Butterflies

One of the most famous scenes from Corpse Bride is when Emily is transformed into a huge formation of butterflies. So, what does this have to do with Effie from The Hunger Games trilogy? Well, nothing, but the symbolism of butterflies does.

In Corpse Bride, the butterflies symbolize Emily’s soul being set free and is a beautiful final goodbye to Victor and Victoria. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Effie wears a headpiece and dress that are composed of monarch butterflies (lovingly known by fans as the Butterfly Dress). I’ve always seen this outfit as a gorgeous addition to the wide array of looks that Effie has worn throughout the films (and it has since become my favorite Effie look from the four films), but something clicked with me upon viewing Catching Fire not too long ago. This outfit is only worn in one scene, the Reaping. As the story goes, this Reaping was only a drawing from the existing pool of Victors from previous years of the Hunger Games. So, for Effie, this meant definitely sending Katniss back into the arena and either Peeta or Haymitch along with her. By the end of it all, Katniss and Peeta were reaped again and were left with the possibility that they may not make it out alive this time around. Background aside, why did this dress suddenly mean so much more to me? It’s all because it made me think of Emily. The butterflies are a symbol of freedom and farewell. Of course, the Reaping was not the last time Effie would see Katniss and Peeta before the Quarter Quell, but it was the last time they would see their loved ones and Effie felt greatly to blame for that. Katniss didn’t even get a proper goodbye like Emily did.

In nature, butterflies don’t start out as beautiful, winged creatures, they have to go through metamorphosis. They start out as caterpillars and, when the time is right, they form a chrysalis around themselves and go through the natural change of becoming a butterfly. Before Katniss and Peeta’s first Games, Effie is a caterpillar. She has been born into an unknown habitat, the Capitol. She strives to be like the others of her kind and adapt to their lifestyle. This is why Effie seems so outlandish when we first meet her. She’s a caterpillar, a naïve mind who is oblivious to the true dangers in life. What she doesn’t know is that her own habitat, her home, is her greatest danger. There are many other species, the other Districts, that would love to devour her.

When Katniss and Peeta enter the Games, Effie forms her chrysalis. She remains in this chrysalis well throughout the Victory Tour. She soon comes to grips with the events of Catching Fire and that is why Effie has been dubbed as the character with the most development in this film. Catching Fire is Effie’s metamorphosis. When she’s at the Reaping, in the Butterfly Dress, she finally hatches and becomes a butterfly. Effie realizes her perfect Capitol isn’t so perfect. She cares so much about these kids, it’s evident by the tears streaming down her face as she pulls out the names. Katniss, Peeta, and Haymitch get her to realize just how dangerous the world really is, just as a butterfly would as it takes its first flight.  

The Good Wife 7x17 "Shoot" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

The beginning of this episode caught me completely off-guard. If you hadn’t been aware that you were watching The Good Wife, you wouldn’t have known. It looked like a completely different show. I thought it was cute, super loving and protective dad loves his daughter unconditionally –cute. It was adorable to see the daughter going to her first prom with a guy that she clearly really liked. I thought, wow, what a cute opening. That was until a bullet came flying through the front window of the house straight through the daughter’s throat. Oh, I was horribly wrong. I had no idea who these characters were, but this opening scene still brought tears to my eyes.

I was hyped for this episode, so hyped. I got myself all hyped up for nothing. I thought this was going to be the episode where Alicia finally agrees to partner with Diane and they being their wonderful reign of the legal empire in Chicago together. That didn’t happen, but we got to see Diane with a martini in her hand once again! That's always a wonderful sight on the eyes. I also thought this episode was going to bring the long awaited return of Kurt McVeigh, Diane’s husband. Mini rant time, sorry. This episode was about a gun store, gun control, and was called ”Shoot”, so how could it not be the Kurt episode? He’s a ballistics expert! This made me so mad. He’s been in two episodes with gun-related titles, “Bang” and “Silver Bullet” and I thought they would return to that with this episode. Since he is a ballistics expert, every episode that he’s been in has mentioned guns. I repeat, how could this not have been the Kurt episode? All of my predictions for this episode were wrong, it’s such a disappointing feeling.

