Congratulations! I finally found a movie that did not butcher the
book. Although, there were still some scenes that did not quite uphold to the
standards that I was hoping. But all in all, the movie was good compared to
Harry Potter 6, Percy Jackson and, don't get me started on Eragon.
I watched the
movie a week ago and found the need to blog just now because...I have nothing
else to do so here goes.
The intro of the
movie was visually stimulating. You'll see how hard life is at District 12 and
how dangerous of a life Katniss is leading, sneaking outside the borders and
importing illegal game. You'll also see the difference inside the District and
outside the border. The inside is dull and gray while the outside is lush and
green. The cameramen did a sweet job.
I also liked the
way the atmosphere was driven when the townspeople were at the assembly. It
felt as though it was the holocaust and the people needed only two sacrifices. Another
good visual comparison was when the tributes mounted the train which had an
interior covered in velvet and shiny ornaments. The lighting helped in
exaggerating the tiny details so it was easy to compare the District from the
train and then the Capitol. The Capitol looked as I expected it to be - chaotic
and vibrant. So was the training grounds and the games ground.
On to the
acting... Jennifer Lawrence delivered a great performance. If the movie was
salvaged in any way, they owe it to her. I held my breath when she came up to
take her sister's place at the games and I got so worked up when she was having
a hard time getting the tracker jackers. She delivered every scene impressively
which made more sense now why she was offered the role. I will never question
her acting prowess ever again. (^_^)
Josh was surprisingly great. When I heard that he was chosen for
the role of Peeta, I quite disliked it because, first of all, I’ll be honest,
the hair. He had brown hair and Peeta had blond (I know. Shallow, right?). But
then, I thought, they can always change his hair. Look at what they did to
Nicole Kidman’s nose at The Hours and she was perfect! So, I thought, he might
be perfect for the role. And he proved me right. The scene in the car where
Effie was talking to Katniss and Peeta was obscure from the scene but you can
make out that he was crying, that is what I call presence. I also like the way
he looked when he was called to be a tribute. Josh Hutcherson was Peeta but with
brown hair.
The rest of the cast played their roles perfectly. I had Woody on
my mind when I was reading the book and got around Haymitch. I thinking of
Dakota Fanning or Elle Fanning when I was reading about Prim but Willow was brilliantly
decided for the part. It was a good call because less fancy people, the less
mainstream it will be (just a thought haha). Banks was best for Effie and so
were Donald, Wes and Stanley for President Snow, Seneca Crane and Caesar
Flickerman, respectively.
The movie was good. I enjoyed it but I won’t set high hopes on the
second instalment. I do hope they do better. I really do.
This was the comment I posted at Rotten Tomatoes:
Until the next!
