The Games of Hunger, Not Completely Satisfying

So...what did you think? We didn't get to discuss after the movie and I want to know your thoughts!!!

I would give the movie 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. Now having said that, I'm about to pick it apart...

First of all...District 12...?!?!? I didn't like the looks of it. The story is being told in the future after the government has seized full control of Panem the country "once known as North America". Why did District 12 look as if the Mayflower just docked? Honestly, I hope they didn't spend a lot of money on the set because they could have driven to Hazard and filmed those same people and structures. Katnis stood out like a sore thumb. Her hair was dark and her clothes were fairly modern-a leather jacket a black top and form fitting pants with combat boots.

Everyone else looked like the children oof the corn

with their near Amish apparel. What is that about? They should have all looked practical in their attire, not as if they had survived the Holocaust.

But the Hob is what hurt me the most. I had always envisioned it to be something like an abandoned tobacco warehouse with a bar and a black market/flea market sort of set up. Some toothless vagrants and leathery old drunkards the patrons. If that old lady was Greasy Sae, why didn't she get introduced to the audience? She is in all three books. Her role was big enough to at least acknowledge who she is.

Okay, onto the Capitol. I thought it was spot on. The vibrant colors and the air of arrogance from everyone. I loved the host, played by Stanley Tucci. I can't think of the characters name, but I thought he did a great job. My fave from the Capitol though, had to be Effie Trinkett. Her costuming and make-up were great. Elizabeth Banks played her perfectly. You thought she was shallow and vain, but you liked her anyway. She seemed to mean well.

Woody Harrelson was the perfect Haymitch. He was just sarcastic enough to make you understand Katniss' distaste for him, but genuine enough to make you see why Peeta cared about him.

Overall, I think the movie stayed true to the book and I did notice that Suzanne Collins was credited in part with the screenplay, so she had a hand in trimming the "fat", so to speak. The last comment I will make, which I know has you on the edge of your seat (LOL), is that the lighting of the film could have been better. Remember the Twilight movies? (LOL, like you could forget) They had a certain dark quality to the coloring of the actual film. A blue/gray tint, almost. I think to convey the darkness and hopelessness of this story, they could have darkened the film a bit. It just seemed to have the brightness of a home video or romantic comedy instead of a gritty drama/action film. As colorful as Transformers is, it still has a dark tint to the film to indicated the peril of the situation. Sorry, if you don't get what I'm saying...I just found it a little lacking in expression.

Now, I write these things and no one comments!!!! Please comment. This is OUR blog. If you ever want to post something, like a review or pics, let me know. But PLEASE comment. Let this be an open forum for our discussions when we can't physically be together.

"You love me. Real or not real?"

Thanks to Kristy, for hosting our second Book Ends meeting. She did a fabulous job of putting together a Hunger Games themed spread. Breads and cheeses and cookies were all represented from various Districts and characters!! So exciting.

(You may ask yourself, "How does she do it? She's got a newborn baby, not to mention two other small children, a husband and a career AND she is back in her normal clothes..." Well, I won't go into it, but my theory on the negotiation that took place between the devil and Kristy over the sacrificing of her soul can be further explained on my new blog entitled 'She Makes Me Sick, But I Still Love Her'.) LOL

Anyway, we ladies met, we drank, we discussed (the books and a whole lot of other things!), we laughed, we... well, we just had a marvelous time. At this point you should be EXTREMELY upset that events and/or circumstances in your life kept you from this gathering of intelligence and beauty. It is rare to find both of these in one place, but miraculously enough, there they were. Where were you?

Ahhh. Don't be sad. We missed you. We wondered what could possibly have kept you away. No excuse will ever suffice, but what's past is past.

All joking aside, we really did have fun. Everyone had a good time recalling their favorite parts of the last two books. And we all agreed that though Gale made sense, Peeta was the ONE. Logically speaking, Gale was right for her. He liked to be in the woods, pickin' berries and chasin' wabbit, but Peeta, ah Peeta. He gave Katniss a peace that she had never known and never could know with Gale. We all agreed that everyone in the Capitol was nuts and Katniss had no choice but to kill Coin. She was one crazy be-otch. Nothing would have changed under her rule and Katniss would not have survived.

So...MOVIE TIME!!! Everyone is planning to see the film on Saturday at 12:45 in Georgetown. If you can come...come.

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

Well, I wish I knew how to upload music to this stinkin' blog. I downloaded "Safe and Sound". This is the theme song to the upcoming Hunger Games movie. Taylor Swift who I can't say I love, but definitely respect and the Civil Wars, whom I can say I love, collaborated on this song. The video is BORING. It doesn't have any footage from the movie, just TS and the CW in a cabin in some remote seemingly deserted place. I guess the video is trying to make you feel one, that they are alone, perhaps after District 12 is demolished and two, that even after it's all over, there is nothing left to go home to. At least, that's what I got from it. However, I was just waiting for snippits of the movie during the whole dang thing and perhaps the feeling of desolation was one I projected myself.

Anyway, it's almost movie time!!! We will be meeting at Kristy's on the 16th, I think, and then the following weekend is the movie. We can discuss arrangements at the meeting. So, how are you feeling thus far? For those of us who are re-reading the trilogy, are you finding things you missed the first time around? For the newbies, have you been emotionally impacted in a way that you possibly can't put into words?

I have a friend at work that borrowed The Hunger Games upon my suggestion. She loved the Twilight series that I twisted her arm into reading and assumed that I would be right on this trilogy. Of course I was. ;+) I don't see her everyday, but when I do, she is overwhelmed with the roller coaster of emotion that the book is taking her on. The last time we spoke, she was near the end of Mockingjay. I can't wait to hear her reaction to the final book. As well as all of yours!!!

See you soon!!!