped into the Hunger Games, a tournament that pits children from all districts against each other in a race against their own death, she finds unlikely allies and realizes the Games are more than just what they seem. When her controversial win in the Games (there are two winners!) strikes a note of rebellion in the country, she soon becomes the symbol, the Mockingjay. She’s quiet, sometimes thought of as mean, but cares deeply about the people around her.

Why I Am Crushing On Them:

Part of it does have to do with the character that Jennifer Lawrence has brought to life. Katniss really isn’t supposed be this super likable character. She’s mean, standoffish, not easily able to trust someone or open up to someone, and you really fall in love with her as a character because you’re in her head, and you see her side of the story. If we were in Peeta’s head, say, we would maybe like her a bit less.

Or maybe not, Peeta loves Katniss.

But Jennifer Lawrence captures everything that is Katniss but gives her a humanity, a likability that I think the book sometimes lacks. She captures Katniss’ uncertainty, her toughness but also her care and love for the people around her. And Jennifer Lawrence is absolutely beautiful and I enjoy every moment that she is on a screen. She works amazingly as a brunette, and even though she wasn’t what I had originally pictured as Katniss, I can’t imagine anyone else playing her.

But I think there is a fierceness to Katniss that attracts everyone to her. She doesn’t always realize it but she’s so full of genuineness and life. There is never anything fake about her, and when she has to do that during The Hunger Games, she absolutely hates it. She’s no bullshit. Katniss will tell you how she feels, and she will do what she pleases, how she pleases, and while that pisses a lot of people, I think it also attracts people to her, as well. She has the kind of attitude that I think a lot more people wish that they had.

I think the thing that really makes Katniss an attractive and awesome character is that she envelopes all the sides of a strong female character. She is physical strong, able to wield a bow and arrow, hunt and trap for survival and she is survival smart. She is also just a smart girl in general. She is clever and intelligent and has a knack for strategy. She does stupid things too, though, which makes her human, especially since she is a teenager. She is also beautiful, though she doesn’t always know it, and she feels very much for her family, her friends and others. She loves Gale and Peeta, in different ways, and it makes her incredibly likable and human. She has her perfections and her flaws.

Notable Quotes:

“As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.”

“But I feel as if I did know Rue, and she’ll always be with me. Everything beautiful brings her to mind. I see her in the yellow flowers that grow in the Meadow by my house. I see her in the Mockingjays that sing in the trees. But most of all, I see her in my sister, Prim.”

“Great. Now I have to go back and tell Haymitch I want an eighty-year-old and Nuts and Volts for my allies. He’ll love that.”

“You will hold yourself and your government responsible for their safety, or you’ll find yourself another Mockingjay!”

“You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the ground, but do you see that? Fire is catching! Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with is!”

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