Title: Mockingjay
Series: The Hunger Games Trilogy
Author: Suzanne Collins
Released: 2010
Rating: 6/5
Basic Plot: Katniss Everdeen becomes the Mockingjay (symbol of the rebellion) as the war truly begins. aka Shit gets real!
President Coin vs. President Snow
Previously in the series President Snow is shown to be a very cruel bastard. He is willing to kill children (in the Hunger Games) to control the districts. So you naturally believe he'll do anything, but he does have rules. They are few and far between, but they are rules. Lines even he won't cross. President Coin, leader of District 13, doesn't have any rules. She'll kill children to win the war. I won't give away what her great plan was. So, in the end, the person who lead the rebellion was an asshole and not to be respected. While the person who was already in control was a bastard who had rules.
The Role of the Mockingjay
I give kudos to Collins for making Katniss Everdeen fucking pointless to the overall war against the capitol. Her role as the Mockingjay is as pure distraction. Plus it gives the rebellion a figure to follow. Someone everyone admirers and so gives strength to the rebellion. What makes this role sad is it's like Katniss never left the Capitol's control. She traded the Capitol designing her as a Hunger Games victor for District 13 designing her as a pure figurehead with no real power.
The Choice Between Gale and Peeta
Throughout The Hunger Games Trilogy there has been a love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. In the beginning it seems like of course Katniss will end up with Gale. But in the series all three change. Katniss changes due to her actions and what she goes through in the arenas. Gale's darker side comes to the forefront. Peeta is hijacked (a form of brainwashing) and his love for Katniss has to battle through what President Snow did to him. And, by the end, there is no doubt that Katniss and Peeta have become perfect for each other.
Final Thoughts
This book is intense. I knew it would become very dark but I didn't know how dark it would get. I got up and read the part of the book where Prim dies because I didn't believe it when I read it the first time. This is a book that has deeply affected me and that I won't be able to soon forget. For better or worse, I love this book. And would recommend everyone check out The Hunger Games Trilogy (as Mockingjay won't mean as much if you haven't read the first two books before you read Mockingjay).
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
Monday, January 16, 2012
Does "Back to Where You've Never Been" Excuse Fringe?
One of the big problems with Fringe Season 4 has been...well...nearly the entire season. It doesn't seem to connect with the rest of the Fringe series. So does this opening of the second half of Season 4 (which was originally supposed to be the mid-season finale) excuse the previous episodes of Season 4?
I'll start off with this: This was an excellent episode. This is the first episode of this season (after Peter returned) that really made me care. That pushed all the right buttons in all the right ways (except for John Noble, plays Walter Bishop, in nothing but a green apron). Things are revealed that only have any impact when you have the information from the previous episodes.
So does "Back to Where You've Never Been" excuse Fringe for the first half of Season 4? I'm saying it doesn't. It's on the right track, don't get me wrong about that, but until Season 4 ends I'm not going to pass final judgment.
This is for the sole reason that I am still fearful that this Season will mean jack shit by the end. Though with this episode I'm a little more reassured that Season 4 will mean something by the end.
Of course one part of the episode I liked the best was Peter Bishop's mother saying there might be more than two universes (which I had guessed was going to be a factor in this season).
I'll start off with this: This was an excellent episode. This is the first episode of this season (after Peter returned) that really made me care. That pushed all the right buttons in all the right ways (except for John Noble, plays Walter Bishop, in nothing but a green apron). Things are revealed that only have any impact when you have the information from the previous episodes.
So does "Back to Where You've Never Been" excuse Fringe for the first half of Season 4? I'm saying it doesn't. It's on the right track, don't get me wrong about that, but until Season 4 ends I'm not going to pass final judgment.
This is for the sole reason that I am still fearful that this Season will mean jack shit by the end. Though with this episode I'm a little more reassured that Season 4 will mean something by the end.
Of course one part of the episode I liked the best was Peter Bishop's mother saying there might be more than two universes (which I had guessed was going to be a factor in this season).
