Although, in the JEFbot Universe, Coolhand and bot may have seen the original Twilight movie (see: JEFBOT.95,) in the Real World, both of us have managed to stay far away from it. Which is strange because we see almost everything. Especially every big, blockbuster franchise. But for some reason, Twilight is different. It holds no sway over us, nor does it try to. Hunger Games is different, however. Perhaps because of the violence? Or the Running Man meets American Idol meets Battle Royale meets Survivor concept? Or maybe because the romance aspect isn’t the primary thrust of the story? It’s unclear, but we did go and see the movie on opening weekend and enjoyed it, even though we felt a bit self-conscious being the only dudes in our age group amongst a sea of excited, tween girls cosplaying as Katniss or other characters from the books. I actually read the book and enjoyed it more than the movie, so am now thinking about reading the sequel, Catching Fire, but need to make a bigger dent in my reading pile before I get to it.
So what do you guys think? Am I missing out by not giving the Twilight movies a chance? Or have I dodged a bullet by not getting caught up in the hype?
First?
YEESSSSS!!!!!! hOoRaY!
I finally caught up to you!
Great comic strip!
I don’t understand how Twilight works either, Hunger Games too.
Although Hunger Games seems more unisex, seeing that love is not the focus.
agreed on Hunger Games seeming a bit more “guy-friendly” with less of an emphasis on the romance, ShadowShuffler. although, they do seem to be setting up the whole “love triangle” thing, so i’m wondering if that will become more of a focus of the sequel. hmmm…
and, yup: First! which means you just achieved the Shades of Firsting! wear them well: you never know when you’ll be running for your life in a forest, needing these Shades with built-in night vision to survive. (reference to HG intended.):
😎
yeah, i saw this once:
Remove the love triangle from the hunger games and you have a story about televised fights to the death.
Remove the love triangle from twilight and you get a story about a girl that moves to a town where it rains a lot.
that is the BEST synopsis I have ever heard!!!! well done!
good post, Lord Detrius. i agree with cid – that sums up the differences pretty succintly.
Brilliant!
why, thanks, Dave!
3rd! Woo Hoo!!
woo! you get the Non-Shades of Thirding, sis:
I’ll have to ask my mom about that, as I’ve neither read nor seen either series. She’s read the Twilight series, and is about 2/3 through the three Hunger Games books. So I’ll have to ask her which she liked better.
my sister Xin/Lin made me read the first two Twilight books, Insectoid, and i can say that, for me, the first Hunger Games novel was way better. but then, i’m not really the target audience for the Twilight series, so i’ll be interested to see what your mom thinks.
I don’t bash the Twilight books because I made a rule to never bash anything I haven’t read.
…twenty pages in before Parkering the book is not considering ‘read’.
(Parkering, from a quote from literary critic Dorothy Parker: “This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown across the room with great force.”)
Geoff, this is an excellent verb.
I’m a big Dorothy Parker fan and do the occasional book review–mind if I steal it?
Please feel free. All my best snark is in the public domain!
That quote made my day. But please do tell, was she talking about Twilight, or a different book?
She passed on long before Twilight was even someone’s idea. The original quote was about Benito Mussolini’s (yes, the Italian dictator) The Cardinal’s Mistress, which was originally published serially as Claudia Particella, l’amante del cardinale.
Totally nicking the “Parkering” thing. Especially since it also makes me think of Miss Parker from The Pretender, and we can always use a little more Parker in our lives. 😀
heheh. i’ll have to remember “Parkering,” Geoff! and in this case, i can Parker Twilight since i’ve read the first two books due to my sister lending them to me and saying i have to read them. this was before the movies had come out. needless to say – after reading those books, i never felt the need to subject myself to the movies.
Haha! I silently try and ignore those movies existence… Good strip though!.. Getting the shades is turning out to be quite difficult!
I’ll tell you one thing Zac, it sure hell is.
heheh. but you did it, ShadowShuffler!
thanks, Zac! glad you dug the strip. and keep trying for those Shades! 🙂
“(…W)e did go and see the movie on opening weekend and enjoyed it, even though we felt a bit self-conscious being the only dudes in our age group amongst a sea of excited, tween girls cosplaying as Katniss or other characters from the books.”
Okay, now replace “see the movie on opening weekend” with “watch the TV show on Saturday”, “excited tween girls” with “excited 5-to-11-year-old girls”, “Katniss or other characters” with “Pinkie Pie or another one of the Mane 6” and “the books” with “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, and you perfectly describe the Brony’s dilemma. You’re not the only one who suffers the consequences of his fandom…
Fluttershy is best pony
I disagree – Applejack is the bestest pony.
