I'm hoping that the big budget will not detract from the supremely high levels of talent the film possesses. It is no secret I am ridiculously biased towards Liam Hemsworth and all that he does (because I'm shallow and a sucker for a beautiful, beautiful face) but I adore Woody Harrelson, and Sam Claflin is an unsung treasure. I've restrained from blogging about the hacked photos of leading lady Jennifer Lawrence, largely because I didn't wish to give any more weight to the intrusive nature of the whole debacle. I pray that, given the popularity of this particular franchise, by the time the film airs everyone will be back to talking about just how talented Lawrence is at her chosen art form.

 

 

 

Because if the trailer is anything to go by, she is as on point as always. I, for one, eagerly await the release of The Mockingjay Part 1 despite the fact I'm inching ever closer to 23 and should really leave the Young Adult era far behind me.

 

As if.

 

I am going to start this with a disclaimer: I am not a romantic.* I enjoy the build ups to big relationships, I like watching end-it-all declarations of passion but watching two people happily share spoonfuls of dessert? Not my kind of telly. (Sorry to any romantics out there).

 

But what does intrigue me, I have learnt this evening after watching an episode of New Girl, is the lingering chemistry between a couple that is no longer together. FYI, I really hate the word chemistry. (Can someone please think up a new word to describe that thing between two people. Buzz? Zing? Sazzle? Anything but chemistry). For those unfamiliar with New Girl, or unaware just how far behind the times the UK is, the episode formerly known as "Prince" has just aired. You know, the one with Prince in it? In an episode full of blurted out I-Love-Yous, the moment I latched onto most was between Schmidt and Cece.

 

Now, I'm not in a relationship, nor am I recently getting over a relationship so my comments are purely theoretical. But I think New Girl got it really right. There is no rule book explaining how long - if ever, in fact - that sazzle between two people lasts. (Yep, I went there). I love the way Max Greenfield plays Schmidt. He is by far my favourite character on the show and all the interactions between Schmidt and Cece are always so well written. Hannah Simone is equally talented and her Instagram feed is flawless, FYI. In the "Prince" episode, a scene unfolds between the two on a dance floor in Prince's house. Maybe it's because I have a life long love of dance, maybe it's because dance can, if infiltrated correctly, can offer touching, emotive moments in an otherwise heavily comedic half hour, but I just loved the way it was directed.

 

I don't know if you've ever had to dance up close to someone you did not foresee yourself fancying in the future, but it is one of the most awkward moments for everyone involved. (I have experience more than the average number of awkward moments which I am hoping to one day base a book upon, to make all other awkward teenagers feel better about their lives. You're welcome). It feels to me though, that it would actually be harder having to interact on that level of intimacy, with someone you are no longer supposed to be sharing such small space with. When I watched the scene play out, the comedic references to 'old friends' in light of Schmidt's hopes to gain new celebrity ones interjected a little humour but the core of the scene is, to me, very heartfelt. It instantly reminded of an episode of Gossip Girl, where Dan and Serena attend Lily and Bart's wedding ("Much 'I Do' About Nothing"). The clipped conversation that follows Serena telling Dan he can "let go now" to which he heart wrenchingly replies "I know. But I don't want to". I might be exaggerating a little on how heart wrenching it was, but the scene stayed with me long after the episode first aired. In both the cases, the couples are no longer together but are simultaneously not ready to be apart. The sazzle, the chemistry still exists but whilst Dan and Serena are mourning their (temporarily) lost love, Schmidt and Cece banter around it. I could turn this whole idea into a fully fledged essay on all the dancing in Gossip Girl alone. I won't, for the internet's sake, but I remain convinced dance is a great precursor of chemistry.

You can shove characters in a lift, sit them beside one another on a plane but I fail to see any other activity that forces two people to interact in heightened levels of public intimacy than slow rotations on a half-crowded dance floor. It's a genius plot device that often doubles up as a very poignant piece of TV.

Unless of course, you're Jennifer Lawrence and Jimmy Fallon. It is not possible for me to ever love a dance anecdote more than the one in this interview.

 

Jade x

 

* I would like to just clarify that whilst I am not a romantic, I do incidentally like romance. Of sorts. Baby gestures are better than big gestures. Some people want diamonds and matching tattoos; I'd settle for sugar ring doughnuts and dog walks in the woods. Future boyfriend, take note.

IT'S COMING. And by 'it', I mean the first instalment of the The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Sixty three seconds worth of action and it's enough to make me want to watch the first two films all over again.

The majority of those most excited by this trailer have read the books (countless times, no doubt) so the excitement isn't about what's going to happen. It's about how it's going to happen. I remain in awe of Jennifer Lawrence's acting ability but she's in an all-star cast here (any screen time Liam Hemsworth gets is absolutely fine (read: welcomed greedily) by me). The musical score from the first two films courtesy of James Newton Howard were some of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I've heard in a while and I have no doubts that this film will more than match. Even in this 1 minute clip, we get a taster of the type of crescendo and climatic score that hypes up all the drama we can be sure to be seeing.

 

President Snow, draped in all white (everything) but is anything but innocent, stands as stoically evil as ever and J Law plays Katniss as true as before. I recently watched American Hustle and it amazes me just how well Lawrence is able to play such a range of ages. The cinematic start to the trailer, with the cuts in image and muted, pewter grey colour scheme both set the tone well. The excitement is building: this is the first half of the finale we've all been waiting for. I've been impressed with the first two filmic adaptations and I have no fear this one will be as true to the most important milestones in the text.

 

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I, like many people, am not a massive fan of feet. They're weird looking for starters, not to mention the fact that I have one wonky toe from when I broke it aged 8 and that my feet are so flat I could pass for a platypus. I kid you not. So when I bought some lovely heeled wedge sandals last year, I braced my foot fear and showed the toes. Unsurprising, I hated every minute. Cue today's dilemma. I'm planning on wearing this playsuit to an event next week and had planned to pair the aforementioned wedges with it. But the mere thought of flashing foot flesh is enough to make my toes curl. So I took to the internet's new fave femme fetale for advice. If J Law does it, then it's cool to copy right?

 

As the pictures demonstrate, I am of course talking about pairing socks with shoes. Peep toe wedges to be exact. I know, I know, it screams fashion faux pas. But just at how effortlessly J Law pulls it off. It's quirky without being too cutesy: my MO exactly. So I ran down to Primark, picked myself up a pair of white frills (and naturally took a detour to Superdrug for some white nail varnish to match).
 
(If I never blog again, it's because the fashion gods have struck me down with lightning. You know, for rocking socks when I shouldn't be. It was nice while it lasted...)
 

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