Well, well, well, where have I been for the past two weeks?

Mostly studying for my Philosophy exam (eeek!)… some of my notes will come into play later on in this article.

Sidenote- did you know putting your study notes to music helps you memorize them? At least it helps me.

So I ended up singing “Plato thinks that matter and the material world is corruptible and not “ultimate reality”. For him, the “ultimate reality” is the immaterial world of the forms or ideals, which is changeless and incorruptible.” to the tune of Alex Warren’s “Carry You Home.” Now I’m never going to be able to hear that song again without remembering my study notes. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyway, on to the article…

Two weeks ago, my brother and I re-watched The Giver for the third or fourth time.

Last week, I finished reading The Giver for the second time.

There’s a reason that I have re-watched the movie more times than I have re-read the book.

Simply stated, this is the only movie that I will ever admit is better than the book.

Now, before you go up in arms against me, allow me to explain further. (And no, it’s not because Taylor Swift is in it. That is the only mistake that they made in the whole casting process. More about this later.)

My brother J.’s DVD copy of The Giver, and my brother C.’s book copy. I need my own copies of these. I should stop taking theirs. 😂

Book Synopsis:

Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.

Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?

Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.

My Notes:

• There was a lot that I forgot about in this book… like I get that the scene in the House of the Old is supposed to show that these people are completely indifferent to stuff that would horrify us… but still! Was that scene so necessary?!

• The scene where Jonas’ father kills the baby - awful, awful scene. It was difficult to read and even more difficult to watch (that’s one of the only scenes that I will skip when I watch the movie.)

• However, it is a really excellent depiction of what abortion really is… killing babies.

• I forgot that so much of the book is just Jonas thinking!

• That final line: “From the place he has come, he thought he heard music. But perhaps it was only an echo.” Ack! That makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Okay. Now on to the movie.

Movie Synopsis:

Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) lives in a seemingly idyllic world of conformity and contentment. When he begins to spend time with The Giver (Jeff Bridges), an old man who is the sole keeper of the community's memories, Jonas discovers the dangerous truths of his community's secret past. Armed with the power of knowledge, Jonas realizes that he must escape from their world to protect himself and those he loves -- a challenge no one has ever completed successfully.

My Notes:

• First off, amazing casting choices (aside from Taylor Swift 🙄). Brenton Thwaites just personifies Jonas so well! Jeff Bridges is so amazing in his role as well.

• I honestly don’t mind that they made him a little older in the movie than he is in the book… it honestly makes more sense.

• The video montages when Jonas is receiving memories from The Giver… they’re just chef’s kiss! 🤌🤩

• Especially as he starts to see in color… those scenes are just SO well done and so beautiful!

• Can I just say I absolutely hate the phrase “Precision of language,” and it’s all Katie Holmes’ fault.

• The only mistake (as stated before) is that they cast Taylor Swift in the movie. Why did they do that?!? Sorry to all the “Swifties” out there… the casting choice here just makes no sense to me. In the book Rosemary is simply talked about… you never get a flashback. I have no idea why they felt the need to do that in the movie, but I do not approve, sorry.

• The final scene - when it is cutting between prep for Fiona’s “release”, and Jonas passes the boundary of memory - and all the memories come rushing back- may be my all-time favorite movie scene. It was the first movie scene that made me cry and literally makes me cry every single time I watch it. It’s just that beautiful.

Some Philosophy Stuff:

• The philosopher Rousseau says that we must be “forced to be free,” which means that in order to break the corruption and habits of a restrained society, everyone must be educated and ultimately coerced into a common mold.

• Doesn’t this sound like the “Community” in The Giver? Where everyone is equal and there is no winners, no losers…

Quotes from the book that I liked:

• “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared.”

• “Things could change, Gabe," Jonas went on. "Things could be different. I don't know how, but there must be some way for things to be different.”

  ---

Quotes from the movie I liked:

• “From the place behind me… I thought I heard singing. Perhaps it was only an echo. But it was enough. It would lead us all home.”

• “We are living a life of shadows! A life of echoes!”

• “Memories are not just about the past. You can change things. You can make things better.”

• “Tomorrow, the only thing that changes is what we do. It doesn’t change who we are.”

  ---

Please Comment!! :)

Are there any movies that you think are better than the books?

What are they?

Happy Reading! 🍎📖

-Mia Grace ✨

Oh! Hello my friends!

You’ve caught me in the middle of changing my whole blog theme for

🎄✨Christmas! ✨🎄

Too early, you say? Ah… well… I suppose I should warn you that this post is only going to get more Christmassy as it goes on. 😉

Alright… now that the “it’s-too-early” people have departed…

Below you will find my Top 10 Favorite Christmas movies! Enjoy!