(I don’t really have a favorite, I’m just pointing out that there’s no BEST pony in MLP:FiM. But BRONIES represent!)
For the love of Celestia’s left hoof, why does everypony keep misspelling “Princess Luna”?!
ha! don’t tell anyone else, reynard61, but i just started watching that show on Netflix cuz i was tired of friends telling me that i had to watch it. i’m only about four or five episodes in (i think the last one i saw was where Applejack learns to accept her friends’ help harvesting the apples) and while i’m not completely hooked yet, i can see the potential for being hooked soon. i take it things get even better in later episodes?
Oh Yes! *SO* Yes!!! If you really want to get into it, the episodes most recommended for non-Bronies (all from Season 1) are “Dragonshy”, “The Cutie Mark Chronicles”, and “Winter Wrap-Up”. My personal favorites (from Seasons 1 & 2) are “Best Night Ever” (mainly for the song “At The Gala”), “Luna Eclipsed” (Princess Luna is my favorite character — and best Pony!), and “A Friend in Deed”. (Pinkie Pie’s song “Smile! Smile! Smile!” is a real showstopper!)
“Welcome to The Herd!” – standard Brony greeting.
Oops! That’s me! I forgot to sign in…
thanks for the tips (and “herd” welcome), reynard61! being a completionist, i’ll have to watch them all in order, but i’ll keep a lookout for those particular episodes. i still don’t have a favorite pony (yet) but luna is definitely one of the coolest looking. applejack’s probably my fave at this point cuz she’s a little bit country, and so am i. heheh.
I’ve never seen the Twilight movies, but I did read the books. And they’re not that bad really. The Hunger Games series was much better though, and I look forward to the next movies in the trilogy.
Just for the record I’m fairly easy to entertain, so unless I say that I really like a series(Harry Potter) or hate a series(InVinible) then it ‘s best not to take my opinion at face value.
hey, how’d i miss your comment, 52pickup? hmm. anyway, we are agreed: i went through the first Hunger Games book in a few sittings. i believe the first Twilight book took me over a month to read.
You have honestly not missed out on it. Twilight is just bad, whether it is the movies or the books. I found the books to be badly written or at least written for 12 – 16 year olds, like a bad fanfic. The movies, I seen the first one. It was bad. Just not well done. I fell asleep watching it. It’s target audience is teenagers. The thought of having to sit through the last film with the girlfriend makes me think that it’ll be like watching an episode of Teen Mom or whatever on MTV so I’m bringing a pillow so I can sleep comfortably.
Bad fanfic it is. I could find any number of versions of Twilight and that other one–something about shades of grey, it just came out, some middle-class middle-aged women like to have kinky sex and somehow this is news–online, for free. In fact, I quit reading the Twilight series not far into the first book because it was too much like assorted novel-length fics in which, oh, Harry and Hermione and Draco, or whoever, are made to be very pretty and vaguely dangerous and extremely possessive, and made to focus exclusively on each other, and everything else in the fictional setting is subordinate to the Huge Drama of who is going to end up bumping uglies with whom. For this I should pay $21.50?
Now, The Hunger Games has more to it than that. It’s very easy to find bad sham-Gothic romances online for free. It is not so easy to find young adult dystopian fiction with sympathetic characters who know exactly how screwed they are (no Mary Sues and Gary Stus here) and a guardedly happy ending. It helps that Suzanne Collins, unlike Stephanie Meyer, is not a sloppy writer. (I have nothing against amateurs. These days most of the new fiction I read is by amateurs. But an amateur does what she does for the love of her hobby and strives to do it well. Meyer writes more like a teenybopper posting chappies for squees.)
everywhere i turn, that 50 Shades of Grey book keeps popping up, Jenny Islander! it’s such an phenomenon that, while i’m kinda curious about it, i’m definitely not picking that one up. certainly sounds like it wasn’t written for my demographic at all. but it is pretty crazy that it’s the hottest book out right now and it started life as a Twilight fanfic. interesting world we’re living in right now.
and you’re right – there’s not a whole lot of YA dystopian fiction with good characters out there right now. which is why i probably didn’t feel as apprehensive about reading that first novel in the series.
Looked up the plot–actually they’re a pair of 20somethings. And but so anyway, the kink, as I suspected, has been badly written, at least according to the reviewer. It’s a psychological problem when it’s time for the man to be deeply wounded and it’s just unfamiliar sex when it’s time for hotcha hotcha. I’m not into that particular scene myself, but ISTM that this would annoy anybody whose personal preference was used as a cheap plot device.
