hunger games

5 Movies Coming Out This Semester!

Posted on by Genna Gincel

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Gone Girl (October 2)

Gone Girl is based on the novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn who also wrote the adapted screenplay. The psychological thriller follows the life of Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his missing wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike). Why did Amy Dunne go missing? Did Nick kill her? You’ll have to see the movie (or read the book) to find out! The film, directed by David Fincher, also stars Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry, Carrie Coon, and Sela Ward.

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The Judge (October 10)

Directed by David Dobkin, The Judge has been described as a comedy-drama. The film tells the story of a lawyer (Robert Downey Jr.) returning home for his mother’s funeral after years of living away from his family. He comes to find out that his estranged father (Robert Duvall), who is a judge in his hometown, is a suspected murderer. Downey Jr.’s character must then represent his father in court when he is put on trial. The film also stars Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeremy Strong, Dax Shepard, and Billy Bob Thornton.

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Fury (October 17)

Fury is a war drama set in Nazi Germany during the last month of World War II. The film chronicles Wardaddy, a U.S. Army sergeant, and his five-man crew as they go on a dangerous mission behind enemy lines in a M4A3E8 Sherman tank named Fury. The film stars Brad Pitt as Wardaddy, as well as Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Issacs, and Scott Eastwood.

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The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (November 21)

One of the most anticipated films of the year, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 is based on the first half of Suzanne Collins’ novel Mockingjay from the smash hit series The Hunger Games. Francis Lawrence returns as director after a successful directing job on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Willow Shields, and Jeffrey Wright all return to reprise their roles. The film also stars Julianne Moore and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.

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The Interview (December 25)

This comedy centers on TV tabloid host Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen). After scoring an interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, who is a fan of Skylark’s show, they are recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim Jong-un. Rogen and longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg direct the film, so it is sure to be hilarious! The duo also co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Sterling. The film also stars Lizzy Caplan, Randall Park as Kim Jung-un, Timothy Simons, Charles Rahi Chun, and Rob Lowe (as himself).

Break Time

Posted on by Kelly Craig

The last weeks of the semester may be the most stressful time of the year.  Fortunately, there has been a surge in entertainment.  Between sports, movies, and television, there are tons of fun things to keep up on while taking a break between writing papers.

Note that I call it a break, not a distraction.  Once you begin to neglect schoolwork for something fun, that is a distraction, something to avoid.  To be fair, no one can work the entire weekend.  Taking breaks are important to not overwork yourself, which can lead to crashing, getting sick, and becoming less productive.  Be sure to time your breaks to ensure that you get all of your work done before deadlines come around!

Here are some of the things you can keep track of while taking that much needed break:

The first round of NBA playoffs has started.  Keep track of the bracket while writing those papers.  Watching an exciting game can get you blood pumping and spark some energy to finish your work.  Thus far, in the West, the Spurs are up two-nothing to the Utah Jazz, Thunder is shutting down the Mavericks three-zero, the Lakers are up on the Nuggets two-one, and Grizzlies and Clippers are tied at one game a piece.  In the East, the Celtics are up two-one on the Hawks, Pacers are up three-one on Magic, Heat is sweeping the Knicks three-zero and the 76ers are up one on the Bulls two-one.

The NHL is in their second round of Stanley Cup Playoffs: 3-0 Kings, 1-3 Coyotes, 2-1 Devils and the Capitals and Rangers are tied 2-2 so far this season.  Once your eyes become blurred by the multiple hours of staring at books and writing, check out a video update by Hockey Analyst Barry Melrose.

If sports are not your thing, “The Avengers” have just come out in theaters, bringing in $80.5 million on opening day, the second most successful opening day.  Too busy to know what the movie’s about?  Check out the trailer here.  When your brain is in zombie mode after hours of homework, you might be overwhelmed with seeing building blowing up in this action packed movie.  Some comedies in theaters are “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “LOL,” “Think Like a Man,” and “The Five-Year Engagement.” Just like the holiday season, the start of summer means some good movies.  A couple hours of relaxing in one of these or another movie could be the perfect break you are looking for.

Although the Hunger Games hype is dying down, it is never too late to discover the series.  The quality of many recent book and movie series’ has been debated, but I can vouch for this one.  Why not unwind with a very well written suspenseful story?

Enjoy those breaks; just be sure to eventually get back to work!

-TravelBug

I’m reading How Children Develop

Dressing Up for the Movies

Posted on by Kelly Craig

image from The Washington Post

What does Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games all have in common?  Yes, they are each a book series and yes, they each have movie versions, but that is not what I am talking about.  Each of these movies draw an audience who do not only feel it is enough to go see the movies but feel the need to go one step further: to dress up to go to the movie in costume as one of the characters.

