Tag: Peeta Mellark

I Have a new Obsession

John Guillen10 Comments

And it’s Funko. I usually just call them Pops, but I’m not entirely sure if others call them Pops or Funkos or what. But you know what I’m talking about. Those little 3 inch vinyl figures you’ve seen floating around everywhere. Well it turns out I LOVE them.

My first encounter with them was a few months back. Late last year I wandered into a Hot Topic store one day for no reason. And I was met by a wall of Pops. A literal wall of them. I was drawn to a few classic characters I’ve loved since forever, but I wasn’t ready to buy just yet. And then my brother (who I was with at the time) gave me a JJ Watt Pop! for Christmas last year. But I still wasn’t really into them, although I haven’t taken mine out of the case because that’s what people do, right?

Anyway, fast forward to last week. My store gets a few of these little guys in sometimes. But last week we got a Harry Potter and Hermione in stock. Brand new. They’re now waiting to be purchased on the 19th and 20th by me. Then I started looking online at all the different ones and THERE ARE SO MANY! But I was able to decide that I NEED the Katniss Everdeen and Jack Skellington ones. The regular Katniss and the regular Jack.

But I know I want Ron and Dumbledore and Hagrid and Dobby and Peeta and Effie and Sally and Willy Wonka and the Master and SO MANY MORE. It helps that they aren’t overly expensive and I literally don’t spend money on anything else.

Do you have any of these Funko Pops? I’m still not sure how I’m supposed to say that.

Is FanFiction a bad Word?

John Guillen18 Comments

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I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know anything about fanfiction. I’m not even sure if it’s supposed to be one word or two. But y’all know I tend to be aware of most writing/bookish topics, even if just minimally. Well, it would appear to me that fanfiction isn’t exactly welcomed in most literary circles. But I could be wrong.

For those who may not know, fanfiction is when someone (not the original author) writes fiction about or around characters from a particular story. Just imagine me writing something about Katniss and Peeta.

And now I have to tell you what I think of it. Eh. I’m not a fan. At all. I can say with confidence that I’ll likely never read a piece of fanfiction. For a few reasons. First, the person writing the fanfiction is almost certainly a worse writer than the original author. Second, I enjoyed the characters written from a particular perspective and by a particular author…I don’t need someone changing that. And third, I have a TBR shelf that’s constantly calling my name.

But I’m sure my opinion is different from yours. What do you think? Fanfiction good? Bad? Doesn’t matter?

On this day in 2014 I published What Does it Mean to be a Writer?.

 

What I Thought of Mockingjay Part 1

John Guillen4 Comments

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Photo Credit: To Hollywood and Beyond

Don’t read this like I’m writing some in depth movie review. Cause I’m not. I’m just going to ramble a bit about what I liked about the movie.

SPOILERS WILL BE INCLUDED

First, I wrote a post a few weeks back saying that I was going to reread the series. Yeah…I’m a liar. I did take the first book off the shelf and put it on my bed, but I never opened it. Mostly because I was more worried about some job stuff. So I went in a little bit blind. I’ve read the book, duh, but that was more than two years ago. I’ve read plenty more in the time since. Now to the movie.

The cast. Holy crap. Natalie Dormer (Cressida), I’m in love. Seriously, if she kept her head half shaved or whatever forever I’d love it. And Mahershala Ali (Boggs). Great casting. I know him from House of Cards, and I like him as President Coin’s right hand. I’ll talk about President Coin in a second.

I have to admit that the movie definitely starts a bit slow. Too slow? Eh. But I fully expected this to be the case. You almost have to when you’re splitting the book into two movies. Starts off slow but has just the right amount of action. Such as the scene released just this week in which Katniss witnesses a bombing first hand. That was a great part and her speech right after was the Girl on Fire we’ve all come to love.

District 13 was EXACTLY how I imagined. Looked great. I would have liked for them to give us more vision into the other districts. What we do get is nice, but it’s still pretty minimal. The attack on the dam is INSANE! One of my favorite parts of the movie because you see so many people sacrifice themselves for the handful of others who need to get through to destroy the dam. It really shows how important the revolution is to everyone.

Two things before I get to President Coin. I felt like Peeta’s role in this movie was greatly reduced from the previous two. Obviously being separated from Katniss is mostly to blame for that, but of the two hours I would be very surprised if he had even a half hour of screen time. And President Snow also seemed a bit more absent. I know, I know. They’re in 13 trying to plan everything out, but still.

Okay. I have some things to say about President Coin. Julianne Moore is great. You know from the first interaction with Katniss that she’s in control. But something that was really apparent to me throughout the movie is how similar President Snow and President Coin really are. Like holy crap. Obviously I’ve read the book and I know how it ends, but it was like they wanted to make sure you knew how similar they are. When you look at the shots of them speaking to their people, very similar. When you look at how Coin uses Katniss and Snow uses Peeta, very similar. I think they did this single part of the book even better than Suzanne Collins. Or perhaps I just appreciate it more after seeing it rather than reading. I don’t know. But kudos to Francis Lawrence and company on President Coin.

Overall, a very nice adaptation. As good as Catching Fire? Not in my eyes. But I do think it is a step above The Hunger Games.

Now go see it!

Oh, and we got there a little later than planned so I didn’t get to see all the other people arrive, but I did see some girls dressed as tributes! Should have snapped pictures.

When are you Seeing Mockingjay?

John Guillen8 Comments

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Photo Credit: To Hollywood and Beyond

Part one, obviously.