I highly recommend looking up each of these movies on Common Sense Media. It’s where I got all the “ratings” and “content reviews” from.

1. It’s A Wonderful Life

   

Official Rating: Age 9+

My Review: This is such a classic Christmas movie and it is the perfect pick for a cozy movie night. I only saw this movie for the first time last year, but it is so amazing! I’ve also only seen it in black-and-white, but according to my parents, when you watch it in color, it’s like watching a whole new movie!

Content: “Gunshots. A short fistfight. For a brief moment, George knocks over the furniture and loses his temper. It’s a tough scene when George is slapped by Mr. Bower. George considers ending his life.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends”

2. White Christmas

   

Official Rating: 7+

My Review: I love this musical so much!! I’ve been watching this movie every Christmas since I can remember. It has such a wonderful soundtrack and really amazing costumes!

Content: “The first 10 minutes take place in an Army camp near an active battlefield in WWII. Lightning flashes and thunder claps in the distance before explosions break out in the camp. A wall crashes down on a character, but he gets out of the way just in time. The soldiers all have guns but don’t fire them. The rest of the movie has no violence or aggression.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas.”

3. Elf

   

Official Rating: 8+

My Review: This. Movie. Is. Hilarious. It’s quite possibly the most humorous Christmas movie out there. This is a great family movie night pick!

Content: There’s a scene when Buddy is looking at a lingerie display in a store, and a later scene where his dad opens a box of lingerie. “A woman is naked in the shower singing as Buddy listens in and sings along from a separate part of the bathroom; nothing graphic is seen.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “I’m a cotton-headed ninny muggins.”

4. Home Alone 2

Official Rating: 10+

My Review: Now… I know a lot of people think that sequels to movies are much inferior to the original movie… but in my opinion, Home Alone 2 is better than the original movie! It’s so much funnier, and Kevin’s siblings don’t have such potty mouths.

Content: There’s only one thing I would watch out for… when Kevin’s alone in the hotel he turns on a B&W movie. My family always skips that scene.

Best Quote: “You can mess with a lot of things. But you can’t mess with kids on Christmas.”

5. The Santa Clause

   

Official Rating: 9+

My Review: This is such a classic Christmas movie!!! I absolutely love it. It’s so funny and quite entertaining for all ages. I highly recommend!!

Content: “Guns are drawn as Tim Allen’s new “Santa” gets arrested by police.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “Seeing isn’t believing. Believing is seeing”

6. The Man Who Invented Christmas

   

Official Rating: 8+

My Review: This was a fantastic movie with an excellent plot and really phenomenal actors. Dan Stevens was a wonderful Charles Dickens and the whole movie was superb. It also really gives you something to think about, even after you finish the movie.

Content: “Charles’ father seems and acts drunk. Potentially disturbing flashbacks to difficult times when Charles’ father is dragged off and arrested for an unpaid debt and Charles is forced to work in a factory. The ghost of Jacob Marley is shown shackled and in chains.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another”

7. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

   

Official Rating: 8+

My Review: This movie only came out last year, but it is such a wonderful Christmas movie! My whole family watched it together and heartily enjoyed it.

Content: “The Herdmans threaten classmates and bully them. The Herdman children are known to smoke cigars (”even the girls”), and that reputation causes them to be blamed for starting a fire in the church.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “Hey! Unto you a child is born!”

8. Jingle All the Way

   

Official Rating: 8+

My Review: I’ve watched this movie every Christmas for as long as I can remember. It’s one of my grandfather’s favorite Christmas movies, and he can practically quote the whole thing!

Content: “Ted is constantly hitting on Liz.” -Common Sense Media

Best Quote: “It’s like Turbo Man says, ‘Always keep your promises if you want to keep your friends’”.

9. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch

   

Official Rating: 6+

My Review: This movie is so hilarious… I don’t believe my younger brother has ever laughed so hard in his life. It is truly an animated masterpiece… and a quite enjoyable movie for the whole family!

Content: None!

Best Quote: “Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.”

10. The Muppets’ Christmas Carol

    

Official Rating: 5+

My Review: This movie is a great family movie, and my whole family enjoys it… with the exception of my brother who doesn’t like puppets. 😆

Content: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is scary for younger viewers, as I know from experience. Also, the scene when the doorknob turns into Marley’s face makes you jump the first time you see it.

Best Quote:

• Gonzo: Hello! Welcome to the Muppet Christmas Carol! I am here to tell the story.

• Rizzo the Rat: And I am here for the food.

I’m sure you’ve seen my “content” warnings… and are wondering how to filter these movies. Do you just fast-forward through the scene?

Well you could… but my family uses VidAngel. VidAngel is a Christian video company that specializes in seamlessly editing out content in movies so that you can still enjoy them. Check them out here.

