Ya’ll aren’t ready for this.

IT’S TIME FOR ROUND 1 OF MARCH MOVIE MADNESS. AND you somehow have to pick between The Hunger Games and She’s the Man.

How. HOW.

Defending The Hunger Games is…ISABEL STERLING!

And for She’s the Man…AUSTIN SIEGEMUND-BROKA!

The competition is intense. Let’s hear from These Witches Don’t Burn author Isabel Sterling first!

Like the Districts that make up Panem, I’m breaking down 12 reasons why The Hunger Games is the BEST teen movie:

1. Star Power: Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. Liam Hemsworth as Gale. Elizabeth Banks as Effie (those WIGS!). Amandla Stenberg as Rue. The list goes on and on.
2. Action: I mean, come on. There are 24 teens fighting to the death in this movie. Once the action starts, it doesn’t stop.
3. Sisterly Bonds: The moment Katniss volunteers as tribute on behalf of her sister? Gets me every time. 

4. High Stakes: Not only are teens fighting to the death, but people are fighting the oppression of a twisted government. Stakes don’t get much higher than that!
5. Quotability: May the odds be ever in your favor. Need I say more?
6. All the Feels: I should’ve been prepared for the deaths in these movies, but my heart can’t handle this many feels!
7. Fashion: Effie’s wigs, makeup, and gowns belong in a museum. Ah-maz-ing. And Cinna’s flaming masterpieces? *kisses fingers*
8. Killer Sequel: I saw Catching Fire for the first time this past weekend. Not only does it hold up to the first movie, it expands the world and is compulsively watchable.
9. Cinematography: Not gonna lie, the drab color scheme of the Districts contrasted against the glitz and glam of the Capital is pretty brilliant.
10. Amazing Main Character: Katniss shoots like a pro and has such a deep well of empathy that you can’t help but root for her.
11. Twists: Peeta’s fake alliance. The poisonous berries that save them. The escape from the quarter quell. This series knows how to spin a twist!
12. Romance: Whether you’re Team Peeta, Team Gale, or Team Katniss-Needs-A-Vacation, this series will keep you invested until the very end.

Oof. Isabel came in STRONG. Tough to beat. LET’S GO AUSTIN!

March Movie Madness — Battle Round 1

She’s the Man

Austin Siegemund-Broka

“Be not afraid of [the] greatness [of the 2006 romantic comedy She’s The Man]” is a helpful paraphrase of one of Shakespeare’s beloved lines in Twelfth Night, the comedic tour de force wonderfully updated in the 2006 romantic comedy She’s The Man. I’m certain the Bard himself would concur in my opinion this film deserves to win PenguinTeen March Movie Madness.

First, no defense of She’s the Man would be complete without one observance: YOUNG CHANNING TATUM.

When Shakespeare wrote “Better a witty fool than a foolish wit,” he was in fact presaging the witty fool who would warm hearts and blow minds in Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street, and other gems.

Why I truly love She’s the Man, though—and why I know this cinematic treasure deserves to triumph in March Movie Madness—is how genuinely forward-thinking the depiction of the heroine Viola really is.

Viola (Amanda Bynes, HELLO) paved the way for one of YA’s now-fundamental principles: the idea young women don’t have to be either prom queen or competitive “badass,” but rather can be both. In the end of She’s The Man, Viola, now beloved by her school’s bros, dominates the boys on the opposing soccer team—then enjoys her debutante ball, where she’s escorted by Duke. Her happy ending involves besting the boys with whom she’s been competing for the whole film, but is not confined by it.

In the years following She’s the Man, teen dramas would veer in the direction of hardcore heroines defined by their dominance in battle (with a bow and arrow for example JUST SAYING). There’s nothing wrong with that, but in permitting Viola the best of both worlds—the win and the debutante dress—She’s the Man was ahead of its time.

Oh, and young Channing Tatum.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN AUSTIN HAS PULLED THE CHANNING TATUM CARD.

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