Wait wait WAIT, it’s a fic with the serial numbers filed off? A Twilight fic?
Ew.
exactly, Jenny! the “serial numbers” weren’t even filed off for the longest time, until the ebook became popular and the author decided to market it. 🙂
that’s what i’ve heard, Liam – that the first movie is bad (but that they get better!) i just can’t get myself to sit down and watch ’em, even though i’m curious as to why the movies keep breaking all these box office records! *sigh* well, good to know you don’t think i’m missing out on anything.
I wondered why myself but I remember that the Twilight series does have a lot of fans of the book series, not to mention the boyfriends, husbands, girlfriends and wives that get dragged along to them as well.
I read Twilight and give thanks that I outgrew the demographic before I bought into the idea that this kind of relationship is romantic.
Strip away the vampirism–which I guess could be seen as an extenuating circumstance, though that defense didn’t work very well for Lucy Westenra–and what do you have? You have material for a restraining order and a call to the domestic abuse hotline, that’s what you have.
This story still doesn’t touch The Giving Tree for sheer co-dependency, but it also isn’t my definition of healthy.
Whoops, sorry–where’d this soapbox come from?
we’re in complete agreement, Sarah W. even though i knew i wasn’t the target audience for Twilight, i just couldn’t help but think of Bella and Edward as the least interesting and romantic characters i’ve ever seen put to print. my hope is that the actors playing them in the movies would make the characters come to some sort of life, but that hope doesn’t provide enough motivation to actually go and watch these films.
You definitely dodged a terrible, terrible bullet. I am embarrassed to say I read the books, but I only saw the first movie. The story (at least parts of it) were pretty good, but the writing and the characters were so annoying, I can’t believe I actually made it all the way through them. Jacob was the only character that I didn’t want to smack on a regular basis (and this was pre- Hot Jacob in the movies).
Hunger Games (the book – I haven’t seen the movie) was much better. I just started Catching Fire a few days ago. I kept trying to find it used or at the library, but no dice. I finally gave up and got it at Sam’s Club.
I love the Twilight/Hunger Games parallel you draw here. I didn’t notice the superficial similarities. 🙂
I have to add that Robert Pattinson lost any respect I had for him as Cedric when I saw a Twilight interview with him. He is so dim witted, it’s amazing he can tie his own shoes. 😛
Remember that as Cedric he had a dozen or so lines and died in a non dramatic way, that is to say he didn’t get a death scene, he was just struck dead before even he knew it and literally didn’t even get to see it coming and react to it… he never proved he could ACT before Twilight, just that he was pretty.
i was so disappointed at how that death scene was handled, Alechsa! that could have been such a powerful moment in the Potter movies, and instead we’re just kind of rushed along into the next scene instead of letting the shock and emotions of Cedric’s death play out.
i don’t think i’ve ever actually heard the guy speak or do an interview, Shanna. looks like i’ll try and stay away from that, too.
happy to hear i’ve dodged such a horrible bullet, Shanna! the only thing that makes me kinda (but not really) want to see the final movie is that i’ve heard the final book goes totally bonkers when compared with the previous ones, and i kinda wanna see what people are talking about. but, y’know, i could probably just read the wikipedia synopsis of the novel and be satisfied. 🙂
Gooooooood Morning BOTiverse!!!!
So yeah, a former friend GUSHED about the twilight series! You havvvvve to read it she said. She lent me the first book. After the first chapter, I wanted to punch Bella in the face….hard….with the rings. I told her to take this teen angst crap outta my house.
Fast forward to the movies, People are losing their minds. Hubby rents it when it comes out on video. I refuse to watch, hubby gives it a chance. 2 hours later he comes into where I am and simply says…WTF?!
Dodged a bullet there I’d say exhaulted one.
Let me sum up the first chapter of the first book. No one loves me, I’m a teenager, No one understands. Have to go live with my dad, I’m the new kid, depressing music. Annnnnnnd Scene!
morning, Pixie!
ha! that’s exactly how i felt reading that first book – i wanted to scream at Bella to “just do something!!!” the entire time. i can barely remember any of the story other than Bella just hanging out in her room, just being sad and doing nothing. ugh. is the movie that way? from your husband’s response, i think that’s a yes. heheh.
