Showing posts with label Just Ranting A Bit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Just Ranting A Bit. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2016

I'm A Little Obsessed - A Random Ramble

Yup, I'm obsessed with the Hunger Games trilogy. My obsession has recently been rekindled because I watched Mockingjay Part 2 just the other day for the first time. THEY DID SO WELL converting the book to the movie!! I was amazed. It made me want to re-read all the books, and in the span of just under 2 weeks I read all 3 books. Haha!

 Here's a few of my thoughts on both the books and the movies *spoilers*:
Hunger Games
I enjoy the book quite a bit. I have read it so many times! And I still cry when Rue dies, still get squirmish at the part with the tracker jackers (because I HATE wasps!!), and still feel a bit bad for Peeta because Katniss is misleading him. Course she thinks he is acting too, but still. Peeta is probably one of my 2 favorite characters, and not just because he decorates cakes. ;) He is a genuinely good person. It's interesting because I don't particularly like Katniss, but the books are all in her perspective and I still really like reading them. Ha! What I would be interested in is a version of the first book from Peeta's perspective! I don't care about the other 2 books being in his mind, but the first one would definitely be a cool thing to read! 
How was the movie?
I enjoy the movie, just not as much as the book. Obviously it's hard to recreate a book accurately enough to satisfy die hard fans. Most of my issues with the movie are just knit-picky. Like the costumes for the chariot ride, I think they were silly. I found some fan art that looks pretty cool and is basically what it was in the book.
 If only they could have done a little better in the movie. But really I think everything else was done as well as it could have been. The acting was all very good, I like Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as actors but they are not what I pictured I suppose. Well, you can't satisfy everyone. But it is definitely a good start to a great movie series!

Catching Fire
This is my FAVORITE book of the series! I can't really think exactly why this is my favorite, I think it may be because there is so much that happens in it and you don't focus too much on back story or anything. And you get introduced to all these awesome new charactes, LIKE FINNICK! He is my 2nd favorite character :) He is so fun! I like the arena for the quarter quell also, I think it's very clever even though its quite brutal. I mean almost everyone dies by the 2nd day! And I remember I was quite surprised the first time I read it that it was all planned and the rebels were going to get them all out in the end. It's just a good story, it really keeps you reading! Which explains why I finished reading it in 3 days, cuz you just couldn't put it down!
How was the movie?
I REALLY LIKE the movie!! It was a very good re imagining! I was very very impressed. It's possible that it's my favorite movie of the series too. Can't decide tho cuz I've only seen Mockingjay Part 2 once. All the new actors they had to bring in fit the characters very well. Of course, Finnick being my favorite character, I was a bit worried about their choice of Sam Claflin. But he did wonderfully! Buuut, I pictured him a bit different.
 This is Armie Hammer. He is basically exactly what I pictured while reading the book. I had never seen him before until I watched Mirror Mirror, which was after I read Catching Fire, and I was like HOLY CRAP!!! THAT'S FINNICK!! A lot of people actually thought of him, but as it happens so often they didn't cast any fan picks. Back to the movie, all the outfits for Katniss were really great! I loved her wedding dress that turned into the mockingjay. It was gorgeous! And the chariot costumes were excellent, not quite like the book but really cool all the same! All the arena scenes were fun to watch, cuz that was my favorite part of the book, even tho some of my favorite scenes weren't in it, what can you do. It was ALL GREAT!

Mockingjay
This book... this book is heartbreaking... I don't enjoy it very much. Haha! While Peeta is being destroyed by the capital, everyone else is left going mad in the stinking hole of District 13. And just when you think you get Peeta back, THEY CHANGED HIM!! Exactly what he said in the first book that he didn't want to have happen, and it happens... :( I was sooo so mad. And then EVERYONE DIES!!! And if they aren't dead, they are ridiculously damaged. It's basically a war book, and I don't like war. But, it gets somewhat better at the end so it has a somewhat happy ending. It's hard to read, I've only read it a couple times. 
How were the movies?
The movies were done really really well! I find it much easier to watch them than reading the book. I ship Katniss and Peeta, so Part 2 made me very happy when he started coming out of his tracker jacker induced attitude towards Katniss. 
I like Part 2 better than Part 1 I think. There are some parts of the first movie that I like, but it's mostly just kinda slow to me. But when you hit the 2nd part, it really takes off! There's so much action you can't hardly keep up, but it's super good. It's still depressing when you get to know and like all these great characters only to watch them get killed tho... I was very put out, but it's what was in the book so at least they stayed true to it. That's the big thing with the movies; they stayed extremely, brutally, and agonizingly accurate to the book.
 Haha! Katniss and Peeta's relationship name. This is basically your emotions through the entire Mockingjay book and movies if you ship them. I know it was me for sure. Haha! But it gets better by the end, I swear! 
Anyways, it is one of my favorite book series and has become a favorite movie series as well! I am happy tho that when I read the books I still picture all the characters as I pictured them before the movies came out :) That's one reason I'm glad I read them before I saw the movies. 

