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As many of you can see, I've been a pretty terrible blogger lately! What can I say...Life.

Monday, March 26, 2012

"The Hunger Games" Movie Review!

Let's recap a bit on the book. I wrote a review a while ago which you can read here. Now, to further the discussion I wanted to comment on something I've been hearing a lot of. The gruesomeness of the story is the number one excuse I hear from people who have not read the book. But, I cannot stress this to those of you who are avoiding this read enough, the gruesomeness is not glorified and it is not the focus! It's more about the bravery of these children, especially Katniss, to have the courage to face this, not lose themselves in the Capitol and the injustice, get home to their families, and start fighting back for the first time in 74 years! What is happening to them is not their fault, it is the fault of others, elders, that fear the power even a child can have in raising hope.

Their character is what defines these books and makes them worth reading. They give you the hope and courage you need to continue reading.

With that said, onto the movie, (Note: very minor spoilers about what is not in the movie) I'm mostly on the side of the fence of really enjoying it. I miss very small things that only a reader would be endeared to, like Katniss yelling at Peeta for being too noisy while they are hunting during the games, or Haymitch being much slobbier at the beginning and falling off the stage at the reaping. But, the movie is already almost 2 1/2 hours long and I can't think of anything I would have wanted them to remove to find more room for other stuff.

Also, I went with a friend that had not read the books first and she said that she got it, she wasn't too confused, but she could not depend on the usual devices, such as dialog or narration to tell her what was happening, instead she had to look to the actors movements, glances, comments, etc to fill her in.

On that note, I thought the young cast of this movie was wildly talented!!! Especially Jennifer Lawrence! Way to really bring a character to life. If some other young actors or actresses had even half the talent of Lawrence or her costars, we all might enjoy some of these books-to-movies concepts a lot more. :)

It's only been a day since I saw it, and the excitement has yet to wear off. In fact, I may be entering a withdrawal period here in a few days. I'm more than certain I will see this movie again before it leaves theaters and it is on my "To Buy" list, and not just any old "To Buy" list, but the one with the disclaimer that reads, Must be purchased on or before the official release date!

Here is the trailer for anyone else that may be expecting side effects like shaking, chills, giggles, random rants, screaming, sudden excitement, etc after seeing the movie...


Now, my absolute favorite part!
DISCUSSION!
You MUST discuss this with me. I fear it is the only thing to hold off the withdrawal.
Let me know what your thoughts are on the books or movie.
Things you liked, disliked, wish you saw more off, what you could have lived without, etc.
Just talked to me about it!
I look forward to this!

14 comments:

  1. I loved so many parts of the movie that it would hard to list them! I started crying during the reaping...

    And to answer your question about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - I liked it :) I love the historical look at the salam witch trials with a little bit of magic for today mixed into the mix. It was good :)

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    1. I was so close to crying too!!! And when Rue died!

      Glad you enjoyed the book. Now that I have actually heard something about it, I am more excited to read it.

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  2. I read and enjoyed all three books, with Hunger Games being my favourite. I'm going to the movie this Tuesday (already have the tickets) and am taking a few who haven't read the books with me. That'll be interesting to see everyone's reactions!

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    1. Yes, it will be interesting. You'll have to come back and fill me in!

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  3. I literally just came back from seeing this movie. I was able to follow it just fine. Everyone I know who enjoyed the movie has gone or will go to see it again. It was an okay movie. I am indifferent to it, but the dystopian future was a bit flashier than I was expecting. I saw a lot of familiar actors.

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    1. Glad you were able to follow it and that your friends liked it. I thought their take on the future was really interesting, although, I think the movie could have taken it even farther. The Capitol was even more flashy in the books.

