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Posts Tagged ‘Katniss + Peeta’

  • In Which We Talk About THE HUNGER GAMES Movie

    Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

    Okay, so if you’ve not seen THE HUNGER GAMES movie yet, you may want to skip reading this post as well as the comments section below since they’re likely to contain spoilers (or perhaps you’ll want to read them for the sake of seeing what you’re in for?). It’s up to you. :0) Also, for those of you who loved the books, but haven’t yet seen the movie—I hate to mention that your rabid-fan status may be slipping. Because, well, it’s been a WEEK since it hit theaters. *ahem*

    So? What did you think of THE HUNGER GAMES movie? Loved? Confused? Too gory? Exceeded your expectations? Frustrated? Did it stick to the book enough? Did the theme(s)/struggles/issues presented in the book come through? And what about the characters—were they as you imagined?

    Here are my own personal (quickly jotted) notes:

    IMMEDIATE EMOTIONAL REACTION

    1. Chuckled
    2. Teary-eyed
    3. Nervous
    4. Annoyed (I think the Rabid-fan Opening Night Movie Rule should be that you can scream all you want beforehand—yay for anticipation!—but once the movie starts, do NOT drown out said movie with your half-crazed screams or I may eat your face off. Just a thought.)
    5. A sense of disgust and horror at the violence–I didn’t want to think about the fact that these were children killing each other (and in my opinion, such a realization/reaction is one of the main purposes of the book series–to expose our own irony and shallowness)

    CHARACTERS

    1. Katniss—perfect (really, all around SO well done, and I especially appreciated how “normal” they made her)
    2. Gale—he brought the book character to life for me
    3. Peeta—totally enjoyed, although I found myself missing some of the interactions that established his and Katniss’ relationship in the book
    4. Haymitch—liked him, but then my sister mentioned she wished he’d been more “Dr. House”-like (from the show HOUSE), and well, now I have to agree darnit *shakes fist at sister*
    5. Effie—exactly as I imagined her
    6. Cinna—okay, so there wasn’t quite enough face-time/subtle defiance/interaction for me to fall for him like I did in the books, but I still hearted him
    7. Rue—perfect actor and perfectly played (although I wanted her and Katniss to start talking about their districts!)

    SPECIAL EFFECTS

    I specifically liked how they used the special effects (seemingly sparingly) to allow for a raw feel, interrupted by “glossy” aspects at the appropriate times (especially anything to do with the evil Capitol). I was surprised there wasn’t more goo-gore hallucinations from the tracker-jackers though. Not that I minded. Also, I confess that the wolves in the book creeped me out WAY more. Oh, but the scenes showing the operators controlling the arena were very awesome. Totally made that aspect of the book more real for me.

    RATING

    I was actually pretty impressed with the way they cut the scenes. I wondered how they’d keep a PG-13 rating with all the violence and such, but (in my humble opinion) they managed it.

    SCREENPLAY

    I praised the screenwriters and director the whole way through. Way to keep close to the story without boring or ignoring us. Thank you Hunger Games movie people. 

    DISTURBING

    Realizing that, as I sat watching a giant screen showing youth fight to the death in the arena, I wasn’t so different from the Capitol citizens (oh Suzanne Collins, how brilliant/convicting/subtle you are).

    And now it’s the Preciouses’ turns. What’d you guys think? We wants to know!

    Pinned Image

    (from this Pinterest page)

    Other posts you may enjoy: 8 Geek Items for the Hunger Games Fan and The Hunger Games (a book review)

    ;0)

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    Posted in Genre Savvy, Uncategorized | 21 Comments »

  • Mockingjay (book 3 in The Hunger Games Trilogy)

    Monday, August 30th, 2010

    Mockingjay.JPG

    District 12 is gone. Peeta has been captured by the Capital. And while the other Districts wage an all out rebellion, Katniss and Gale are secreted away to the underground colony in District 13–the leaders of which plan to use Katniss’ Mockingjay status to fuel the revolution through to completion. Except Katniss is tired of being a pawn in other people’s war games.