First Thoughts of Mockingjay
Let's Play Wii Fit Plus: Tree Pose (Parts 1-3)
I take a look at the Tree Pose in Wii Fit Plus.
Labels:
Let's Play,
Tree Pose,
Wii Fit Plus,
Wii Fitness Plus
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The Debt (2010)
Title: The Debt
Director: John Madden
Starring: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, and Tom Wilkinson
Rated: R
Released: 2010
Rating: 2.5/5
Basic Plot: Years after lying about killing a Nazi, those that were supposed to kill them have to figure out what to do when the "dead" Nazi is going to tell his story to a journalist.
Boring as Paint Drying on a Wall
This worthless piece of shit is boring. Which is the worst thing that a movie can be. When I watch b-movies I am entertained, even though they are horribly produced and directed. So when a b-movie is easily better than this, it means something. It's a shame it is boring since it's about killing a Nazi. Really, how can you do that?
Telling the Truth
One of the issues this movie tries to deal with is how to dealing with a lie you've told for years. How it'll harm your daughter and other people you worked with. What ruined this message for me is how it's told. And, with a movie, you need to focus on how the message is told. If I don't care about the characters, I can't care about the message.
Use of Flashbacks
Flashbacks are a good tool. However, some of the uses of flashback in this movie were annoying to me. Some seemed to take off too much time. Such as when the doctor escapes. It could've been cut shorter since you see it again in full (in the truthful version) later in the movie. So I was wondering why my time was wasted.
Final Thoughts
This movie tries to be more than it ends up being. I knew from the previews I would want to tear my eyes out when I saw this movie. I only continued to watch because of Sam Worthington and the fact that I didn't want the movie to beat me. For anyone who wants a good Nazi killing/torturing movie, this isn't the one for you. As for a movie with a message that moves you, this isn't the one for you either.
Director: John Madden
Starring: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, and Tom Wilkinson
Rated: R
Released: 2010
Rating: 2.5/5
Basic Plot: Years after lying about killing a Nazi, those that were supposed to kill them have to figure out what to do when the "dead" Nazi is going to tell his story to a journalist.
Boring as Paint Drying on a Wall
This worthless piece of shit is boring. Which is the worst thing that a movie can be. When I watch b-movies I am entertained, even though they are horribly produced and directed. So when a b-movie is easily better than this, it means something. It's a shame it is boring since it's about killing a Nazi. Really, how can you do that?
Telling the Truth
One of the issues this movie tries to deal with is how to dealing with a lie you've told for years. How it'll harm your daughter and other people you worked with. What ruined this message for me is how it's told. And, with a movie, you need to focus on how the message is told. If I don't care about the characters, I can't care about the message.
Use of Flashbacks
Flashbacks are a good tool. However, some of the uses of flashback in this movie were annoying to me. Some seemed to take off too much time. Such as when the doctor escapes. It could've been cut shorter since you see it again in full (in the truthful version) later in the movie. So I was wondering why my time was wasted.
Final Thoughts
This movie tries to be more than it ends up being. I knew from the previews I would want to tear my eyes out when I saw this movie. I only continued to watch because of Sam Worthington and the fact that I didn't want the movie to beat me. For anyone who wants a good Nazi killing/torturing movie, this isn't the one for you. As for a movie with a message that moves you, this isn't the one for you either.
S&N: Little Dancer 3
Note: NAZILLA IS A WOMAN!
I felt guilty about leaving Samara out there alone to worry about me. And I wondered if The Net would capture her while she was waiting for me. But that was a worry a human would think about until the mission was over. I had thought about the likelihood and quickly decided that it wouldn't happen.
Besides, I had to focus most of my attention on finding anything related to The Net. After five minutes I was in an office that must have been for the technical crew. The crew that ran the things behind the scenes so that the members of Playful Ballet could put on a good show.
