Friday 28 March 2014

Divergent Movie Review - FTM





The Divergent trilogy is one of my all time favourite series of all time. I was one of those fans who followed the journey of the film being made, from the casting to the time when they actually started filming. I had REALLY high expectations for this film and it definitely was very good! It deserves all of the hype it is getting, this film has received mixed reviews. Some hated it, some LOVED it! I personally loved it.

First, I would like to say, if you are a reader of the books and haven't seen the movie yet, don't have your expectations too high. I just feel like if you will be disappointed when you see the film and you will have mixed emotions. I made that mistake, because I expect every single book - movie adaptations to be flawless and perfect which is a pet peeve of mine. Here is the catch, I have watched Divergent twice, and when I watched it the second time, I fell in love with it. It is beautiful.  

The first time I watched this, I enjoyed it but I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to but there could be another reason behind that, apparently I drank too much soda... and I couldn't go because there was literally a freakishly long line for the washroom. So I spent half of the movie trying not to think about that. 


Alright, so the casting for this film was amazing! Everyone played their roles so well! It's so weird how Miles Teller (Peter) auditioned for Four and actually googled Theo's name when he didn't get the part, but what i'm trying to say is that Theo James IS Four! He is perfect for Four, just perfect. I honestly can't see Miles playing Four, I think the film would be so different. Miles Teller was very good as Peter, in the movie Peter just really ticked me off. When Peter was fighting with Tris I was cringing, I hated watching it, I wanted to just yell "STOP IT!" Well now that I think of it, I hated all of the fights that Tris was in during her initiation. To clear this up, I meant that I hated how they were beating Tris up like that, how they knew she was the weak one in the group.




One thing, that I wish we got to see MORE of in the film was the friendship between, Christina, Will, Al and Tris. In the movie it seemed like, oh they met now they're best friends! It really bugged me, I am mainly saying this because in the books, you get to see more of what Al's death did to Tris. You got to see how much more Al meant to her before he died, you got to see how much Al cared for Tris and what she meant to him. You never really got see their actual friendship, there were little glimpses but I feel like you never FULLY got to see the four become stronger, but when Tris and Al had their little fight, I absolutely loved, loved, loved that scene! The FEELS! 

All of the emotional scenes in this movie were very good. I do kind of wish, we got to see how Tris's mother actually died, but the scene in the movie was much more emotional, and you got to have a moment to connect with the characters and feel their pain.
Let's talk about Will's death, again I loved this scene. I loved how she tried to get to him, by calling out his name, I still feel like we could have seen more from Wills death in the movie for maybe another minute or two, but you can't have everything in a movie.

For the moment you've all been waiting for. Fourtris! One thing that I loved about their relationship in the books that it was, real and extremely complicated. I don't think we saw much of this in the movie, you kind of just saw Four make out with Tris on the balcony and her saying "I don't want to go too fast." and then Four saying "That's alright, I already have my spot on the floor." Then it is back to, being Dauntless. In the books, their relationship really, really grew even in the first book and they didn't say I love you until nearly the end. In the movie they do really care and love each other and you can see that. You didn't really see the messed up fights they'd have over things that were stupid. This is just my opinion but it seemed like, oh I kissed you, let's hold hands, oh no she's about to be killed, I love you! I didn't really have a problem with those things, I just really would've liked to have seen their relationship grow. When Four is in the simulation, it was so good! That has got to be one of my favourite scenes, I can't even put it into words...

Okay so, who else teared up during the zip-lining scene? I did! That scene was beautiful, but the whole time I was thinking, ALLEGIANT, ALLEGIANT, ALLEGIANT, EPILOGUE, EPILOGUE, EPILOGUE! It was amazing.

This review may seem like I hated the movie because of the things I pointed out but no I LOVED IT! So good! I would give this movie a 4.5 out of 5! 



Monday 17 March 2014

Champion by: Marie Lu (2013) - RQK

    Fun Fact: Marie Lu got the idea to have Day have blonde hair and blue eyes from a photo she saw of a Mongolian girl with natural blonde hair and blue eyes.


