The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part One

This is the third November in a row that we’ve gotten to see a new Hunger Games movie, and I’m not looking forward to the day that they stop making them. The Hunger Games gained a huge following as a young adult book series, and when the first movie came out, people went crazy for it. It rocketed Jennifer Lawrence to stardom and got that little mockingjay jingle stuck in the heads of millions of moviegoers. And now here we are with the third film in the series, Mockingjay Part One. In case you’re wondering, yes, it does live up to the hype.

Let me just start by saying how much I hate the title of this movie. It’s entirely too long and an unnecessary by-product of America’s obsession with branding. How many people wouldn’t know that a movie called “Mockingjay Part One” is a part of the Hunger Games series? I feel like that’s pretty common knowledge. But for some reason, creators of these movie series can’t let the titles stand on their own, so they have to bump the main title down to a subtitle and add the series title at the beginning. I understand that everyone is doing this, but it just seems unnecessary to me. Oh well. Rant over.

Now on the actual movie. I really enjoyed Mockingjay Part One. My biggest fear with two-part movies is that the first one is just going to be setup for the second. That was not the case with Mockingjay at all. Of course, there are elements of the movie that were not completely resolved, as with any movie with a planned sequel, but it told a whole story in a compelling way, and that’s something that can be difficult with a “part one of two” type film.

I’ll try to tell you a little bit about what the movie is about without spoiling anything for you. Basically, the movie picks up a little while after the end of Catching Fire, with Katniss caught in the middle of a rebel plot that she isn’t sure she even wants to be a part of. To make matters more complicated, the rebels want Katniss to be the face of their rebellion, their Mockingjay. While adjusting to her new underground life and spending most of her waking hours worrying about the fate of Peeta, Katniss must decide if she’s ready to put it all on the line for a rebellion she never meant to start.

Jennifer Lawrence nailed the Katniss role as usual. This time, we’re seeing Katniss on her own, without Peeta, and it reveals a whole new side of her. We see Katniss on the brink of a breaking point a couple of times, and Jennifer Lawrence did a great job portraying those sides of Katniss without losing sight of who the character was. And of course Katniss had some brilliant scenes where she’s the bold leader as well, and they were played magnificently. The movie shows us probably the broadest range of emotions we’ve seen in Katniss so far, and I think it was handled well.

The rest of the cast did a great job as well. There weren’t as many characters in this film as in the first two because the plot was much more contained to one area. But we see familiar faces like Gale, Prim, Katniss’s mother, Haymitch, Plutarch, Finnick, President Snow, and (surprisingly) Effie. The biggest new character is President Coin, the leader of the rebellion. I feel like all of the actors did a great job, but Jennifer Lawrence was obviously the standout actress.

One of the biggest things I wondered about going into this film was where they would cut it off. Like I said before, they needed to tell a whole story, but they needed to leave enough of the plot to justify a second film as well. I won’t tell you exactly where they cut the film off, but I will say that I think they picked the perfect point in the story to do so. The film didn’t seem too long or too short, and it ultimately did what it was meant to do: create hype for next year’s Mockingjay Part Two.

If you saw the first two Hunger Games movies and enjoyed them, you won’t be disappointed by Mockingjay Part One. If you haven’t seen The Hunger Games, now would be a good time to get caught up on the films before the final one comes out next year. It’s a very compelling story played by talented actors, and really, it’s just a good time. If you’ve seen Mockingjay Part One, I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! And if you haven’t, check it out in theaters this weekend. Thanks for reading, friends, and I hope you have a great weekend. I’ll see you next week!

Going Home

The semester is beginning to wind down, and finals are just around the corner. I seriously cannot believe that my first semester of seminary is already nearly over. It’s crazy. But since Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks are coming up soon, I’m going to be spending a lot of time back in my hometown. I’m really excited to get away from school for a bit and spend time with my family and friends, whom I have not seen very much since I moved to Waco.

Since I’m going to be spending so much time back home in the near future, I decided to sit down and think through what going home means to me and how I want to approach it. I came up with this list of a few things I’m going to try to do while I’m home for the holidays.

1. Be present.

This is probably my biggest goal when I go home. When I’m with my family and loved ones, I want to be completely there. I don’t want to be worrying about papers and exams and readings. I want to focused on the people I’m with and the precious little time I get to spend with them. I’m not going to fail out of school if I take a few days off of school, and if I get a week behind on some TV shows, oh well. All of those things will be waiting for me when I get back to school. But while I’m home, I want to give my time, attention, and energy to those around me.

2. Reconnect.

They say that in order to maintain a friendship with someone, you should be in contact with them every 14 days. If that’s the case, I’m a really bad friend. This time at home is a good opportunity to reconnect with people I haven’t spent time with since I moved away, people I care about deeply but haven’t been able to connect with much between school and work and everything else. With all of those distractions out of the way, I’lll have opportunities to spend time with people I haven’t seen in a while, and I’m really excited about that.

3. Relax.

Finally, this is a break. That means it’s a time to recuperate and change pace a bit. I’m going to get some extra sleep and let myself be lazy for a while. I might even loosen up on my dietary restrictions for a day or two. Crazy, right? But that’s what breaks are for. They’re for letting loose and giving your body and mind time to heal from the ridiculous amount of work we put them through. If we don’t give ourselves breaks when we have the opportunity, we’re setting ourselves out for burnout. So I’m making it a goal to set aside some “me time” over the break on top of the other things I’ll be doing.

There you have it. That’s what I’m doing over the break. I’m pretty happy with my plans, and I think they’re going to be really good for me. I’m sure a lot of you have similar plans for the break, but if you have something different in mind, I’d love hear about it. Whatever you’re doing over the break, be safe, have fun, and make it meaningful! I’ll talk to you guys next week.

Big Hero 6

You know what I love? Kid movies that go to great lengths to appeal to adults, too. I call them family movies. Because let’s be real. No parent (or older sibling, babysitter, etc.) wants to take a child to the movies and sit through an hour and a half of immature jokes and nonsensical stories. But no kid wants to sit through a film that’s geared toward adults. That would be super-boring. But lately, movie studios have been perfecting the art of creating films that appeal to kids while not driving adults crazy, either. And I can’t get enough of it.

Big Hero 6 is one of those movies that is marketed towards kids but is perfectly enjoyable for adults to watch, too. There’s a reason it was the number one movie in the box office its opening weekend: People—kids and adults alike—wanted to see it. I saw Big Hero 6 the day after it came out, and I really enjoyed it, so I decided that I would highlight it in this week’s Stuff Devon Likes post.

Big Hero 6 is the first true collaboration between Disney and Marvel since Disney bought Marvel several years go. It’s Disney Animation taking an obscure Marvel comic series and turning it into a beautiful, feature-length, animated film. It’s got the action and adventure of a comic book with the gorgeous graphics and heartfelt storytelling that we’ve come to expect from Disney. I think Big Hero 6 represents the best of both Disney and Marvel, and it makes a wonderful combination.

The film tells the story of Hiro (which, of course, sounds a lot like “hero” when spoken out loud) and his best friend Baymax, a marshmallowy robot, as they work together to save the city of San Fransokyo. Hiro and Baymax team up with four fellow scientist friends to create the ultimate superhero team, Big Hero 6. Each member uses his or her talents and area of scientific research to fight evil. Each character has a well-developed personality and a few quirks that play into their abilities and style. For a kid’s movie, the cast is actually pretty diverse and well-rounded.

One of the most interesting features of Big Hero 6 is the blending of elements from both eastern and western culture. The story takes place in a town called San Fransokyo, which is of course a blending of San Francisco and Tokyo. The characters look like Disney’s version of anime characters, and a lot of the design has an obvious eastern influence, which really sets the movie apart from other animated films.

And of course, this is Disney’s attempt to get in on the superhero movie craze that’s pretty much dominating movie theaters right now. But instead of a children’s version of the Avengers or a less dark version of Batman, this is a totally unique set of superheroes geared specifically towards kids, and I think that’s pretty cool. Plus there are some references to other Marvel characters that adults will catch and enjoy.

I really enjoyed Big Hero 6. The characters are cool, the jokes are hilarious, the story is compelling (although perhaps a little bit predictable for adults), and the movie just looks great. I would recommend this film to anyone who’s interested in superhero films, family films, or just fun movies. It’s definitely worth the price of a movie ticket just to see it no matter what age you are. Check out Big Hero 6 in theaters, and let me know if you like it. If you’ve seen it already, I’d love to hear what you thought of it! Thanks for reading this week’s Stuff Devon Likes, and I’ll see you guys next weekend.

Solitude

It’s no secret that I’m an introvert. It’s not that I don’t like people. I love people. I love connecting with people, investing in people, and spending time with people. What sets introverts like myself apart from extroverts is that for introverts, social interaction depletes energy, whereas extroverts are energized by social interaction. Both of these are perfectly normal, and each has its pros and its cons. One of the side effects of being an introvert, however, is a feeling of exhaustion and a need for rest after what I call a “social overload.” This is where solitude comes in.

I cherish solitude. It’s my way of recuperating after a long day of lectures, work, and usually a great deal of social interaction. When I get home and have some time to myself, I’m able to relax and reflect on the day I’ve just had. It’s great. As much as I love being around people, doing the Lord’s work, and learning as much as I can in the classroom, I do very much look forward to coming home and enjoying some solitude.

