Media Monday - Hunger Games

Well, I finally did it. 

Even though I missed the film version of Hunger Games when it was released...much to the chagrin of my oldest daughter...I finally watched it Saturday, the day it was released on DVD.

My first impressions were positive...and I'm not usually friendly to movies made from books.  It's been a while since I read the book, so I was almost able to go into the movie without pre-conceived notions (the details, my initial response to the book, etc were not fresh on my mind).  I didn't see the movie when it was first released bc I wasn't finished reading, and I didn't want to color my initial response to the movie or the rest of the series by interrupting the flow of my own brain and imagination...yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

I started watching the movie with a little trepidation later in the evening than I had originally planned...I even gave myself permission to watch part of it, press stop when I got sleepy and then finish it the next day, especially when I realized it was over 2 hours long.
That didn't happen...and by the time my eyelids got heavy, the "finale" was well into play and there was no way I was stopping there.

First, let me say this...Jennifer Lawrence is an AMAZING actor.

I secretly whispered a thanks to the Hollywood community for casting a little known actress in the role of Katniss.  If they'd cast a Miley Cyrus or Lindsey Lohan in this role, I probably wouldn't have watched it.  And, I'm not kidding here.  I'm exhausted with all the drama surrounding these little starlets, their bad behavior, their addictions, and their quest for stardom.  And, if Jennifer Lawrence becomes one of these doofus heads, I won't watch the rest of the movies either. So there.

There's plenty of action in this movie to keep action lovers entertained but still enough attention to the plot to keep the movie from become a giant kill fest.  Which, of course, the Hunger Games is.
But, I think that mix lets you truly care about these characters...their lives...what their world has become...and the true evil that is and will be The Capitol.

A few of the characters/actors that stood out to me were:

Donald Sutherland is a genius as President Snow.

A perfect fit for the silent, cool, plotting leader of The Capitol, playing both sides of field with ease...the president and the psychopath.
Can't wait to see more of him, especially in the Mockingjay installment.

The casting of Peeta and Gale were just fine with me...two more unknown actors (another good call I think) but I wasn't blown away by either of them.

Gale's character is underplayed in the movie version, and I never felt the connection between him and Katniss as I did while reading the book.  And, Peeta was much more likeable in this movie than in the book.  I actually disliked Peeta after reading Hunger Games.  He was so whiney :(  The Peetah of the movie was a little wiser than I thought he should have been...immediately taking to Haymitch's recommendations to play the crowd...even on first train over.  I more than sorta felt like Hollywood was setting us up to like Peeta better than Gale.  We'll see how that goes.

I was split on my feelings about the casting of the youngsters in this movie...Prim and Rue...the two characters who keep Katniss going.

Willow Shields is dynamic as Prim Everdeen...and plays the character with a ferocity that made me want to see much more of her.  I care about her already and can't wait to see what she has for us next.
The character of Rue, however, was so downplayed that Amandla Stenberg never really had a chance to touch our hearts.  I sobbed when Rue died in the book...just said "meh" and kept going when it happened in the movie.  I think this was a mistake on somebody's watch bc it's incredibly important to the whole Mockingjay connection that you get this part.  Future moviegoers may never see the intensity of this relationship, its meaning and the way it pulls Katniss through all the way to the end.

Never in a million years would I have cast Woody Harrelson as Haymitch...but boy oh boy, it works.

He's the perfect mixture of an unlikeable character (and person in my opinion) and plays the role fantastically.  When he first enters the picture, I sorta snarled a little and rolled my eyes.  It didn't take me long though to realize that somebody knew exactly what they were doing.  I can so see his up and down relationship with the games, the Capitol and alcohol as the story progresses.

Katniss's mother was also downplayed in the movie...lots of detail left out here, but I'm not sure how that will affect viewers in the long run.  The finale as well was incredibly vivid and violent in the book...not so in the movie...not sure about this either.

My review of the book was quite some time ago...and I purposely didn't re-read it before writing this review.

Let the Hunger Games begin...and "May the odds be evah in your favah"
:)