Thank you so much for reading this! What is your favorite Christmas movie?

Happy Watching! 🎄🎁

-Mia Grace ✨

I have just finished watching two different versions of Cinderella, and I’m here to give you my highlights on them!

Ok first off… I have to do the 1950 review first because I am absolutely OBSSESED with the Lily James 2015 version. So I’ll be pretty lengthy on that topic, haha.

Ok the highlights for the 1950 one:

• Well it was vintage

• I liked the mice

• Cinderella’s outfits were also cute

• It was nice that it was more of a musical than the 2015 one

Now the stuff I didn’t like:

• Well… there was a lot of a cat storyline. Like, do we really need to know this much about Lucifer?

• The stepsisters were really awful and ugly. UGH.

• The prince has like three lines!!! Why?? ☹️

• The king is made into a laughable figure… kind of like “look at the stupid dad.” I didn’t like that.

• It was just meh. I just didn’t like it overall.

Now for Cinderella (2015)!

Oh I just adore this movie! It is my favorite Disney remake. Lily James is my favorite actress so this movie is just PERFECT. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it right now! It is that good. Just LOOK at these photos: 😍😍😍

Ahhhhhh it’s just such a great movie!

Here are my highlights:

• The stepmother character (Lady Tremaine) is much better in this. She gives you much more of an uncalculated evil feeling.

• (Fun Fact!) The actress who plays Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) is also the same one who plays Thor’s evil stepsister in Thor: Ragnarök. 😂

• The stepsisters are still awful, but hilarious. Also, Sophie McShera, who plays Drizella; is in Downton Abbey as the kitchen maid, Daisy (Lily James is also in Downton Abbey as the fun rich niece) … so the whole stepsister storyline was just hilarious for me.

• The prince (Kit) had much more storylines and he was much more interesting in this version.

• The king was more noble, and much more interesting as well.

• I LOVED that they added the storyline with Cinderella’s mom!!!

• “Have Courage and Be Kind” 🥹

• LILY JAMES!!!! AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING. 😍😍😍

• That dress!!! It is so, so beautiful!

Lady Montgomery-Stevenson’s favorite memes:

Who is your favorite Disney Princess? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Reading!

-Mia Grace ✨

Over these past two weeks I saw not only the original cartoon of Beauty and the Beast (from 1991), but also the live-action adaptation from 2017 for the first time!

I loved both of them, but here are my notes about the differences in the two movies.

First, we’ll start with Beauty & The Beast (1991)

Stuff I liked:

• All the Library scenes! The Library in the live-action version is nowhere near as large as the one in the cartoon.

• I loved seeing all of Belle’s different costumes, and those shawls/robes!! I want one, lol.

• Also, I wish my books were as indestructible as Belle’s. Gaston literally throws it in a mud pile, and, later on, makes it more muddy by putting his feet on it, and the book looks absolutely fine! 😆

• I also enjoyed the opening song “Belle” a little bit more in this version… I don’t really know why… I just did!

• I actually much prefer this Belle to the live action Belle. She’s the original, after all!

Now for the stuff I didn’t like:

• Her dad was made out to be this ridiculous figure.

• The Beast was a bit too “silly”.

• LeFou. Ugh.

• Also the guy who runs the asylum…. shudder.

Ok, now for Beauty & The Beast (2017)

Stuff I liked:

• Ohhhh the cinematography was amazing in this one!!! So gorgeous.

• The Ball Scene was so pretty as well.

• The Beast was much better in this version than in the cartoon. Also, the Beast was Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey, so I’m a bit prejudiced, lol.

• I liked how they made the Beast more serious.

• I also enjoyed the extra storyline about her mom, and how her dad became more of a relatable father figure instead of the cartoonish funny dad.

• I loved Belle’s hairstyles in this one!! I really want to copy one, hehehe.

Stuff I didn’t like:

• Belle sounded like they added some type of synthesizer to her voice, which was kind of odd.

• LeFou and Gaston seemed a little… odd.

• There was the one scene where the wardrobe throws dresses over dudes, and one guy was like “yes!” Nope. I’m not liking that storyline.

So for my final opinion… I liked them both! I would watch either at any time quite happily.

Also I really identify with Belle:

🎶Look there she goes that girl is so peculiar
I wonder if she's feeling well
With a dreamy, far-off look
And her nose stuck in a book
What a puzzle to the rest of us is Belle.🎶

-Belle, from Beauty & The Beast

This ^^^ sounds exactly like what my brothers would sing about me…. if they enjoyed singing… and could do it in unison and completely on-key… 😂

What’s your favorite Disney Princess movie? Do you prefer the live-action versions or the original cartoons? Let me know in the comments!

-Mia Grace ✨