The Darkest Minds Never Fade in the Afterlight. 
Three stellar novels, containing strong, complex characters and intriguing plots filled with action, adventure and high stakes. Plus a heart wrenching romance. What more could you ask for? These books are beloved to me-- one of the first series I read that helped to trigger my now insatiable book obsession.  
Whenever I hear one of my favorites books are being turned into a movie, the news is always accompanied with a mixture of emotions. Excitement because it'd be amazing to see my favorite stories and characters come to life, and get the recognition they deserve... but there's also a strong sense of apprehension. See, book-to-movie adaptations have a strong history of being huge disappointments. For every amazing book-to-movie, there's tons of unsuccessful adaptations that just disappoint everyone. For example, the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movies are amazing, but The Mortal Instruments, Divergent Trilogy, Vampire Academy, Percy Jackson, I Am Number Four etc. were all terrible flops that really just disrespected the books. 
Where does the Darkest Minds fall in all of this? Unfortunately this movie is the latter. I had such strong hopes for it-- I've been following news on the movie ever since it was even announced that the story had been picked up for adaptation rights, so this release was a big deal for me. 
I wasn't able to get to see the Darkest Minds on its release day, or even its release week, but I was keeping up with it... and my heart sunk when I saw its shockingly low ratings just about everywhere. I think The Darkest Minds had only been in theaters for two weeks by the time I found the chance to see it... and it was already not playing in most of them. I had to travel an absurd distance to get to a theater showing it, and even though I'd heard all of the negative reviews, I still went in hoping for the best-- but soon enough I realized that the movie was certainly not going to be that. 
I can never understand how book-to-movie adaptations go so horribly wrong-- I mean seriously! You already have a successful script in book form! I get that some things need to be changed to make the movie producible, but vital plot points plus changing things just for the sake of changing them? Ugh. I can't. Too many things in this movie were switched, and not even for the better-- I think it was just made to appeal more and be more "intense" but the book was plenty fascinating. 
There were elements of the story that made absolutely no sense to me and just seemed ridiculous. Such as the fact that the kids' eyes glow their power color? Also no one even mentions that ever-- so is it just something that the viewers can see... or? But why does this make any sense at all? Because the government gave the powers their colors because of their level of danger... so why would the powers abide by the colors given to them by the government? 
There were also moments where the tone of the movie was unclear. There was a serious car chase action scene going on and then it cut to this weird picture of Lady Jane bouncing to music in her car. It just couldn't seem to stick to a tone, which caused the film to be muddled-- which doesn't make it easy to really get into the story. 
The whole relationship between Liam and Ruby was just... fast and wrong. It was totally rushed-- it felt like they fell in love in just about three days. When the film ended I leaned over to my companions and said, "Bet you after fifteen days they're going to be engaged." It was a joke, but it really did apply. 
The book made Liam and Ruby a slow burn that made it impossible not to fall in love with their relationship. All together the movie's depiction of Ruby and Liam's connection was disappointing. In the book Liam bears the burden of being the leader of his group (Chubs and Zu), he feels responsible for them and it's a heavy weight... Ruby helps to connect with him and lift a bit of that burden away. They just have these touching moments that really make their relationship tangible-- the movie had none of that and just tried to skip ahead to the romance. It was the most insta-love-y connection I've ever seen. And I hate instalove. 
Just a few more examples of weird things are when Liam and Ruby are like trying to compare themselves to Harry Potter characters-- that scene might have tried to be comedic or relatable, but instead it just turned out uncomfortable and awkward. Then there's that scene in the mall where the telepaths literally press Liam and Ruby together, why was the position needed? I think it was added to make more sexual tension between the two of them but it just... like everything else it was weird. Also the very end scene Ruby just walks up to Liam and hugs him from behind which is WEIRD because it seems like a totally comfortable movement, when they'd never been depicted doing that before. Not only were scenes made weird, but Liam's whole character from the book was just different and a whole lot more likable/ easier to get attached to than movie Liam. (Why did they make Chubs a green? So that the whole group was very color? That just makes it more unrealistic! Ugh. He's supposed to be a blue, if you didn't know.) 
Actually, I could go on a rant about all the things made wrong in this movie, but... well, you all don't really want to read that. I did appreciate the characters of Zu and Chubs-- they were definitely the best part of the movie. Otherwise... Not much else was impressive. Sometimes I literally had to look away I was just so done with the movie and how it decided to depict the story. All and all, I was very disappointed. 4/10 stars. It got sucked into all the classic cliches, changing things to try and make the movie a hit, when in reality, it would've already been one if it hadn't made those changes. The cliches and attempts to make a hit movie are really what sunk that ship. 
Sorry if this review just seemed long and ranty... I'm not really sure where this is going so I'm jus too to say-- thank you for reading! Sorry this review came out so late-- I started it a long time ago but then school started and well... I've been busy. 
-Anj

