The Hunger Games Catching Fire Will Catch Your Eye

The government uses fear in order to have control of its people. Sound familiar?  I think that is one of the appealing aspects of this series.    This concept is not so far fetched from our imaginations to seem unrealistic. 
I have heard from various readers of The Hunger Games Trilogy and agree that the movie held true to the text as much as possible.  (To be honest,  though, I hate when people pitch fits when one does not match exactly with the other. You create your own movie in your mind when reading a good book,  so let's calm ourselves a bit when movies don't fit all 300+ pages of details.) I digress.
For those who haven't read the books. This movie is one with a gripping tale of a girl who just wants what is fair but continues to upset the wrong people because she encompasses what can hurt the control established which is hope. Hope to fight what is far from just and hope for a better life. You cry with her as lives are taken, encourage her when it seems her path can't get any worse, and are left in antipation of what is next to come.  
Don't forget her torn heart.  Does the boy who she fights to protect  have her heart or the boy she's known her whole life?  Not even Catniss can figure this one out as her mind is too occupied with protecting the lives of those she loves while trying to survive another round of Hunger Games that are much more serious than previous if, you can imagine.  
This is a must see as the stakes are higher and I promise you will be left needing to see the next movie whether you are a reader of the series, or simply a lover of movies.

The Delivery Man Delivers What You'd Expect

A nice guy who makes bad choices but means well finds out he has 533 children and around 100 or so of them want to meet him. Yes, very realistic. To the movie's defense, that's not the point.  Vincent Vaughn finds his purpose by being there for his "kids" in an in the behind the scenes way.   This leads to some very endearing tales of what twenty somethings who seek their identity may go through. He bonds them together and in the mean time is facing his own personal dilemmas.  It had heart and left you genuinely caring about the characters. My favorite part of this movie is that it emphasizes how just being a sperm donor does not make a father and only a father can decide if he is the father or not.  If you want a light hearted movie with mildly funny scenes and heart,  you will enjoy it.

Buzz Feed's Books to Read

I used to be the girl who would only read Nicolas Sparks books.  Don't get me wrong.  The guy does know how to write a love story located in a quiet southern town in North Carolina.  The charm was appealing for me.  But, as I got older (wiser, maybe) it just wasn't enough for me. Then one fateful November in 2008.  I saw a movie I had never heard anything about, but knew that is was really popular among teeny boppers.  I checked it out with my partner in crime of all things movies and was hooked on The Twilight Saga.  Now, please don't discredit me just yet.  I loved the movie so much that I thought reading the books would be a good change from my typical reads.  I wasn't sure how the blood and  fantasy would fly with me, but needless to say my life was taken over by Stephanie Miller.

What Twilight did for me was made me give other genres a try and for that I am forever grateful.  Since then I have fallen in love with Jodi Picoult and her suspenseful spins involving major court cases, Pam Jenoff with her historical fiction and gripping tales, and many more amazing authors.

What truly opened my mind to the world of reading was when Buzzfeed posted 14 books to read before they hit the big screen.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-the-big-screen   My social plans are centered toward what movie I am seeing with friends each week, so when I saw this list, I had to give it a go.  I began this journey in July of this past summer and only have 2.5 books left.  The word journey seems cheesy, but that is what it has been.  The girl who once only read books similar to The Notebook has finished the Maze Runner Series, read a horror book (yes I did say horror), read a biography about one of the most greedy creeps you could ever imagine (Really good read though!), and cried/laughed with some of the most wonderful characters I have ever encountered.

My point?  My next posts in the near future (when I am not reviewing a movie I have to tell you about) will be about these books and my thoughts.  I hope you end up reading them too if you haven't yet.