What a coincidence you should mention “Hunger Games” and “Twilight” in the same comic. I’m working on yet another shirt design that adds a vampire element to “The Hunger Games” and calls it “The Thirst Games”. I’m hoping to have this shirt done before I attend Balticon.
hope that shirt sells well, Rainey! and that’s a funny thing about the Hunger Games movie – they took out all the “hunger” from the books! Bella was pretty much fine with food and water as soon as the games started in the film.
Okay, here’s my take –
I read the Twilight series because I knew someone who kept telling me they never got a fair review because of all the negative press. I put aside my World of Darkness-slash-horror ideas about vampires and was determined to be non-biased. I came to one conclusion –
The reason why Twilight is so addicting to some people is because it’s written to be sold to a certain demographic. The main character – Bella – is so generic that anyone could imagine themselves in her shoes. Well, anyone who is so desperate for romance could put themselves in her shoes. Edward is the outwardly perfect man, Jacob is the dangerous but hunky one-night stand. The villains are easy to hate, because they are like the cranky bullies from high school. The obstacles are low self-esteem and a convoluted backstory.
I think it was intentionally created to appeal to girls that were treated badly in school, who still have self esteem issues and are desperate for the perfect, romantic relationship. There’s some adversity, but it’s largely focused on Bella – or the reader by substitution – overcoming odds and having hunky men fawn all over her. It’s a horrible take on vampires – it assumes that the undead have nothing better to do than hang out and kill each other over menial grudges.
The Hunger Games trilogy is a strange version of Brave New World and Battle Royale and 1984. Made to be relatable and readable by younger people. It’s almost a political statement. The only problem I have is that the resistance is strangely … glamorous. My friend calls it a sparkly revolution. I’m not sure if that’s because of the way it’s written or the fact it’s primary target group is people between 15 and 24.
I agreed with everything you had to say up until you said it was for girls who were mistreated in school. Bella’s classmates idolized her, and she shunned them all and even spent a “date” with one hanging all over Jacob and trashing him behind his back. It’s more for girls that feel like nobody “gets them,” like they’re some kind of outcast when really it’s because they shut everyone out.
Other than that, pretty spot on. Bella’s a character template and a Mary Sue to the max. Makes it easy to relate to her, because readers can imagine her being just like them.
What I meant is that it’s what girls who were mistreated in school wish they were. They want to be Bella, so they are glad to say, “Hey, here’s a character that I can live my ideal through.” It allows girls who were largely not special feel special.
Not that she was abused, but that she’s what abused girls want to be. Sort of an outcast while being the pseudo popular new girl etc etc.
Fair enough. Most of the girls I’ve known who are hardcore Twilight fans are the sort who feel like they were mistreated or just “didn’t belong” with their peers, when really they were just bitchy.
i was forced to read the first couple books before the movies came out, McClaud, so was able to read them objectively before all the movie hype, and can still say i was unimpressed. i wasn’t even sure how they would make a movie out of that first book since it was so boring and not much happened in it. the way Bella just sulks the entire time sounded like it’d be as much torture (if not more) to watch than to read.
“sparkly” revolution!? ha! anything like sparkly vampires? i look forward to reading Catching Fire now.
More like … the revolution seems a bit dressed up. Like I expect revolutionaries to be somewhat – I’m not sure how to say it – rugged? More violent? More something more. In Catching Fire it’s like, “Yay, we’re the revolutionaries now have some tea.”
ha! i hope these “delicate” revolutionaries are represented in the next movies, McClaud. 😉
I mean, they still use violence to get their way, but they aren’t … freedom fighters in the sense that you’d expect. I really can’t say much without spoiling the books.
Just know that I was like, “Really?” near the end of Mockingjay. All the revolution, all the change promised … there are no real “good guys” in this story.
I read Twilight as they came out when I was in high school (before it exploded before the 4th one came out) I enjoyed them but I will never admit that in public. They’re a time waster but not fantastic fiction by any measure. I never read the Hunger Games even though it was suggested to me by my librarian when I was in high school, it just didn’t appeal to me. I have them as pdfs on my computer but still haven’t gotten around to reading them. And part of me is paranoid that people will accuse me of reading them because they’re a movie franchise now not out of my own free will. Its the same way I feel about the Vampire Diaries now that it’s a TV show. idk I’m weird that way
my sister Linda/Xinda loved the Twilight books when they came out, dj, so there must be something in there that people dig, so i don’t blame you for liking ’em, but i just can’t relate. and i’m the exact opposite – if i hear some book’s being made into a film i have to read it immediately, so i can ingest the pure version before seeing the big screen version. not sure why i do this, but it’s been a habit ever since i was a kid.