Five friends playing tag. That's not a strange concept, right? What if I told you these friends aren't kids, instead, they're in their forties-fifties, and they've been playing this game for well on thirty years. Every may, these friends play an epic game of tag. They don't live together, so they literally go on flights to each others' cities, dress in costumes and set up traps in attempts to tag each other. This year is Jerry's last year in the game... and Jerry has never been tagged, not once in the last thirty something years. And his other four friends decide that this has to be the year, they have to tag Jerry before it's too late... 
I explained this to one of my friends and she asked "So what's the plot?" to which I replied, "That is the plot." That's the thing, comedies don't need all intensive plots, they just need to be funny. And Tag is downright hilarious. 
There are very few comedies that are actually good. Many try, and most fail, but Tag is one of the few that actually succeed. I was in stitches so many times during this movie. I enjoyed the humor so much that I literally am already planning a second trip to see it. 
There's not much more that I can tell you other than it's hilarious and definitely not a comedy you want to miss. 7/10 stars. 

This is probably very old news for most of you, but I guess I've been living under a rock, so this post is for others who have also been under this rock. One of my all time favorite books-- To All The Boys I've Loved Before is being made into a movie, and I am so very excited about this. 
This novel is a contemporary romance following Lara Jean Song, a girl who writes love letters to boys who she has very strong crushes on. There are 5 total, and once she's written them, they're thrown into a hat box, never to be thought of again. Until... One day the letters get sent out, and one of the recipients is the boy next door, Josh, who just recently got out of a very serious relationship with Lara Jean's older sister, Margot... Drama involving the recipients of the letters ensures.
This book is such a cute story. Its characters are just so honest and genuine, that they feel real. I connect very well with Lara Jean, and just really relate with her on so many different levels. She's such an innocent and naive protagonist, and the book is written in a way that you feel the embarrassing moments when they come along. And believe me, they come along, haha. The thing that sets this novel apart is its realism. The characters are real, therefore making the reading experience all the more enjoyable. But it's also just a very cute romance story. If you feel the need for a cute (EMPHASIS ON CUTE) feel good romance, To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han is the book for you. And guess what? If you fall in love with the characters like I did, you're in luck because there are two more books in the series. And they're not bad, or even remotely worse than the first, as the sequels to romances usually are. In fact, the series stays level in quality, each book remaining just as cute and genuine as its predecessors. 
The movie is being made by Netflix, which is especially exciting because I CAN WATCH IT AS SOON AS IT COMES OUT. And I've heard the author is pretty happy with the movie... So hopefully it's good and sticks to the book's story. That's my biggest fear about the movie-- that it'll ruin one of my favorite books. (I'm also nervous that a ton of people will start talking about it like they're experts when I've loved this series for years... but that's just me being petty, haha. Good for the author for getting this publicity). 
Anyway, I hope you're getting as hyped up as I am about this movie! 
​Anj

(Enjoy the trailer. I rewatch it multiple times a day aha) 

A movie with a special place in most of our hearts... Meaning that pleasing the audience with this new version of it is going to be particularly difficult. I've been looking forward to this movie ever since I heard that Disney was planning to make a live action Beauty and the Beast... and I grew even more excited when I found out Emma Watson had been cast as Belle. I mean seriously, she's absolutely perfect for the role. 
I've seriously been waiting for this movie for a long time now, and went to see it almost as soon as it was released. And I have to say, overall I'm very happy with it and impressed. Coming from me that's a pretty high compliment, seeing as my pessimistic self usually tends to just find the smallest flaws in EVERYTHING. Seriously, my Cappies team calls it Anjing if they give a show a really low rating. 
I loved quite a few things about this movie, starting with the casting. Going in, I was feeling a bit hesitant because I didn't know several of the big actors-- mainly the Beast (Dan Stevens), but I was pleasantly surprised by finding that the movie was almost perfectly cast. I know it's bad to use words like "perfect" and "great" in reviews, but these casting choices truly deserve it. All the actors fit their roles and played them almost too convincingly. Dan Stevens is beautiful as the Prince, which fits since Adam is supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. And his eyes? I could stare into those blue pools all day long. I have to give him a lot of credit for spending most of the movie acting in a 50 pound suit and on stilts. 
A duo that almost stole the show were Gaston (Luke Evans) and LeFou (Josh Gad). They fit their roles amazingly, and were absolutely hilarious, delivering their humorous lines with perfect comedic timing. 
Another thing I loved about the movie was the music. Those who know me may very well know that I have a soft spot for musicals, and also that I love Disney music and know it very well. I really enjoyed listening to the new takes on the classic songs as well as the completely new songs. In fact, I've been listening to the music non stop for the last two days (thanks, Apple Music). I may or may not be listening to it right now. Days in the Sun and Evermore are two of my favorite new songs, but they're all fantastic. 
And the third big thing that I loved, was just that the movie had more time to do everything. The Beast and Belle don't immediately fall in love-- this movie gives them a little more time to get to know and slowly fall for each other, unlike the animation. And it also gives both the Prince and Belle a backstory, so we get to understand these characters on a deeper level and connect with them. Not only that, but it gives these two characters a better connection and more of a reason to fall for each other as well. All in all, I love what they chose to do with all the characters, not just Belle and the Prince. 
Now for a few criticisms. The two things that poked out the most was one, the CGI. It was not the best I've ever seen. Especially seeing as in this day and age we have some really good and convincing CGI, I was expecting a little bit more from this movie. And the second thing is pretty small, but Emma Watson's voice sounded kind of autotuned to me. I'm sure it was autotuned, but I just don't like how much I was able to detect it. Still, I've been listening to the music none stop so that's proof that the sound doesn't bother me that much. 
All in all, Beauty and the Beast is a fantastic movie. It doesn't bring shame to one of my beloved childhood movies, instead it delves deeper into the characters-- who they truly are and why they are that way, while adding humor, fun and action into the mix. I highly recommend the film, especially to all those who have loved Beauty and the Beast the animated film since childhood. 8/10 stars, it was a truly fun experience to watch, and I hope to be able to go back and see the movie again soon. 