Over the last few episodes, I’ve taken a liking to Jason. I got so worried when Alicia saw him kissing that other girl, which we later learned was his old friend and not another lover. I was relieved to hear this because I really didn’t want to hate Jason again right after accepting him. Alicia just looks so genuinely happy with him. Instead of Johnny and Finn in the past season, I wish Jason would’ve been there. I would’ve liked to get to know him more and to see if his relationship with Alicia would last this long. I just hate when good storylines are rushed (or completely washed over *cough* Kurt and Diane *cough*) All I want is for Alicia to finally divorce Peter. It’s long overdue and needs to happen as soon as possible. There’s no spark there anymore, at all. 

Adaptations

This post is about something that I’ve been thinking about lately. When books are adapted into movies, there is always a fear that changes will take place. This certainly happened with The Hunger Games movie adaptations.

Throughout reading the books, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were my favorite characters. This mentality stayed with me as I went into the first movie. They have remained, throughout the four movies, characters that I absolutely love, but I don’t think I’d consider them my favorite characters anymore. That spot now belongs to Haymitch Abernathy and Effie Trinket. Why? How can a mentality change so drastically like that? It’s solely due to the changes that took place from book to movie.

I read the books during 7^th and 8^th grade, so of course I gravitated towards the female protagonist who was close to my age. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I don’t love Katniss anymore. I love her so much and she is still one of my favorite female characters ever. I just have a greater appreciation for Effie now. Talk about character development! In the books, Effie really never became humanized. She was always just a product of the Capitol who just happened to be connected to the one girl who challenged everything she ever knew. I never really thought of anything more of her than that. That all changed after I saw the movies, all thanks to Elizabeth Banks.

This mentality change for me is all because of the incredible depth that Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson have brought to these characters. I can’t imagine what these films would be like had they not been cast in these roles. I usually don’t like huge changes when things get adapted, but Effie’s inclusion and her relationship with Haymitch were fantastic strays from the source material that actually made sense. Had the writers stayed completely faithful and basically cut Effie from the last two movies all together, it would’ve been a huge disservice to the audience. Elizabeth had been able to get inside of the head of this nutty character and strip her down to someone who is both likeable and human who feels real emotion. Book Effie is a Capitol Barbie, unrealistic and fake. Movie Effie is so real and you root for her. The thing that really makes these two my favorites is their screen-only relationship. Never in the books did those two ever flirt with each other because they were always bickering. When you really pay attention, they flirt so much in the movies. It all leads up to the kiss in the 4^th installment that leaves fans like me wanting more. The fact that the kiss was improvised, mostly by Woody, proves that these actors care about these characters and are ambitious enough to explore things that the audience never saw coming. For a couple that was never even meant to be a couple, they have become one of my favorite couples of all time. It’s just fascinating to me how influential visual representation can be. 

Thoughts on Season 1 of Fuller House

Warning, spoilers. Though, I’m sure you’ve heard plenty plot points about this show already. But, I digress. I loved Fuller House!

I had my doubts when this series was announced. I was really hoping they wouldn’t lose the integrity of the original. Not that Full House was a remarkable or deeply moving show, but it holds a very special place in the hearts of millions, including mine. I can genuinely say that this sequel greatly fulfilled my nostalgic needs.

