I like you. Be careful.
I just got back from The Hunger Games. I'm a little wrung out still, so I'm sitting here mainlining ginger snaps and maybe when those run out I'll go for the bag of Reese's Pieces that I bought but didn't open. Ohmygosh, where to even begin?
Film, the things you did with the 1930s. Holy holy holy shit, even the future looked like it did in the '30s, but, god, the Art Deco and the Depression-in-Appalachia poverty, and the unseen, chanting, baying crowds that nearly undid me entirely.
Home. God, I miss Appalachia. I miss it so much. (Oh god, the hallucination about the coal miners. Guys, that's living memory in my hometown. This took place not so far away. My mom worked with people who'd been through the chemical plant explosions in the Kanawha River Valley in the early or mid-'90s. That is not too far from the truth.)
Perfect casting was perfect all around. Jennifer Lawrence was unbearably magnificent. Josh Hutcherson, you were great. LENNY KRAVITZ AS CINNA. His chemistry with Jennifer Lawrence was so right and so real. Wow. RUE RUE RUE. All the Tributes! DONALD SUTHERLAND, HOLY SHIT. (That end shot was pitch-perfect and absolutely horrifying.)
I was honestly shocked by how participatory the film was, on a visceral level (shakycams, blurred vision, the fade to white, you know the one I mean), on a behind-the-scenes level (I LOVED all the non-Katniss scenes, which I think fleshed out the story wonderfully), and of course, in a "cheering for children, even if they're the heroes, to kill each other" level. I don't know how popular an opinion this was, but I think the brutality and violence was shown just enough -- it didn't need to be Tarantino. I thought that was handled very well.
I loved watching Katniss and Peeta play out their romance. Actually, I loved watching Peeta period: Peeta, who understands the game. But I really enjoyed how completely manufactured that romance was; there was no room for "Is it real?" in my mind. Even that "I don't want to forget" at the end -- that, to me, was completely about revolution and not at all about love.
This movie really worked for me on a level I was not expecting at all. I mean, I read the books during long trips a few years ago, and they were quickly devoured, but they didn't shake me. This shook me. If they hold up this level of quality, I am very excited for the next films -- and, er, it does make me want to finally read the third book. And reread the others.
(The only thing that really irks me is that I don't know where the Neko Case song is on the soundtrack! I did find the score interesting, a good mix of T-Bone Burnett [for good reason; he composed it] and Trent Reznor [who was not involved, but his influence certainly is], but I don't know that I'd buy it. We waited around during the credits, but the end credits song was freaking Taylor Swift instead, and, well, I really had to pee.) (That was me channeling Jennifer Lawrence, by the way. The interview .gifs that are working their way around and around Tumblr are fantastic.)
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This movie really worked for me on a level I was not expecting at all. I mean, I read the books during long trips a few years ago, and they were quickly devoured, but they didn't shake me. This shook me. If they hold up this level of quality, I am very excited for the next films -- and, er, it does make me want to finally read the third book. And reread the others.
(The only thing that really irks me is that I don't know where the Neko Case song is on the soundtrack! I did find the score interesting, a good mix of T-Bone Burnett [for good reason; he composed it] and Trent Reznor [who was not involved, but his influence certainly is], but I don't know that I'd buy it. We waited around during the credits, but the end credits song was freaking Taylor Swift instead, and, well, I really had to pee.) (That was me channeling Jennifer Lawrence, by the way. The interview .gifs that are working their way around and around Tumblr are fantastic.)
This was originally posted on Dreamwidth, where it has
comments. I would love to hear from you at DW! If you can see this post, you can comment here using OpenID. Thanks!