February Recap ’18 | I Watched 9 Movies, Cried Over This Is Us, And Had The Flu

So, the entirety of February can basically be summed up as a hot mess.

This was supposed to be when I finally got my blogging mojo back, but I ended up switching around all my posts and shoving them to March, leaving February empty and me floudering. I was stressed and tired and all over the place. I was super sick, and I was in a lot of pain. Track season started up again, and it already hurts. My reading was pretty much thrown into a wrench. I didn’t blog-hop for weeks.

It wasn’t too great, but I’m really hoping that March will be a better month. But I’m very much just exhausted. I swear, March WILL be a regular blogging month for sure!

January Recap ’18 | I Loved Lady Bird, Finished Spartacus, Listened To Fall Out Boy, & More

Welcome, welcome to my first ever monthly recap for the year of 2018!

I said late last year that something I really wanted to do was bring back monthly wrap-up posts, but I wasn’t interested in talking just about books and blogging; I wanted to talk about the movies and TV shows I had watched and some of the music I had listened to.

And I’m so happy to say that it has arrived, and I’m extremely happy with the result! I really hope you guys enjoy it as well since I rarely get to talk about these things anywhere else with other people, so I hope this doesn’t completely flop.

(Also, I watched WAY more movies than the ones listed, but most of them were total trash that I found on Netflix, so I didn’t bother wasting space. Feel free to ask me what they were if you’re curious!)

[LET’S CHAT] The Sudden Abundance of Book-To-Movie Adaptations

So, if you’ve been around for the last couple of years, you’ve realized that book-to-movie adaptations have become all-too-popular and that there are WAY too many of them.

Book-to-movie adaptations usually stemmed from YA series becoming extremely popular, but, nowadays, it seems like every book, even if you’ve NEVER heard of it, is becoming a movie.

I know I’ve definitely gotten extremely tired of most adaptations these days.

It’s really more of a sign that the movie industry is starting to get super uncreative, not to mention that most of the ones that eventually become movies are books I haven’t even read yet or I’m just not interested in the books they’re based off of at all. The ones that I’m begging for – Looking for Alaska, Red Rising, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Eleanor & Park – are stuck in development hell while the ones I hate are being made. IT’S FINE; I’M FINE.

Personally, I barely keep up with adaptations in the first place. My family and I rarely go to the movie theaters at all, and by the time the adaptation rolls around, I’m not really in the mood to actually watch it, so I push it aside, and, as a result, time passes, and then I realize that I STILL haven’t watched it yet. Oops.

25 Facts About Me

So, I find it hilarious that you guys know my favorite book and series and what I read per month, but you don’t even know when my birthday is! So, I thought it’d be nice to have a sort of “Get to Know the Bookworm” post so you can learn more about me and my personality!

On to the facts!

(1) I am sixteen years old. Yes, I’m a teenager! And, yes, sometimes I abandon my studies for reading and blogging! I mean, it’s a bad plan, but my grades are pretty okay, so what’s the harm?

(2) My birthday is December 7. I was born on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. My mom was born on April Fools’ Day, my dad on the Ides of March (the day Julius Caesar was stabbed), and my brother on St. Patrick’s Day. So, my entire family was born on holidays.

(3) My favorite TV show ever is a tie between Queer as Folk and Black Mirror. Other TV shows I love: Supernatural, Friday Night Lights, Hannibal, Looking, Sense8, Orange is the New Black, Daredevil, Teen Wolf, Eyewitness, In the Flesh, Banshee, Spartacus, Gravity Falls, How to Get Away with Murder, Hell’s Kitchen, Mr. Robot.

(4) My binging abilities actually pass into more than one category. I suck at finishing/catching up on TV series. It’s a huge problem, obviously.

(6) My favorite movies include Inception, Gone Girl, District 9, Hush, You’re Next, Don’t Breathe, Se7en, Would You Rather, Exam, The Circle, The Edge of Tomorrow, I Am Legend, Nocturnal Animals, The Edge of Seventeen.

(7) My favorite Marvel superhero is Captain America. Close second is Deadpool. Yes, it’s highly ironic that those two couldn’t be any more different.

