So here's a slight 'proof' to my fangirlism:
These are my copies of the books from the Hunger Games series, and whilst I was in France, I even bought one written in French. Obviously there are far more psychotic fangirls of THG around than myself, but this is the extent of my collection. I can't remember how many times I've read the series in English; presumably around 4 or 5, and I've read about half of the first book in French. On with the review!
Before you read this review, I suggest you read my friends review on her blog because mine is based on hers, although we have differing opinions. I saw the midnight premier with her. Here's hers: http://sourapplesnotlemons.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/hunger-games-review.html
And here's mine: (Warning: Spoiler Alert)
To start at the end, I didn't really enjoy The Hunger Games movie. This was probably due to the months (literally) of excitement and hype my friends and myself built up about it, and simply the fact that the book was so fantastically amazing that nothing could compare to it. Although in all fairness, if I hadn't read the series, I probably would have enjoyed the movie a lot more.
I didn't think the soundtrack of the movie was all that bad, but really I didn't pay much attention to it. It had frustrating 'ding-y' music in sad moments, none or very fast music in intense moments and all the usual stuff like that. Also, I do remind you that I know quite little in the way of film and audio techniques. These opinions are simply coming from an average viewer.
My entire experience of THG began at the start very very end of 2010 when I was camping with my friend for New Years and she told me about this amazing new book her mum bought her (This was The Hunger Games). A few months after that, she had gotten Iz (from sourapplesnotlemons.blogspot.com.au ) to read it and she loved it and so began the chain of convincing myself and about 4 other friends and a few family members to read the series. By early 2011 just about all of my friends and I had read and loved the series, so when we discovered that the movie was being made of book 1, we tracked its progress the entire way through building up excitement to a ridiculous extent. I can't remember which of my friends it was, but she suggested that when the date for the midnight premier in my city was announced, we try and get tickets. Somehow or other, this responsibility landed on me. Practically all we were talking about for the week before the tickets were on sale was our trip to France (most of my friends and myself went on the school French tour and we flew out the day after the midnight premier), buying the tickets, expectations of the movie and just discussing the books in general.
I don't think you realise just how much pressure was put onto me to get these tickets the day that they came out. People were constantly yelling at me and giving me money for the tickets because I had to buy them all in one hit. The day the tickets came out was when the bad news struck. I had so many difficulties with the freaking website stuffing up that I didn't manage to get the tickets the day they came out so just about everyone intending to see the movie with me was out to kill me. All of us, including myself, were shit scared that we would miss out on the tickets because around my area, there are a lot of Hunger Games fangirls/ fanboys. But alas, the next day I tried again and WE GOT THE TICKETS!!!!
This is the ticket/ tickets for the 7 of us that went
On the eve of the premier, myself, Iz, her sister and another friend came to my house for a 'pre-party' which was really just a get-together of getting ridiculously overly super incredibly excited. At about 11.30pm we arrived at the cinemas and met up with the other 4 of us and were amazed to see the lack of crowd. By the time the movie started, the theatre was less than half full. But still WE WERE AT THE MIDNIGHT PREMIER OF THE HUNGER GAMES ON A SCHOOL NIGHT THE DAY BEFORE MOST OF US WENT TO FRANCE!!!! It was exciting to say the least. Also, if you're wondering how we managed to go to the movies at midnight on a school night before an overseas trip, we flogged it off as being a going away party for those of us going to France :D
I'm sorry for delaying this so much; but now HERE is my review!
What I liked:
- The acting was fantastic, even for the unfortunately common bland parts of the script
- The trees in the arena were done well, especially the fire and explanation of the cameras
- The casting. More specifically the casting of Thresh, Rue, Cato, Effie, Cinna, Haymitch and Glimmer. Those were my favourites
- The animation; especially that of the fires, whether that be in the arena or on Katniss and/ or Peeta
- The portrayal of the Capitol and training centre
- The feast scene
- Haymitch. Everything about him, I absolutely loved. Even despite the fact that he looked nothing like I had imagined him
- Parts of the very start of the Games
- CINNA!! Everything about him was more than perfect
- Katniss' backstory
- Katniss' dresses in the interviews and the initial District 12 costumes for Peeta and Katniss
What I didn't like:
- The sky of the arena. I imagined it more as an artificial but extremely realistic sky. But hey, everyone has their own interpretation
- The camera work. IT WAS SO DAMN SHAKY!!! It's like I was holding the camera. There were very few shots that I noticed where it seemed as if a jib, tripod or something like that was used
- The utter lack of development between Rue and Katniss. When Rue died (in the movie, not the book) I didn't care at all. (In the book I was very sad)
- Katniss. Yes, my least favourite thing about this movie was the main protagonist. She was just a whiny little snob (quite like me writing this). I'd say it's probably not a good thing when the audience (or maybe its just me) finds the most important character, who is supposed to be loved, to be so frustrating that a small part of me was hoping that she would not be the victor and would hopefully be killed viciously, even though I knew she had to win
- The muttation. Notice the lack of pluralism there? That's right. There is ONLY ONE MUTTATION in the Games and it looks nothing like any of the tributes. This was such an amazing detail of the ending of the Games from the book and it just made everything about the mutts so creepy and wonderful. But no. That's gone
- The shortness of Peeta and Katniss' time in the cave. This was one of my favourite parts of the book and it should have lasted for several days; but of course, in the movie it lasted for maybe one or two days and Peeta hardly seemed like he was knocking on death's door
- The depiction of President Snow. As Iz says, He looks too much like Santa. I imagined him to be more of a creepy-looking anorexic old man with a constant duckface. Maybe if Filch from Harry Potter were a teenage girl of today. Like this:
I'm not great with photoshop. Ok?
- The scene with the berries. They didn't even go near their mouths and that was practically the trigger of the entire rebellion
- The 'cornucopia' or as I like to call it, The Squashed Clarinet. I expected it to look more like a golden version of this:
Imagine you were to get angry at the bell of your clarinet and you decided to attack it. This is how I think the architect of the 'cornucopia' from THG came up with the idea:
What else I can complain about from the movie:
- The story of how Katniss got the mockingjay pin. NO!!! JUST NO!!!! SHE DID NOT BUY IT (for free) AT THE HOB!!! IT WAS MADGE'S MOTHER'S WHO HAD IT AS A DISTRICT 12 TOKEN WHEN SHE DIED IN THE HUNGER GAMES!!!! I don't care if this detail is insignificant to the overall storyline! It was a fantastic 'side-story' that added so much more value to the meaning of the pin
- Madge. More so than how Katniss actually got the pin, the fact that Madge is missing is actually quite an error because in Catching Fire (book 2), Katniss is in Madge's house and she is a relatively important character for some of these scenes. Yes, she can be introduced later, but the overall fact that she is missing really annoys me. Some people say "its only a spin off tale really. Designed to give the story a little more flesh, depth... get that out of the way" Stories need extra depth like this to just help 'make' it.
- Peeta's hair. Yes, this one's a bit petty to get upset over, but it really bothered me that Peeta was hardly blonde. A bit of a lighter shade would've been nicer, but I suppose it doesn't affect the story. At all.
That's about it for my opinions on the movie. I do still recommend that you see it; but I highly highly highly recommend that you read at least book 1 of the series before seeing the movie. It will give you a far better understanding of what's going on.
Because now I have a less psyched-up, high expectationsish view on the movie since it's been many months since it came out; I intend to see The Hunger Games again with a less hopeful view. I understad that sounds negative, but it's more fair if I don't give into the disappointment that comes with excitement sometimes.
I bid good morrow to thee
..and may the odds be ever in your favour
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