I loved the pilot, it was wonderful. I enjoyed the transition from the old theme song and the original opening credits to the new cover of the theme and paralleling opening credits 29 years later. I was so happy to see all of the returning cast (unfortunately, no Olsen twins). Though I was sad that Michelle was absent from this sequel, I loved what was created because of their absence. The shade thrown at Mary Kate and Ashley for not returning was hysterical. I usually hate when movies or TV shows have their characters break the fourth wall (for those who don’t know, this means when the characters speak directly to the camera to speak to the audience). Here, they had the entire main cast look directly at the camera for a good 30 seconds, acknowledging the situation. This show is also very self-aware. I laughed so hard when Kimmy (whom was probably my favorite character on the show) made the comment about how it’s no wonder that Olsen twins don’t need to act anymore considering that their fashion line is incredibly expensive.

I was quite surprised with just how many references to real life and the outside careers of the cast there were. It’s a bit strange that they aren’t treating it like a universe of its own, but it’s funny nonetheless. I don’t understand why people are complaining about how campy this show is. Have you not watched the original? The original is so much a camp-fest and always have to have a group hug and a moral. The continuing campiness didn’t bother me at all. I actually really appreciated it.

As for the new characters, I also had my doubts. It took me a little bit for them to grow on me, but I did really like them by the end, especially Max. I thought Fernando was sort of a weird introduction. He really reminded me of Esteban from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. He was comical and it was interesting to see him bounce off of Kimmy. As the show went on, the kids were developed fairly well and I did enjoy seeing them interact with everyone else. I wish I wouldn’t have binged all 13 episodes in one day. It left me with nothing to look forward to, but I couldn’t stop watching! I’m so happy that it got renewed for a second season and I look forward to seeing what’s next. 

The Good Wife 7x16 "Hearing" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

It’s amazing how your opinion on something can change so rapidly. I went into this episode with dread considering that all the promos showed was Jason and Alicia. I was also upset with the advertising for this episode. Since it was the 150^th episode of the series, special ads were made. Thing is, all the wrong characters were being displayed. Of course there was Alicia, but also Jason, Eli, and Ruth. No sign of Diane or Cary. I’m still pretty disappointed with the way they’ve treated Diane and Cary, two characters that have been at the core of the show since the very beginning.

After the beginning sequence, I felt very conflicted. For the first time, I thought Alicia and Jason were cute. This was shocking to me that I was thinking this. I’ve gone this whole season not liking Jason and suddenly he’s really growing on me. I thought it was adorable to see them kissing in the shower, sharing junk food, and to see Alicia cuddling up next to Jason and laying on his chest. I never did like when Alicia was with Will, or the many other guys for that matter, so I’m not really bothered by the fact that she’s seeing Jason now. I’ve don’t think I’ve ever seen Alicia as happy with as she is with Jason.

I loved the return of Veronica and Owen. I’ve always enjoyed these two. “Come in, we have bagels!” had me laughing even after the episode ended. I also laughed a lot at the almost instant liking Veronica took to Jason. It was a lot of fun to see. I was quite surprised at the amount of times I laughed during this episode. Several instances included; Eli’s crusade to listen to the court through the vent in the handicapped bathroom, Mike Tascioni and his beloved service animal (emotional support Chihuahua) Tom, and just Alicia and Jason’s overall antics trying to keep their relationship under the radar.

My favorite part of the episode, and my favorite episode of the season, was the sudden luncheon between Diane and Alicia. I have so desperately wished, wanted, and hoped that Diane and Alicia would team up and start their own firm. So, seeing Diane praise Alicia’s growth and offer her the opportunity to partner really got to me. I actually teared up because of how sincere Diane was being with her. This is of course not the first time that these two have been in negotiations, the other time being talks of merging firms after Will’s death, but this was the first time Diane has offered to partner and start a female run firm. I’m sincerely hoping that Alicia takes Diane up on her offer so they can rule Chicago together with their trusty ballistics expert and investigator. 

