Review: The Hunger Games Movie

I don't have time to write a long review, but I saw The Hunger Games Friday night and wanted to share a few thoughts and a few fangirl squees.

Overall impression: I was not disappointed. Granted, I saw the trailer before I started reading the books, so of course the characters all conformed to my expectations perfectly - but they also surpassed them. I was especially impressed by Jennifer Lawrence, although I expected no less after seeing Winter's Bone. Aside from all the Katniss's conflicting affections and incredible strength and snarky personality, it's damn hard to act out all the physical pain and grit without rolling your eyes around in your head (ahem...Elijah Wood....ahem), but she nailed it. I really believed her exhaustion and desperation with the burn on her leg and it had the impact it should in a movie that's all about people fighting for their lives and trying to preserve their physical bodies as well as their self-worth and individuality.

Design: Again, good stuff. I did think the opening sequence in District 12 was a little over-the-top on the depression-era old people faces, but I liked the overall atmosphere, especially the images of all the kids dressed up in their best, hair slicked back, looking so innocent in a way. And I loved how crazy they went with the Capitol fashions. And how much screen time they gave to the crowds.

Action movie v. social commentary: Again, glad they spent so much time on the crowds, the media hype, the game makers, and the political machinations behind the scenes. I thought that was all a great way to put us in Katniss's mindset - that she's always being watched, being judged, being controlled. And it made the movie complementary to the book because it didn't just cut things, it added things, too - which is always good. The downside was that the more time they spent on that, the less time they spent on other important things.
Like the ending. I was really disappointed with the entire ending sequence, starting with the mutts all the way to the final shot. The end of the book was so great, the way it pushed you to the limit with the finale of the games, and then placed you in a kind of horrible tension limbo when Katniss is recovering, and then plunged you into another, even bigger danger, and also complicated the Katniss-Peeta relationship beautifully at the last moment. The movie did none of that. In fact, overall, I thought the first half was way better than the second half. It just felt like they ran out of steam and out of time.

Favorite moments: The countdown and the moments just before Katniss enters the arena; the relationship between Rue and Katniss; when Peeta made Katniss smile with his joke about the bow; when he admitted to having beat himself up over not going out to her in the rain; when he touched her braid at the end; when Katniss made snarky comments to Cato and the gang from her tree; when Seneca found the berries; when Haymitch was rude to Effie; when Katniss wouldn't answer Peeta's questions ('why are you doing this for me?') because she doesn't know the answers; when she saw herself on fire on the screens at the tribute parade....so many more.

It just felt great to sink into something wholeheartedly and passionately in a way that sometimes only nerdy fandom can let you do. I really wanted to enjoy the hell out of this movie and I did, and I laughed and cried (and may have cut off circulation in my friend's hand during the tracker jacker scene), and it felt good. And I'm thankful that people aren't afraid to write books and make movies based on crazy ideas and make them into really great stories.

A deconstructed book

Just noticed that the book I checked out of the library yesterday has been deconstructed and reconstructed in a singular way. It seems they're cut the front and back covers off of a paperback edition and simply pasted them onto the the front and back of the hardcover (which must have lost its jacket).

I used to have a horror of damaging to taking apart books in any way, but now I think it can yield interesting results. A page fallen from an old book, a piece of a book missing its other half, a book encased in the cover of another....

But now I must get back to the contents of books and stop distracting myself with their aesthetics.

An early morning wish

If I could pop over to Hogwarts to learn just one spell, it would definitely be the summoning charm, because then I could just yell "Accio book" or "Accio cup of tea" or "Accio dinner" when I'm sunk in thesis writing sessions and don't want to move.

Oh, and a time turner would also be useful.

Mid-semester

I've been having one of those weeks when nothing in particular happens. My work on thesis has just become one long stream of writing and reading and thinking that flows through every day and (to continue this metaphor a bit further) just runs underground for a bit every night only to reappear the next morning when I wake up. All my other work has taken on secondary importance. I no longer segregate my serious thesis writing to the weekends. Even my meal times have become part of it - more often than not I find myself sitting at a table with my computer, a few heavily ear-marked books, and a cup of tea or plate of food in front of me.

This is by no means a complaint. I enjoy the work very much, especially the continuity of it. But it sometimes feels as though the days are slipping by without my really noticing them. I try to get outside, sit in the sun, acknowledge that there's a world outside of my head, but at other times I just sink into the thought world. I notice the time passing, but I don't necessarily feel it, in the way that one feels the rhythms of the day in one's body.

In my down time, too, I always tend to turn back into my mind. Exhausted from reading and writing so intensely during the day, I find I can't do much more than re-watch episodes of Game of Thrones before stumbling to bed.

