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| Film of The Hunger Games |
It was last week that I went with my sister to see The Hunger Games. Like the book review, I don’t want to blog about what everyone else is saying. Except maybe on one issue...
The camera work. Dear Lord, seriously, shaky camera much? This has been dragged through the dirt enough. I noticed that sometimes the camera was ridiculously out of focus. During the scene when they get on the train, the camera panned, out of focus, to a wall (or a door frame) and held there for about two or three seconds. Uh, why? I noticed, along with the other adults who were with me. My sister and her friend didn't notice though.
I found Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who also played Mystique in X-Men: First Class, a fantastic actor. However, I think that because she doesn’t have a terribly defined face around her chin, there were some shots were she looked like a dumpy blob. Don’t get me wrong, she’s way prettier than me, but for her kind of face the camera needs to be aware of the angles they are getting from her. I recently re-watched X-Men: First Class and I didn’t have issues with her in that, probably because they were careful with how they shot her. My only gripe about the character of Katniss is that I saw her as a stronger character. On the train she was so hard and determined, but in the film she is more scared and vulnerable. Not something against the actress, it was definitely the direction.
My only other gripe is the soundtrack. It was just so uninspiring to me. Some people have been raving about it but to be honest, nothing stuck with me.
The moment when Katniss volunteers for her sister was so heartwretching. It's ranks high in my list of emotional scenes. Rue was excessive sad too, but it still doesn't top Katniss taking her sister's place as tribute.
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| "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute." |
I also adore the scenes of the three finger kisses. The act of rebellion stirs a terrible fire within me. I only found the one scene where Katniss does it to screen cap it.
The actors who played Gale and Peeta didn’t seem right to me. They white-washed Katniss and the rest of District 12, so it isn’t surprising that Gale is pale too. I know that without Katniss’s flashbacks, it’s hard to give more character to Gale. For people who haven’t read the books, why should they really care about Gale and how he sees Katniss and Peeta kiss on the screen? The actor who played Peeta, to me, wasn’t the right fit. Peeta should have broad shoulders and big arms. This guy is just too tiny. Sorry Peeta, but it’s true. And the film made him seem like such a useless boob too.
I liked how they portrayed Effie Trinket and Caesar Flickerman though. I didn’t picture Effie that done up, but you know, in the film she fits in with the Capitol. I thought Caesar was spot on.
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| Effie Trinket (She just loves that part) |
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| Caesar Flickerman |
Overall the film was great. They didn’t mess about with the story, thus far. It’s how it is supposed to be. I knew that they were going to use text at the beginning of the film though; there is just too much for the film to cover about the history and setting of Panem. For me I don’t mind, but I’ve heard some negative reaction to having some text. And to be honest I bet those people don’t read books. “Ah, reading! The text, it burns! IT BURNS!!” District 12 wasn’t in the real squalor that the book describes though. I feel that the whole, District 12 is a hole that no one wants to be apart of/abandon all hope all ye who enter here kind of place wasn’t as prominent as it was supposed to be. When Katniss tells Gale to make sure that her family doesn't starve, it just lacks the impact. Overall, it was great, and we’re going to see the next one for my sister’s birthday in November.
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| District 12 |
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