Movie Review: The Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)

Katniss: “I have a message for President Snow: You can torture or bombed us, blasted our district to the grounds. But do you see that ? Fire Is Catching… If we burn, you burn with us!”

Plot synopsis: With the Games now destroyed and in pieces, Katniss Everdeen, along with Gale, Finnick and Beetee, now end up in the so thought “destroyed” District 13. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her friends, Katniss becomes the “Mockingjay” and the symbol of rebellion for the people (IMDb)

Rating: 8/10

Although not as entertaining or jaw dropping as Catching Fire, I really did enjoy Mockinjay Part 1. It didn’t contain so many filler scenes as I thought it would. I consider the “filler” scenes really as part of the story here – remember, The Hunger Games is written in first person so it is only natural that there would be parts where the other characters showed what they were up to, because it wouldn’t have been in the book. The movie ended where I thought it would – the only place that makes sense when you read the book and realise what happens. It is also a wonderful, true adaption – I really didn’t catch much changed, and if it was, it wasn’t significant. A major plus is that the movie didn’t feel stretched out or too much, and I was worried about that. There wasn’t too much real action, but the first part of the book is mostly sadness and not guns blazing. The uprisings in the Districts particularly touched me, and I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of that. The bombing at the trees and the hydro electrical plant gave me such chills. It will always move me when people rise against injustice. I liked that they included the Hanging Tree song; it was beautiful, chilling and authentic.

 

Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) has so much screen time and I was EEK about it. He is responsible for saving so many lives after the bombing of District 12, but he is still carrying scars from what he saw, a weight on his shoulders to be a proper soldier to the District that saved him and pain because he knows that Katniss will never return his feelings. Liam isn’t as charming as his dear brother Chris (you may have heard of him), but I do like him as an actor and as Gale. He does slightly resemble Katniss, something that was essential in the books to pass them off as cousins for his safety, and he is very much as I would have imagined him if I ever read HG before the movies. Just as a note, I would have chosen Gale over Peeta any time of day and think Katniss is rotten for playing with Gale’s feelings just because she is unsure about her own. Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence have enough chemistry to make this relationship very intriguing.

Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is in the hands of the Capitol and being tortured for his possible role in what happened in the Arena. He keeps sending out anti uprising propaganda, and is not the most beloved person in District 13. However, Katniss knows it is not who he really is, and notices his deterioration.

Like I just said, I wouldn’t personally choose Peeta over Gale, but I love the character. He is so sweet and loyal, and just wants to love Katniss and have her safe. Josh Hutcherson does well because he has a kindly face that seems to smile even when he isn’t, and he impressed me again in here with his portrayal. It is eery how physically worsens, and how bad he eventually looks.

Sam Claflin impressed me as Finnick Odair. He isn’t the biggest part of the series, and I loved how his role stayed relative to that in the book – there, but not overwhelming. Claflin does the portrayal great, because I really felt his intense pain at knowing Annie was at the mercy of the Capitol. I understand everyone was upset with the cutting of Sam’s underwear scene, because it would have been fun and would have lightened up the movie a bit, but I think most of Finnick’s scenes were well executed.

Donald Sutherland as President Snow was AMAZING. He is incredibly well cast and he is chilling and really charismatic at the same time. Snow loves playing games with Katniss – it seems as time as the uprisings in the Districts are insignificant to him compared to the continuing fight he has with Katniss.

Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, didn’t plague me as much as in the books. Lawrence makes her real, shows that the thorny exterior hides a terrified interior. The books sometimes only reflect her selfish behaviour and demands, but Katniss in the movie makes you understand that she is a product of her surroundings – maybe her indecisiveness to choose between Peeta and Gale isn’t greed but a desperate attempt to have more things to love and to be loved by. Not right at all – but sympathy can be had.

Margaery Tyrell certainly looks different!

Lastly, I thought that Boggs, Cressida and the entire crew was well done, Elizabeth Banks shined once again as Effie Trinket, and Julianne Moore as Alma Coin was also a good choice. Woody Harrelson continues his role as Haymitch Abernathy, who is sober under the stringent rules of District 13, and that doesn’t make him nice at all. I like that he is always the one who tells Katniss where to get off, because she really deserves it.

Recommendation: Hell’s yeah!

Word of advice to those who haven’t read the books yet for Mockingjay Part Two: Suzanne Collins didn’t pull a Veronica Roth, but she got REALLY trigger happy at the end of the series. #cries

December 9, 2014December 7, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Alma Coin, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Finnick Odair, Gale Hawthorne, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Julianne Moore, Liam Hemsworth, Mockinjay, Movies, Peeta Mellark, President Snow, Reviews, Sam Claflin 6 Comments

Movie Review: Catching Fire (2013)

Catching Fire takes place a few months after Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) became the first two victors to leave the Hunger Games alive. Before the Victory Tour – a tour designed to keep the horrors of the Games fresh in everyone’s mind, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) visits Katniss at her home. He tells her that her act of defiance – where she and Peeta agreed to eat poisoned berries rather than killing each other, showed people that it was fine to defy the Capitol, and that the result was that there are uprisings in the districts. He tells Katniss that if she wants her family to survive, she will show the entire Panem that she was just a silly girl in the cinema that was desperately in love.