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  4. I saw the movie and didn't read the book. I think that there must have been something "more to" the pin she received. It seemed to have a significance that wasn't addressed in the movie. I thought it was going to be more Sci-Fi like I had read and it wasn't. I was disappointed that there were people who could modify and adjust what was happening inside the games. I thought they would just have to adapt and adjust, not be thrown back in because they could out-smart the others. I saw lots of similarities to other things, such as a Romeo and Juliet theme with the berries, a Gladiator theme with the games, and I also thought about the Jews being marched out in groups by the Nazi's with the District 12 people: poor, thin, shabby clothes, owning nothing (or next to nothing). And I also noticed a color theme that I am seeing everywhere in fashion magazines, runway shows, and in stores: sherbet colors everywhere. When I was in Nordstrom's the other day even the men's shows were all in sherbet colors...just like all the clothing in this movie. Is it by chance...is it a trend? What makes everyone all of a sudden drawn to sherbet colors? Hmmmm...I was not thrilled with the movie but I liked it. I guess I thought it was kind of predictable and I wanted there to be "more" there...more substance...more things to make me want to analyze. Is this the way you felt about it or was it just kind of "Twilight-ish"...trendy?

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    1. Hey Teri! Just to comment, there is more to the pin, but it really doesn't come into play until the next book, and even more in the 3rd. It's significance is merely a token in the first book so you're right on the mark there.

      As far as people modifying the game, it is true that there is a design and it is modyfied throughout the game to keep the viewers interested and to mix things up, but you never really get to see that in the books because the entire book is in Katniss' POV. The movie just had the range to show a bit more because it was not confined to the first person POV.

      I think there was a lot of different inspirations for the books and movies. I like the ones you pointed out. Especially the Nazi one. I had not thought of that myself.

      The color trend is pretty true. I know neon is really in so why not sherbet.

      If you were looking for a bit more substance, I would certainly check out the books!! A lot more there, especially little details that make the book unique and build the characters even more. I am happy I had the book for background info that really couldn't be covered by the movie. I think the book can be broken down and has much MUCH more depth than Twilight. To me, the the two books are universes apart!

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  5. Oh damn it - I can't get in on this yet. I'm a Hunger Games virgin! Shocking thing to admit I realise - the movie isn't out in Dubai yet though - but I'm dragging my hubs to see it (is it really over 2.5 hrs? If so, oh dear: he will have difficulty sitting for that long - I hope it's good. He has no patience and the attention span of a nat).

    Also, to let you know Aubrie - I've merged the author blogs authorly- err-ness with wordsinsync bookishness and would love to hear what you think of yet another new look :) I couldn't cope with three blogs much longer. I had so little time to do anything else. I'm also partnering a fabulous and growing writing community soon - so I'll keep you abreast of that.

    So glad you loved the movie. I'm sure I will too :) Shah. X

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    1. I can't wait to talk to you about this!!! The movie is about 2hours and 20 mins. Although, to me, it didn't feel like that.

      I thought I saw that you merged at least two of them, but I hadn't confirmed it. I'll have to go in and check everything out. Definitely keep me updated on any fun projects!

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  6. http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made
    Your thoughts?

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    1. Geez! Some of those peoples' comments were really disturbing. I knew Rue and Thresh were dark skinned and assumed they would be dark skinned or African American. It was characteristic of their district, all the people having to work out in the sun all the time. Cinna, I never really placed a certain race to him since little was described of him exept for his flamboyant look. I figured that his race was lost under all the cosmetic changes. I will say that I wasn't outraged it was Lenny Kravitz, I was more curious whether or not he could pull it off since I have never seen him in anything. I think he did okay. He was kind enough. I wished they would have made him MORE colorful and flamboyant looking.

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    2. I dunno, Lenny can be pretty flamboyant in his own right. Maybe they wanted to downplay it a bit to reflect his character's desire to make Katniss stand out from the crowd (thus he stands out by not being flamboyant). Imagine if it had been Dennis Rodman. I was actually not expecting to see Kravitz in this thing. I wasn't disappointed at all with his performance, but he didn't have a lot of screen time.

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    3. I think in real life he is very flamboyant. I wouldn't say i was disappointed with his performance, but I felt like he wasn't as key in the movie as he was in the book, but like you mentioned, he didn't get a lot of screen time. Perhaps in the 2nd one they will develope him more. He just becomes such a mentor and father figure to Katniss, someone she truely cares about, and I'm not seeing all that quite yet. Definitely something they will ahve to touch upon more in the 2nd movie.

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