Hollywood's spin on "The Duff"

Before I start off I want to let you know that I know that the movie and book are almost never the same. It just doesn't happen as the director and write use the source material and spin it for the movie or TV show in some cases. Sometimes the changes or things that they leave out aren't noticeable and sometimes they are. There are are a few cases where the movie is better than the book, see Legally Blonde, and there are more cases were the book is better than the movie, see The Princess Bride.  More often than not Hollywood will take the name of a book and keep a couple of the character's names but then they will have completely different characteristics and the plot will have gone through the cookie cutter plot maker for Hollywood. This is wanted happened to The Duff

I read the book The Duff for the first time when the movie first came out in theaters and I really enjoyed it. The story was different and featured a strong female who didn't really make excuses but instead analyzed her actions at the end. However, based on the previews I had a feeling that the movie wasn't going to be anything like the book that I had read. I recently saw the movie for the first time and I was right. The movie keeps lets some characters keep their names, however all of the backstories are different.

You can change a character's name all you want, but keep at least a portion of their backstory, please! How do you have the same protagonist if she isn't taking care of her father or hiding from one of her best friends that she dated his brother? You don't. Instead you get a cookie cutter nerd protagonist who is kinda flat, which makes the story kinda boring. For the best friends they kept them somewhat the same, but they more or less combined them into a mish-mosh. In the book, each girl in the group gets a distinctive personality, and in the movie only Bianca has a distinctive personality.  Jessica and Casey are boring and almost a non-factor in the story. The best thing they do is shut down a website and make a dress.

Wesley's character gets the worst treatment, as in the book he explains that he is basically shunned from guys for competition reasons and his family shuns him due to other reasons. In the movie, he gets the, what has become cliche, fighting parents for sympathy points. You stripped this character of EVERYTHING that made him different and instead made him a typical teen character movie. A fraction of his character could have been kept for the movie, just a fraction. Toby gets transformed from a seemingly perfect guy in the book, to just a guy in the film. There is nothing interesting about him in the movie, other than Bianca likes him. His look probably gets the biggest change, as in the book is described as being straight laced and preppy; while the movie sees him as a rocker.

What makes me most disappointed about the film is that it takes out one of the original messages that I got out of the book. That if you start using a word that someone means negatively and give it a positive spin, then the power the word had is gone. At the end of the book the girls start using DUFF to comment on themselves, which means the power of the word is gone. That makes me saddest about this jump from page to screen, but I understand why this change was made. As everyone gets something different out of a book and with mainstream release, especially for teens, studios want everyone to get the same thing out of the movie going experience.

Should you chose to experience The Duff,  I obviously recommend reading the book and skipping the movie. As really the only thing it's good for it watching Robbie Amell, who you can catch on The Flash on TV.

Positive Attitude on Project Runway

While catching up on some older seasons of Project Runway, I have come across a very unwelcome conclusion. The majority of the seasons feature a challenge called the "every day woman" challenge where the designers make clothes for "real woman" sometimes with unconventional fabric.  The women or models that the show brings in always feature a mixture of full figure woman and women who tend toward "model size"; sometimes the designers get to pick their model via random draw and sometimes they are randomly assigned. In the majority of the seasons a designer who receives a full figured model complains and gripes about how to make clothes for women of this size. I find this attitude to be insulting. Who are you designing for it not women?! If you aren't thinking about women who are wearing your clothes then all you're doing is making art from fabric! In season 8, 1 designer stated that they wanted to make something that his client loved and didn't utter a horrible word about the client or her figure.  While in season 10, a designer constantly made jabs at his clients size and figure, while complaining about it was unfair that he had a full figured model and others didn't.  While both contestants had the same result, bottom 2, the experience was most likely much better for the season 8 designer. I just think that that's how you should tackle challenges, with a positive attitude and being practical. Like Tim says, "Make it work." Complaining about your client isn't going to do you any favors and might get you a bad rap, but wanting to help them and handling the challenge with grace will only make the experience better. Actually arguing with your client can make you end up in the bottom 2, as it did for a season 3 contestant. This also just might be the legacy that you leave behind in reality TV and this legacy almost never goes away, so be wary of how you approach the challenge. 

The Discovery of OZ

Hello Again! Over the past couple of weeks I have been thinking of new blog ideas and this was put on the back burner due to me binge watching OZ. OZ was on HBO during the later '90s and early '00s, therefore I came into this show somewhat blind. As I wouldn't have read about this show when it was airing or if I had, none of it stuck with me. I am currently watching season 5 and I have to say what I like most about the show is that they cast mostly unknown people, at that time, so that you can believe that these people are in OZ. While the warden is played by Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters, the time period between the two projects, helps him remain grounded, as well as the difference between the two characters. The show is very gritty and not polished so it feels authentic and makes it that much more enjoyable to watch.

