My Dream Loot Crate: Nasty Women

Have you looked longingly at subscription boxes like I have? These have boomed in popularity in recent months, and I love looking at unboxings yet haven't been able to justify shelling out the money to subscribe to one yet. One subscription service that I've heard about, namely through Kristina Horner, is Loot Crate Loot Crate, which sounds awesome for geeks and nerds like me. So when they approached me about creating my own "dream crate" I knew I had to jump aboard.

Almost right away I knew I wanted to center my box around awesome female characters, and with the crazy election, my dream box is the NASTY WOMEN box.

Nasty Women Dream Loot Crate

My first choice is this Orphan Black t-shirt because this fabulous array of female characters were the first ones that came to mind. It was hard deciding on a product that could encompass Orphan Black (and there's surprisingly little merch), but this shirt is perfect and lists most of the major kick-ass female clones (portrayed by the equally kick-ass Tatiana Maslany), as well as a few other important characters.

My second choice was another easy one. This Rey print is stunning and also shows BB-8, another favorite. I loved Rey from the moment she appeared on screen in the new Star Wars movie. She's an amazing addition to the SW universe, and Daisy Ridley is perfection. Another easy choice.

Of course no list is complete without some Harry Potter reference. I actually have two different choices because they're possibly my two favorite HP characters, and I couldn't choose which one I wanted to feature more. This is Hermione's wand. Do I even need to explain this choice? Hermione meant so much to me when I was reading Harry Potter for the first time, and she still remains close to my heart. (Also, Emma Watson is perfection.)

The other amazing female character I love in Harry Potter is none other than Luna Lovegood! Her Spectrespecs are so unique to her and everyone who knows the movies will recognize it right away. Luna stays true to herself, regardless of what others will think. She's kind and creative.

Another easy choice is Annabeth from the Percy Jackson series. She, like Hermione, is the brains of the trio. She's such a solid heroine and similarly inspiring as Hermione. I found these books in middle school and am just now realizing how great of a transition it was to find it a few years after the last Harry Potter book. It's no wonder I loved Annabeth! This is an Annabeth Chase candle. 

This one is a less obvious choice, but this Everyone Deserves Tea mug represents the ladies of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and of Pride and Prejudice). Not only do I love tea, but this is also a reminder of sisterly bond that is so strong in the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. And I love all three sisters, the actresses who portray them, as well as the supporting female cast (Charlotte, Gigi).

I'm not sure if the image is hard to see, but this Belle shirt caught my attention right away. Belle has long been one of my favorite Disney princesses (alongside Mulan). Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved Belle. She was one of the first females I saw on screen who loved to read and comforted the bookworm in me. 

This was a bit of a late addition, but I've included it for a few reasons. For one, while I personally don't like Katniss, many people do, and this pullover partially represents her. But the other reason I included it is that it represents the thousands/millions of female ballerinas out there. Ballet has sort of been brought back to popular culture thanks to people such as Misty Copeland. As a dancer/ballet dancer myself, I had to throw something in there. Ballerinas (and all dancers) work so hard yet also work to make what they do effortless. They're often not given nearly enough credit and aren't seen as on-par with other athletes, when in many ways, we're more athletic. So I had to include this in my dream box.

I apologize that this Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan pillow isn't included in the overall graphic, but I added this after I made it. As I wrote my honorable mentions/extras below I realized I didn't have any non-white women above, which is a huge and real problem (and also why we need more diversity in popular culture). So Kamala Khan popped into my head. I wanted to pick an item that's different from the others, and this pillow fits that bill. 

Another last minute addition not included in the graphic is this Schuyler Sisters sticker. I had them in mind since the beginning, but it slipped my mind as I was finishing up this post. This is such a given. Does it even need explaining?

Extras/Honorable Mentions

There were a few items that don't fit into the popular culture category, so I've listed them here instead.

 

I absolutely love this image and think a tote would be fabulous. If we're going to talk about feminism, it should be intersectional. Unfortunately, basically all of the women above are white women, and it's important to acknowledge all types of women.

Michelle Obama is all kinds of goals, and I've fallen in love with the recent Strand merch including this quote. This is the magnet, and after the election, this is just so inspiring and lovely. I love Michelle Obama and think she's an amazing figure for all of us to look up to.

