A Book-to-Movie review: Divergent

Today's review will be on:

MY REVIEW

THE GOOD STUFF

Although they made a few small changes (which I only noticed after thinking for a long while), most of them made sense, and kept the story like it was in the book.

Shailene Woodley did an amazing job as Tris, she was almost exactly what I had imagined Tris to be like.

I was a little unsure about Theo James as Four, the boy we all fall for, but he played the part perfectly! I give him a 10 out of 4! :)

Veronica Roth even got a cameo in the film! I had to do a double-take!

Veronica Roth as a member of Dauntless in Divergent.

THE PROBLEMS

The only real problems that I had with this movie was the soundtrack. It did not sound like the book or movie I loved at all. The original score is great, but I felt like the soundtrack should've been more rocker, less techno/electronic.

ALL IN ALL...

The book was rightfully portrayed in this film, and I can't wait to see it again!

Well, that's all for now...

See you in the next one!

~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Listen to the original soundtrack of Divergent as chosen by Veronica Roth!

"Starts With One" by Shiny Toy Guns

"This song gets me in touch with the good aspects of Beatrice's chosen faction." -Veronica Roth

"Chasm" by Flyleaf

"And this song gets me in touch with the bad aspects of Beatrice's chosen faction." -Veronica Roth

"Come Alive" by Foo Fighters

"This is the love interest's song for Beatrice." -Veronica Roth

"Again" by Flyleaf

"And this is Beatrice's song for her love interest." -Veronica Roth

"Help I'm Alive" by Metric

"This is Beatrice's initiation song." -Veronica Roth

"We Die Young" by The Showdown

"This might as well be the theme song for Beatrice's chosen faction - it's what they would choose for themselves" -Veronica Roth

"Canvas" by Imogen Heap

"This is the 'riding on trains' song." -Veronica Roth

"Running Up That Hill" by Placebo

"The tone of this song matches the tone of much of the book, for me." -Veronica Roth

"Sweet Sacrifice" by Evanescence.

"I was listening to this song when the first scene I wrote (in chapter 6) popped into my head. That scene led me to the world of the book and its basic plot." -Veronica Roth

"Arise" by Flyleaf

"A powerful song that's perfect for chapters 38 and 39." -Veronica Roth

Take a quiz to see which faction you belong in! (I'm Amity):
http://www.zimbio.com/quiz/DAqISCfIbdV/Divergent+Faction?result=vmUOh3yDPse

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Today's review will be about:

THE SUMMARY:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

MY REVIEW

I had avoided this book for a long time because of its subject matter, but after reading it I'm convinced that the subject matter is the reason that YOU, dear reader, need to read this book. It is extremely inventive with the way that it shows cancer, not like the disease that makes someone somehow less of a person and weak, but rather just as a reason to go out into the world and LIVE. The characters in this book, despite their illness, move on, fall in love, and go through troubles, just like you and me. The only difference between us is the cancer, but that doesn't make someone less human.
You fall in love with the characters in this book, and you cry when something bad happens to them. Instead of being drifted away into their land, you are sucked into their lives and thoughts, the setting modern day Indiana. I actually had finished this book in 4 days, so it isn't that hard of a read, but it really pulls you in to the point where you spend nights awake tearing through the pages, and from time to time I had to remind myself the this book is purely fictional. That's how real it really gets.
I absolutely LOVED the main characters (Hazel, Augustus, and Isaac). They were extremely funny and thoughtful, questioning the things around them and creating metaphors for everything, from scrambled eggs to an unlit cigarette. And the romance? It wasn't fake, but rather was as real as you and I.
In the end, it was an amazing read, and I think that John Green is going to be added to my list of favorite writers for this one. It will make you laugh, cry, think, and hold your breath for the next chapter.

WARNING: I would recommend this book to 7th grade age or older due to mild cursing and a sex scene.

A LITTLE EXCERPT:

We finally taxied out to the runway and the pilot said, Flight attendants, prepare for departure, and then two tremendous jet engines roared to life and we began to accelerate. "This is what it feels like to drive in a car with you," I said, and he smiled, but kept his jaw clenched tight and I said, "Okay?"
We were picking up speed and suddenly Gus's hand grabbed the armrest, his eyes wide, and I put my hand on top of his and said, "Okay?" He didn't say anything, just stared at me wide-eyed, and I said, "Are you scared of flying?"
"I'll tell you in a minute," he said. The nose of the plane rose up and we were aloft. Gus stared out the window, watching the planet shrink beneath us, and then I felt his hand relax beneath mine. He glanced at me and then back out the window. "We are flying," he announced.
"You've never been on a plane before?"
He shook his head. "LOOK!" he half shouted, pointing at the window.
"Yeah," I said. "Yeah, I see it. It looks like we're in an airplane."
"NOTHING HAS EVER LOOKED LIKE THAT EVER IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY," he said. His enthusiasm was adorable. I couldn't resist leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Just so you know, I'm right here," Mom said. "Sitting next to you. Your mother. Who held your hand as you took your first infantile steps."
"It's friendly," I reminded her, turning to kiss her on the cheek.
"Didn't feel too friendly," Gus mumbled just loud enough for me to hear. When surprised and excited and innocent Gus emerged from Grand Gesture Metaphorically Inclined Augustus, I literally could not resist.
(pages 146-148)

Well, that's all for now!