Not only is the show set up to look gritty, the stories that it tells are also gritty. This is not a happy-go- lucky prison, this is a prison where you hope you make it from day to day and you really don't know who you can trust. While it does have some funny moments, for the most part OZ is a dramatic show about life in prison. The character interactions drive the show and make you keep watching and hoping that someone will change or someone will die, it might happen or it might not,  but you keep watching. I do admit that the first season is very painful to get through but the rest of the series makes up for that and I've flown threw the past couple of seasons. I give you a little taste of the show, with one of my favorite stills. Hope you look into OZ and enjoy the ride.

Fantasia 2000 Flamingo

So this week I finally got around to watching Fantasia 2000 and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how funny some of the segments were, in particular The Carnival of the Animals.  This segment is what I will refer to as the Flamingos with yoyos.  I love this segment because it is so absolutely and completely ridiculous. Who honestly asks the question what happens when Flamingos get a Yoyo. Who asks that question? Disney does. This segment is the result. While it is short compared to the other segments it is just the right length for the concept and it is not drawn out too much. I am also convinced that the Flamingo with the yoyo is male, just based on the other Flamingos reactions. This makes the segment even better in my mind. I highly encourage you to take a couple minutes out of your day to watch the segment and until that time here are some pictures of it.

007 Binge

After a conversation I had at work this past week I have gone on a 007 binge. Well as much of a binge as I could go on, considering the fact that we have 3 Bond movies and the only on Netflix is Skyfall.  However it was a binge, in my mind, and I have to say that so of the first Bond movies don't have the elements, that are now considered essential Bond. Such as the explosions and the nonstop action. Yes there is intrigue aplenty in the early movies, however some of that focus leads to a slightly less compelling film. Don't get me wrong I love Sean Connery as Bond and he is Bond to me, however my favorite Bond film is Goldeneye and as I had not seen Skyfall before this weekend I was pleasantly surprised by the movie and loved. I was against Daniel Craig as Bond and I am glad to say that I was wrong, very, very wrong. I can't wait to watch Casino Royale  and Quantum of Solace just to see what Daniel Craig does. Who's your favorite Bond and your favorite Bond film. Let me know.

Superhero Challenge Day 23

Day 23- Superhero Whose Story You Wished had Continued
Another easy one! I definitely wished Jean Grey's story had continued, if only for the fact that the Phoenix is just such a powerful force and it would have been amazing to see the story last a little longer.  Also with her being one of my favorite characters I would have like to see more of here and not just the love triangle stuff.

Yet another 30 day challenge catch-up day

So, this week also got away from me (again) and here is another catch-up day for you all.

Day 17- most epic fight scene
This is another easy one for me, it has to be the fight in New York in the Avengers movie.  It was ans amazing fight sequence and very entertaining to watch especially considering the ups and downs that the movie took on with the team, it was a great end to see them working together to save Earth.

day 18 favorite non-super male supporting character
Alfred all the way is the best non-super male supporting character and more specifically, Michael Caine's version of Alfred. The perfect combination of mentor, father, and friend. He just makes the Christopher Nolan trilogy that much better. Love this character.

day 19 favorite non-super female supporting character
For this one I am very conflicted, since most of the non-super female supporting characters are relegated to being "just the girlfriend" of the superhero, which makes them not all that interesting to watch since being just the girlfriend isn't a role anyone wants to celebrate of be apart of, but I guess the girlfriend that I like the best and the one that seems to have the most to her character is Lois Lane.

day 20 favorite villain team
Due to my love of the X-men it should be no surprise that the Brotherhood of mutants is my favorite villain team. I love the concept of mutants and the way that X-men deals with prejudice and all of those issues. Just as the X-men is my favorite super hero team the Brotherhood is my favorite super villain team.  I also love how these teams are constantly changing and evolving, just as people change and evolve.
day 21 favorite weapon, armor or gear
I am slightly unsure as to how to answer this questions due to the fact that my favorite superheros are mutants and therefore really don't have any weapons or armor or gear so my answer for this is sort of like armor. The helmet Magneto wears is a form of armor that protects him from Xavier's telepathy,giving him a distinctive advantage in battle against the X-men and all other foes in general.
day 22 most shocking super hero moment
The most shocking superhero moment is another question that is hard to answer, but it might be the idea that Jason Todd became the Red Hood in Batman, as he was supposedly killed by the Joker and the Joker was thought to have been the Red Hood at some point in time.

Hopefully see you in a day or 2.