The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Official Trailer!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens in theaters November 22nd, 2013!

 

Movie Review: Flipped

TITLE: Flipped

DIRECTOR: Rob Reiner

REVIEWED BY: JPL TeenLink

BRIEF SUMMARY: When second-graders Bryce and Juli first meet, Juli knows it’s love. Bryce isn’t so sure. In the days and years ahead, Bryce does all he can to keep his wannabe girlfriend at arm’s length -- and the smart, independent-minded Juli continues to give him the benefit of the doubt. This tender coming-of-age romantic comedy from director Rob Reiner takes the pair from grade school to junior high, through triumph and disaster, family drama and first love, as they make discoveries that will define who they are -- and who they are to each other.

WHY I PICKED IT UP: My sister recommended this movie to me.

WHY I FINISHED IT: The movie was very well-acted and directed, and the characters and story pulled you in. It was a very sweet movie, suitable for the family (with a few warnings).

WHO I'D GIVE IT TO: Anyone who likes dramas, love stories, or stories about young people. Also, anyone who was young in the 1960s (although the book is set in modern times, the movie is set during that time period).

ADDITIONAL NOTES: This movie is based on the novel Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Rated PG for language and some thematic material, some of the language may push the rating towards PG-13. If your family is easily offended by such language, proceed with caution.

While the library does own the book, we do not have the DVD in our collection.

See you at the library!

Ranker's Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novels

While looking for information on upcoming films based on YA novels, I came across this list from Ranker.com of "Best Film Adaptations of Young Adult Novels".  How do their rankings stack up? Do you agree?  Disagree?

[This is a] List of best movies based on young adult literature. These films were all inspired by or adapted directly from novels written for a young adult or teenage audience. Many of these books are widely regarded as "classic children's literature" that has been popular and even assigned to students in schools for decades. Others - such as recent hit films like "The Hunger Games" and the "Harry Potter" series - are based on newer works that have become important cultural phenomena in the past few decades. Some of the most popular and beloved of recent Hollywood filmmaking, in particular, originated in stories from young adult books.

The massive success of "The Hunger Games" - which scored one of the highest opening weekend totals in US box office history - has inspired other studios and filmmakers to look to young adult literature for ideas, and a number of other YA books are already set to be adapted in the coming years. (For example, Orson Scott Card's sci-fi thriller "Ender's Game" has long been considered for a big-budget film version.) A few young adult book adaptations came out to considerably less fanfare, such as the first release from the ongoing "Percy Jackson" series - "The Lightning Thief" - but these are widely seen as exceptions rather than the rule.

This list compiles the best films ever made based on books for young adults. Be sure to vote for your favorites and move them up the list, and if your favorite movie based on a book for tweens or teens has been left off, be sure to add it at the bottom of the page.

-- http://www.ranker.com/list/best-film-adaptations-of-young-adult-novels/randolph

If you like lists like this, don't miss our previous blog entry about Flavorwire's 10 YA Novel to Film Adapatations That Kept Their Edge.

10 YA Novel to Film Adaptations That Kept Their Edge

Flavorwire has listed its 10 YA Novel to Film Adaptations That Kept Their Edge.

Do you agree? Disagree? Have any to add?  

We have many of these books in our collection already.  If we don't have the book you want, ask at the desk about Interlibrary Loan, or submit a request through the Interlibrary Loan link at the bottom of our main Website at http://www.jacksonvillelibrary.com. (It's the box labeled "Search the Texas Group Catalog".)


See you at the library!

Jennifer Lawrence cast as Katniss in HUNGER GAMES...

After much speculation on the 'Net, Jennifer Lawrence has officially been cast as Katniss Everdeen in the upcoming film based on Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series.

An MTV article covering the story can be found here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1660152/jennifer-lawrence-hunger-games.jhtml

So, what's your opinion? If Jennifer hadn't gotten the part, who would you have picked? What about the other characters? Peeta? Rue?

See you at the library!

The Hunger Games cometh...

From today's Shelf Awareness:

Lionsgate has set a March 23, 2012 release date for The Hunger Games, director Gary Ross's adaptation of the first novel in the trilogy by Suzanne Collins. A cast has not yet been named. Variety reported that Lionsgate "acquired the feature rights in 2009 and set the project up with Nina Jacobson at her Color Force banner with Collins adapting her own novel."

The Library owns the entire Hunger Games series. You can find them or place reserves here: The Hunger Games series in the JPL online catalog.

To find out more about the series and author Suzanne Collins, visit The Official Hunger Games Website at Scholastic.com.

See you at the Library!

Movie Review: Bandslam

Will Burton knows about music. A LOT about music. Will doesn't just know the Top 40 chart -- if fact, he doesn't really care much about the current Top 40. He cares about where the current Top 40 music came from; the original artists who took Reggae music and created Ska so Gwen Stefani and No Doubt can have their moment in the sun today.

But Will's a loner -- a bullied kid who spends his days writing e-mails to David Bowie. When Will's mother gets a new job in another state, it gives him the opportunity for a new beginning, a chance to become the person he's always dreamed of being but never had the chance.

At his new school, he hears about something called "Bandslam" -- a local music competition that was almost won the previous year by school band "Glory Dogs". How big is it? "Texas high school football big," says Sa5m, the girl he's been paired with for a class project (the "5", she tells him, is silent). "The winner gets a recording contract." Sa5m is also a loner, but together they form a bond of friendship that slowly brings them both out of their shells and leads to something more.

Will is also befriended by Charlotte, the former head cheerleader who is starting a band to rival the Glory Dogs. Charlotte gives Will a chance to put his vast musical knowledge into practice, offering him the chance to manage her band. Will takes to the challenge, bringing in extra musicians, changing the group's sound, focus, and even their name; giving the group a good chance at not just beating Glory Dogs, but winning the whole thing.

Just as things seem to be going perfectly, problems surface: by spending so much time on the band, Will may have ruined his burgeoning relationship with Sa5m. His past begins to catch up with him. Charlotte, too, has her own problems to deal with, and it all comes to a head at the Bandslam competition.

This is a wonderful film, filled with great music, drama, comedy, romance, and enough plot twists to keep you interested. More importantly, for me, it shows a real respect for music. You'll be heading online to Allmusic.com to find out about the groups and people mentioned by Will that you might not have heard of, but who were essential for bringing music to where it is today, and where it will head in the future.

Starring Gaelen Connell, Vanessa Ann Hudgens, Alyson Michalka, Lisa Kudrow, and Scott Porter. Rated PG for thematic elements, but certainly not a problem for most teenagers.

This movie is not currently available from the library, but is available for rental from most video stores.

EDIT: This movie is now available to check out from the library Circulation Desk. Please remember that you have to be 18 or older to check out items from the video collection.

TWILIGHT time has changed....

In response to the release date change for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the release date for Twilight has been moved forward from December 12th to November 21st.

The full story is available here.

Keep those calendars handy -- this is starting to get confusing...

See you at the Library!

"Harry Potter" movie pushed back....

According to this article, the November 2008 release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been pushed back until Summer 2009.

The new release date is set for July 17, 2009, "to bolster [the studio's] release schedule for the lucrative summer moviegoing season."

The two-part production of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will proceed as planned, with the first part scheduled to be released in November 2010.

(Oh, well. That just gives you more time to read the books!)

See you at the library!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Teaser trailer released July 30, 2008!



Mark your calendar! The movie will be released November 21st!

And if you haven't read it yet, feel free to reserve a copy of the book, tape, or CD by visiting the library's catalog.

See you at the library!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog, already in progress...

Seriously, please accept our apologies for the long break since the last post. May is always a hectic month around the library, and this year it was no different.

Well, it was a little different. On May 16th, we lost one of our employees. Circulation Clerk (and blog contributor) Christina (aka "Lister") obtained her Master of Library Science degree in April (YAY!) and accepted a job at a library in Garland in May (Not YAY! for us, but YAY! for her).

We'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank "Lister" for all of her assistance and enthusiasm -- not just on the job every day, but in setting up this blog and redesigning the "JPL for Kids" Website. Her assistance and input was invaluable, and we know she'll go far in whatever she chooses to do. We wish her all the best.

Well, it's now June, and today is the first day of Summer Reading Club for the kids. While the Club is only for kids who have finished fifth grade or younger, Jo could always use a little extra help, so if you're interested in volunteering to help out, contact Jo here at the library (Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays are best ; if you have to call here on a Tuesday or Wednesday, call in the afternoons after 2:15 or so).

We have a lot of new reviews on the way, so please bear with us and watch this blog for updates. Once things calm down a bit on the Summer Reading Club front, Jo will pipe in with her review of the sequel to Dairy Queen. I know it's no substitute for Jo, but I'll be posting a few reviews myself over the next few weeks or so.

In the meantime, can we possibly make it up to you by including this link to the Official Website (and trailer) for Twilight, coming to a theater near you on December 12, 2008? We thought so.

See you at the library!

Behind the scenes of TWILIGHT

MTV has some behind the scenes footage of the making of the TWILIGHT movie and interviews with the actors on their site. If you've been curious to see the actors playing the characters you fell in love with, or if you want to catch some interview footage with Stephenie Meyer, this is a must-see.

Visit MTV's site here for all the goodies: http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1585900&vid=226476.

There's also an older behind-the-scenes clip at Entertainment Tonight Online here: http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/04/60435/index.html.

As always, for more information straight from Stephenie herself, be sure to visit the TWILIGHT movie page on her Website.

Coming soon ... to a bookshelf near you!

According to the Internet Movie Database, there are a lot of movies in production or scheduled for release based on books you might already be familiar with. Many of them can be found in our collection, and quite a few are in our Young Adult section.

Note that not all of these movies are scheduled for release soon (some are almost two years away, and others have just been announced). Also, don't take this list as an endorsement of these movies; this is just to let you know what's on the way.

Everyone always says "the book is better than the movie", so take the opportunity to read these books now before the movie comes out!

Click the links for more details...

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Inkheart by Cornelia Funke [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 by Ann Brashares [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• The Giver by Lois Lowry [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Septimus Heap: Magyk by Angie Sage [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Maximum Ride by James Patterson [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien [book] ... [movie]
  
  
• Marley and Me by John Grogan [book] ... [movie]
  

Wow. That's a lot to look forward to! And that's not counting the upcoming movies based on comics/graphic novels (such as Iron Man, the new Incredible Hulk movie, or Batman: The Dark Knight), or the hundreds of other movies already released based on books (like The Golden Compass, The Lord of the Rings and the other Harry Potters).

So if you want to read the book before you see the movie, give the library a chance. If we don't have it, we can usually get it for you in a week or so through Interlibrary Loan.

We'll be happy to do all we can to make sure you get to read the books you want!