I tend to avoid reading the book first if I know I am going to watch the movie version, at least until I do watch it. It seems that any time I read the book first I find myself pointing out and worrying over differences (even if it was good.). While if I read the book after I can still stand to watch the movie later on.
i just like getting a mental picture of how the story should be before i’m influenced by all the sets, actors and fx, Zolen. and since i quibble over differences whether i read the book before or after, in my case, it doesn’t matter.
Yep, you’re right, Bot. For some reason, Twilight never grabbed any hold of us You’re forgetting I’m not totally Twilight-free, however, as I did watch the second one while trapped on a trans-atlantic flight. I’ve never actually walked out on a movie, but I came really close on this one…even though I was cruising at 30,000 feet! As you said though, throw some Running Man and Survivor together, add some heavy action and violence, and a girl with a bow and arrow, and sit eems to make the whole difference. Well, gotta go. Late for my archery class! 🙂
i think the “action and violence” is exactly what got us hooked, SL! the marketers were smart in emphasizing that stuff over the romance, and since the story itself doesn’t emphasize the romance either (not yet, anyway), it makes sense that this one’s attracting a bigger demo.
Hunger Games was AWESOMESAUCE (sequel next year)! Never read Twilight. Alina says it’s a twisted rape-fantasy (http://www.mooseheadstew.com/2009/11/24/). I think Sparkly vampires are stupid. You did dodge a bullet on this one. My brother actually read the series (what was he thinking) and said Breaking Dawn was a complete WTF?! moment.
i keep hearing about Breaking Dawn being a total WTF in the series, KB. which only makes me want to read it more. 🙂
Yeeeeeaaaaaahhh…from what I’ve read on Wikipedia and heard from other sources, it’s CREEPY! I’d give you spoilers, but I’ll leave you to search and/or watch for yourself. You’ll see what I’m talking about if you pay close attention.
They aren’t really worth seeing, unless you watch the Rifftrax versions of them, which is pretty much the same format and the same people as the old MST3K. It’s pretty hilarious. =)
ya know, i think Rifftrax may be the way to go, Twigus Maximus! thanks for reminding me of this. if i’m going to subject myself to the torture of the movies, at least i’ll get some laughs out of it. 🙂
My wife enjoyed the Twilight books, but even she admitted they haven’t aged well. Seems like the more she reads other stuff, the more underwhelmed she is by Meyer’s series. Also, I read excerpts that she showed me — so I could have some reference point when she talked about characters other than Bella, Edward, and Jacob — and the writing style was painfully bland and uninspired. I don’t even care about all that whiny “Durr, he’s not a vampire!”
As for Hunger Games, I hadn’t even heard of it before this movie, but I still wanna see it. Looks more like a guy movie than a teen fantasy chick flick.
Hunger Games – the book and the movie – was pretty good, E. A., and i’d recommend checking either one out. you should get your wife to read the books and see what she thinks! 🙂
My librarian does not even consider “Twilight” to be a book. She considers it more usefull as toilet paper. I have to agree with her. The hunger games however, while lacking in litera content it does have a powerfully storyline. I think it is a great gateway into the world of books. I’ve read the whole series and although it is not written to the high standards I have, and ignoring the fact that the second book was more about the Peeta Katniss love story, I think (suffering) reading the rest would be worth your time.
I like your librarian.
That’s all. Do carry on.
glad you can recommend the rest of the Hunger Games books, Some random kid. i’ve been thinking about reading Catching Fire recently, but want to read a couple other things before i get back to that story. maybe in a month or so.
and i agree with Tiana – your Librarian sounds awesome. 🙂
I feel the same way about Harry Potter books. They are good gateway to books for kids, although they get weaker as the series drags on. Eventually, you move on to better books.
I kinda wish that Hunger Games stayed strong throughout the whole series. It doesn’t plunge into “OMG AWFUL” territory like Twilight does, but it could have been better.
To be honest the only book I enjoyed of the Hunger Games was the first, it felt more in the middle, with each book it got more and more like a romance novel trying to pretend like it’s a exciting adventure.
i’ve heard that criticism, Zolen – that it gets worse with each subsequent book. i’ve also heard that the second one’s the best, then the first, then the last. guess i’ll have to read ’em all so i can decide for myself. 🙂
twilight appeals to a very specific target and marketing range. you do not fall in that range. i think youre good pal.
now hunger games… thats something i dont get… basically running man.
but i kind of pride myself on not caring about “targets” and “demos,” steve! i can like a so-called “chick flick” as much as any high school prom queen, but something about Twilight just turns me off. i think it’s because i found Bella in the books to be so infuriatingly passive and boring.
and while The Hunger Games does share some similarities with Running Man it’s got some other cool stuff in there. i’d recommend it, even if you just wait to see it on cable or streaming.