  Champion is the third novel of the Legend Trilogy which  follows the struggles and romance of Day, a once very wanted criminal in the Republic and June, who once was the republics star prodigy and hero. Champion starts off eight months later with Day and June living their lives both trying to forget one another. The separation doesn’t last much longer as the Republic is put in sudden danger. June and Day must work together and figure out how to protect their home before time runs out.
  
  I found Champion wasn't as fast paced as Legend or Prodigy as the issue they were fighting was much more complicated and political and couldn't just be fixed quickly. This however did not affect the quality of the book which in turn was tremendously interesting especially with all the secrets finally being revealed. I do think that the solution to the problem seemed very fast and rushed. However the parts leading up to the ending were very unexpected and unusual. Though they kept the concept of a happy ending, there is much trouble that goes along with it which made the ending to this series just that much better.

  I personally am not that into all the romance stuff and their internal struggles with deciding on whether they should say something or not to protect the other I find kind of ridiculous. Occasionally later on it can make an interesting topic, but for the most part the lies seem stupid and don’t really do anything for the story.
  
  Overall though this book was quite amazing and I loved how it took real issues and made a creative story out of it. I think the idea was very creative and I would recommend that other teens that enjoy books such as the hunger games or divergent which have similar concepts read this series as well. I would give this book four and a half out of five stars. I hope you enjoyed reading this review.

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Sunday 16 March 2014

Pawn by: Aimee Carter Review - FTM


Pawn follows the character Kitty Doe. She is ranked as a three which is below average (4). She is forced to pick between working in the sewers for the rest of her life and never seeing the ones she loves again or working in a pleasure house for a year.

Kitty Doe, is bought by the Prime Minister and he offers her a chance to become a four. She of course takes the offer, because with that she can be with the ones she loves once again. Little does she know, is that she would become surgically transformed to be masked as the prime ministers daughter, Lila Hart who tragically died because of a secret rebellion she was holding.



I will be honest, the first time I saw this in the bookstore with RQK we were very excited! We thought it sounded interesting. Not that it isn't interesting, it was just a little bit of a let down. I mean it wasn't horrible. It was more like an okay read. I do believe that as the books go on in the series they will get better, these books DO have great potential and the first book can always be the shaky end.

In some ways, this book was basically a typical YA dystopian novel and in some ways it isn't. The masking of Kitty to be transformed was a pretty cool idea, and to some people it may sound really original. I thought that too for quite sometime, but then I realized, the book Uglies does that. Overall though, it was still original and was an awesome idea.


Pawn is another novel where we have a very strong and smart female character. She had a boyfriend named Benjy and their relationship is already quite strong and you got to read about it within only a few pages. Kitty and Benjy do have a great relationship, but I can find things really cheesy and I think the way their relationship was written was just a little cheesy. The good thing is, is that it wasn't overly cheesy. Another thing about Kitty is that, she can't read. This idea of the main character not being able to read, I found fairly interesting. One thing that bugged me was, Kitty being locked up a lot. I don't know if that was just me, it seemed like every single time I turned a page, she was in an air vent... 

In the beginning, Pawn did sound just a little bit like Legend. I definitely starting thinking, "Oh this book is going to be soo original!" Pawn did prove me wrong, in ways it sort of did sound like a typical futuristic novel, especially with the rebels, the blackcoats but this book did have lots of twists and turns that you wouldn't expect. 

This book does have a little bit of a dark side, and I like darkness. The Prime Minister, I have a love and hate relationship for. Let's just say this, he is very cruel and his family the Harts are really capable of anything really. There is also Knox, he is Lila's fiance and I feel like the author is tipping on a love triangle for the  next few books which I don't mind, but we already have so many great YA novels that already have love triangles, but if there is going to be a triangle, I would like Kitty to somehow end up with Benjy.

To sum this review up, I would like to state, that my rating is based on my opinion and my opinion only. I didn't find this book very good. It was okay. Pawn can and will appeal to other readers, but it didn't appeal to me. It was enjoyable I will admit, but I believe that the rest of the series will get better as most books do. I myself will go out and buy them to read about the masked Kitty Doe. 

My rating for this book is: 3.5

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Prodigy by: Marie Lu (2013) - RQK

  Fun Fact: Marie Lu originally wrote June as a boy as she was "basing it off of the ValJean/ Javert relationship in Les Miserables."