Rating: 8/10 stars 
The 5th Wave is a post apocalyptic movie based on the book, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. If you want to read a crappy review that I wrote back in May 2014, feel free to check it out. I don't exactly recommend it, though, because honestly, I sucked at writing reviews then more than I do now. I'll give you the basic summery of how I felt about the 5th Wave on my first read. I disliked the book because I felt like I was dragging my feet through about sixty or so percent of it. Looking back, I realize if I had the amount of patience for reading that I do now, I would've really enjoyed the 5th Wave on my first read through. I wasn't really that interested in reading the second book when it came out, but I did because I wanted to see what happened to the characters (especially Evan Walker) after the events of the 5th Wave. The Infinite Sea was what really made me love the series. Even though many 5th Wave fans didn't enjoy the second book as much, I absolutely loved it. After reading the Infinite Sea, I went back and reread the 5th Wave and really loved it. If you want to read the 5th Wave, I recommend that you go into it with a patient mind because it takes a while to really get invested in the story line. 
Anyway, back to the movie. The 5th Wave is a very dark book, but it's lightened up by some quirky humor slipped in between the dark parts. That was my favorite part about the first book- the quirky odd humor the characters had even though they were in a seriously ominous situation. The movie, unfortunately, left the quirky humor out. While watching, I did sorely miss the odd humor, but that was my main issue with it. 
Here's a quote from me back in November 2014. 
"The movie for the 5th Wave comes out January 26, 2016. It’s a long wait, guys. The guy they picked for Evan looks a little old, honestly, but I think the movie will be great. They better do it right because if they make the movie right because this series could be the next big thing. Oh, the guy they picked for Ben is Rider from Melissa and Joey, this is gonna be weird."
​They actually changed the movie date since then, but whatever. This movie did have a lot of potential to be great, and it was pretty good. It had a load of potential and it fell short in some places. Instead of talking about the negatives, let's discuss the positives of the movie first. 
The 5th Wave movie certainly covered the darkness aspect of the book well. I really loved how it depicted the first three waves int he beginning of the movie. It had my heart racing and excited for more. The way the film had it flashback and then lead into current time was an aspect that I enjoyed. I know I said I'd start out with the positives but I just have to mention. From how I read the book, Cassie would definitely not be going out to a party on a Saturday night. I read her as an awkward teenage girl who, like me, would be at home on a Saturday night. 
Chloe Grace Moretz (Actress from If I Stay, Carrie and Kick Ass) was a great choice to play the lead protagonist, Cassie Sullivan. She has the right looks and is a great actress. I was hesitant when I first heard the news that she was going to be playing Cassie, but Chloe was able to pull of the part quite well. I quite enjoyed seeing her portray her character. 
Nick Robinson is Ben Parish. His career  really seems to be taking off. You might know him from Melissa and Joey as Ryder Scanlon or Jurassic World as Zach. He's a cutie, I'll give him that. I also think he brings good life and personality to the character. While reading this, I wasn't Ben's biggest fan- possibly because I'm 100% team Evan. In fact, while reading the first book (the first time) I couldn't wait for his part to be over, but in the movie I looked forward to seeing Ben's parts as well as his story arc. Maybe it's partially because I like the actor, but I also did actually really enjoy how he played Ben. 
Alex Roe portrays Evan Walker- my favorite character from the books. Now, I don't like critiquing people's acting because it's not something I really know and I'm not really going to critique Alex's acting. I just don't think he was the perfect actor for the part. I enjoyed his part in the movie, partially because I just love Evan Walker, and I think he has the looks for Evan, but I just don't think he said his lines in the right way. I actually don't know Alex Roe from anything. I looked him up on IMDB but didn't really recognize any of the things he's acted in previously. I did enjoy looking at him in the duration of the movie as well as his action scenes. I thought those were done marvelously. 
I'm just going to get this out of the way. I never really was attached to Ringer's character, but the movie version was just terrible. I really hate calling things terrible but I really just did not like the way Ringer was portrayed. I was hesitant about Maika Monroe from the start, mainly because she looked nothing like the part she was playing, but I would've been able to get over it if she played the part well. Instead of getting some badass who needed no one's help, we got to see a emo chick with an annoying voice. I'm sorry, but I really just didn't like how she was portrayed in the movie. And question, how the heck did she get her hands on that much makeup? Every scene you see her in, her eyes are covered in black eyeliner and I was just wondering the entire movie where she got all of it because I'm pretty sure the military didn't provide it except maybe to Reznik. If they make a second movie (I hope they do, but from what I've seen, it has pretty low ratings and didn't do to well opening night) I really hope Ringer still doesn't have all that dark make up on. And if she does, I really hope someone provides a good explanation as to how the heck she has that much make up in the middle of no where. 
As mentioned before, I really did enjoy the action scenes. I think the movie was able to build the feeling of anticipation and suspense to the perfect level before the action actually occurred. The 5th Wave is thrilling mainly because of it's numerous plot twists and action sequences. I think the movie pulled off the action sequences perfectly. Except for this one part when a character jumps like fifteen feet into the air. But we're going to ignore that and pretend it never happened. 
On the part of plot twists, I think the movie didn't pull that off quite as well. I mean, I was silently laughing to myself for a lot of the movie because I knew all the plot twists that the story was leading up to, while my friends did not. Though, afterwards, one of my friends admitted she knew one of the largest plot twists was going to happen before it did. While I'm on the topic of friends, I'll just say, I went to the movie with three friends that have never even touched the book. They all immensely enjoyed the film (as well as dissed reading books, but we'll ignore that). So, for all those who haven't read the book, I think you'll find this movie food. The main issues for me was the relationships and missing quirky humor, so if you aren't really looking for those certain things, it is very enjoyable. 
I did enjoy this movie, as proven by my high rating, but I just am pointing out the thing that I missed. 
Next subject: Relationships. I think the movie did a bad job of portraying the relationships between characters. Especially between Cassie and Ben, Cassie and Evan and Ben and Nugget/Sam. 
I think the main issue of low ratings of book to adaptation movies are the words 'in the book' because we really need to accept that, no, this is not that book, but there are some aspects of the book that I feel like we need to see in the movie. And the relationships are one thing from the book that I thought were vital things needed in the movie. 
In the book, Cassie and Ben have this awkward relationship. Ben was Cassie's high school love and Cassie, well, Ben doesn't even remember her when he meets her again. In this, it's Ben who reminds her they went to High School together and they seem to have more of a connection in the movie than in the book. Like I mentioned before, there's a kind of awkward humor that makes the character's really lovable. The relationship between Ben and Cassie was one aspect of awkward humor in the book that I really enjoyed. Ben and Cassie's relationship in the movie is just plain out weird and while the actors portrayed it well, I thought the writers really missed out on a potential humorous part. 
Cassie and Evan are supposed to have a connection, in the movie you can plainly see the writers were trying to write in a relationship between the two, but it was lacking too many scenes for anyone to actually get attached to the relationship between the two. Their relationship is also simplified down a lot, as is Evan's character. In the book, there are an ample amount of scenes showing the two go from mistrust to growing closer and closer. I missed those in the movie. There was one scene that I really wanted to see- 
"Let's establish a code for when you want to go all creeper on me. One knock means you'd like to come in. Two means you're just stopping by to spy on me while I sleep. "
And then the part that comes much later in the book-
"He knocks once against the side. I don't get it at first, and then I laugh. Let's establish a code for when you want to go all creeper on me. One knock means you'd like to come in." 
And they left it out. All the wonderfully sassy comments from Cassie and the slightly flirtatious ones from Evan.  While Cassie and Ben's relationship was wonderfully awkward in the book, Evan and Cassie's was even more humorously so. 
Ben and Sam. Their relationship was supposed to be almost like Ben is Sam's older brother. In the movie it tries to depict that, but they only really talk once (which leads into a humorous singing in the night) and then all the sudden Ben feels all protective over the little kid. In the book Ben takes Sam under his wing and you really get to come to appreciate their relationship as Ben grows more fond for Sam. 
I think a big issue was the time. If there had been more time there would have been more time to build up relationships. The movie is one hour and fifty minutes. That's really short to adapt from a very long first book. That was another factor that I was nervous about and it looks like I was right to be nervous about it, because everything felt very rushed. If it was say, two and a half hours, just that extra forty minutes would probably make the movie feel a little less rushed as well as more understandable. 
Anyway, I was going to do a spoiler section, but this review got a whole lot longer than I expected, so, no spoilery section! Sorry 'bout that but I have three tests to study for. If you're considering seeing this movie, I recommend that you do so. It's a fun, action filled movie and is quite enjoyable. Even though it fell short on adapting the best aspects from the book, the movie was still able to be quite good. 

Rating: 8.5/10 stars
I'll admit, I watched this movie a while ago. The first time I saw it was two days after Christmas and then I saw it again. It was just as good the second time as it was the first. I'm sure I could watch this movie a hundred times and not be tired of it. See, Star Wars is one the large things in my childhood. Haha, actually at one point when I was in kindergarten I decided I would have three kids and name them Han, Leia and Luke. That is no longer the plan. 
Two big 'childhood' movies are coming out this year. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first. The second is Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them-- it's in the Harry Potter world. I hope Fantastical Beasts is just as good as The Force Awakens. 
Anyway, back to the Force Awakens. I got super excited for it as soon as I saw the first trailer- a whole year before the movie actually came out. There are so many things I've loved about The Force Awakens. For one thing, watching just the beginning made me smile because of the nostalgia I felt. The Force Awakens is a lot like A New Hope , it starts off on a deserty island, someone gets captured, everyone is looking for an impossibly adorable droid etc. That's the main reason a lot of people disliked the movie. While it was reminiscent of A New Hope, The Force Awakens added a new an intriguing twist that I seriously enjoyed. 
My favorite character is definitely Rey, even if for the first half of the movie I thought it was Emery  because she says I'm Rey very quickly. Don't get me wrong, I do like Finn, I just think I find Rey more interesting as well as a better protagonist. 
Then there's Kylo Ren, he's kinda like  the new Darth Vader. Except he's ugly (I mean Darth Vadar was ugly but not before he was Darth Vadar), bratty and annoying. I have a feeling the arc of the series is bringing him the light side but nah, I just want to see him chopped to pieces. 
My all time favorite part of the movie, was seeing our old, beloved characters return. Especially Han Solo and Chewie, though seeing Leia and Luke was fun, too. Han still had his hilarious sas and I almost cried just seeing his character back on screen. 
I was a little hesitant when I read the idea of the story- Luke's missing and everyone's looking for him. Sounds dumb, I know, but while it does sound like a dumb story line, somehow the actors and director were able to manage to make it a spectacular movie. 
In the end, I really enjoyed this movie and can't wait until episode 8. 