First of all there’s no appeal to the Twilight Saga what so ever. Jacob looks like a shaved llama and Edward always reminds me of a pale frankenstein. Second, The Hunger Games books are SOO much better. I was disapointed with the lack of blood. 😐 It should’ve been more violent, Effie is my favorite though. <3 Did you see that trailer of the next Twilight movie? I couldn't help but burst into laughter when she was stalking that deer. I do love how the poster looks though, great job. (:
glad to hear you like the Hunger Games books, Nat! do you still have ’em? if so, can i borrow the second and third ones?
and i hear ya about parts of the movie being disappointing. my biggest complaint was the *spoiler* dogs at the end. i liked how in the book they were animal/human-contestant hybrids, but in the movie they were just conjured out of thin air. weird. *end spoiler*
happy you liked the poster!
Okay, I’ll go through and read the other comments later, kinda trying to have a baby right now.
LOVE the strip 😀
As for twilight: DON’T GO SEE IT!!! ….I will be watching part 2 just to finish it up. I did read all the books. Liked the books, HATE the movies. But I can’t NOT watch the last one… :/ Edward is horrid (I’m not a fan of the actor anyways) and Kristin Stewart SUCKS as Bella–in the books, she has SO much more expressions and actually SHOWS ANGER. *eyeroll* So, yeah… *sigh* Don’t go see it. Unless you want to meet a girl lol
make that and EASY girl. Sorry. Or I”m sure there’ll be someone else in the theater that needs someone else to sit with to make fun of the movie with…
thanks for lovin’ the strip, Ky! and yes, “trying to have a baby” is probably the best excuse for anything. heheh.
okay, looks like the overwhelming vote is that i needn’t see the movies! (unless via Rifftrax or with friends to make fun of it with.) and i’m sad to hear Kristen Stewart sucks – i’ve liked her in a bunch of other movies and am looking forward to her in that dark snow white movie coming out.
Hey! So glad I rediscovered and (re)read the entirety of this strip. RE: the “Twilight” saga, both print and filmic: I haven’t read any of the books largely because I have other things in my queue that I’d rather read or re-read; it helps that I get the “so not my demographic” vibe from them. Ditto the movie(s), perhaps even more so. I heard about and saw a clip of the “breaking headboard” scene (one chat-show hostess gushing “so romantic!” about same) and was even more convinced this/these movies contained _nothing_ I’d like. _The Hunger Games_, however, I’d gladly give the time of day to (I liked the _Battle Royale_ manga series, as grisly as it was). But it’s been a few weeks since THG opened and I’ve yet to read any of the books or see the movie, which is how things play out for me lately, media-consumption-wise. Full disclosure here? I’m (re)reading Neal Stephenson, would gladly read some more James Morrow soon…and Star Wars Day and Towel Day are coming up! It’s always time to re-watch Episode IV or re-read _The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_!
i’m super happy you rediscovered the strip as well, Wicked Good Grrrl!
i haven’t read the entire manga of Battle Royale but i’m a fan of the film. i just got the blu-ray set with the director’s cut and Battle Royale II (which i’ve never seen before) so i’m excited to check that out.
and, agreed: always happy to revisit Episode IV (and V!!!) and/or reread THGttG! 🙂
Noooo Jef don’t do it, those films sucks souls and spits out mindless zombies
ha! i’ll be sure to put your vote in the “DO NOT SEE!” ballot box, Jiro Maeda.
Hey, ‘Bot, did you know that the navigation buttons on the main page are messed up? Seems like they’ve been that way for a while; thought you should know.
…
Also, to throw my two cents in, I read the Twilight books. I liked them rather a lot, actually, aside from the sappy, sappy, mushy, angsty parts. There still was a fair bit of book left after that was removed from consideration, yes. (As a note, though, I think I liked “The Host” more – it was very engrossing).
It was really kinda funny – I read all the books in a week, and then contracted some horrible disease (but not too horrible), so I slept for 3 days with a high fever and kinda hallucinated that I was Bella. I was all like, “What gives? I thought I was supposed to be all strong and fast now!” It was also weird in retrospect, as I’m a guy.