On one desk there was a computer that was full of a normal person's office things. However, it was lacking any personal effects. From what I knew of office people, they liked to mark their territory. They liked to have pictures of their families and little knicknacks that are important to them littering their desks. This desk, however, didn't have any of that.
On the walls of the room were generic motivational posters. More generic than any I had ever seen before. Suspicious, but the desk was more of a warning sign than the posters. Walking around the room I saw equipment that was powered by things like M-1s, but not the same thing. I walked back to the desk.
My scanners detected something giving off an odd signal from beneath the desk. I went down on my knees and crawled under. Where a part of the desk comes out, that the keyboard is situated on, I see a strange marking. I start to scan it since I realize it's where the unusual signal is coming from.
"Nazilla, is that you?" A voice says to me. If I were still human I would've banged my head on the desk before I was able to turn around and look at the person. But, as an M-4, I could tell that the voice was a female and then I turned to look at her.
I started to scan her with the normal scanners I have, but they didn't work. It was as though Glau's, who I easily identified, was hidden in a shroud of mystery. As though she was so mysterious that her mere presence could not be taken in by mere scanners. That nothing The Net could think up could ever identify her.
But I knew that wasn't logical. It was likely that she had injected Scam into her system. Scam was usually used to hide that someone was a Machine from scanners. But Glau's facial reactions seemed too human. Of course she could be an M-3 or M-4. But Glau's confusion and fear weren't anything an M-3, who would want me to be comforted, would allow to break through their face.
"I'm not Nazilla. I'm Sammantha. I'm the new cleaning lady." I told Glau. "Who are you?"
Glau laughs. "Why are you lying, Nazilla?" She asks. "You're Samara's new girlfriend. How is she?"
I felt guilty about leaving Samara out there alone to worry about me. And I wondered if The Net would capture her while she was waiting for me. But that was a worry a human would think about until the mission was over. I had thought about the likelihood and quickly decided that it wouldn't happen.
Besides, I had to focus most of my attention on finding anything related to The Net. After five minutes I was in an office that must have been for the technical crew. The crew that ran the things behind the scenes so that the members of Playful Ballet could put on a good show.
On one desk there was a computer that was full of a normal person's office things. However, it was lacking any personal effects. From what I knew of office people, they liked to mark their territory. They liked to have pictures of their families and little knicknacks that are important to them littering their desks. This desk, however, didn't have any of that.
On the walls of the room were generic motivational posters. More generic than any I had ever seen before. Suspicious, but the desk was more of a warning sign than the posters. Walking around the room I saw equipment that was powered by things like M-1s, but not the same thing. I walked back to the desk.
My scanners detected something giving off an odd signal from beneath the desk. I went down on my knees and crawled under. Where a part of the desk comes out, that the keyboard is situated on, I see a strange marking. I start to scan it since I realize it's where the unusual signal is coming from.
"Nazilla, is that you?" A voice says to me. If I were still human I would've banged my head on the desk before I was able to turn around and look at the person. But, as an M-4, I could tell that the voice was a female and then I turned to look at her.
I started to scan her with the normal scanners I have, but they didn't work. It was as though Glau's, who I easily identified, was hidden in a shroud of mystery. As though she was so mysterious that her mere presence could not be taken in by mere scanners. That nothing The Net could think up could ever identify her.
But I knew that wasn't logical. It was likely that she had injected Scam into her system. Scam was usually used to hide that someone was a Machine from scanners. But Glau's facial reactions seemed too human. Of course she could be an M-3 or M-4. But Glau's confusion and fear weren't anything an M-3, who would want me to be comforted, would allow to break through their face.
"I'm not Nazilla. I'm Sammantha. I'm the new cleaning lady." I told Glau. "Who are you?"
Glau laughs. "Why are you lying, Nazilla?" She asks. "You're Samara's new girlfriend. How is she?"
Let's Play Wii Sports (Parts 1 and 2)
I test out to make sure I don't get in front of the camera or knock it over while playing the Wii.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)