The Big Bang Theory's 200th Episode

It’s Sheldon’s birthday! This was an amazing setup for an amazing accomplishment for the show. I can’t believe there’s been 200 episodes of a show about a group of nerdy friends –and it’s still going strong! I really enjoyed this episode, but I was unhappy with the length. This isn’t any fault of the show, though. It’s a sitcom in 2016. That means you get about 2/3 of the show and at least 1/3 of commercials. It’s really a shame that it felt like I watched 2 minutes of the episode and then it was over. Considering the actors get paid millions per episode, I wish that the viewers would be given a bit meatier content.

I loved the amount of guest stars that they were able to bring back for this episode. My favorite was, of course, the return of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. She was surprisingly very sweet and caring in this episode. It was a nice change. It wasn’t too out of the ordinary considering that Beverly is quite attached to Sheldon. It was so cute to see her drinking out of a Batman cup. When they said that Barry might have a shot with Leonard’s mother, I thought oh no, Bev got drunk again. I thought this because one of the last times she got drunk, she came back to Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment and placed a passionate kiss on Sheldon. It was so awkward when Barry called her a cougar and started really flirting with her. I was surprised that she didn’t have a comeback for him. It was a very funny element for the episode.

Another great element was that Adam West made an appearance. Hearing Sheldon’s story about how he was always told that Batman would come to his party, but never did was so sad. I was really happy when the guys decided to get the real Batman to come to his party, even if all Adam cared about was getting paid for being there. It would’ve been even better if he put on a Batman costume at some time during the party.

I really enjoyed the bonding moment between Penny and Sheldon. I also enjoyed when they all went around and each person at the party said something nice about Sheldon. They’ve all had their frustrations with Sheldon and everyone has been annoyed by him in some way, but they proved that they all love him and are happy to have them in their lives. 

The Good Wife 7x15 "Targets" Review

-SPOILERS BELOW-

This was a very interesting episode and I really enjoyed seeing the return of Elsbeth. She hasn’t been in an episode in a very long time and she was very due for some more screen time. For as serious as this show is, I’m still so surprised that Elsbeth is even a character. Yes, there’s humor on the show, but Elsbeth is just in a world of her own. Her fiery, red hair perfectly matches her over-the-top personality. I really have missed her quirky presence and I’m very glad that she has returned, though I don’t think she’ll be back.

I loved how she made her screen entrance, bent over doing her stretches and looking towards the camera through her legs. She’s so entertaining, I really don’t know how to describe her. I was hoping that Elsbeth and Diane would have a scene alone together, but they didn’t. They did have a brief scene, but it was with a few other people in the room. I really loved the scene in an earlier season when Elsbeth went up and hugged Diane. It was like a clash of very different personalities and I loved it. It’s a bit of a shame that she never became more regular.

I should’ve known when I saw the promo picture of Diane, Elsbeth, Eli, and a random guy with a dog, that this random guy would have some connection to Elsbeth. Turns out that he was Elsbeth’s ex. This was such a weird character introduction, but it was entertaining. My favorite part in the episode was when Elsbeth’s ex and Eli went into the building and were told that there were dogs allowed and Eli protested, “Tom is a service animal. He’s an emotional support Chihuahua.” Eli always has some great lines and this one was nothing short of great.

Mini rant time. Jason walked into David’s office and referred to him as a cowboy. Why, why, why, why, why would you do this writers? As someone who loves Kurt McVeigh, I was super offended to hear someone other than him being referred to as a cowboy. Kurt has been the cowboy since Season 1. On his first date with Diane, she said, “Cowboys. Who knew I loved cowboys?” Kurt is the cowboy. End of story. Jason is getting on my nerves so much. His little smirks at Diane made me mad too. Stop trying to be Kurt, Jason.

I’ve voiced how I feel about Jason before, as well as his relationship with Alicia and that opinion has not changed. I hated their make out scene in her office with the lights off. It was just weird to see Alicia using Jason as a reason to not drink, then guilt-tripping him into making love with her again. I’m not with the writers on this one, I don’t find Jason charming and I have never found myself swooning over him. I wish that Alicia would just stop trying to date since she can’t seem to keep a healthy relationship.