Catching Fire - Part 01
We finally got an extended holiday, so I guess I'll be finally catching up with a couple of tasks for the next three days. Awww, yeah!
Today was a very regular day though, so I didn't do anything other than the usual: finished one of my post-grad works, worked on a couple of personal projects AND managed to watch the first part of the Catching Fire movie.
(I took a couple of screenshots, but only now I noticed that I forgot to remove the time lapse. So screw that, I'm posting the images like this nevertheless because I'm feeling too lazy to edit and reupload all of them)
I read The Hunger Games trilogy a while ago (in fact, I think it was... last year? Or was it in 2012?), and while it may not be literature's masterpiece, I was still hooked up by the book series and read one after another. When The Hunger Games movie was released, I watched it and absolutely loved it, but did not buy the DVD yet because I still want to have the box with all of the movies. Since there aren't even announcements for the second part of the Catching Fire movie, this may take a while.
So, the next comments about the parts of the movie that I liked the most will be based on what I remember from the books. If anyone spots some incorrect information, by all means let me know!
Oh, suffice it to say I'll be spoiling both the movie and the books, so for those who did not read or watch them yet, consider yourselves warned!
First of all, let me drop just a quick comment about how much I loved the Mockingjay pin just because it reminds me of the Navy SEAL trident.
So, first part that deserves comments: the visit to District 11:
(I had a screenshot with the Capitol soldier pointing a gun at the old gentleman of the District 11, but it was awfully crappy, so I'll just have to leave it like that)
One of the disadvantages (and advantages) of having read the book is that you already know what is about to happen in the movie, but even though this scene wasn't completely unexpected for me, I was rather anxious to see how the scene was going to be portrayed. I have to say, it was perfect. I honestly don't remember if Katniss actually sees the soldiers going for the crowd and dragging the rebel in front of everybody in the book. If she didn't, then I'm glad the scene ended up like this.
A while before the movie was released, I heard a lot of complaints from fans about the movie, stating that the focus was being given to the romance rather than the political issues, which were supposed to be the focus of the whole story. I want to believe that they were talking about the trailers, because I didn't feel that the movie focused so much in the romantic triangle (if there was any, because Katniss always seemed to make it clear that she liked Gale rather than Peeta). If too much, it showed a more human side of the characters and I think that in these aspects, it was better to follow up with the movie rather than the books, since the books are told in a first person perspective and a lot of comments are biased with Katniss' own opinions.
Still, I really, really liked Peeta in the movie rather than in the book. He looked a little more... alive.
The gruesome flogging scene was also something I was looking forward to see but, honestly, I didn't think it was as shocking as in the book. I really wanted to like Gale a bit more, but I honestly don't think he is a very good actor. Not to mention I'm not his biggest fan after what he did by the end of Mockingjay.
Additionally, did Haimitch interfere in this scene? As far as I remember, Peeta was the one who stopped the commander, attempting to solve the problem diplomatically (like he always does).
Just. LOVED. the Quarter Quell announcement scene. This is exactly how I expected the characters to react: with despair beyond any words.
Poor lonely Peeta, though. I thought he lived with his parents?
The Coliseum presentation was also pretty awesome. Since the District 12's specialty is mining, I thought that the outfits were going to look more like coal, but the burning part was actually very nice.
I could post Katniss' dress transition during the interview, but I actually thought that that part was a bit ridiculous compared to the first movie. I was almost expecting her to fly above the crows saying "I'M BATMAN".
The training part with Katniss picking her allies was... okay, I guess. Not very logical, but those were the decisions she made in the book as well. If I were to criticize anything, it would be the hypocrisy of her choices, both in the book and in the movie. I don't even know if "hypocrisy" would be the correct word to define it, but the impression I got was that she was picking the seemingly weakest people to be her allies because she knew they wouldn't stand a chance against the career tributes, also serving as a "shield" or something.
Since the book was telling the story in Katniss' perspective, I didn't like Johanna in the book as much as I liked her in the movie. And I tell you, in Catching Fire Part 01 she was just MARVELOUS. Loved her attitude, loved her style. I don't think I really agree on her being Katniss' "friend" near the end of the movie though. I think that their mutual dislike was more interesting.
I thought that the scene where the soldiers get Sina was going to be a lot more gruesome, but there was little to no blood in the scene, so you can't really get to the conclusion that he was killed in this part of the movie. Also, I kinda missed a reaction in which Katniss would at least say "what's going on" when the pod didn't go up immediately. I think that, in this part at least, the movie shouldn't have rushed up. It kinda broke the immersion.
Finnick was such a badass in this part of the movie! Loved that guy to bits. I did miss Mags' point in being in the Quarter Quell though. She did some useful stuff in the books, but in the movie she just... stood there, then died. It was kinda silly.
More Johanna. Girl's pure badassery.
Aaaand the change of the mockingjay pin. I was expecting the movie to end with Peeta trying to kill Katniss, but then I remembered that there is a whole journey to rescue him and Johanna from the Capitol, so I guess I'll have to be waiting a couple more months until the next movie is released.
So far, this is my favorite movie this year!
Today was a very regular day though, so I didn't do anything other than the usual: finished one of my post-grad works, worked on a couple of personal projects AND managed to watch the first part of the Catching Fire movie.
(I took a couple of screenshots, but only now I noticed that I forgot to remove the time lapse. So screw that, I'm posting the images like this nevertheless because I'm feeling too lazy to edit and reupload all of them)
I read The Hunger Games trilogy a while ago (in fact, I think it was... last year? Or was it in 2012?), and while it may not be literature's masterpiece, I was still hooked up by the book series and read one after another. When The Hunger Games movie was released, I watched it and absolutely loved it, but did not buy the DVD yet because I still want to have the box with all of the movies. Since there aren't even announcements for the second part of the Catching Fire movie, this may take a while.
So, the next comments about the parts of the movie that I liked the most will be based on what I remember from the books. If anyone spots some incorrect information, by all means let me know!
Oh, suffice it to say I'll be spoiling both the movie and the books, so for those who did not read or watch them yet, consider yourselves warned!
First of all, let me drop just a quick comment about how much I loved the Mockingjay pin just because it reminds me of the Navy SEAL trident.
So, first part that deserves comments: the visit to District 11:
(I had a screenshot with the Capitol soldier pointing a gun at the old gentleman of the District 11, but it was awfully crappy, so I'll just have to leave it like that)
One of the disadvantages (and advantages) of having read the book is that you already know what is about to happen in the movie, but even though this scene wasn't completely unexpected for me, I was rather anxious to see how the scene was going to be portrayed. I have to say, it was perfect. I honestly don't remember if Katniss actually sees the soldiers going for the crowd and dragging the rebel in front of everybody in the book. If she didn't, then I'm glad the scene ended up like this.
A while before the movie was released, I heard a lot of complaints from fans about the movie, stating that the focus was being given to the romance rather than the political issues, which were supposed to be the focus of the whole story. I want to believe that they were talking about the trailers, because I didn't feel that the movie focused so much in the romantic triangle (if there was any, because Katniss always seemed to make it clear that she liked Gale rather than Peeta). If too much, it showed a more human side of the characters and I think that in these aspects, it was better to follow up with the movie rather than the books, since the books are told in a first person perspective and a lot of comments are biased with Katniss' own opinions.
Still, I really, really liked Peeta in the movie rather than in the book. He looked a little more... alive.
The gruesome flogging scene was also something I was looking forward to see but, honestly, I didn't think it was as shocking as in the book. I really wanted to like Gale a bit more, but I honestly don't think he is a very good actor. Not to mention I'm not his biggest fan after what he did by the end of Mockingjay.
Additionally, did Haimitch interfere in this scene? As far as I remember, Peeta was the one who stopped the commander, attempting to solve the problem diplomatically (like he always does).
Just. LOVED. the Quarter Quell announcement scene. This is exactly how I expected the characters to react: with despair beyond any words.
Poor lonely Peeta, though. I thought he lived with his parents?
The Coliseum presentation was also pretty awesome. Since the District 12's specialty is mining, I thought that the outfits were going to look more like coal, but the burning part was actually very nice.
I could post Katniss' dress transition during the interview, but I actually thought that that part was a bit ridiculous compared to the first movie. I was almost expecting her to fly above the crows saying "I'M BATMAN".
The training part with Katniss picking her allies was... okay, I guess. Not very logical, but those were the decisions she made in the book as well. If I were to criticize anything, it would be the hypocrisy of her choices, both in the book and in the movie. I don't even know if "hypocrisy" would be the correct word to define it, but the impression I got was that she was picking the seemingly weakest people to be her allies because she knew they wouldn't stand a chance against the career tributes, also serving as a "shield" or something.
Since the book was telling the story in Katniss' perspective, I didn't like Johanna in the book as much as I liked her in the movie. And I tell you, in Catching Fire Part 01 she was just MARVELOUS. Loved her attitude, loved her style. I don't think I really agree on her being Katniss' "friend" near the end of the movie though. I think that their mutual dislike was more interesting.
I thought that the scene where the soldiers get Sina was going to be a lot more gruesome, but there was little to no blood in the scene, so you can't really get to the conclusion that he was killed in this part of the movie. Also, I kinda missed a reaction in which Katniss would at least say "what's going on" when the pod didn't go up immediately. I think that, in this part at least, the movie shouldn't have rushed up. It kinda broke the immersion.
Finnick was such a badass in this part of the movie! Loved that guy to bits. I did miss Mags' point in being in the Quarter Quell though. She did some useful stuff in the books, but in the movie she just... stood there, then died. It was kinda silly.
More Johanna. Girl's pure badassery.
Aaaand the change of the mockingjay pin. I was expecting the movie to end with Peeta trying to kill Katniss, but then I remembered that there is a whole journey to rescue him and Johanna from the Capitol, so I guess I'll have to be waiting a couple more months until the next movie is released.
So far, this is my favorite movie this year!