Thursday, March 22, 2012

MOVIE REVIEW: THE HUNGER GAMES

I haven’t reviewed movies in a while since I’ve been reading more books and movies aren’t really at the top of my priorities right now but since this is The Hunger Games then I shall give this movie it’s due credit. And yes, it’s my day off today and yes, I am soooooo happy since I was able to watch The Hunger Games on its first day here in the Philippines. Yey! Anyway, I was really excited for this one since I loved the novels so much. The movie stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne.



Truth be told, I seriously loved the movie. And that is coming from a huge fan of the book. Yes, there were a lot of changes, some missing characters, some inconsistencies from the book, blah blah blah but people especially the fans of the novelsyou have to understand that there are simply some things that are better left interpreted by the books alone. There will always, always be differences whenever books are turned into movies. As long as the concept of the novel is still there I’m fine with it. Anyway, I loved the movie. I think the pacing was just right.

The actors gave justice to their roles especially Jennifer Lawrence. I think she’s a kick ass Katniss. I love the way she portrayed her role.I actually think that this is one of her best roles yet. Plus, the fact that she was just so gorgeous. I swear there were times when I just stopped paying attention to everything because I was just staring at her. And yes, she’s my latest girlcrush.  I just loved her performance. The reaping part gave me the chills when she said “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute.” I just love the way she acted. In my opinion, Jennifer Lawrence nailed her role. She’s the perfect Katniss in every way. Screw the haters who didn’t want her because she’s blond. What are hair dyes for if you don’t use them, right?




Then there’s Josh Hutcherson of course. I think he’s an excellent Peeta as well. Again, screw the haters!haha.There were times when I wanted to barf because of his lines though.Some of them were too cheesy for my taste.But I still think he did an excellent job with his role. I loved the Katniss/ Peeta chemistry that went on inside the Cornucopia. I think he was able to match Jennifer’s intensity with his own and I can’t think of any other Peeta who might actually do a better job.

And of course, there’s Liam Hemsworth.Wait! Just let me get this out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Gale is just soooooooo drool worthy.Seriously, I loved his portrayal of Gale Hawthorne even if he did have a minor role in the film since he’s not actually a tribute. I think Liam did a great job since he was actually memorable for me even if he had only a few appearances in the entire film. I just love him.It made me stick to my resolve to root for Katniss and Gale. haha. I am actually more of a Gale/ Katniss fan since I just love tough guys like him.I think Peeta is just too gentle and I like my boys rough.haha.

The other actors did a great job as well. I think Haymitch is one of the characters who made me laugh while I watched. Seneca Crane somehow reminded me of Jake Gyllenhaal. Effie Trinket did look a little too old.Probably older than how I imagined but I do think that she did an excellent job.She’s one of the comic reliefs in the entire film. Donald Sutherland’s performance was impeccable as always. And Lenny Kravitz’ portrayal of Cinna made my spine tingle. I honestly think he did an excellent job.Never mind the haters.No one really knows what Cinna’s ethnicity is. He could either be black or white. The novel did only describe him as someone who is pale and of course there are pale blacks and whites alike so whatever. What matters is how he portrayed the role. And I actually liked his performance. His friendship with Katniss was simply touching.

All of the actors left an impression and I think that’s what made the movie enjoyable for me. The death scenes especially Rue’s death made me teary eyed for a while but of course I got over it. haha. Anyhoo, I think actor and actress wise the movie had an excellent cast.

Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie as much as I enjoyed reading the novel. Yes, there were lacking elements but what we have to understand is that if the director, producer, writers and everyone else involved with the movie translated everything from the book then we’d probably end up watching an 8 hour movie or maybe even longer. The lacking elements were essential, everything is, but that does not mean that deleting or changing some scenes, events or characters from the book will make a bad movie. As long as the story is not changed then I guess it’s safe to say that it’s still a nice movie. I think it’s actually quite close to everything that happened in the book. BTW, we as fans do not actually have the right to question anyone since Suzanne Collins did write the screenplay of the film. It’s the closest you can get to an author being involved in the movie versions of their book. Anyhoo, I won’t waste anymore of your time by typing too much. I’m giving this movie a 4.5/5 stars.

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