Various Links (I'll update over the weekend)
- Jezebel points out that The Hunger Games is the first movie about a girl. Or something. Do you think this is a significant crack in cinema's glass ceiling? Does cinema have a glass ceiling, in front of the camera anyway? I don't know. I am asking.
- Mother Jones viscously pans the flick, recommending instead that you see Battle Royale and City Of God. The second recommendation kind of comes out of nowhere, but it is true: you SHOULD see that movie. Battle Royale was eh though.
- Slate's Dana Stevens offers an enthusiastic review, more or less spoiler-free, for the uninitiated.
- Also at Slate, LV Anderson notes a frankly MADDENING trend in reviews of The Hunger Games: critics picking on Jennifer Lawrence's body. Um, LOOK AT THIS GIRL. And then look at the gaunt figure Ashley Greene has become lately. SHUT THE FUCK UP, MANOHLA DARGIS, TODD McCARTHY and JEFFREY WELLS! Let Jennifer Lawrence be great (and sexy, dammit)!
- Posters for The Hunger Games as directed by various auteurs. Pretty good.
17 comments:
I haven't read the books, and I had no huge excitement for it. I went with a friend at midnight because he was like "LET'S GO SEE IT" and I was like "UM, WELL, OKAY".
I'm sure I would have less confusion (mostly "why do they keep allowing this to happen/why is the Capitol so happy about this") if I had read the books, but it was a good movie. Good acting. Weird cinematography.
I guess I missed the part where they set this up to have a sequel. It works fine as a standalone movie, showcasing the horrors of what reality TV could become and cautioning against power. I'd actually love it if it stayed a single movie (though it won't), just because it would be interesting to see how the themes are discussed in the future, without "and then the Revolution happened, and then other stuff".
Go see it! it was a pretty ok adaptation! Some people are mad because it isn't "hardcore" enough and i'm like, did you not see X get X-ed by X? or they are mad because this character or this scene was cut but whatever.
my sister and i were glad we read the books because it filled in the gaps. hope you enjoy it.
First of all let me say it is a good movie. Stylistically it's a mix of Children of Men and the Star Trek reboot. Ridiculous amount of handy cam but kind of impressive to see a studio go all out on tentpole release and not just play it safe.
Effie was sort of just a hype man, repeating & emphasizing what others said. This was fine I guess.
The movie adds a lot of behind-the-scenes action to replace what could have been an annoying Katniss voiceover to explain the games. By removing her inner monologue they almost make Katniss smarter than in the books (where you're almost always one step ahead of her). It's probably the biggest plus of the flick.
Interested to hear what you think.
I haven't read the books, but I really did enjoy watching the movie. I thought it looked gorgeous at some points. I got confused at a lot of points about who everyone was supposed to be and what their jobs were, but it made sense (kind of). I have a more in-depth review: http://livealifeabroad.tumblr.com/post/19805656306/the-hunger-games-a-review
I thought if it had just been a bit more friendly to people who hadn't read the books, it would have been excellent.
It was an alright movie. The first part before the games felt really awkward and had too many up close shots (I dunno, maybe it's just because I'm a guy) but the action scenes brought it back a bit.
Surrounded by 12 year old girls, I got to thinking that it was really just PG-13 to a fault. All the cool killing parts were watered down, and I was really hoping to see some blood.
And the "werewolves!" WHAT! Come on, they were over-sized pit bulls!
Also, starved kids don't look starved. Haymitch is awesome.
I haven't read the book yet, although I will soon, and I have to say that this movie was a /masterpiece/ of screenwriting finesse. There were only one or two moments when something was said out loud that was already obvious.
They could have cut out the text at the beginning, since that propaganda film a few minutes later explained it all perfectly fine. And Cesar really did not have to say "Tracker Jackers induce terrible pain and hallucinations" eight fucking times. Nor did he have to explain exactly how the Careers burried landmines around their pile of stuff. Since the red-headed girl pulled off a way of showing us instead.
But they really pulled off the subtext really well. They had that scene where Katniss finds the camera in a treehole, which sets up that they're always watched really well, but it also set up looking at eyes to see when something is for the camera. So then when Katniss and Peeta were making out and doing "romantic" stuff you could always see their eyes looking around at other places besides each other, making it clear that they're doing it for the cameras.
I loved how they pulled off the setting, when I heard that the book is first person I was shocked since all of the behind-the-scenes scenes were worked in really well. I really loved the scene at the end with the bowl of berries.
While sometimes towards the beginning it seemed like things were going a bit fast, they still managed to properly set up every little thing before it happened, even down to tiny details like shooting the apples down to mines. (unlike some other modern screenwriters who seem to have never heard of three act structure.)
The character consistency throughout the games was also really great. The red-headed girl was really recognizable and was a great tool for showing us things about the games without having to have Caesar explain it all.