    Exhausted, drained of passion, and a bare survivor, Katniss emotionally implodes until she’s little more than a carcass, useful to no one–especially Peeta, who, for all her swearing to protect in the arena, is out of reach. Or so she thinks… But when President Snow dangles Peeta across the airwaves, taunting Katniss with the thin reality that she might still save him, Katniss pulls herself together long enough to become the symbol the Districts are looking for.

    But will it be enough?

    Revolution requires a price, and this one will be even higher than Katniss can imagine. Or most likely endure.

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    What I liked:

    1. Ms. Collins’ prose. As always. Perfect.
    2. Katniss’ compassion.
    3. The Capital’s underground passage system and the mutts crawling through it. Nice and creepy.
    4. Haymitch and Katniss’ relationship.
    5. Cinna’s handwritten note, “I’m still betting on you.” (I cried.)
    6. The multiple layers of relational tension between the characters.
    7. Kaniss’ singing (toward the end) when she has been emotionally stripped to the bone. Beautifully poetic. (And realistic.)
    8. Much of the emotional and psychological accuracy of the novel.
    9. The irony that we, as fans of this series, can be compared to the fans of the Capital’s Hunger Games. For instance, below, when I list what angered me…I’m pathetically aware it is because I wanted the Games and the love story and the happy ending without the bitter undermining of reality.
    10. Buttercup.

     

    What made me throw a sissy-girl fit:

    1. Ms. Collins stripped Peeta down, shredded out his insides, then handed him back on a platter. For this reason alone, I was sad.
    2. The anti-war message. While not inappropriate, I felt that the level of reality to which Ms. Collins took it shadowed the characters in the book and robbed the readers of a satisfying story arc. While Mockingjay is a realistic take on war and its devastating effects—socially, emotionally, physically, and relationally—at the end of the day the book is a YA novel, not a Tom Brokaw war documentary. Reality in fiction is good, yes. But not at the expense of the story.
    3. The bait and switch tactic. The above wouldn’t have bothered me nearly so much if I hadn’t walked away feeling tricked and robbed. I fell in love with The Hunger Games for the beautiful imagery, incredible characters, fabulous plot, and promise of tension—both romantic and social. Somewhere along the way between the ending of book 1 and the ending of book 3, Ms. Collins got sidetracked into reality…and took us with her. (Can you hear me kicking and screaming?)
    4. Methinks she took the old writer’s adage “kill your darlings” too far. And those who weren’t killed, were taxed and tortured beyond emotional recognition so that I’d actually wished they had been. Katniss… Peeta… Haymitch… Ms. Collins, I love you. But you gave us the reality of hollowed-out victims when we were begging for fairytale victors.
    5. Katniss. It began to feel as if most of the book surrounded her curled up in a fetal position, confused and unable to make choices unless forced to. And aside from short spurts of passionate mutiny, all of Katniss’ choices are made for her. As one reviewer put it–Katniss spends the book reacting to circumstances, rather than acting with conviction. Instead of seeing her develop and grow to arrive at some form of internal strength and conviction, we see her unravel at the seams so that even in the end, we don’t get the pleasure of Katniss choosing between Gale and Peeta. Life happens TO her. Being the mockingjay happens TO her. And she has nothing left.
    6. The lack of romantic tension. (Okay…seriously? Katniss doesn’t know who she’ll fall in love with until the last 4 pages?) I desperately wanted the bleakness of the story (and of Katniss’ war-ravaged self) to be off-set by romance blooming. *sigh*
    7. The ending involving Gale.
    8. The one paragraph “relational” summary at the end telling that Katniss and (I won’t spoil this—so we’ll just say “the boy she ends up with”) “grow together.” Sorry, this was NOT enough for me. My sister called it right–I could have gotten over everything else in the book had we been offered one last chapter of watching Katniss and “boy she ends up with” actually growing together. I mean–what did that look like? Walk me through it please! Because after all–I spent 3 books with these people. At least allow me the pleasure of seeing their relationship as it finds resolution.

    Obviously the fact that I feel so strongly on all of this reveals how much I adore the trilogy and its author. So, for that alone, Suzanne Collins–FABULOUS JOB!!!

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    What’s the mood noise of the moment?  Linkin Park:  What I’ve Done

    :0)

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    Posted in Book Reviews | 16 Comments »

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