This naturally is a problem because she is barely speaking to Peeta. He is still hurt by the fact that her feelings were just a show for the audience while his was real. While on tour they manage to become friends again, but even that isn’t enough. In the district where Rue, the girl who was so close to Katniss in the Arena, used to live, they witness an outbreak of violence when the crowd salutes Katniss. Katniss confesses to Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) and Peeta what Snow wants, but even when Peeta and Katniss act in love it isn’t enough to stop the rebellion that is rising.

Snow discusses plans to get rid of Katniss with the new head Gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensby (Philip Seymour-Hoffman). When everything else fails, they decide to send Katniss, with many of the other victors, back into the Arena for the Quarter Quell – a special Hunger Games that happens every 25^th year to once again remind the people of Panem the price they pay for the rebellion long ago. How will Katniss and Peeta get out alive a second time with Snow seeking her death?

Rating: I would rate this movie an excellent 9/10.

WOW. Just wow. I finally got to the cinema this weekend to go and see it. There were so many reasons I just couldn’t get to the movies before this, so I went in three weeks later than I had planned. Everyone was declaring it one of THE movies of the year, and absolute must, and I was getting frustrated by not having seen it yet. The internet is such a bastard so I was cautious not to check out too many reviews – I have been burned before. The waiting was well worth it in the end.

It is so rare that a movie is 1) as good as its book 2) better than its prequel and 3) gets me teary eyed. Catching Fire managed all three. It packs a huge emotional punch. Katniss is much more lovable on screen than in the books. In the movies she is just a very confused girl in a horrible world, where fear is so acute she actually doesn’t know how to understand love. There were very few changes made from book to movie. I appreciated that, and have to mention that some of the changes were best for the movie.

Why is it better than Hunger Games (2012)? It is very difficult to pinpoint, but there are just so much more emotions in Catching Fire. It sticks to the story, and what is added doesn’t subtract from the message of the film. All the actors have developed exponentially, most notably Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. She has always been great, but she is so truly Katniss in Catching Fire that you feel that you are right there in the arena with her. Peeta breaks your heart with his kindness, and Gale breaks your heart with his stubborn bravery and pride. The scene where the Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch hear two of them will certainly be sent back into the arena is horrible. It broke my heart. The cruelty of President Snow, and how stupid he was to think that Katniss could stop the revolution, and punishing her when she couldn’t by sending her back into the arena. Effie Trinket got so much more show time and Elizabeth Banks really did well showing her as a frilly Capitol creation, but with a good heart who feels something for them despite her stupid costumes. Some of the scenes (like the poisoned smoke) are utterly disgusting and some (like the monkeys) had me jumping in fright. As you meet characters that will have significant impact later on, you already start grieving for what will happen to them. Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) isn’t the major sex-symbol he is portrayed as in the books, but he is brave, sweet, kind and loyal to Mags. Carrying her on his back reduced me to tears a few times. Plutarch Heavensby was brilliantly done. He has this underhanded brilliance that makes you suspect he is pulling a big one on President Snow – who was once again excellently done by Donald Sutherland.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I beg you to go now. You will be thanking me later.

Xx

December 9, 2013 by Natasha Categories: MoviesTags: Capitol, Catching Fire, Donald Sutherland, Gale Hawthrone, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Katniss Everdeen, Liam Hemsworth, Movies, Peeta Mellark, Plutarch Heavensby, President Snow, Suzanne Collins, Woody Harrelson 9 Comments

Book Review: Catching Fire (Susan Collins)

Book: 63/100

I’ve read this book before, but I was in such a rush to know what happened I didn’t really get to fully appreciate it. I decided to try it again as part of my challenge, as well as the first and third book in the Hunger Games trilogy. Catching Fire the movie will soon be released as well, and I am eager to see whether it does justice to the books.

After Katniss and Peeta successfully manage to survive the Hunger Games, they return to District 12. Confused about her feelings, Katniss shuts Peeta out, not sure if what she feels for him is real or if she really loves her best friend Gale Hawthrone.

President Snow visits Katniss, and even though she tells her mother that he is only there to surprise and congratulate her, he threatens her. President Snow hates Katniss for pulling a trick over the government with the berries that saved her and Peeta’s life in the arena, and blames her for the unrest in the districts. He tells her he knows about the kiss between her and Gale shortly after she returned, and tells her very clearly that he will kill everyone she loves if she doesn’t find a way to calm the districts down.

