Funny Lip Readings

Hi!

Staying on the subject of The Hunger Games, I found this little treasure and it just made my day! At the end it gets really good. I love the absurdity of what they say so much! You can check out their youtube channel for another Hunger Games clip. (Via The Mary Sue) 

This youtube channel has a lot of these funny clips, like this one from Twilight (I actually don't know which conversations are the most awkward: these or the original ones?). They actually have a lot of Twilight ones. I guess it's just perfect material!

And they also have two Game of Thrones clips. I love Tyrion, Jamie and Daenerys! And Jeoffrey's voice is hilarious when he gets slapped. I just like watching him get slapped.

Isn't it funny how a little montage, and music (and funny lines, obviously) can change a movie so much? For more about this, read this previous post! 

Enjoy!

✎ Jade

Mockingjay Nails

Another Hunger Games post!

I found this wonderful tutorial on youtube for Mockingjay nails and thought I'd share it here. I wore these when I went to see the movie! If you like them, try it yourself and don't forget to share your result with me!

Here is my picture of my own nails :

And here is the wonderful tutorial! Check out the channel, she has great stuff on there including many Christmas themed nails:

Obviously mine are not as perfect as hers, but I still think they worked out pretty well. :)

✎ Jade

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Hi!

I went to see the Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 this week and I thought it was really good. To be honest, when reading the books I found Mockingjay the hardest one to get started in. The first part of the book was just so boring. When you finish reading Catching Fire you are super excited about what will happen next, and then in Mockingjay, the answer is: nothing. Nothing happens. A promo video here, a bomb there, but the story hardly progresses. However, the characters do. And they managed to really show that in the movie. 

The fact is: nothing happens. They try to get the rebellion going, but it is difficult and it is slow and it is painful. And as the characters you know and love go through all this, they suffer from a whole range of emotions: fear, anger, hate (beware of the dark side guys) as well as confusion and doubt. For me, the fact that there is not a lot of story progression in this movie actually makes the viewer understand what it must feel like for Katniss and the others. This reminds me of what Coin said to Katniss: "It’s the worst torture in the world, waiting when you know there’s nothing you can do."

I think this movie is not as sensational as the other two, but is by far the most emotional. Also, I think they really managed to show people what it is like to be in a war. Of course, watching a Hollywood movie cannot give you the slightest idea of what it is actually like, but still. War is loud. Bombs and airplanes are loud as hell. And war is also waiting, in silence and in fear. A lot of people don't appreciate the Hunger Games series very much, and link it to Twilight, but I don't see that at all. In Twilight you just have a whiney main character who can only talk about the boys she has a crush on. Whereas here, you have a strong but at the same time human and fragile young woman who goes through an incredibly interesting journey. I really think this movie is great, because it might make teenagers a more critical towards the media and press, as well as more understanding towards the concept of war.

All of that aside, it's just a very entertaining movie and I had a great time. :) They could have made the movie 30 minutes longer and finish it off all together, but I guess this way they will really have the time and space to say everything that should be said, and to show everything that should be shown. I'm really excited to see the final part next year!

✎ Jedi Jade

The Bechdel Test

H guys and girls!

Some of you might already know this but I'm quite the feminist. I bet a lot of you just started liking me a whole lot less. Just to be clear: I'm not a man-hating, extremist, I-never-wash-my-hair angry woman, mad with hysteria. I'm just very aware of the fact that there is still a long way to go if we wan't to achieve gender equality. By that I don't mean that men and women should be exactly the same, because they aren't, but that they should have the same rights and opportunities. Many people think this has already been achieved, but once you start reading up on the subject, you'll quickly realise this isn't the fact. I also think we should change the name of Feminism because it sounds like it is only about fighting for women's rights, when really, this is a problem for men too. Would you be comfortable if your son was to play with barbies or if he starts wearing skirts? My point exactly. Boys aren't free either.

What I wanted to share with you today is a really interesting test called The Bechdel Test. It's a test that you can apply on any movie you watch. Here is the test:

1. Are there at least two female characters in it who have their own names?

2. Do these two female characters have a dialog together?

3. Is this dialog about something else than men or romance? 

Sounds easy enough. NOT! Almost all of my favourite movies fail this test! It is indeed often so that male characters have their friends. For instance, in one of my favourites, The Princess Bride, Westley has Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. The prince has the count. But who does Buttercup talk to, except for the birds and her sweet darling Westley? I was reading A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf a couple weeks back, and there is a part where she talks about this (the (in)famous Chloe liked Olivia). She explains how it is often threatening to a lot of men when two women have an intimate conversation about something intellectual. I thought this was very interesting when linking it to The Bechdel Test. 

A clear example of a huge fail here is Twilight, obviously, where Bella just cannot exist without Edward, and where literally almost every sentence she says is about him. An example of a movie that did pass the test is The Hunger Games. So, go katniss!

Just so we're clear: I don't think that movies that fail this test are per se female unfriendly and you should throw them in the bin. I still love The Princess Bride! But it's interesting to think about, and to keep in mind when you watch another movie. =)

✎ Jade