Saturday night I was feeling bored, so I decided to watch some movies, I ended up watching three. #lifeless. I watched It's a Boy Girl Thing, So Undercover and Romeo and Juliet. Out of the three, Romeo and Juliet was probably my favorite. Like I've said many times prior, I'm a hopeless romantic! The version of Romeo and Juliet I watched was the one made in 2013 starring Hailee Steinfield and Douglas Booth. It was great, I loved it. I'd give It's a Boy Girl Thing 7/10 stars, it was funny and lighthearted but not something I'd define as a favorite. So Undercover gets 7.8/10 stars, it was also funny and lighthearted, but predictable. Then there's Romeo and Juliet, that movie was certainly not funny or lighthearted. The romance was cute, but not quite what I expected. As of the fact I'd never seen any other Romeo & Juliets or read the book before, I just knew that basic story line that everyone knows. They fall in love, it's forbidden (have I mentioned before that I love forbidden love?) Their families are enemies, someone on Romeo's family gets killed so someone from Juliet's family is killed it's bad blah blah blah somehow Juliet takes a potion that doesn't kill her but Romeo thinks she's dead and kills himself then she stabs herself. That's the strolling everyone knows, right? No? Sorry for spoilers then! Anyway Romeo and Juliet is getting a whopping 9/10 stars, I really enjoyed the movie. The relationship was something to fall in love with, Douglas Booth was adorably attractive and I loved that Chuck was in it. (#GossipGirl) 
The first movie I watched was It's a Boy Girl Thing. I knew I recognized the actor somewhere and then I was like Ohhh yeah he's from that failure movie that doesn't even deserve to be called City of Bones and Gossip Girl. He has a seriously high voice in this movie, I found it funny and weird. I came across It's a Boy Girl Thing when I looked up lists of cute romance movies. It looked okay so I decided to watch it. There were plenty of things in it that made me laugh, I recommend the movie if you just want to laugh and don't feel like watching Easy A, John Tucker Must Die or any of those movies. Like it's not at the top of my list of favorite movies well, it's not really on the list, but it was pretty good. 

The next movie I watched was So Undercover. It stars Miley Cyrus as a PI who goes undercover in a as a sorority girl. I found this movie a few weeks back when I was looking up Josh Bowman videos after... It's quite funny and enjoyable. I did like it more than it's a Boy Girl thing but not that much better. The plot twists were predictable yet still fun to watch. 
I was pleasantly surprised when Megan Park showed up in this movie. I love Megan Park, she's a good actress. Her part as Cotton was pretty funny. What else can I Say about this movie? Uh. It's funny, no wait I already said it... Just watch it. 

Then there's Romeo and Juliet, sigh. Sometimes I don't' like old fashioned movies because they look so fake, but this one looked very real. I'll start this off by saying it didn't make me cry, but it made me feel like I was crying inside. I don't really cry a lot so if it did made me cry that would be monumental. 
Okay, this movie made me think Douglas Booth would be a prefect William Herondale (read The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare, you won't regret it) he's right there next to Joshua Anthony Brand, though I'm not sure if Joshua can act, so... The romance was a little quick and the whole thing happened in a matter of days, but it was fun to watch. Actually the movie felt a bit rushed to me? I would've liked it if it were longer. 
Chuck Bass AKA Ed Westwick was on this as Tybalt lol I love that name. Tybalt. I mean, he died pretty quickly and had some anger issues but still

Even though I knew they'd both die at the end I was jut screaming in my head WAIT SHES GONNA WAKE UP!! WAIT!!!!!!! And at the end of the movie I was kinda feeling more like this

Before the whole death thing, the romance was spot on and adorable. I highly recommend this movie if you're a hopeless romantic like me. 

So I watched this movie last Saturday and immensely enjoyed it. I'll admit that I still haven't read the book, but I bought it, so that's a start. Actually I read the first chapter and didn't enjoy it too much, hopefully it'll get better as the book progresses on. You really have to read at least the first fifty pages before judging a book so.... Sorry, I say so too much, don't I? Anyway, back to the movie. This is definitely one of my favorite movies, it reminded me a lot of Easy A, I'm not exactly sure why. Well, they did play a few songs from the Easy A track (haha I've seen that movie so many times I would know that.) Also the actress Mahaley Manning has a small role in both movies. She's Nina in Easy A and Kara in the DUFF. 
The main reason I paid any attention to the DUFF trailers in the first place was because Robbie Amell is in it. Ah, the Amells. Do any of you guys watch Arrow? I'm literally obsessed with that show. Maybe I'll talk about my TV obsessions in a later post because I'm seconds away from going like five hours off track. 
I would give this movie a 9/10 stars, it was funny and enjoyable. I'm not exactly sure what to call this type of movie comedy romance? Maybe. I love that genre of movies. I love a lot of movies, actually. Easy A, Crazy Stupid Love, John Tucker Must Die, The Other Women... Stuff like that, I find those movies highly enjoyable, I can now add DUFF to the list. I also really love romance movies and action adventure romance movies. Such as.. Okay maybe I should make a post about movies too haha. 
I loved Wesley and Bianca's relationship in the movie. It was obvious that they'd end up together from the trailer but still, IT'S ADORABLE. On the comedy level? I was laughing during practically the whole movie and that's awkward because the girl I went with doesn't really laugh during movies so I was just sitting there looking like an idiot. 
Bianca's character is a spunky awkward and funny character. Though, she doesn't have that much of a great sense of style. I loved at the beginning of the movie how she was labeled the other one. Honestly, I'm probably most definitely the DUFF in my friendships. Haha. 
Though Wesley was the same old cliche jock character who's an insane womanizer but actually has a soft underside that he doesn't show blah blah blah. I love cliches. And that's my favorite type of character, though I wouldn't exactly say Wesley is a bad boy- I like the characters who pretend to be something else but them only show their true colors to one person because they love them- cough, cough, Daemon Black, Jace Herondale, Christian Ozera, Raffe, William Herondale, Gabriel Lightwood....
My point of this post is THIS IS A SUPERB MOVIE- WATCH IT. It's worth the twelve dollars to watch plus however much you spend on the snacks. 