…Did I already tell this story here? I’m getting old or something.
thanks for the heads up, Erhannis; i’ve known about the messed up navigation buttons (they only occur on the home page), but haven’t had time to fix ’em. i’m hoping when i do a site revamp – whenever that happens – it’ll fix the bad code.
i just saw a trailer for The Host! glad to hear you liked that one better. even though the trailer didn’t really show much, it grabbed my interest more than the Twilight stuff.
and i’ve totally done the “hallucination” thing after some marathon reading. most recently, it happened after reading like, 30 Invincible comics in a row. not fun to have crazy visions from that after the Viltrumite War story arc, let me tell ya. 🙂
Hunger Games book is good and I enjoyed it much more than the rest of the series. Havent seen the movie yet.
The less said about Twilight the better. I only criticize what I read/play/see so I have read the books. The author of the books has a knack to create characters that are beliveable in their setting, even horrible one like twilight, what is quite the accomplishment for any author. But books can let you know the characters through their thought processes and movies lack this dimension , what coupled with the non-acting of the cast leaves a terrible terrible movie. I have only seen first movie and while I read 4 books and they were bareable I didnt enjoy any of it.
that seems to be what i’m hearing most about The Hunger Games, Maryz – that the first book is the best one. that’s kinda disappointing. i still want to read the rest of them, though.
also, i’ve heard the first Twilight movie is the worst of the bunch, so if you do decide to check out the others, i’ve heard it only gets better (but not by much. heheh.)
I usually read all the comments on your posts, ‘bot, but you did something a little too big. Now my eyes hurt. So does my head. Maybe it’s my trip from yesterday. I was up from 4am to 12am. Plus this.
i’m kinda surprised (and delighted!) at the amount of response this one got, myself, ShadowShuffler! didn’t think i’d be able to respond to all the comments, but i’m almost through. *whew!* 🙂
As someone who tends to read whatever books are trending at the moment, I’ve read all the Twilight books and the Hunger Games books. Keeping in mind that I’m *that* person who can’t stand the main character of Harry Potter (I love a ton of the side characters, but want Harry to die the death of a thousand pinprick), here’s my take:
Twilight: I read these books because my sister was way into them and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was in my very early twenties, and was the target audience: lonely, single and tending toward the fantasy side of life. I still found myself Parkering it a few times, swearing about the horrible vampires and the lack of a personality in Bella. The writing itself is rather good, to damn it with faint praise; the books were light, fluffy, and a quick read. So unlike Eragon (aka Star Wars with dragons published by an evil homeschooler who dragged the rest of us down with him), I didn’t suffer for reading them. I even read them again to make sure why I hated the characters. In a way, I almost feel bad for hating the books, because the writing was actually enjoyable. If only she’d made Bella have a personality that wasn’t a Mary Sue and had a backbone to stand up against her abuser/co-dependent crap vampire boyfriend.
Hunger Games: Holycrapsogood! I was handed the first one by a friend who knows how much I love the Dresden Files and told I’d enjoy this series as well. The first one is, hands-down, the best. The other two were enjoyable, but never quite touched the visceral reaction Hunger Games got from me. And yes, the love triangle becomes important later, but not as important as the resistance, which was nice. There was a lovely balance between the romance, Katniss’s cool-headed nature, and the overwhelming circumstances around them. I rarely like first-person-present-tense; Hunger Games was the exception for me.
So yeah, there’s my $1.50, for what it’s worth. 😉 You dodged a hell of a bullet with the Twilight books and movies. I only saw the first movie and swore to never do that to myself again; like the Eragon movie, I came out saying “The book sucked, but no book deserves a movie like that”. I haven’t seen the Hunger Games movie yet; that’s a priority as soon as I have something like free time.
HA! i hear ya, T! as much as i love the Potter books and movies, i’ve been cooking up a JEFbot strip that i’ll have to write and draw sometime based on how undramatic a character is if his title is “the boy who lived.” 🙂
Twilight: exactly how i felt about Bella while reading the first two books. (i didn’t make it to the third.) her character is so frustrating to read!
Eragon: again, we’re in total agreement. i read this one when i heard they were making a movie out of it and had to nearly flog myself to finish it, in the hopes that it would get better by the end. nope.
Hunger Games: you’re the third BOTista that liked the first one the most. guess i should temper my expectations before reading the next books in the series.
well, i didn’t quite dodge the Twilight book bullet since my sister Xin/Lin made me read the first two! but at least i haven’t had to endure the movies yet. and, yeah – i should’ve watched the Eragon movie before i read the book, as i wouldn’t have even bothered to hunt down the source material after seeing that dreck.
i think i figured it out cel is an alien and i have facts to prove it.
Where the fo did this come from? No offense. It’s just, we were all talkin’ ’bout Twilight and The Hunger Games, and you go “cel is an alien”.