And last but not least, I had to include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists. To me, Adichie is one of the ultimate feminists, and while there are plenty of others whom I love, she speaks so eloquently and rawly and openly about transnational and intersectional feminism. She supports other women, even if she disagrees with them (see her comments on her feminism vs. Beyonce's feminism). She has been so integral in the recent pushes/fights for feminism, and she is such an important part of educating others on inclusional feminism. I just love her, and I think this (or her TED talk) should be required reading (viewing). 

~~~

Ladies, let us continue to be "nasty women." Let's continue to fight for inclusion and diversity, for equality, for respect. Let's continue to support one another and critically discuss issues important to all of us.

Be sure to check out Loot Crate Loot Crate

if you're interested in their subscription boxes!

And let me know below or on Twitter what you would include in your dream crate!

Best of 2015

Hey, lovelies! So I'm hoping to make this blog bigger and better in the new year. I feel like I always say that, but at least for now, I'm really motivated and excited. In addition, I'm hoping to really start up my personal blog, Infinite Golden Floors. At this point, I may still end up combining these two blogs, but I'd probably have to change my blog URL again, and I'd rather not. (Regardless, I'll be changing my Twitter handle.)

But let's talk about this past year! It's definitely been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but overall, I would say I've had a good year, at least looking back now. I'll admit that I think more in school years/semesters than calendar years, so some of the beginning of the year is fuzzy, but I'm loving where I am now in college.

And here is my Best of 2015 list! Everything is listed in no particular order. (I've reviewed many of these, some won't be reviewed at all, and others will be reviewed in early 2016, by the way.)

Top 10 Reads of 2015

Honorable Mentions: I Crawl Through It by A.S. King, Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom, Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Top 2 Graphic Novels of 2015

I decided to just pick two despite having a read a few because most of the graphic novels I read were all within the same rating range and don't particularly stick out.

Top 10 Albums of 2015

(Though most of these were released in 2015, not all were. In addition, I didn't include albums for musicals.)

Honorable Mentions: Stand By You and Fight Song by Rachel Platten, Rabbits on the Run by Vanessa Carlton

Top 3 Movies of 2015

(I'm very bad at keeping track of movies I watch, so I've only looked at those released this past year. I didn't watch very many movies (probably around 5 in theaters), so.)

Honorable Mention: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Top 6 Shows of 2015

American Ballet Theater November 1st Performance (After You, Piano Concerto #1, The Brahms-Haydn Variations)

The Royal Ballet Junes 27th Performance

Happy New Year!

And that's a wrap! I hope you've all had a good year, and I hope the next year will bring even better things. Have a happy new year, lovelies! <3

What were your 2015 favorites? Do you make resolutions; what are some of yours?

Review: Catching Fire Movie

Before I start this review, I have to admit that I am not a Hunger Games fan at all. I never liked Katniss and still don't. There were certainly some aspects of the book that I liked, but it wasn't enough for me to a) finish Mockingjay and b) like the series (which is also evident from my ratings on Goodreads). However, Catching Fire was my favorite book of the two that I read, so I was a little bit more excited about this movie. I also have to say that this series is one of the rare instances where I think the movies are better than the books. But without further ado, my review.

I think the most important aspect to hit upon first is the characters/acting. I've been feeling very conflicted on this because the movie has changed some of my thoughts on the characters from when I read the book. But I'm going to break this down in some of the different characters. I suppose I should talk about Katniss first. Like I said above, I never liked Katniss. The movies have not changed that, and I'm not sorry to admit that. I certainly think Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress, but I've been wondering how much I've been enjoying her performance. In some ways, I was first thinking that this (and The Hunger Games) was one of her weaker performances on screen. But before you yell at me, let me explain. I saw Katniss to be very emotionless in the first half-ish part of the movie. I know a lot of you will argue with me about that, but that's how I saw it. Later on, I do think it got better, but there was still something that irked me. Jennifer Lawrence's performance didn't honestly help me at all. I still feel the same way about Katniss, and if anything, the movie reinforces how much I really don't like Katniss. I get why a lot of other people do like her, but I think the bad parts I see far outweigh the good that they see. And that's when I realized that maybe that made Jennifer Lawrence a good actress who has done a great job representing Katniss. What I mean is that for those who like/love Katniss, the movies have reinforced that, but for me, among the minority, it just reminds me of everything I don't like about Katniss. Lawrence's performance is good in that I guess she has done a great job playing who Katniss really is, for better or for worse.