  Prodigy  is the second book in the Legend trilogy. The series follows two young legendary teens who come from two completely different lives, yet they must work together to save everything they still have left. This book takes off just after June made the decision that changed her life forever. She is a traitor to the Republic, and there is no going back. Having forced her hand, June embarks on an undercover mission to gain information on the new Elector as well as to lead him to his assassination. Of course not all goes as planned. This change of plans  in turn leads to the revelation of many secrets, as well as everyone's true alliances and intentions.

  I found the Prodigy like Legend was a fast paced book packed with constant action and much revealing of various secrets. The small hints throughout the book did make it more predictable, and I'm sure if you looked closely you could figure out what would happen on your own. However I found those small hints kept my interest as my curiosity deepened on what each clue meant. Not only that there is a constant question of who really is the good guy and or the good side which I found gave the book a little bit more mystery.

  Overall I really liked this book and found it was an easy read. If you liked and read Legend there is no question you will like its sequel Prodigy and I highly you recommend you read it. This book doesn't have many new concepts that it introduces, but it takes the things already established in the first book and reveals many new things about them that make you question your first thoughts on everything. I would give this book four and half out of five stars.

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Tuesday 11 March 2014

Book - Movie Adaptation: Vampire Academy - FTM


I went into this movie having low expectations. I have only read the first three books in the series but I really, really loved them. They marketed this movie as a vampire version of Mean girls, which makes sense considering the Director was the director of mean girls and his brother wrote the script. To be honest it was nothing like mean girls and I wish they wouldn't have marketed the movie like that because I think that turned people away.



You can watch the trailer HERE

Most of this movie was AWESOME! It was very loyal to the book and had very little changes, so i'm not going to go into too much detail comparing it to the book, so this is going to mainly be a movie review than a comparison.

 There were some parts that were a little strange but it was overall a great movie. I think casting Zoey Deutch as Rose was one of the best things to do, she was literally just perfect as Rose and the way she said some of the lines were hilarious. It kind of turns you off, because Zoey seems like such a sweet person in general and for her to be playing Rose makes you think that, that's her personality. If some of you didn't know she played Maya on the disney show, Suite life on Deck. Zoey is a VERY talented actress, and she can play many role and she did a wonderful job as Rose.

I really liked Lucy Fry as Lissa. Some people didn't like her because of her accent, but people have to remember that she isn't British she's Australian, and for some people it could be hard to fake an accent especially if you have one that's similar to your own. She also is playing Lyla on the spin off version of one of my favourite TV shows H2O: Just add water, which is called Mako Mermaids.



One thing, the lust charm scene was maybe just a smidge cheesy.. I think it was just the way they edited it, because it was like all pink and gloomy. And Mia was just a little too cruel, her lines weren't very good. I also think that the actor who played Christan was VERY Good as well, I just think that everyone in this movie was well cast. Some other things that bothered me was when (SPOILER) Natalie showed up as a strigoi... i couldn't help but laugh.. and when Dimitri was doing like acrobatics before his training session with Rose anyway, I guess this is just another one of those movies when they have really good casting. And if you are not convinced to watch the movie, you really should, it's definitely worth watching. I also recommend reading the books before you watch the movie. 


5 out of 5 stars!

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Monday 10 March 2014

Book - Movie Adaptation: Catching Fire - FTM


           Catching Fire is the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy. It is my favourite in the series, and is the one I have re-read the most. I will not be going into too much detail into the plot of the book, because I am sure that most people have read them considering how popular they are, and if you haven't, that's just weird. 

            I first read Catching Fire in Grade 7, after watching the first film. I kept rambling on about it after we finished watching the movie. My friend (RQK) said "You're going to get obsessed with this." and I of course said no, and guess what? I became obsessed, I read the books in less than a week and had a weird collection of Hunger Games merchandise. 