If you are offended I’m sorry. Just pointing out.
no i m not offended just trying to see if anyone else came to that conclusion.
you’ll just have to wait and see, prince of darkness! she’s got a big storyline coming up, which just might provide some answers… 🙂
Okay, I will admit, I highly dislike the Twilight series, but love The Hunger Games. I guess Katniss is much more interesting than Bella to me.
for me as well, GG. i didn’t actively cringe while reading about Katniss, while the same can’t be said while reading about Bella.
You should read the books. I read started reading the trilogy back when The Hunger Games came out in 2008. I especially reccomend book three, Mockingjay. It is easily the best of the three. Glad to know you like the series though.
i read the first book, Marcus, enjoyed it, and now looking forward to reading the rest. seems the consensus among BOTreaders so far has been that the first book is the best, so i’m happy to read a contrary opinion! will definitely have to read ’em all and decide for myself.
You dodged a bullet with the Twilight series. The books aren’t necessarily bad, but they’re most definitely geared towards the tween girls, and unlike The Hunger Games or Harry Potter or most other popular young adult series, the writing and the plot just don’t stand on their own outside the niche. As for the movies…well, they aren’t my thing, but I do have several friends who dragged me to the theaters to see the shirtless scenes. (I’m trying not to be flame-y. I hope it’s working…I cut out about half of what I wanted to say, heh)
Hunger Games, though…I think it’s pretty fair to say that I’m in love with that series. On one knee, ring out, tears of joy ready, the whole shebang. 😉
it’s good to hear i dodged a bullet by not seeing the Twilight films, RaeofSunshine. when i posted the strip i was thinking that i might see them someday, but after reading all the advice here in the comments, i think i’m just going to skip ’em.
and not being “flame-y” is always appreciated! that you BOTreaders are such a respectful, fun group is what makes me love reading what y’all have to say. 😀
Oh right, that’s what the hunger games is all about, just ignore everything else it’s about, such as the — oh for f*ck’s sakes, I’ve become one of THEM.
I’m so sorry, so very sorry.
i think it’s best to leave the socio-critical analysis of The Hunger Games out of this particular discussion, John, since that would just open a whole other can of worms. and that you were able to resist means you aren’t “one of THEM” just yet! 🙂
btw the hunger games is not an original its a knock off of a foreign film made like years ago i can’t remember the name but its posted on 9gag.com
and the perfect ending to twilight would be either blade or sam and dean winchester killing the f-ers
i’d go see a Blade vs. Twilight movie.
was it Battle Royale, prince of darkness? i love that movie, and while superficially they’re similar (kids killing each other in a game controlled by the government) the themes they’re working with are quite different. but both are good on their own merits!
yeah that’s the movie i have never seen it but it looked good
Everything is inspired by everything, original exist, its just rare to avoid delving very close to another story, after thousands of years and many, many people being inspired by similar things. There sadly are only so many ideas in the world.
true dat, Z.
Blargh i hate the movies these days i jus wait for the dvd or jump on netflix
i don’t even wait for that i just download it
Ya but im not compy savy idk how to do all that
i don’t blame you, MrSnow – the astonishing rate at which movies head out of the theater these days makes it easy to catch at home without much wait time.
I haven’t gotten to read the Hunger Games yet, and I’m averse to seeing the movie because Holly wood butchured Percy Jackson and the Olympians. But the dang thing is always checked out of the library.
yeah, i don’t understand how they got Percy Jackson so wrong, Anime fan! i mean, they got Chris Columbus, the director of the first two Potter films to do it, so you’d think it would’ve turned out way better.
ATTENTION BOTIVERSE!!!!!!
WE have a BOTling, We Have a BOTLING!
So, our very own Kypress and her family (including Mr. Kypress and the TotBOT Kypress) welcomed a Mancub BOTling yesterday. Please join me in saying CONGRATS to the Kypress Familia!
We now return you to your regularly scheduled comments!
WHA!!!? WOO-HOO!!! BIG CONGRATS to Kypress and family! and an even BIGGER WELCOME to the new BOTling! 😀
thanks for passing this along, Pixie! i’ll be checking facebook as soon as i can.
I’m the last person you should ask about whether a movie is worth watching or not (one of my favorite sayings is “Nothing like a good bad movie!”), but if you want to make sure that you enjoy watching the Twilight movies, get the RiffTrax audio to go along with it.
what i like about the hunger games, at least the books, is that they constantly say and repeat how much she dosent love him and its all just a show for the moronic crowed.