Company for Dinner

I've been seeing this post on Pinterest for ages now that asks people if they could invite 7 fictional characters who would they choose and where would they sit (the table is round, with 1 and 7 being on either side of me. But I'm not giving much thought to this part). I didn't really think about it until last night, and I asked Sarah. This is the first list I came up with.

1. Merlin (from BBCs Merlin)
2. Aslan
3. 11 (Doctor Who)
4. Nightcrawler
5. Hiccup
6. Jacky Faber (it's a character from series of books I read as a kid)
7. Data

Maybe I'd change some of them, but those are my favs. Of course, I left out a lot of superheroes and book characters, so I thought it'd be fun to make other lists. What seven superheroes would I have?

1. Nightcrawler. Always.
2. Wolverine.
3. Spider-man
4. Superhero Girl (from the comic of the same name)
5. Martian Manhunter
6. Deadpool (even though he'd probably kill me)
7. Professor X

Book characters (for the sake of change, I'll not include comic books) (for the sake of clarity, I'll include the book title)?
1. Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack)
2. Alanna (Alanna: The First Adventure)
3. Kel (Page)
4. Aslan (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
5. Horatio (Hamlet)
6. Christian (Once Upon a Marigold)
7. Deryn Sharp (Leviathan)

You may have noticed, if you have read these books, that three of my favorite characters are girls who dressed up as guys in order to make their lives better. What can I say? I have a type.

Characters from Star Trek?
1. Captain Picard
2. Chekov
3. Hoshi
4. Data
5. Spock
6. Tripp
7. Dr. Phlox

And yes, I am one of those people whose favorite series is Enterprise. So sue me.

Any other lists you want me to do, Sarah? Do you want explanations for my list? Personally, I think it's all self-explanatory, but then, these are my favorite characters.

Karima

"it's not the giver. it's the taker away-er of my childhood"

if you've been following either one of us on twitter today, you've probably noticed that something has made us very upset.

the giver. the first dystopian novel written specifically for younger audiences.

after the recent hype and success surrounding YA dystopian novels like the hunger games, divergent (which we're super stoked about seeing), etc. it makes sense that this wonderful, amazing novel would be turned into a movie sooner rather than later.

personally, i've been waiting for this book to be made into a movie since i first read it in grade five. it's a story about a society with no pain, suffering, war, hunger, etc. it is also a society without love, happiness, or joy.

the community is governed by the "elders" who control the society and keep this "sameness" (as they have called it) running smoothly.

at the age of 12, Jonas, like all the other children, is waiting to be selected for his occupation. he is chosen as the receiver, who receives all of the memories of the community. he is trained by the giver, who teaches him that this way of living kind of sucks. through this job, Jonas learns things about the world outside that no one else knows, forcing him to take action to leave and seek out the outside world.

so this trailer though.

THIS MOVIE COULD HAVE BEEN SO AMAZING.
but instead, it basically looks like any other recent dystopian movie (that spaceship looks a little familiar...were there even actually any spaceships in the book? (no, there weren't. How do I know, because I READ THE BOOK.))...a hot disheveled boy searching his way out of a twisted society (who is FREAKING 25 IN REAL LIFE, playing a 16 yo, who is supposed to be 12 in the book?), a love interest that can never be, a not-so-inconspicuous way of changing the society ("what would happen if we didn't take our morning injections"? anyone seeing the divergent connection?) and some dramatic thriller music...it's all been done before. add in a love triangle, and this could totally be a hunger games/divergent mash up.

now, i'm not completely disregarding the movie. it still could be good. i'm still going to see it. but i really wanted this to be a "the book and the movie were so amazing" - i really don't try to be a "the book is better than the movie" snob. but seriously. did you people even read the book?

so to the directors/writers/producers who are making this movie possible? before you try and recreate a book beloved by so many people...

thanks :) 

love, sarah + karima.