             As I read these books, I found them amazing and developed a really weird hatred for Gale. I loved everything that happened in this book, and I certainly didn't think that Katniss and Peeta would go back into the games, but of course I was spoiled so I wasn't very surprised. I loved how Katniss's and Peeta's relationship grew stronger not necessarily as lovers but as friends, because we all know that Katniss never really loved Peeta in that way in the first book. In Catching Fire they become stronger as friends and they sort of comfort each other and then as you may guess, Katniss starts to actually fall for Peeta. Typical young-adult novel. One thing that I liked, was that it wasn't like "INSTA-LOVE!" In my opinion, their relationship was more realistic then most novels. For Catching fire it was very well paced, unlike mockingjay which could have been spread into at least another book. I would rate Catching fire, a 4.5 out of five stars.
Movie Review: First, this movie was so much better than the first one. It may even be better than the book.. The casting was perfect! I loved Jena Malone as Johanna and Sam Clafin as Finnick. The wardrobe was spectacular! Just everything about this movie was so good! And I think that it's awesome that we get to see President Snow talk about the games and how he wants everyone dead, it made the movie even better. I was freaking out the entire time I was watching it, but we missed the part where Peeta temporarily dies... which made me very sad.... compared to the book, it was so good, all the lines seemed to be pulled directly from the book. I do wish they played with the pregnancy card thing a little more but it made sense on why they didn't do it. I also wish they added the rooftop scene! AGH! Not a proper review.... Anyways, I would give this movie.....a...... 12 million out of five stars.

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Sunday 9 March 2014

Book - Movie Adaptation: The Hunger Games - FTM


Some people didn't like this movie, but the movie is what convinced me to read the books. I have always liked reading books, and never really discovered that I was a "fangirl" until I read The Hunger Games. Mainly based on how much I squealed throughout the series.I became so obsessed that my friends and I made a Hunger Games trailer, which is now taken off YouTube....




Book Review: The Hunger Games was my second favourite out of the entire trilogy. I really don't know how to review this, because I haven't read this in a while. But I do remember it being VERY good and finishing it in maybe two days or less. So a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Movie Review: The movie, was great. Yes, when it is compared to Catching Fire it's kind of like Eh.... I mean, it was very good. And some people might have been upset that Prim gave the pin to Katniss instead of Madge, but in my opinion it was better to have Prim give the pin. It has more meaning and it made more sense to have Prim give her the pin. You know considering that Katniss volunteered to save Prim's life, no big deal. And people should really stop giving Gary Ross (The director of the first film) a hard time, because he worked very hard on making the Hunger Games movie happen, remember that if Gary Ross hadn't directed the first film, we might have not had Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss or Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark. And that would have been sad.... To be honest I would give the film a four out of five stars, because before Catching Fire came out, I absolutely loved it. 

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Enjoy this Review? Read the Catching Fire movie Review!






Friday 7 March 2014

Legend by: Marie Lu (2011) - FTM


Legend is a futuristic dystopian young adult novel. It is a New York Times  BESTSELLER and is very popular among the teen ages. 

Fun Fact: "Marie Lu was first inspired to write Legend while watching Les mis one afternoon and wondering how the relationship between a famous criminal and a prodigious detective might translate into a  more modern story" Said in Marie Lu's biography. 




            Legend follows the two main characters, Day who is the most wanted criminal in the Republic and June who is the Republics darling and prodigy. June has an older brother named Metias who is a Republic soldier and was killed while performing a mission. Day is automatically accused of Metias's murder and June is sent to find him. On her mission, she ends up saving a young girl named Tess who was close to fighting in a illegal Skiz fight, after the fight Day saves June. The three rummage together on the streets, and yes this story is a love story, Day and June fall for each other, or become attracted to each other. And together they will unravel the Republics secrets.
            
         Legend is fast paced, and is quite short that it feels like your watching a movie, only in your head. The different POV'S help you understand the story more and let you get to know and understand the characters. And I would say that this story has very shocking turns of events, but if you look closely you can somewhat predict what's going to happen later on in the story. But it is very interesting reading about how the characters reveal and learn things about the world they are living in.
    
        To anyone who is reading this and expects this to be a "Hunger Games" novel, it isn't. It's more action packed, and just because it's futuristic it does not mean it's going to be EXACTLY similar. Legend, is more like an action movie, it's quick and easy. A similarity between the two would be the society that they live in, there are the rich and the poor, and the dark terms of the government. 
        
       Overall, this book was VERY good, I would recommend this book to anyone of any age. And the second novel, "Prodigy" is EVEN better! So I would give this book a four out of five stars. I hope you enjoyed reading this review. 

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You Can Read Prodigy:                                                You can read Champion: