May the odds etc etc
I have finally seen The Hunger Games, becoming possibly the last person in the world to do so.
The movie was pretty much exactly what I had pictured and what I had been expecting. Granted, I haven't read the first book since Mockingjay came out, but still.
- Really, really liked the choice to emphasize the reality tv nature of the games, and focus on Seneca and the pressures from President Snow. The command centre, as it were, was not something I'd understood/pictured from the books, but was perfect.
- When the woman showed Seneca the muttation she'd created with such delight and he responded in kind, it was like the final straw for me and I leaned over to my friend and couldn't help but say "they are terrible people." Funny how long it took me to be pushed over that edge as a viewer. Huh.
- Part of me kept thinking "ok, if I was chosen as Tribute, what would I do?" I have zero practical skills and little to no athletic prowess, let alone hand-eye coordination, which led me to wondering how many Tributes stepped off their pedestals early for an easy, relatively painless death, and if that led to punishments for their districts. Then I realized Panem was not real and I should worry less about fictional peoples.
- I never had a problem with Lenny Kravitz's casting - thought it was a good choice, actually - but the movie overall hit a few notes for me that made me bristle, especially the way he toasted Katniss after she got her 11 as "the girl on FIRE!" I was like "hey, Cinna believes in her! THAT IS TOO FLIPPANT, MR. KRAVITZ! TOO FLIP!" And then one of the friends I was with reminded me that truly, Cinna's real job is to sell a product, and part of that is making Katniss (and us) believe in herself, so. Still think Lenny did a delightful job.
- I was especially moved by the scene of Katniss saying goodbye to her mother and telling her not to cry. Gah.
- Woody Harrelson FTW. What a delight.
- I love everything about Jennifer Lawrence, as a person, as an actor, and as Katniss. Also, I think she should keep her hair that dark brown all the time. Also, this is possibly my new favorite thing. (ROLLERSKATES OMG).
- RUE. GOOD LORD. GAH, SOB, ETC.
- Josh Hutcherson was delightful as Peeta, and pretty much exactly as I pictured him. I should not looked at the premiere pictures that made him look a foot shorter than Jennifer Lawrence, though, because sometimes I got distracted and noticed that they were shooting him in the foreground so that he looked taller. Hee.
- I quite liked Gale in this. I am Team Peeta all the way (sorry again, taragel), but I felt we got a lot of his relationship with Katniss in the movie. I completely understand why people saw him as Katniss' soulmate, which I always was sort of ho-hum on in the books.
- PRIM. And I couldn't help but thinking "despite everything, despite Katniss volunteering, despite the war to come, despite everything everyone in the movie/book it going to go through, it's all going to come out the same in the wash as if Prim had been the Tribute for Katniss." Sigh.
I'm not saying that I'm glad I insisted that the friend who had my copies of the books give them back recently, but I'm pretty sure the rest of my long weekend is going to be spent tucked in bed and on the couch doing a little rereading.
The movie was pretty much exactly what I had pictured and what I had been expecting. Granted, I haven't read the first book since Mockingjay came out, but still.
- Really, really liked the choice to emphasize the reality tv nature of the games, and focus on Seneca and the pressures from President Snow. The command centre, as it were, was not something I'd understood/pictured from the books, but was perfect.
- When the woman showed Seneca the muttation she'd created with such delight and he responded in kind, it was like the final straw for me and I leaned over to my friend and couldn't help but say "they are terrible people." Funny how long it took me to be pushed over that edge as a viewer. Huh.
- Part of me kept thinking "ok, if I was chosen as Tribute, what would I do?" I have zero practical skills and little to no athletic prowess, let alone hand-eye coordination, which led me to wondering how many Tributes stepped off their pedestals early for an easy, relatively painless death, and if that led to punishments for their districts. Then I realized Panem was not real and I should worry less about fictional peoples.
- I never had a problem with Lenny Kravitz's casting - thought it was a good choice, actually - but the movie overall hit a few notes for me that made me bristle, especially the way he toasted Katniss after she got her 11 as "the girl on FIRE!" I was like "hey, Cinna believes in her! THAT IS TOO FLIPPANT, MR. KRAVITZ! TOO FLIP!" And then one of the friends I was with reminded me that truly, Cinna's real job is to sell a product, and part of that is making Katniss (and us) believe in herself, so. Still think Lenny did a delightful job.
- I was especially moved by the scene of Katniss saying goodbye to her mother and telling her not to cry. Gah.
- Woody Harrelson FTW. What a delight.
- I love everything about Jennifer Lawrence, as a person, as an actor, and as Katniss. Also, I think she should keep her hair that dark brown all the time. Also, this is possibly my new favorite thing. (ROLLERSKATES OMG).
- RUE. GOOD LORD. GAH, SOB, ETC.
- Josh Hutcherson was delightful as Peeta, and pretty much exactly as I pictured him. I should not looked at the premiere pictures that made him look a foot shorter than Jennifer Lawrence, though, because sometimes I got distracted and noticed that they were shooting him in the foreground so that he looked taller. Hee.
- I quite liked Gale in this. I am Team Peeta all the way (sorry again, taragel), but I felt we got a lot of his relationship with Katniss in the movie. I completely understand why people saw him as Katniss' soulmate, which I always was sort of ho-hum on in the books.
- PRIM. And I couldn't help but thinking "despite everything, despite Katniss volunteering, despite the war to come, despite everything everyone in the movie/book it going to go through, it's all going to come out the same in the wash as if Prim had been the Tribute for Katniss." Sigh.
I'm not saying that I'm glad I insisted that the friend who had my copies of the books give them back recently, but I'm pretty sure the rest of my long weekend is going to be spent tucked in bed and on the couch doing a little rereading.