There is a wide range on the spectrum of fans who dress for such movies.  When each of the Harry Potter movies were released, some showed up with a simple lightning bolt on the forehead while others went all out in Halloween-costume-contest worthy outfits.  For Twilight, some showed up in t-shirts while others came in fangs.  For The Hunger Games, fans came in all out outrageous Capitol dress or rugged game attire.  They resembled specific characters, most popular Katniss and Peeta, since they are main characters and all.  There seems to be a set of rules when dressing up for the movies though.

Dressing up in character for the movies is only appropriate in certain occasions.  No one is dressing up like a cop to go see 21 Jump Street.  Also, smearing mud on your face or dressing in flames might get a few stares at the 11am feature of The Hunger Games (although dressing in real flames in a movie just leads to an arrest and bad cliché).

So when is it okay?  Dressing up in character to go see a movie is only appropriate for the premiere.  It actually seems like a must to dress somewhat themed.

Some of the fans kept it simple with a Hunger Games t-shirt, jeans and boots.  Others took it the next step by wearing a top and make-up to resemble characters.  The next level of fandom included outrageous Capitol-inspired makeup and/or headpiece.  Others went all out with full outfit, makeup, hair (resembling Katniss’s simple braid down her back), and props.  Bringing props to the movies may be a step too far, as bringing a bow and arrow, however fake, may be dangerous and may not be allowed in the theater.  The above and beyond status seems to have gone to those who have painted their bodies in paint or spiked there long hair into six long points shooting in every direction.

USA Today provides a media gallery by Getty Images of fans in costume here.

The good news is you have plenty of time to find an outfit displaying how die hard of a fan you are as the second Hunger Games movie will be released in November 2013.

-TravelBug

I’m reading A Writer’s Reference

Exciting New Movies Coming Out in 2012

Posted on by Amy Esselman

There is nothing I love more than a bucket of popcorn, sour gummies, and a good movie. However as college students, many of us don’t get to movies quite as often as we would like. When I was home over winter break I was able to re-grasp reality and figure out what was showing, but now we are back at school, and weekends are filled with award shows all highlighting a majority of movies I barely remembering hearing about. School sucks you in and if you’re lucky you get an update from your newsfeed with friends raving about a movie that you can then quickly YouTube for a preview.

So to help ease us from our class coma, I did a little research about some movies that are coming out later this spring. I don’t mind telling you I’m super excited about some of these titles. I’ve seen previews for most of them and they look like winners!

I haven’t quite jumped on the “Hunger Games” bandwagon but from what I’ve heard, the books are outstanding. Everyone—from children to adults, even my grandparents—have at least heard the title. After such a successful launch in the literary world, avid moviegoers are abuzz with anticipation for the movie to come out. The movie is starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. In just a few short weeks this film will be released and I’m sure will be an instant hit. Look for it in theaters March 23rd.

Another movie I’m just dying to see is “Mirror Mirror”, an adaptive Snow White Fairy tale of sorts. After seeing Julia Roberts in the preview I was instantly sold. Sometimes I pretend that life’s a fairy tale so why not partake in a little break from reality and indulge in this witty take on a classic tale. You can see this movie starting March 30th.

April is filled with movie madness. There is a whole plethora of pictures coming out, all of which I can’t wait to see. First we have a renewed classic coming to the screen one more time. Having been the top grossing movie of all time until Avatar, Titanic is set to re-hit theaters April 4 in 3-D. I don’t know about you, but I secretly want to go watch.

On April 6th, another installment of the American Pie movies is set to come out—American Reunion. It looks like this one is the “where are they now” movie when the original cast come back, for you guessed it, their high school class of ’99 reunion. I was skeptical at first. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but having grown up with three brothers, two of which are older, I have heard all about these movies. They have a certain comical value and great cast, so it may be worth seeing!

Rounding out the April the grouping is The Five Year Engagement. This movie comes to us from the directors of Bridesmaids and is starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segal. It looks like it’s packed full of laughs and fun. Ever since I saw the Devil Wears Prada, I’ve been a sucker for Emily Blunt. I will line up around the block to see this one—not to mention I’ve got weddings on the brain with both my oldest brother recently getting engaged, and my boyfriend’s sister set to get hitched this June! This looks like it’s going to be a crowd pleaser and I can’t wait to see it!

And last but not least on my list of movies to make sure you go and see is Men In Black III. I remember watching the first MIB with my brothers being confused but acting interested.  After more than 10 years since the original came out, I’m sure MIB diehard fans are already counting down the seconds until it’s May 25th release date. I want to be part of the hoopla and will of course make sure to go see it! Any move with Will Smith is worth watching in my book, and from what my brothers tell me, with 10 years to brainstorm, this one is sure to be an upgrade and just as exciting if not more so than the original!

-Ring Queen

I’m reading Writing Today