I read this book over a month ago and IT WAS AMAZING. Sorry for not posting sooner, like I said on my other blog, I've been busy. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves romances. I can't decide which Nicholas Sparks book I like better, The Longest Ride or The Last Song. Well, maybe the Last Song but only because the Ira part of this book bored me a lot. The romances in the book were perfect and easy to fall in love with. Sophia and Luke were easy realistic characters to like and the story between Ira and Ruth was cute, just not as intriguing as Sophia and Luke's. The chemistry in this book was spot on, you know you want to read this. I'm giving this book a 9/10 stars, which, as you know, is very high in my rating scale. 
As soon as I read that Luke had blue eyes, I was like, okay, yeah I can deal with this. As mentioned before, Luke and Sophia ad fantastic chemistry. Like as soon as they met up and talked, you could totally tell there was something there. I seriously got feels left and right whilst reading this. I'm not sure if it was because of the book or because of my romance crave. This book had me laughing, getting that happy romance high and feeling like crying. It was great. 
Like I want a Luke in my life, he notices how much makeup Sophia has on, he's good with animals (I LOVE ANIMALS <3) he says romantic lines like I want to know everything about you, he's funny and sweet and urg I just want one!!! 
I'm SO excited for the movie to come out on April 10. SERIOUSLY WATCH THE TRAILER, it looks perfect!!! :D 
Synopsis: 
Ira Levinson is in trouble. At ninety-one years old, in poor health and alone in the world, he finds himself stranded on an isolated embankment after a car crash. Suffering multiple injuries, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes and comes into focus beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together – how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can’t possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local rodeo, a Wake Forest College senior’s life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death – loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he’s keeping doesn’t destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.



READ IT!!! IT'S AMAZING <3 


WARNING SPOILERS FOR THE LONGEST RIDE BELOW 
Okay so when Luke said "Now you look like a cowgirl," I got a dozen doses of the feels. And then I realized, why do I even read romances? They just depress me even more because I DON'T HVE A SINGLE ROMANCE IN MY LIFE. 
The horse riding lessons gave me squeals because it was so cute. 
"I think I could say the same thing about you." 
Like I said before, it really made me even more into Luke when he noticed the amount of makeup she was wearing. Like seriously, that's a guy who's playing close attention. Do those boys even exist? And if so, where can I find one? And he worries about Sophia. I need a Luke Collins ASAP. Like seriously, the only guy that I ever had a slight romance with, when I said I was fat, he said "I'm sorry." LIKE WTF, he has no idea how to woo a girl. "I feel like I want to know everything about you." I WANT ONE. 
"Besides, I've tried your mashed potatoes, and if you want her to come back, it's better if I make them." I LOVE LUKE's MOM. 
"I could feel my dance moves coming on, and I'd hate to loose control of the truck." SOMEONE FINE ME ONE OF THESE. Like seriously, he's such a good guy, those like, don't exist in the real world. "Beautiful, but then again, you always look beautiful." 
Okay, when the whole collection went to them, the only thing I could think was OMG. 
AND THEN LUKE PROPOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SFFDJIKBdgvjblvgbfedjhbjfhfhejbfkndbfdhriogirjrhghigijv

So I just got back from seeing The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five  Armies. It was a great movie   and I'd love to go and see it again. Lord of The Rings has been a book series that I've loved since a very young age, I didn't read the Hobbit until later, but I highly enjoyed that book too. The movies are just as spectacular as the books. I wish all book to movie adaptations had as good directors as the Lord of The Rings did, the movies followed the books well and have great actor choices and action scenes, what more could you ask for? 

Seriously, the acting in all of the Lord of The Rings movies and the Hobbit Movies were phenomenal and the actors were perfect for their roles. I would rate The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies a 9.5/10 stars. I really enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun to watch. 

I have to say..... I might like the Hobbit movies more than the Lord of The Rings movies, nah, I like them both equally. 

Lord of The Rings is a story I grew up loving, watching the movies every year. In fact, I'm watching the Fellowship of The Ring part one at this moment. The Fellowship is my least favorite of the Lord of the Rings books and movies, there's a lot less action in them, but after watching the Hobbit movies, I have a new found liking of the Fellowship. I never disliked it, I just didn't like it as much as the other movies. 

Notice how Bilbo gets dirtier in every poster? 😂

My least favorite part in any of the J.R.R Tolkien book to movie adaptations are definitely the Frodo & Sam adventures in Return of the King. It's funny because that may be the most important, is the most important part, I just don't find it as interesting as Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimlee (I forget how to spell it) 's story.

My favorite characters in The Lord of The Rings Trilogy are Pippin, Merry, Legolas, Gimlee, Sam, and Aragorn. I really like Boremear (how do you spell these names?! 😥) feremere, Frodo, Gandalf, and well, a lot of the characters, it's really hard to define my favorite characters lol. I like all the protagonists in this series. 

In the Hobbit my favorite character is most definitely Kili. But I still like all the other main characters. I have issues, haha.