Caesar was also really great. I really got the idea that he wasn't a bad guy at all, he was just completely oblivious to how or why the Hunger Games are terrible. I got the idea that he wasn't even aware of how bad the districts were by comparison to the Capitol.
I also loved looking at the people living in the Capitol. Such great aesthetic! Like eerie clowns!
And the music was handled very well! It was quiet when it needed to be and the music only ever added to mood and never seemed like it was distracting. It was eerie and it really worked.
I really felt like I was watching a classic dystopia movie. The media and press surrounding the Hunger Games have been trying to put it in the realm of Twilight and HP but it really is much more in the realm of Orwell and 2001: A Space Odyssey. As great as the fake Peeta relationship is, I feel that if it wasn't there then this franchise wouldn't have had the unfortunate fate of being labelled YA and not taken seriously because of it.
Screw the haters, Jennifer Lawrence is gorgeous and she was great as Katniss. I'm totally fine with them not looking starved. I was actually really impressed with all of the casting. I went in with doubts about a few of them (Peeta), but they convinced me. I pretty much agree with everything Jesse said aside from the YA thoughts. :) It's definitely one of the better book to movie adaptations I've seen. I hope they can pull off the same with the next 2 (Or is it 3? Are they splitting the last?) Anyway, I have more thoughts but I'm running on about 4 hours of sleep the last 3 days, so I'll spare everyone my nonsensical rambling right now.
Jesse, thank you for your comment--most of us are coming at this from a totally different perspective so it's really great to hear your thoughts.
Most of the time when people who "haven't read the book" go into situations like this, they go with a friend who over-explains everything that was different about the source. The result being that the guy who hasn't read it just shrugs and says "It doesn't make sense unless you read the book." That was a knock against later Harry movies, but I always suspected it was bullshit, a reputation created inadvertently by over enthusiastic fans. And I think lots of people, critics and regular folks alike, buy into that narrative and might not even try to understand what is happening in HP or THG, like, their normal cognitive function doesn't kick in and they don't treat the movie fairly.
You obviously didn't do that, and your review makes me feel a lot better about this movie, actually! I promise to see it soon, guys.
Yeah haven't seen it yet but based on friends' reviews, it was "pretty awesome but not amazing". Like, it just confirmed for the die-hards what they already expected. Whereas one of my friends watched it without reading the books and thought it WAS amazing. So I think the main appeal of the first book is the initial plot twists and the dystopian setting- the plot twists kept me reading past midnight, and the dystopian society gives it depth.
Anyways got sidetracked- personally I pictured Effie with neon pink hair and Caesar with blue lipstick and eyeliner, but that's just headcanon XD
All in all I heard it's a decent adaption that did good justice! Can't wait to watch it myself, and to see FINNICK in the next movies!!!! Also: did I read correctly somewhere, they're planning to split the last movie into two parts?!?! FUCK?!?!??!?
I've read the books, saw it at midnight. I'd say it's a good adaptation- not amazing, but very, very serviceable. Lots of haters wanting more blood, but I think the cinematography, score, and the acting helped fill in a lot of the horror gaps for me.
I have no complaints over what was added; I agree that the cuts to the behind-the-scenes and broadcast sequences definitely made up for the things that Katniss tells us in her inner monologue in the book.
My number one complaint was the lack of interpersonal bonds. There isn't a lot of relationship building, which in my mind made it feel a lot more rushed than I'd like. I didn't buy Katniss mourning Rue, because we see her (Rue) dead onscreen more than we see her alive. We also don't really get a lot of Peeta. However, I have high hopes for the Catching Fire movie to pick up the slack on the Peeta+Katniss romance, because you never feel in this movie that there are actual emotions there; it feels 100% sponsor ploy.
Oh man, did you see this? Because damn.
http://jezebel.com/5896408/racist-hunger-games-fans-dont-care-how-much-money-the-movie-made
Holy shit, Kim. That is so upsetting and depressing.
Another Adventure in Emily's Comments Are Way Too Long! pt. 1
I never had any interest in these books, and also went to see it largely because a friend asked me and because I felt like it was probably gonna be pretty okay.
Glancing over these comments, I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I actually thought it was excellent. For a franchise-based blockbuster, it succeeded in basically all its goals - it made me feel basic, unsubtle emotions. I was constantly horrified by basically everything (I can't fucking believe there are people who want more blood and violence, I mean, for god's sake, but maybe I'm just really old fashioned??), I felt emotional over the LIGHTNING-FAST development of Cinna and Katniss's friendship (amazingly... not sure how they pulled that off), I cared about Peeta, I cried over Rue (which, frankly, shocked me). I laughed at Haymitch and Effie's nonsense. I experienced all the responses that I think they were aiming for, and I mean, job well done.