Now I know that most of you aren’t obsessed with Jennifer Lawrence or Katniss or just the whole series like I am. I get it. But I also know from previous conversations that most of you have enjoyed the series and read all three books. You’ve likely also seen the first two movie adaptations.

As I’m sure you’re well aware, the movie will be out here in the US tonight. My theater has four showings at 8:00. Then one every half hour until midnight. That’s pretty insane. You all should know by now that I never ever ever go to the movies. I haven’t been once in 2014. But there was never any doubt that I’d see this in theaters. Just happens that instead of going Friday morning, as has been my custom with the previous installments, I’m going to one of those four 8:00 showings. Yeah. Call me crazy. But maybe I’ll take some pictures of Katniss and Peeta and Gale?

I’ve only been to three other midnight/Thursday showings. Deathly Hallows Part 2, Half-Blood Prince, and Transformers 3. That’s it. And it was pretty ridiculous for all three. But this is an earlier showing and I’m not particularly worried about being trampled by teens who can’t wait to set sight on Katniss. Although that is a very real possibility.

So tell me, when are you going to see Mockingjay Part 1? Crazy enough to brave the crowds on opening night or perhaps waiting for a matinee showing on a later date?

A Valentine’s Day Duel: Ron & Hermione vs. Katniss & Peeta

John Guillen6 Comments

ImageHappy Valentine’s Day! Hopefully you spend the day with someone special. Or, if you’re like me, you can spend it with your books. So, since it is Valentine’s Day I thought it only fitting to discuss two of the most well known literary relationships of the last decade. I’ll give you a hint…there have been a total of ten movies in which these two pairs of lovebirds appear so far, with two more on the way. Any guesses? Ron and Hermione of Harry Potter fame and Katniss and Peeta from The Hunger Games. Let’s dive right in.

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Ron and Hermione

I am a HUGE fan of the Harry Potter franchise, but I have to admit that I have not read any of the books yet. I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me. I NEED to read them. I will at some point. But that’s not the point of this post. We’re talking about witch on wizard love. I considered including Harry and Ginny in this conversation, but Ginny isn’t quite one of the big three in the series, so Harry gets left out even though every book bears his name on the cover.

I’m sure every person keeping up with the literary world, and probably plenty who don’t, heard J.K. Rowling admit that Harry and Hermione would have been the better couple rather than Hermione and Ron. I tend to agree with her. Again, this is coming from someone who has not read the books, but Ron and Hermione just seem….odd together. One of the images I have in mind as I write this is in Deathly Hallows Part 1 when Ron abandons Harry and Hermione. While he’s gone they share a pleasant moment in which the two are seen dancing even though they’re in the midst of a dire situation. You can’t possibly tell me that Ron would be capable of such a thing. After all, he did abandon them.

Also, Ron isn’t exactly the brightest of the wizards attending Hogwarts. We all know Hermione is a brilliant witch. I can’t be the only one who pictures her with a similarly brilliant wizard. I think Harry fits that mold quite well.

I applaud J.K. Rowling for writing the story as she originally imagined it. But I also applaud her for admitting that she should have done things a little differently.

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Katniss and Peeta

The unlikeliest of partners. I HAVE read all of the books in The Hunger Games series and I’ve seen both movies. So I guess you can go ahead and call me an expert on the matter. Okay, maybe not an expert. BUT I absolutely love the series and not just because my future wife Jennifer Lawrence happens to play Katniss.

The two are thrown together during the first chapter of the first book in the series during the annual Reaping in which one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts is chosen to fight to the death in the annual Hunger Games. Katniss’ younger sister is actually chosen but Katniss does the unthinkable and volunteers in her place. She’s the first ever volunteer from her district in the 74 year history of the Games.

The relationship between the two starts off a bit rocky. Katniss is independent and not the most sociable person while Peeta is about as likeable as it gets. The two remain polite with each other until Peeta admits during an interview before the Games are set to begin that he’s got a crush on Katniss. I mean, I don’t blame him. She’s perfect! Katniss doesn’t like being thrown a curve ball and gets a bit upset. Then she goes on to score an 11 out of 12 during her individual showing for the Gamemakers. Peeta then decides that he no longer wants to be trained alongside Katniss because there is only one winner.

Once the Games begin and Katniss is on her own and Peeta is nowhere to be found it is announced that there can be two winners from the same district. Katniss goes on to keep Peeta alive with the help of sponsors and the two ultimately win the Games, but not before they tick off the Capitol in doing so. Katniss put on a show for everyone watching to make out like the two were madly in love. She did it to survive while Peeta wasn’t acting.

The two are forced to act as if they need each other in order to live after the Games, and although they do their best, it may already be too late. They may have inadvertently started a rebellion.

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My Favorite

This actually isn’t all that hard for me to decide. Katniss and Peeta. Hands down. I didn’t go into the second or third books of the series because I refuse to spoil those for any person who reads this who may not have read them. If you have read them then you are well aware of how their relationship evolves over time. But in the first one Katniss is about as upfront as she can be with Peeta under the circumstances. While the cameras were rolling she acted in a manner that kept both of them alive. And as soon as they were out of the limelight she made it known that it wasn’t as real for her as he might have thought. I guess my reasoning for liking their relationship slightly more than Ron and Hermione’s would be because we know what we’re getting from the start. Ron and Hermione take FOREVER to make it happen. (At least in the movies)

So tell me, which would you rather be a part of….Ron and Hermione or Katniss and Peeta?

Just for kicks, which nickname do you like more? The Boy Who Lived or The Girl on Fire?