(8) I literally just got into Marvel last year. My first Marvel movie was Deadpool, then I watched the Iron Man trilogy, and then watched the Captain America trilogy. I still have yet to watch the Avengers movies, the Thor movies, Guardians of the Galaxy, the X-Men movies, or Ant-Man, but I’m slowly catching up!

(9) When I was ten, I got hit in the head with a golf club. Like, a real one. I was running past while someone was swinging, and got hit. I had to get stitches, and if you ever see me up close, you can still see a faint scar. Fun memories.

(10) I don’t like chocolate. Or bacon. Or ice cream. Or watermelon. Or grapes. Or mac and cheese. I know, I know; I’m a monster.

(11) My house is Ravenclaw. I’ve only taken a couple of quizzes, but I’m a highly imaginative person and super creative (at least, I think I am), so I’m pretty sure I know.

(12) I have a dog named Ginger. She’s a lab-golden retriever mix, and we’ve had her for four years. She chewed up our TV remote when she was little, and now she just chews through her toys because she has zero understanding of how toys work. She also likes playing in snow, and sitting in front of the fireplace whenever we turn it on.

LEFT: Ginger as a puppy, RIGHT: Ginger now

(13) I have a weird interest in True Crime. I’m pretty sure my obsession started because I fell in love with mysteries/thrillers last year, and just grew the more I watched Buzzfeed Unsolved (which is the only thing I watch from Buzzfeed) and the ABC show 20/20. I’d never like to work in forensics or anything because seeing dead bodies and dealing with psychopaths is not my jam, but it interests me!

(14) I consider myself a Christian, but I’m liberal. Yep, they clash a lot. And my liberal side wins most of the time, to be honest.

(15) At Mellow Mushroom (which is my favorite restaurant ever), I order my cheese pizza without sauce. I know it’s weird, but I hate saucy pizza, and it actually tastes scrumptious, so I recommend!

(16) When I grow up, I want to either be a screenwriter or work in publishing somewhere. I’m leaning more towards publishing because I haven’t written something for fun in years, but I have so many stories in my head that I’d just love to get out of there.

(17) I don’t have braces yet. I should because I have the worst overbite on this very earth, but I’m probably going to get them this year. I’ll be that lame girl wearing braces in college.

(18) I haven’t watched Game of Thrones yet. Okay, so I’ve watched a couple of episodes, but then I got distracted one episode and didn’t catch what was going on, and I haven’t watched it since. It was good while I was watching it, though, so I’m definitely going to try to catch up!

(19) Some artists/bands I enjoy: OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Lorde, Ariana Grande, David Guetta, The Chainsmokers, Sohn, Halsey, Bridgit Mendler, Zedd, Zayn, DNCE, Ellie Goulding, Ruelle, Galantis, Major Lazer, Lindsey Stirling, Pentatonix, Sia, Shawn Mendes, Troye Sivan, X Ambassadors, Flume.

(20) My favorite song ever is a tie between Elastic Hearts by Sia and The Unknown by Dirty South. LISTEN TO THEM.

(21) Guys I crush on: all the Chrises in the Marvel Industry, Michael Fassbender, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Hugh Dancy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayne, Sebastian Stan, Matt Bomer, Mads Mikkelsen, Idris Elba, the entire cast of Sense8…

(22) I’m the biggest introvert alive. I’m also shy. And a little bit socially anxious. It’s a fantastic combination in a world that’s loud and desires extroverts.

(23) I currently live in North Carolina. It’s sort of become a trashy state over the year, but, you know, it’s where I live. I want to move to California, New York, or Europe some day, depending on my job.

(24) Like most people, I love Youtube. The channels I watch that aren’t Booktube-related are Pewdiepie, jacksepticeye, CinemaSins, ScreenJunkies, Facts., Philip DeFranco (and his other channel Philly D, TheMostPopularGirls (which doesn’t update much), Don’t Hug Me .I’m Scared (again, doesn’t update much), the Fine Bros., LastWeekTonight, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Obviously, my tastes are all over the place, and I don’t like watching full episodes of late night politically-centered talk shows, only segments.

(25) I’m obsessed with the Game Show Network and the Food Network Channel. I don’t know why, but I just do. I don’t care how formulaic each episode is, it’s just so fun to watch.