Beyond that, and the stellar acting from everybody, Tucci in particular (damn, Tucci), I think the cinematography/editing was the movie's strongest asset. It was really a gorgeous film. People complain about shakycam, but apart from some particular experiences, that has never really seemed to bother me. Also I barely noticed it in this film. What I noticed were intense, extreme close-ups and quick edits. A really evocative visual narrative. I suspect that the emotions I was made to feel came less from the story and more from the framework. James Newton Howard also killed it, unsurprisingly, with his modest but effective scoring.
For the first third or so, I really wanted the story to just be about the Capitol. That sort of whacky Fifth Element kind of future scenario really appeals to me, and I love all the mirthful corruption, and I wish that could have been explored. Basically I wish the story was about Haymitch. But I think we all wish that.
But when they were all first released onto the field, or whatever... and the violence and confusion that followed... that sequence made me sit up straight. Literally. I can't get over how good that sequence was. I guess I won't go so far as to say it was innovative, but it used certain filmtelling tropes extremely well, and damn, it was just so good. And it went on for so long, which was awesome. The use of silence in this movie was pretty solid, I think. Also the use of perspective. I felt Katniss's anxiety, Rue's death, etc. Generally what I am saying is it was really well made.
I also think, based on what I know about the books, that this story is much better told as a movie, where you can jump around in POV and offer CONTEXT for some of the nonsense that goes on within the Games, like "oh hey guys guess what if two of you from the same team win, you both win!" "oh jk guys!!" That worked so much better on screen. It really felt more like a power struggle between these desperate kids and their frivolous overlords, which is more interesting to watch than the inside of Katniss's head (Katniss also seems to come off better when we can't hear her thoughts).
I dunno, maybe it's because I haven't read the books and went in with pretty low expectations, but I was really pleasantly surprised, and I kind of want to see it again, if just for that sequence I mentioned.
pt. 2
Oh, also: when it was Team Katniss & Rue, I found myself wishing that Peeta weren't a part of the story. I liked Peeta a lot! But during those scenes, I realized a much more interesting story, at least to me, would be two kids from different districts who get down to the end and absolutely refuse to kill each other. It would probably end badly for them both, but I think I could get behind that much more than these weird contrived romance thing.
However, final note, about the romance - seeing it play out in movie form made me realize (maybe this has been observed before) that what Collins is really doing is subverting the entire basic movie premise of Two People In Deadly Situation Fall In Love In Spite Of Everything. Instead, that whole idea is used as a completely self-aware strategy playing on actual narrative tropes, made complicated by the development of potentially one-sided feelings. The first part of that is brilliant. The second part could be if she had written it better.
That's all I got for now.
Ok, maybe I'm the minority here, but I did not like the movie at all. I felt like there was 0 character development. I had no emotional connection during the Rue moments and it was almost to the point where I didn't really even care about Katniss that much. I tried to think of how I'd view the movie if i hadn't read the book and I just felt like some little things could have been done to make it way better (I am not hating on the blood and gore either, just as far as being able to understand what's happening)! Honestly, if I hadn't read the books, I wouldn't have even realized that district 13 was destroyed. The said there were 13 districts, then that there was a war, then that there was the hunger games without really mentioning what happened to 13 or even that it was gone!
WHAT THE HELL
Lenny Kravitz was awful.
Woody Harrelson was awful.
Josh Hutcherson performed the only good acting in the main cast but his mascara was so distracting.
Jennifer Lawrence had one face for the entire film. "GUH?"
TOO MUCH shaky cam. TOO MUCH close-up face. Inconsistent reaction times. Jarringly bad music choices and placement of those bad choices. The costumes sucked. The CGI was laughable. The movie was TOO DARK (like, get a fucking light meter too dark) or sepia tone? The entire film was shot from beneath Jennifer Lawrence's jawline and it made everyone look terrible. Who shot this? I want their head on a stick! There's going to be a new director for the next one! WHEW!
WELL, I, for one, LOVED IT.
I'll have to see it again, but right now I'm pretty sure it was better than the book. HATERS TO THE LEFT.
Uniformly, I thought the actors were great except for maybe Gale but who cares. I thought the shaky-cam, closeup shots were great, and I almost wish there were MORE OF THEM.
I thought the violence was handled with appropriate revulsion, and a few sequences were utterly flawless, LIKE:
-The beginning of the games, with the countown and the tension and the WHOA.
-Rue's death into the riot, which was some moving shit. I swear my friend Andrew, who has not read the books, shed a few tears. AND I SORT OF DID AS WELL. (I also almost did the first time everybody did the three finger thing. LOVE THAT PART! AHHH!)
And little things, like the forest fire, and big things, like Katniss/Peeta, and the mechanics of the games themselves, were handled WAY BETTER than in the book.
Again: TO THE LEFT.
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