One day in the woods Katniss meets some escapees from another District, and they tell her their hopes to reach District 13, the District that was destroyed by the Capitol in the Dark Days. They insist that there is something there, even though Panem always sees footage of smoking buildings. Their theory is based on the image that is always repeated – proven by a frozen Mockingjay that is present in all the photos. When Katniss returns to the Village, she sees that they indeed are right about one thing – the Mockingjay is in all the footage of District 13.

The Victory Tour is halfway between each Hunger Games and takes the Victor(s) around Panem so that they can visit each district. Katniss and Peeta both know that they must act very in love or face the consequences, and they try their best. Katniss realises that nothing she and Peeta does will be able to stop the uprisings – in Rue’s district they witness a man’s murder after he pays tribute to Katniss for her kindness towards Rue in the arena.

As the 75^th Hunger Games is on its’ way, Katniss knows and fears that she will have to tutor a kid whose survival chance in the arena is slim. Every twenty five years it is the Quarter Quell, where the Capitol finds a way to make it even more brutal than usual in the arena. The entire Panem is shocked when President Snow announces that the Quarter Quell’s tributes will be from previous tributes, meaning Katniss and Peeta are available to be chosen. Katniss knows she is going, since she is the only female winner in her district, and Peeta volunteers immediately when Haymitch’s name is pulled out. They both now that this isn’t some strange coincidence, and that Snow is just getting back at them.

When they return to the Capitol to prepare for the Games, Katniss meets some of the other tributes from the rest of the districts. Most importantly she meets Finnick Odair, a shockingly attractive winner from another Hunger Games. She ignores him, but he tries very hard to gain her trust. She also meets Johanna Mason, a girl she instantly dislikes.

Peeta causes trouble the night of their interview with Caesar Flickerman when he announces that Katniss is pregnant with his child. This sends the audience into an uproar, sending a pregnant woman into the arena. Katniss knows it isn’t true, but she realizes that this just makes the population even angrier at the government’s cruelty. All the tributes find a way to make the government look cruel, and questions President Snow’s authority in very clever ways.

Before Katniss enters the Arena, she witnesses Cinna, her beloved stylist, being dragged away. She enters the arena horrified, but quickly recovers because there are so many horrors within the arena itself. She teams up with Peeta, Finnick and Madge, an old lady from Finnick’s district. Madge quickly offers up her life for the rest of the group. They discover that the arena is working like a clock, and that at each hour a certain horror waits for them in a certain part of the arena.

Together with some new allies, including Johanna, the group starts dodging the horrors. They devise a plan to kill the Careers, tributes who train their entire lives to be in the arena and are very cruel in general. Beete, one of their new allies, makes a plan to kill the Careers by electrocuting the salt lake and hopefully their enemies as well. Things start to go wrong at the last minute, and Katniss is separated from Peeta. She is airlifted out by the rebels, with Finnick Odair. She realizes that Peeta is now in the hands of the government, an easy target to torture and manipulate. Gale, who led the resistance in their own district and managed to evacuate some people when the government started bombing them, tells her that District 12 is no more.

Where is Peeta and is District 13 real?

Rating: 7.5/10

Despite the overused love triangle I enjoyed this book. It is decently written; a great original story and doesn’t include too much useless information. I am glad that the book doesn’t focus too much on the arena – the story there was excellently developed with the time clock and everything, but it would have been exactly like the first book had they focused on the arena again for three hundred pages. There are no obvious surprises waiting, but the intensity of the book grabs you enough to keep you reading. You can’t help but wonder how they will survive again, and who Katniss will choose in the end. She is a bit selfish to be honest, but I can see how she would want to keep both men in her life – she has suffered through tragedy and fiercely loves them both, although she isn’t sure in what way she loves them. The male leads both get points. I cannot choose between Peeta and Gale as they both display good characteristics. Peeta is just a good human being with a decent soul, and Gale is a leader who doesn’t fear much. I have to say that I liked the inclusion of both Finnick and Johanna. Finnick is at least one male who isn’t in love with Katniss, and Johanna isn’t afraid of disliking Katniss.

If you haven’t read the trilogy yet, I would obviously recommend starting at the first book, and then working your way through. This book’s movie is being released within the next month, so I would advise you to read it and then we can bitch together if they don’t do it justice 😉

What I love about Dystopian Fiction is that there is always a slight possibility that something similar might happen. It is horrifying on a true level, and I can see why it is a plausible idea. Governments routinely terrify their citizens, and use force to keep them in check. Perhaps it is unfair to compare most countries to Panem, but I can think of a few where children are sent into war and expected to survive no matter what the cost.

December 3, 2013December 2, 2013 by Natasha Categories: Books, ReviewsTags: Catching Fire, Gale Hawthrone, Haymitch Abernathy, Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, President Snow 2 Comments