However, I have kept my resolution so far of spending 10-15 minutes a day taking care of my body, and, for a college student, I sleep obscenely well and long. And then every morning I'm up again, thinking about how I'm going to finish off Chapter 6 of my thesis and how I'll fit in that homework that's due on Tuesday and how amazing I hope season 2 of Game of Thrones is going to be.

Academia a funny kind of life.

Oscar predictions

I meant to do this weeks ago, but here we are with the Oscars airing tomorrow, and here I am with my 2 cents about who should win.
I don't care as much as I used to about the Oscars, but they're still good fun and a good reason to catch up with what's been going on in movies for the past year. Plus, all those dresses!
My judgements, marked in italics, are entirely subjective. Sometimes there's a tie. I haven't seen most of the films, so I can't really judge very well. Some categories I haven't seen or read about any of the films.
So, for what it's worth, here are my choices:

Best Motion Picture of the Year

The Artist (2011): Thomas Langmann

The Descendants (2011): Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011): Scott Rudin

The Help (2011): Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan

Hugo (2011/II): Graham King, Martin Scorsese

Midnight in Paris (2011): Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

Moneyball (2011): Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt

The Tree of Life (2011): Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner, Grant Hill

War Horse (2011): Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir for A Better Life (2011)

George Clooney for The Descendants (2011)

Jean Dujardin for The Artist (2011)

Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Brad Pitt for Moneyball (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Viola Davis for The Help (2011)

Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)

Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Jonah Hill for Moneyball (2011)

Nick Nolte for Warrior (2011)

Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010)

Max von Sydow for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo for The Artist (2011)

Jessica Chastain for The Help (2011)

Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids (2011)

Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs (2011)

Octavia Spencer for The Help (2011)

Best Achievement in Directing

Woody Allen for Midnight in Paris (2011)

Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist (2011)

Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life (2011)

Alexander Payne for The Descendants (2011)

Martin Scorsese for Hugo (2011/II)

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius

Bridesmaids (2011): Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo

Margin Call (2011): J.C. Chandor

Midnight in Paris (2011): Woody Allen

A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

The Descendants (2011): Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

Hugo (2011/II): John Logan

The Ides of March (2011): George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon

Moneyball (2011): Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year

A Cat in Paris (2010): Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli (I haven't seen it, but the title sounds good!)

Chico & Rita (2010): Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011): Jennifer Yuh

Puss in Boots (2011): Chris Miller

Rango (2011): Gore Verbinski

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Bullhead (2011): Michael R. Roskam(Belgium)

Footnote (2011): Joseph Cedar(Israel)

In Darkness (2011): Agnieszka Holland(Poland)

Monsieur Lazhar (2011): Philippe Falardeau(Canada)

A Separation (2011): Asghar Farhadi(Iran)

Best Achievement in Cinematography

The Artist (2011): Guillaume Schiffman

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Jeff Cronenweth

Hugo (2011/II): Robert Richardson

The Tree of Life (2011): Emmanuel Lubezki

War Horse (2011): Janusz Kaminski

Best Achievement in Editing

The Artist (2011): Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius

The Descendants (2011): Kevin Tent

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

Hugo (2011/II): Thelma Schoonmaker

Moneyball (2011): Christopher Tellefsen

Best Achievement in Art Direction

The Artist (2011): Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

Hugo (2011/II): Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

Midnight in Paris (2011): Anne Seibel, Hélène Dubreuil

War Horse (2011): Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

Best Achievement in Costume Design

Anonymous (2011/I): Lisy Christl

The Artist (2011): Mark Bridges

Hugo (2011/II): Sandy Powell

Jane Eyre (2011): Michael O'Connor

W.E. (2011): Arianne Phillips

Best Achievement in Makeup

Albert Nobbs (2011): Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnson, Matthew W. Mungle

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin

The Iron Lady (2011): Mark Coulier, J. Roy Helland

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score

The Adventures of Tintin (2011): John Williams

The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

Hugo (2011/II): Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Alberto Iglesias

War Horse (2011): John Williams

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song

The Muppets (2011): Bret McKenzie("Man or Muppet")

Rio (2011): Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown, Siedah Garrett("Real in Rio")

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce, Bo Persson

Hugo (2011/II): Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

Moneyball (2011): Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, David Giammarco, Ed Novick

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Peter J. Devlin

War Horse (2011): Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Stuart Wilson

Best Achievement in Sound Editing

Drive (2011): Lon Bender, Victor Ray Ennis

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011): Ren Klyce

Hugo (2011/II): Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl

War Horse (2011): Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom

Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011): Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler, John Richardson

Hugo (2011/II): Robert Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning

Real Steel (2011): Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Danny Gordon Taylor, Swen Gillberg

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011): Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, Daniel Barrett

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011): Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew E. Butler, John Frazier

Best Documentary, Features

Hell and Back Again (2011): Danfung Dennis, Mike Lerner

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011): Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011): Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