Well, I'm done ranting and raving now. I will probably read a few chapters of Mockingjay before I go to bed. Hope you have a wonderful evening, whatevers left of it! :)

Taylor Kay
 

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Birthday Cakes and Game of Thrones

Well, there's not much like getting pelted in the face with snow and ice. We are getting hit by a snow storm, though who knows how bad it's actually going to be. I'm hoping its not going to be as terrible as everyone thinks. But we'll see.

Anyways, yesterday I actually got internet in my apartment! I am all moved in to my new place in Marshfield, and I knew once I was here I would definitely want internet. So, here I sit comfortably on my own couch posting on my own laptop! Feels good. ;)
Now, to the point of my post, it was recently Bri's 25th birthday! The family put together a nice little get together party for her. And, of course, I made a cake!
I practiced how to make hibiscus flowers, because Bri likes Hawaiian flowers so I felt it fitting to put them on a cake! :) I was very happy with how it turned out! The cake flavor is special too! It's a tropical mango cake with tropical mango frosting filling, frosted with my buttercream. Well, the whole family thought it was delicious! There was a lot of people, and had I known so many would be there I would have made it bigger. Haha! But it was a good size, just no leftovers ;)

So, now to decide what to do with the rest of my evening while I'm snowed in. Honestly what I should do is start one of my knitting projects, cuz I'm super far behind. With that in mind, I put in a TV show that I've already seen a bunch so there's some background noise. GAME OF THRONES SEASON 1! I recently finished re-watching season 5 in preparation for season 6 start. 

*CAUTION COULD BE SPOILERS!!*

It's so interesting going back to watching season 1 after just finishing season 5... cuz everyone I like is ALIVE! It's refreshing!.. And kind of sad... cuz I know what's going to happen.. :( And then there's the characters who are rather unpleasant who have died but they are alive right now and you are reminded of just how much you really don't like them and are glad they died. HAHA! Hmm, yeah. And for the characters who are alive thru the whole thing, it's interesting to see how they've changed. For example, some of them started out a bit unlikable but now they are cool. 
Or vice versa
Game of Thrones has become one of my favorite TV shows. It is a very unique story. And the show is only 10 episodes per season, which is nice because they don't overkill. It's not a show for the faint of heart tho. There's quite a few "adult" scenes, especially in the first few seasons, and there's gore and violence. Watch at your own risk.
Anyways, this post wasn't supposed to turn into a Random Ramble about a TV show. Haha! Just kinda happened that way. But now I will actually go pick up my knitting bag and try to start that project now. 
Enjoy the rest of your evening!
Taylor Kay

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

My Poor OCD...

So, today I finished reading Brisingr. 
(It is the 3rd book of the Inheritance Cycle 
by Christopher Paolini) 
Remember the book Eragon? Well, it's the same series! Now, I am a pretty big fan of books. I've read a few good series, like Hunger Games and Twilight and such, but I must say that the Inheritance Cycle is BY FAR my favorite series ever! Eragon (the first book) is probably my favorite book of all time! It's funny cuz I don't remember exactly when I got the book, but I do remember it was from my aunt Laura because she knew how much I loved it. (Must have read it in school before I had my own copy) But I tell you what I have probably read that book about 15 times and it's still amazing! I would definitely recommend it! 

And oh my goodness... if you have seen that poor excuse for a movie that is called Eragon... please please PLEASE don't let it affect your reading. It is the most HORRID rendition of a book to movie EVER.
NO! Eragon has BROWN hair, not BLONDE! Arya has BLACK hair, not ORANGE! There was not a SINGLE character they got right... except the Shade... UGH I was appalled... So if you have seen the movie and haven't read the book, trust me the book is SO much better!

Ok, done with that little rant. Now to start another one! 
So I am the kind of person that if I get a book that is hardcover, I have to get all the other books in that series in hardcover also. Same goes for paper backs. And same also goes for the design on the front and everything. So, when the 4th book came out in late 2011, I was super excited!!! But I had to wait to buy it because it was only in hardcover to start (and I had all paper backs). Aaand, they had also made a new design for the paper back versions. (They have a different picture on the front and it's just not the same and I don't like it as much) 
Here's the new design. Same picture but it's all zoomed in and stuff and it doesn't have the cool borders and the neat writing and everything. :P Altogether I just don't like it.
 So while I have the first 3 in the old design, my OCD kicks in and I don't want to buy the 4th one with the new design! And I don't think they are making it in the old design!!! I don't know what to do!!! :( Should I just buy the new book with the new design or buy all 4? Or just deal with it and buy the new one in hardcover because at least then it would have the same picture... No... I don't really like hardcovers... see the pickle I'm in? So I guess I will just sit here... waiting... wishing... hoping... that they make the book in the old design in paper back. Wouldn't that be nice?

Anyways, yeah this was a totally random post but I just felt like blogging. :) To whoever reads this, please read Eragon. It is a great book and a great series! 
Have a wonderful night!

Taylor Kay