As I said before, it’s not that I don’t like people. I love people, and I love spending time with people. But spending time with people does take a lot of energy out of me, and I need some time alone to get that energy back. Since moving to Waco, I’ve been thinking a lot about solitude, its benefits, and its risks. If you’re an introvert like me (or if you’re interested in knowing how introverts like me think), here are a few of the things I’ve learned about solitude.

It’s OK to need some alone time.

Some people assume that introverts are “anti-social” or “loaners” because they often need time for themselves. This is a misconception. Introverts who make time for solitude are just finding healthy ways to take care of themselves. There’s nothing wrong with wanting some time alone. You’re not grumpy or a loaner or selfish for saying from time to time, “OK, I need some time alone.” It’s actually a good thing, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed about that.

Some people don’t get it.

On the other hand, some people do not place as much emphasis on solitude as others. Extroverts may see alone time as uncomfortable or unnecessary. They may not understand why someone like me needs some time to themselves every once in a while, and it may be misinterpreted. Again, there’s nothing wrong with being an introvert or an extrovert. Both are natural and normal. But both groups need to take some time to understand the other’s needs in order to avoid misconceptions and hurt feelings. Learning to articulate why you need solitude and that it isn’t an indication of anything negative is important.

Don’t fall into the trap of self-isolation.

Solitude is good. Isolation is bad. And personally, I’m constantly tempted to fall into self-isolation. I cherish solitude so much that I can take it to the extreme and end up going long periods of time without any real human connection. This leaves me feeling empty and sad, not rested and whole as solitude should. While solitude is important, so is connecting with other people. There is a balance between the two, and that has to be kept in mind, or you may find yourself isolated.

That’s what I have to say about solitude for now. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and there may be more to say later. I hope this blog post has been helpful or at least interesting to you. I know it’s been a good exercise for me to reflect on something that I put so much emphasis on. I hope you guys are having a great week. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next time!

The Silver Chair

I finally finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia series! It took me a couple of months, but it was worth it. Each of the seven books is so enjoyable and easy to read. If you’ve never read them, you should check them out (and if you read them when you were younger, it may be good to re-read them). I wrote a review of The Magician’s Nephew when I read it a couple of months ago, but don’t worry. I’m not going to write a review of all seven books. But I did want to write one more review from the Narnia series before I put the books back on the shelf for a while.

I read each of the Narnia books as a kid except The Silver Chair. I’m not sure why, but I never got around to it. Maybe it was because it wasn’t super-popular or because it didn’t feature any of the characters I was familiar with. But for whatever reason, this was my first time reading The Silver Chair, and it blew me away. This may actually be the most powerful of the Narnia books, and that’s saying something.

The Silver Chair tells the story of Eustace, cousin to the Pevensies, and Jill, his school friend, as they travel to Narnia and search for King Caspian’s lost son. Their traveling companion is a Marsh-Wiggle named Puddlegum, a well-meaning, frog-like creature who is never looking on the bright side. Along the way, the group finds themselves in a giants’ castle, a ruined city, and the Underworld. Sent by Aslan with a series of signs, the travelers seem to slip up at every turn, but in the end they find that Aslan’s signs were leading them the entire way.

What I really love about this book is that is a powerful representation of what life looks like when you have faith in God. It portrays faith in such a tangible, relatable way that even someone who has no belief in God whatsoever can understand it, and that has the power to change lives. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, but at one point during the story, the main characters find themselves trapped in the Underworld under the curse of a witch who is trying to convince them that Aslan and Narnia are not real. The characters nearly fall under the spell until Puddlegum—the most pessimistic character in the story—steps forward and makes one of the most powerful statements of faith I’ve ever heard. It’s so simple that a child could understand it but so deep that I could read it over and over and get something new out of it every time. It beautifully and simply displays what it feels like to live with faith in God as a reality in one’s life, and it’s extremely compelling.

I don’t know why more people haven’t talked about The Silver Chair. I love all the other Narnia books, but I think this one is so theologically beneficial that I would go so far as to say that if you only read one of the Narnia books, it should be this one. Some people may object that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe should be the most read because it portrays the core truth of the gospel so simply, and I think that has some truth to it, but I think The Silver Chair has something to offer that none of the other Narnia books does. It can show anyone—even an atheist—what life with God is like. And just like C. S. Lewis on his own spiritual journey, a person must become a theist (a believer in God) before he or she can become a Christian, which is why The Silver Chair may actually have the potential to influence more people than any other Narnia book.

The Silver Chair is currently being made into a feature-length film, so hopefully we’ll be seeing that pretty soon. I would love to see what kind of impact this book could have in movie form. But until then, I would highly recommend you read The Silver Chair. It’s not very long or hard to follow, and it’s an exciting story as well as a great representation of what life with God is like. Check out The Silver Chair and let me know what you think of it! Thanks for reading, friends, and have a great weekend.