Next, there's Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth. Let's start with Hemsworth first. I just...no. Sorry. Unlike many, I didn't mind Gale in the books (maybe because I never read past ~5 chapters of Mockingjay). But I don't think Hemsworth has captured the character's essence. Maybe part of it is the writing, but I think a large part of it is that he really seems unemotional, and that doesn't fit him, at least from how I interpreted Gale from the books. His performance has really made me dislike Gale. Who knows, maybe that's the point. Josh Hutcherson, on the other hand, I feel has done a great job. I don't even know why, but I was never fond of Peeta in the books, which is weird because in real life, I probably would like him. But I think Josh has done a great job of understanding and portraying Peeta, with a ton of emotions and expressions, and it's made me really like Peeta a whole lot more.

Haymitch and Effie are just as great in this movie, if not better (particularly Haymitch). Also, that mahogany reference? Perfect! Cinna is also still magnificent in this movie, and I'M SO SAD BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM LIKE WHY. (Just as a note, my favorites from the books were Haymitch, Cinna, Finnick, and possibly Johanna (I say possibly because I don't remember much from the books, so I don't know if I liked her).) Speaking of Finnick, MY GOSH SAM CLAFLIN. Yes, yes, yes, yes. He was so perfect as Finnick, and I just love him even more! And speaking of loving a character, Jo-freakin'-hanna! I fricking love that girl. Jena Malone, you are my favorite (not really but okay, maybe in this movie yes). Johanna was so beyond fantastic. I loved how snarky she was, and I loved her unique personality. You could definitely see the hatred she had towards the Capitol. And her attitude and personality and just everything just blew me away. I think Malone's performance was one of the best, if not the best, out of all of the actors.

On a last note about characters after that mini freak out, I don't know how I feel about how Mags was portrayed. I still loved her, and you could still understand her personality, but I didn't really like how she didn't talk. I know it was probably to get around the speech issue that I don't remember but was apparently in the books (you can see how much I didn't like the series in general...also it's been a long time).

Next, on to everything else. I loved the clock arena, and it was definitely freaky. I didn't really like that they didn't at least introduce all the tributes, which made it confusing when they showed the dead. I get that they weren't important, but I'm picky, and I couldn't stop thinking, "Did we ever see that person? Who is that?" I don't know if they were mentioned in the books, so maybe that's why, but still. But the arena was really well done in general. I also loved the Snow scenes, and the parts with his granddaughter were really well done. Caesar's scenes were hilarious as well.

I didn't really understand the huge jump in advanced technology. I get that it's the Quarter Quell, and I get that they had a much higher budget (the movie, I mean), but I don't know...it felt so weird to see such a vast difference in technology in, I believe, less than a year. I know it's not real and whatnot, and I do think that some of the technology did help to add to the movie and to make it look cooler, but I think the movie would have been just fine without that huge jump. Maybe I'm just being over picky.

The last nit-picky thing for me was the awkward scene cuts. It was definitely a lot better compared to The Hunger Games, but there were still a couple of times when this bothered me, particularly the one that cut abruptly from a dark scene to a light scene, making my eyes go WOAH NO.

In general, I really enjoyed this movie. As much as I'd hate to admit it, it's definitely one that I'd see again, and I think it was VERY well done. I would gladly freak out about the movie, as I have a bit already, just as long as you don't mention the book series to me (maybe Catching Fire is the exception but I don't really remember it) and push it in my face.

Basically, as a whole, I think the acting was phenomenal. Almost every actor brought something to their character, whether I personally enjoyed it or not. The pacing went well (if you don't mind that the arena lasted roughly 2 or 3 days and a lot of time was spent on everything before), and I loved the arena. The ending was perfect, and Katniss' facial expression? Awesome. Everyone really stepped it up a notch with this movie, and it really helped to make this epic. While I will never say that this is my favorite book-to-movie adaptation (despite its flaws, I'll always go with Harry Potter, and I'm not sorry about that. Argue with me all you want, but I will never let anything, especially THG, take over that spot. I'm stubborn that way), it's probably on my top ten list, as much as I'd hate to admit that.

Seriously, if you can, go watch it (if you haven't already). It will possibly almost blow your mind away by its greatness.