Just want to point out that the producers of these astounding movies made one book into three movies and three books into six movies. Congrats on your money making techniques guys. I think separating book to movie adaptations (as long as they're good) into different parts is good because then you can add more details than you regularly would in a 2-3 hour movie. 

So my family watched the first two hobbit movies last night and this morning but unfortunately I was too busy to be able to watch with them so I can't give you a full review on the series but..... I can give you a review on The Battle of The Five Armies. 

Where to begin? Shall I start with the beginning? Okay so I'm going to ask you to leave now if you don't want any spoilers and come back once you've watched the movie. Okay bye no spoilers people! 




Spoilers 

I'll admit I was on the verge of tears at quite a few points in this movie. Mostly at the end fight. See! I read the book so I knew Fili, Kili, and Thorin would die but... I knew I'd be affected by Kili's death but all of them made me considerably sad. 

Though, yes, Kili's made me the most sad. Him coming to try and save Tauriel then getting stabbed in the chest by that freaking ork? D: I knew the three of them would die when they were going up on the mountain but it was so depressing watching it. When Fili and Kili went scouting I was inwardly screaming noooooooooooooooo, though I would've been kicked out of the theater if I'd actually been doing that. So, Fili was the first one to die, it was so sad that they dropped his body right in front of Kili. And I just realized that Thorin never found out if Kili had survived or not which makes the whole ordeal even more depressing. Kili but up a dang good fight, though, before going out. It's been awhile since I've read the Hobbit so I don't know exactly how they died but those fights certainly did keep me on the edge of my seat, not literally. I seriously thought Tauriel would die too because she wasn't in The Lord of the Rings but since Legolas and her kind of parted ways I guess it makes sense she wasn't in LOTR. (The thing stammers e most sense is that LOTR was made first)

Then there's Thorin's death. I did guess he and Azuk would die together but I wasn't expecting it as it happened. When Thorin followed Azuk's body over the ice, I literally wanted to scream RUN OFF THE ICE, YOU IDIOT but unfortunately Thorin didn't listen to my thoughts and it's what eventually got him killed. At least he didn't have to find out both his nephews were dead. So maybe him not finding out about Kili's death was a good thing. So only the Thorin and relations died in the company, the rest lived. Which is good, I mean, Gimlee needs his dad. 

Wasn't it funny in the Unexpected Journey when Legolas goes 

And what is this horror (or whatever he says) 

And then Glowen goes That's my wee lad, Gimlee!

And Legolas makes a face

 I still crack up when I see that. 

Let's talk Legolas, shall we. So the thing about him is they had to make Orlando Bloom look younger if not the same age as he looked in LOTR so there was something faintly fake looking about him, which was unfortunate. And I've come up with a theory about his never ending stock of arrows in LOTR, since he ran out in the battle of the five armies, he swore never to do so again and got a magical non ending quiver. 

No wonder Legolas is so resentful towards dwarves in LOTR. One took away his love, he lost many of his people in a battle started, in a way, by dwarves, and elves hate dwarves anyway so... 

I loved how they connected the movie series by Legolas' dad telling Legolas to go to the north and find Aragorn also known as Strider. In Lord of the Rings, it seemed like Legolas and Aragorn were friends and there's a little bit of a back story for them. Though, Aragorn is very friendly with all the elves, especially Arwen. Tehe. 

Who to talk about next? How about Gandalf? So, that fight  with Saromon and Elrond against the black riders was pretty awesome looking wasn't it? Then the whole Galadriel power thing was cool and a little frightening. Did anyone get a tweed bit of a flashback to Return if the King when pippin is with Gandalf during the battle when Bilbo was with Gandalf during the battle? I did. I feel like it would've made the movie more interesting if Gandalf had used his powers during the fighting. Now, the movie was already astounding so if Gandalf has used his power to would've been flabbergasting. 

Thorin. He was really starting to annoy me with the dragon sickness, as he was supposed to, but he was redeemed when he went out to fight. I teared up when

 1. Kili went raging into battle after Fili's death 

2. When Kili was fighting and I knew he was going to die 

3. When Kili died 

4. When Thorin was dying 

5. When Thorin was apologizing to Bilbo while he was dying 

6. When Bilbo was over Thorin's body 

7. When the company was sad over Thorin 

8. When Tauriel was crying over Kili's body 

Yeah, a lot of feels. 

I thought the movie ended a little hastily. They were probably running out of time to they needed the movie off quickly but I would've liked it to be longer. Actually I just want to keep getting Middle Earth movies from the same producers. I would've liked to see Biblo settle back into his life a little more but I did love to see how they connected the LOTR and the hobbit in the end of the movie. 

What did you guys think of it?

-Anj