Pina (2011): Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel

Undefeated (2011): Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin, Rich Middlemas

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (2011): Robin Fryday, Gail Dolgin

God Is the Bigger Elvis (2012): Rebecca Cammisa, Julie Anderson

Incident in New Baghdad (2011): James Spione

Saving Face (2012): Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011): Lucy Walker, Kira Carstensen

Best Short Film, Animated

Sunday (2011): Patrick Doyon

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011): William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg

La Luna (2011): Enrico Casarosa

A Morning Stroll (2011): Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

Wild Life (2011): Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby

Best Short Film, Live Action

Pentecost (2011): Peter McDonald

Raju (2011): Max Zähle, Stefan Gieren

The Shore (2011): Terry George, Oorlagh George

Time Freak (2011): Andrew Bowler, Gigi Causey

Tuba Atlantic (2010):

Review: The Hunger Games, Book 1

I haven't had so much trouble keeping my hands off a book since Harry Potter. Now, I don't pretend that Collins has done anything on the same scale as Rowling. In fact, for the first time in my life, I'm actually pretty glad that they're making a movie of a book I like. Usually, it feels like such a cop-out (why not just make up your own story and film it?) or too much of a risk (what if they get it all wrong?). But my main qualm with Collins is that she fails to flesh out her fictional world enough. For example, if I hadn't already seen the movie trailer, I'm not sure how I would have imagined the dress Katniss wears to the reapings, which is simply described as a blue dress, but which look so perfectly worn down and ill-fitting in the trailer.


As I read, I had no trouble following Katniss through the spaces and the crowds of strange people she encounters, but I felt often like I was supplying some prototypical sci-fi/fantasy interiors to fill out the minimal description on the page. All of which is to say that I'm really excited for the movie, because I'm hoping it will take what Collins wrote and run with it and put in all the little odd details that are so fun to read in the futuristic, fantasy, and sci-fi genres.

As I said, though, that was really my only quibble with the book. I didn't come in expecting great writing, but the style was clean and effective throughout. Most impressively, it gripped me right from the start and hasn't let go since, even though I've finished the book and set it aside to be returned to the library. As a writer, I'm not very skilled at manipulating plot, so I hugely admire any writer who can so perfectly pace a story, giving us a rest or some reflection for a few pages and then cutting it off at exactly the right moment with a new revelation or imperative action.

Which brings me to my final thought of the day. Beyond telling a good story, I think Collins did an excellent job of including subtle social commentary through the book - in such a perfect way for a YA novel, not hitting you over the head, not spewing anger and frustration, just carefully setting out the truth the way she sees it. The way she implicates us, the readers, in the Games is just great. From the start, you think you're totally allied with a rebel, totally opposed to the Capitol and its abusive governance. But as soon as the Games begin, we're hooked, just like all the millions of people watching them on screens throughout Panem. We cannot escape the fact that we are reading an exciting and entertaining book and that we are, to some extent, thrilled by the dangers these kids are undergoing for the amusement and benefit of the people of the Capitol. Whatever you choose to see the Games stand for, or even if you choose not to apply parallels to our world, you can't quite condemn them completely, because you are still reading about them, not, I would guess, in total disgust, but more in a complex mix of horror and fascination, of sadness and thrill.

All of which make this book a little more than a well-told adventure. I loved that complexity in the moral. I loved Katniss as a heroine and am absolutely rooting for Peeta (but please don't spoil the outcome of the romance for me!). I loved the feeling of being transported away on a bullet train into another world every time I opened the book. And I'm currently trying desperately to find a copy of Book 2 that hasn't been checked out, lost, put on hold, or relegated to that most frustrating category, "Unavailable."

Finally, I HAVE ONLY READ BOOK 1 PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL THE NEXT BOOK FOR ME. PLEASE.

Shrove Tuesday

In honor of designated pancake day, I feasted on waffles this morning - not quite the same, I know, but it's all I could find, and this busy student has no time to make her own pancakes.

For my annual shameless exploitation of Catholic tradition, I've resolved to spend at least 15 minutes every day working out, stretching, dancing, or running around - in other words, waking up my body from the stupor of reading and writing, which is my life right now. Although I'm not religious at all, I find the 40 days of Lent to be a perfect time frame for resolutions.

Speaking of which, one of my New Year's resolutions was to read more books for fun, so last night I stopped off studying early and started reading The Hunger Games. And now I know why people keep reading YA even when they're no longer of the target age. As much as I love highly sophisticated and complex and fancily-written books, there's something different about a book that's about nothing but telling a story. Something different about the thrill of flying through the pages because you can't wait to see what happens next. Good stuff. I'll probably finish today or tomorrow and let you know what I think when I do. Until then, happy pancake eating!