See you next time!

~Sea-Solo out!

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Watch the TFiOS trailer!:

Watch this special episode of Teens React featuring the TFiOS trailer!:

{A Blast from the Past} Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Today's review is on:

THE SUMMARY

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends - and planet - behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe that they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside a tiny world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

A map of the interior of Godspeed.

MY REVIEW
I had already read this book once before and loved it, and the second time around was no different. I was once again swept away into the world of Godspeed with Amy, Elder, and Harley. This book will take you on a wild chase, making you think about who could've done something so horrible as unplug a frozen person when they have no way to get out, to survive. The answer will shock you, just as it shocked me, even the second time around.
There are a lot of things that are shocking about the "utopia" that is created on Godspeed. The most shocking thing about it, however, is the amount of lies that the leader, Eldest, spins to keep the ship "running". It seems that he has absolutely no qualms about murder or even allowing a person to think that they are crazy, when they are the sanest person on the ship. The web of lies never ended, even when the book ends. I'm really glad there are two other books that will probably go deeper into the deception on the ship.
The scene in the beginning with Amy's parents makes me dead sure that I never want to get cryogenically frozen. It's terrifying what happens during the procedure and after. The entire time I was thinking about how it would sort of be like a coma, but instead of growing older, you just stay in the same state you are when you are frozen, and the world goes on without you. That's a frightening thing to think about. Everyone you loved that wasn't frozen with you would be gone, and there are only two ways to look at that; you could cry about it for a while, or you could do what Fry did in Futurama: WOOHOO!
When reading, I started to think about what would happen if I was in Amy's spot and had to live on a ship after being violently waken up and shoved into its crazy society. I realized that I would fit in more than Amy would. True, I do have a very light complexion, but I also have very dark brown hair and brown eyes, so I wouldn't stick out as much as Amy did. I'm not saying that I would want to live on Godspeed, but  at least I would fit in better with the dark skin, dark hair, and dark eyed world that is Godspeed. Amy, however, with her red hair, fair skin, and green eyes, sticks out from the very beginning as a freak, and you can't help but feel sorry for her.
I also loved the importance of art in this book! Harley, one of the main characters, is a fantastic painter who specializes in pretty much anything. He loves painting koi the most because of his past, which is shown in more detail later. Elder said that in one of Harley's paintings, he "used these amazing colors - colors no one else would think of". In a world inside a metal bubble, art is important.
WARNING: This book has some mature content such as rape and suicide. I wouldn't recommend this for people who are too young to understand such concepts, because even for someone as old as me, it was shocking.
This is a book that I would definitely recommend! Though perhaps you should read it when you don't have schoolwork to do...

This is what I imagined one of Harley's paintings to be like.

A LITTLE EXCERPT
Something's happening.
No, no, no. Nothing's happening. Nothing ever happens. It's that nightmare again, that same nightmare. Ed/Hassan will unfreeze me, and I will be like now, and they'll throw me back in. Or the ship will crash, and I'll be stuck here, forever, never unfrozen. Or maybe this is the nightmare where-
Thunk.
-where they forget to unfreeze me at all, the ship lands and everyone's so excited they just leave me behind, and-
Something is happening.
No. The nightmares are getting more real, and they'll be so much worse because of it. I think I hear something. I can't hear anything. It's all in my mind. It's not real. Think about something better. Think about Jason. Think about Mom, about Daddy, think about-
Click.
No. I did not hear a click. A click did not vibrate through the ice. That did not happen. It's just the nightmares... it's another nightmare. It's as simple as that.
If I could, I would squeeze my eyes shut. Instead, I try to focus my mind, like I used to be able to focus my eyes in and out when I looked at something really close. Memories. Memories always kill nightmares.
My mind's eye flashes images, a slide show of memories. Hiking the Grand Canyon. The middle school trip to the beach. Gymnastics when I was a kid. The first time I drove. The first time I scratched the car (same day) and Daddy yelled at me, but got me ice cream afterward anyway, and we pinky- promised not to tell Mom. Baking Christmas cookies with Mom and Grandma the year before she went to the nursing home. Cross-country meets. Marathon training.
I feel something. I feel something. Warmth in my stomach. And I hear... the hum of electricity. I realize I hear it because it is coming from the tubes down my throat.
My body slips. Just a fraction of a millimeter, but it slips.
The ice is melting.
Oh, God.
Thump.
My heart.
Thump-thump.
Water leaks onto my left eye's lash-line. I twitch involuntarily. The yellow crust that has sealed my eyes for who knows how long cracks as - for the first time since I was frozen - I move.
OhGodohGodohGod.
(pages 68-70)

Thanks so much for reading!
See you in the next one!
~Sea-Solo

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Take a tour of Godspeed and more on the trilogy's website!:
http://www.acrosstheuniversebook.com

More Book/Movie Parodies by The Hillywood Show!