And those are 25 facts about me that aren’t related to books! I hope you got to learn a little bit more about me (or we found some things in common)! I really need to do more posts like this.

What are some interesting facts about you? Do we share any facts/interests?

[MOVIE REVIEW] The Girl on the Train

Genre: Thriller

Based Off Of: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Movie Parental Guide Rating: Rated R

Rating: 4 STARS

My Thoughts:

Okay, so I went into this movie expecting to hate it or find myself extremely bored. All movie critics and fans of the books hated this one alike, but I’m neither a critic nor a huge fan of the books. I rated The Girl on the Train 3.5 stars when I read it last year because I found it addicting, but I thought there wasn’t enough evidence to support the answer to the whodunnit of the mystery to work, if that makes sense (probably not?).

Anyway, in general, I did enjoy the movie, as you can see by my rating. Yeah, it was slow-paced, but I really expected it to be worse from all the people saying how bored they were. I liked how the movie transitioned between all three women – Rachel, Megan, and Anna – and gave all three of the women equal screen time without overdoing it. Emily Blunt’s performance as Rachel was freaking amazing; she played her so well. And, though I will admit that it’s been a long while since I’ve actually read the book, I thought it was pretty spot-on, in my opinion.

And that’s it for the non-spoilery part, so if you haven’t read or seen the book/movie, I advise you to leave now!

Okay, now for me to talk in depth about the movie. Something that annoyed me from the get go was how weirdly sexualized Scott and Megan Hipwell’s relationship was. Not saying it’s a bad thing, but in the books, the reason Rachel watches the Hipwells is because she’s recently been divorced, and she sees the couple as what could’ve been between her and Tom. But in the movie, they’re having sex in plain view of a train that rides past their house every day, and it makes Rachel seem like some sort of pervy voyeur or something. It reminded me of my disappointment when I watched the sneak peek of the Big Little Lies trailer. It was so saturated with sex in every scene, and portrayed zero references to the actual book. Why are they always doing this?

Another thing that annoyed me that isn’t as big as a deal: it takes place in New York. This is a pretty huge leap since the book takes place in the U.K., and correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t New York mainly have subways, not trains that ride around in the country? Honestly, it made no sense, and I’m guessing it would have been expensive, but still. Come on.

I thought the cast of the movie was great! Again, Emily Blunt totally nailed Rachel, especially her drunken tirades and the way she acted so depressed and melancholy. She was absolutely brilliant. I also thought Haley Bennett did really well as Megan Hipwell, especially that heart-breaking scene where she accidentally killed her baby. Her acting was so powerful during that scene, and so were her scenes of the therapy sessions. Those were the top two stand-out actresses for me, but I think everyone did pretty well in their roles.

Also, woah, I didn’t know that Detective Sergent Riley was such a jerk. She straight up threatened Rachel at one point, and I was just like, “Is this legal? Are detectives allowed to do this? Do detectives do this to people just because they think they did the actual crime? What?” But, you know, irrelevant fact.

I mentioned earlier on that it’s been a long time since I’ve read the book, but I feel like the final scene in which Rachel finds out that Tom was the murderer was a bit incorrect. They made it seem as if Rachel blacked out, and then Anna went upstairs to chill out after finding out that her husband is a murderer, and Tom was just sitting around, waiting for Rachel to come to they could have a final show-down. Like, huh? I did like the moment where she stabbed him in the throat, and Anna joined in and drove it in to finally murder him. I thought it was a really poignant scene for their two characters.

Other scenes I haven’t mentioned yet that I really enjoyed: the flashback to Rachel confronting Megan and Tom, the murder of Megan (which was super intense, damn), when Anna stood up for Rachel and said it was self-defense near the very end, the final couple of scenes with Rachel drawing, Rachel going to the AA meeting after blacking out, and probably a couple more that I just forgot.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one. Of course I’m part of the more unpopular opinion, but it wasn’t as bad as everyone made it out to seem. If you’re curious, I think it’s pretty safe to go ahead and try it out for yourself.Have any of you guys seen this movie? Did you like it? Did you think it was accurate to the book?