Hunger Games:
The author’s colloquialisms made both Thresh and Rue’s ethnic
background very apparent to me. The author seems to make that point by describing Thresh’s
strength and speed and even the location Thresh decides to live in reminds me
very much of the tall African savannahs. Also, the speed, dexterity, and athleticism
that Rue exhibits at such a young age are common with African American athletes.
I love that Foxface’s
hair was the exact color I pictured it, and that even Ceaser’s eyebrows were
blue. At first I wasn’t sure about Josh Hutcherson being cast as Peeta, but as
the movie went on I thought he did a great job. I also adored Jennifer Lawrence
as Katniss. I honestly hadn’t put too much thought into the other characters,
not even Cato, although I did think they all did a very good job. When I heard Lenny Kravits was going to be
Cinna I was very shocked but he pulled it off beautifully. I had always
pictured Haymitch as a drunken version of Mad Eye Moody, but I really liked
Woody Harrelson. He made me really feel for
Haymitch and it was much more obvious the change between drunkard who doesn’t
care about his protégé’s to someone who would do anything to help them get
sponsors. 
So here’s what I missed:
I missed feeling the connection from
Peeta towards Katniss, I missed the tug of war of Katniss’s emotions about
returning his affections. I felt like the movie way underplayed the love story! From the moment she pulled her hand
away on the carriage I knew this was going to be the case. I kept hoping they
would recover it but they never quite managed it. In the book Katniss and Peeta
are holding hands so tightly that they are literally hurting each other, but
neither one wants to let go. Through the whole book I could feel how much Peeta adored Katniss and
her blindness to it actually irritated the hell out of me (I’ve mentioned
before how annoyed I get when the character is missing something super obvious,
it’s a flaw… I’m working on it). I knew
in the back of my head that Gale would be an issue when they got home if they
both survived, but until I reached the end I had no hope they would. I felt as
though the movie missed the connection Katniss had with Haymitch, not only that
she hated his guts most of 
the time, but also how well she understood his
meaning behind giving and with holding gifts. For the most part I felt like
Katniss was sort of indifferent to Peeta, they didn’t ever make it very clear that they were supposed to be
playing the “friends or lovers” angle from the moment they got off that
chariot. It just seemed like it happened more naturally. I really missed that
Katniss didn’t scream Peeta’s name
when they announced there could be two victors, but I suppose a whisper can be
equally effective when you’re on film, and it is such a small thing, but it’s
also one thing that helps get Katniss out of the dog house during their closing
interview. 
Speaking of dogs… in the
books my heart actually froze up when I realized what Katniss did, that the
dogs actually were parts of their former competitors, it was never clean just
how much they were though. In the movie they were big and scary, but it wasn’t
a sick and twisted thing that the Capitol did like it was in the book. Also,
Peeta was not fatally wounded by the dogs and so their desperation to commit
suicide felt a little hasty. I truly believe had Peeta not been on death’s door
already Katniss would never have thought about taking her own life instead. I
also didn’t feel like Katniss needed
Peeta,
it very much felt like a slap in the face to the Capitol. There also was not
that horrible moment on the train home when Peeta believes she made it all up. True, Katniss is torn, on the
one hand she doesn’t ever want to be married or have kids, but I truly believe
that she deeply feels for Peeta. I also believe, though, that if Katniss allows
those doors to be opened towards love she may be flooded by them. I know
somewhere she loves Gale, she just hasn’t allowed herself to ever feel romantic
love before. I start book two tonight and I believe a lot of my questions may
be answered, and I’m sure a lot more will be asked as we head into book three.
Peeta,
it very much felt like a slap in the face to the Capitol. There also was not
that horrible moment on the train home when Peeta believes she made it all up. True, Katniss is torn, on the
one hand she doesn’t ever want to be married or have kids, but I truly believe
that she deeply feels for Peeta. I also believe, though, that if Katniss allows
those doors to be opened towards love she may be flooded by them. I know
somewhere she loves Gale, she just hasn’t allowed herself to ever feel romantic
love before. I start book two tonight and I believe a lot of my questions may
be answered, and I’m sure a lot more will be asked as we head into book three.
I have a lot of
questions regarding the cut backs to the Capitol and whether or not they took
snipits from book two and stuck them in the first movie. I guess only my
reading further will tell! In any case this was definitely the best book to
film adaptation I have ever seen, and I’m
excited to see the future of this series.
Keep reading and watching my friends!
2 comments:
Awesome review. You put to words what I was feeling after seeing the movie. I absolutely love the books but went to see the movie with the apprehension that it would be ruined. I do love the movie but missed all inner turmoil that Katniss thinks about. Enjoy the rest of the books.
I so agree with what you said about the casting of Rue. I thought she was perfect. If anyone expected Rue to be white, they didn't pay attention to the novel well enough. I thought she was a cutie.
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