This week I will be talking about:

ABOUT THE HINDIS

Instead of trying to explain to you what Hillywood is and who created it, I copied the description from their website so that it's in their own words! :D

The Hillywood Show® is the brainchild of internet celebrities, comedy sister duo Hilly & Hannah Hindi. Each parody features satire sketches, character impersonations, song & dance parodies of the big box office films such as Twilight & Harry Potter along with popular TV shows & celebrities such as the Vampire Diaries & Lady Gaga! Their incredible costumes & makeup would impress even the most seasoned Saturday Night Live cast member! With nearly 100,000,000 views The Hillywood Show® continues to grow! Two sisters creating everything with just one camera!

Something that amazes me about these parodies is the cast that looks very similar to the movies/ TV shows!

ON TO THE PARODIES!

Set to Fashionista by Jimmy James, this parody explores the big Q&A before the Hunger Games start. I love Hilly as Caesar Filckerman! :D

This video currently has around 5.6 million views.

Mixing together So You Think You Can Dance and the Harry Potter series, this parody is an amazing dance between Harry and Voldemort, set to Lil John's Get Outta Your Mind.
This video currently has around 1 million views.

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit parody. Featuring Shots by LMFAO, this parody shows us what alcohol, wizards, dwarves, and hobbits would do if they were in the same hobbit hole. It creates a massive Middle Earth Hangover.
This video currently has around 3 million views.

R and Julie, star-crossed lovers, are featured in this parody of Warm Bodies featuring Monster by Lady Gaga.
FUN FACT: The costumes R and Julie are wearing in this parody are the actual screen used costumes worn by Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer from the set of WARM BODIES the movie.
This video currently has around 2.5 million views.

Based on the hit TV show and book by L.J. Smith, this parody features Teeth by Lady Gaga and currently has 3.5 million views.

Above is from a Q & A with Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley on the Vampire Diaries parody.

That's all for now!
See you next time!
~Sea-Solo out!

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Watch some more videos by the Hillywood Show!

To see more, go to their website:

http://www.thehillywoodshow.com/

Or subscribe to their channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/JckSparrow

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Schedule Change

After trying the schedule format of blogs, I have decided to change. Posting every Saturday was not something that ended up working for me. I couldn't wait to post, I wanted to share my reviews when I wanted to post them. I'm also scared to run out of things outside of books to share with you guys.

After this week, I'm going to post any day of the week, whenever I've finished a book or simply finished writing. I hope that this doesn't make you want to read my blog less.

Stay tuned for more.

~Sea-Solo out!

The Hillywood Show Twilight Parodies!

This week I will be talking about:

ABOUT THE HINDIS

Instead of trying to explain to you what Hillywood is and who created it, I copied the description from their website so that it's in their own words! :D

The Hillywood Show® is the brainchild of internet celebrities, comedy sister duo Hilly & Hannah Hindi. Each parody features satire sketches, character impersonations, song & dance parodies of the big box office films such as Twilight & Harry Potter along with popular TV shows & celebrities such as the Vampire Diaries & Lady Gaga! Their incredible costumes & makeup would impress even the most seasoned Saturday Night Live cast member! With nearly 100,000,000 views The Hillywood Show® continues to grow! Two sisters creating everything with just one camera!

Something that amazes me about these parodies is the cast that looks very similar to the movies/ TV shows!

ON TO THE PARODIES!

The entire Hillywood parody series started with Twilight. Set to Katy Perry's Hot n' Cold, this video points out some of the problems with Edward as a character and currently has almost 10 million views.

The Hillywood show came back again, this time with a parody of New Moon set to Thinking of You by Katy Perry and So What and Please Don't Leave Me by P!nk.
This video currently has around 6.5 million views.

This is my favorite of their parodies, featuring a mix of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga and Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. My favorite part? When Edward and Jacob have a fight with guns and grenades. Or when Jacob serenades Bella with the wolf pack. ;)
This parody has around 7.3 million views right now.

We've gotten to Breaking Dawn part 1! This parody is a mix of Marry the Night by Lady Gaga, Give Me Everything by Pitbull, and You're Having My Baby by Paul Anka. My favorite part of this one is the honeymoon with Jacob. XD
This video has around 22 million views.

The end of the Twilight parodies; Breaking Dawn part 2! Using Psy's Gangnam Style, this video is enjoyable from start to finish. I love all of the Jacob moments in this one. :)
This video has around 6 million views.

Well, that's all for now!

See you next Saturday!

~Sea-Solo out!

EXTRA! EXTRA!

Watch some of their videos that aren't book related!:

To see more, go to their website:

http://www.thehillywoodshow.com/

Or subscribe to their channel!

http://www.youtube.com/user/JckSparrow