Mockingjay Part 2

You know what ruined the end of the movie for me? The group of girls sitting behind us. They seemed to think that because the "action" was over, the could talk through the epilogue. The drool, the baby, the cat, hahaha. Please, when you got watch a movie in a theatre, be quiet. I'm not laughing. 

What I liked about Mockingjay Part 2 and all The Hunger Games movies is how faithful they are to the books. Like any adaptation, there are things changed or left out, but they use lines taken right out of the novels. They keep the essence of Suzanne Collins' story. I love Finnick. Absolutely one of my favourite characters in the entire series. I love his growth and change over the series. He comes off as a cocky egotist, who knows he's hot. He is really a loyal fighter. He falls apart, then has to put himself back together. His own journey mirrors Katniss's. He is in love with another victor, though they obviously competed in seperate games. The person he loves is captured by Snow for the purpose of hurting him. After his lover is rescued, after pulling himself together, he goes to the Capitol to fight. He does all this without the pressure of being the Mockingjay, though he still does a couple propos, outing his and Snow's secrets.

As much as I loved Finnick and enjoyed the movie, I don't really know if Mockingjay needed to be two movies.  Part 2 was definitely better than Part 1, but it lacked the intensity of The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. Maybe I'm jaded and just see it as a money grab (and grab our money it did).  I did think the scene with the black oil and the scene in the tunnels were well done. I appreciate the grimness of the conclusion too. It's not all sunshine and rainbows. There's sadness and hardship, there's a feeling of realism, though set in a fictional dystopia. Though there was some blood missing from certain "events", I don't think The Hunger Games movies sugar-coated things. The big, concluding battle wasn't imaginary, losses were suffered and felt by the characters. It changed them and their relationships forever. Mockingjay Part 2, was a good conclusion to an excellent series.

Mockingjay - Part 1

I finally got to see Mockingjay - Part 1.  Better late than never though.  I didn't want to miss the latest Hunger Games movie in the theatre again. Mockingjay - Part 1 was pretty much what I expected.  Katniss was desperate to get Peeta back (like keeping him alive in Catching Fire), Prim was her sweet, level-headed sister. Her mom was background.  Gale came into his own more in the movie though.  When they go back to District 12, the expression on the film crew's faces as he speaks about what happened, it was a fantastic scene.

One thing I didn't notice until my Hubby mentioned it after the movie was that Katniss cried a lot. Much, more than the previous films. It is understandable, since there were a lot of upsetting things. But, he said, every time he saw her on the screen, he wondered what was going to make her cry now.  Thinking back on it, it's true.

I think Mockingjay did a good job bringing to the screen some of the horrors of war. Yes, they are fighting for freedom from the Capitol, but there is a cost.  It not as graphic as other films, many kids will be watching, but it's there, the death, sadness and despair.  There was also a lot of talking in this film.  I thought it might happen this way once they announced that Mockingjay would be two films.  There was explaining why District 13 survived, what happened in District 12 and the other Districts.  I did like the fact that it was interspersed with scenes showing the rebellion in the Districts. Though, I could have used more Finnick. Mockingjay - Part 1 was great, but I still felt like it was a warm up to the final film.  Maybe that's just because I already know what will happen.  It has also made me want to re-read the final book.

Have you seen all these amazing posters?  The District ones break my heart a bit. I think this is some great marketing on the part of the studio.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past was pretty much exactly what I wanted from the latest X-Men film. It brought together the mutants from the old trilogy and the last movie.  They blended together so well.  I really enjoyed the new mutants too, Bishop, Blink, Warpath and Sunspot... and Quicksilver!  I thought teenage Quicksilver was fun, cheeky and added the right bit of humour during an action filled movie.  I love all the moments, the mutants from the past/present/future popping up to say hello.  I love that they acknowledge Wolverine being in First Class.  I loved the end.  I loved the post-credits scene and as soon as I saw the sand, I knew what it was going to be about.

I have a complicated relationship with time travel in movies and television.  Sometimes I hate it.  I hate when no one remembers the original timeline.  I hate when all the characters lose time and it isn't even acknowledged.  I hate when it's used as a tool of convenience.  I like when time travel allows characters to witness events, even if they don't change them.  I have enjoyed time travel as a fix, with a celebration or acknowledgement of the fix by someone.  I liked the time travel in Days of Future Past.  I maybe would have rather had Bishop or Professor X doing the time travelling, but I understand why it was Wolverine.  I also liked that they kept Kitty as the vehicle for the time travel.  I know that a lot of people (including myself) were not happy with the ending of X3, but Days of Future Past makes up for it.  If you haven't seen it yet, Days of Future Past is worth your time.  It might be my favourite of all the X-Men movies.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I finally got to see Catching Fire this weekend.  I tried to see it in theatres, but that was a very busy time for me and it just didn't happen. There was just never any time. I don't know when my life became so busy!  I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner.

I don't know if I've ever been happier with a book adaptation. Though there were a few bits and pieces missing from Catching Fire, the movie captured the spirit of the book. As we were watching it, my Hubby called it a stressful movie. The tension that I loved in the book was playing out on screen. I was glad that we watched it together and I could hear his comments as someone who had not read the books and was seeing the story unfold for the first time.  

I love Finnick and Johanna.  I loved them in the book.  They were fantastic on screen.  I think the casting was perfect.  I was so happy that they kept Johanna stripping in the elevator.  I think it's fun and some needed relief when so much death and craziness is happening.  

I'm know I'm late to the Catching Fire movie party, so I don't think I'll add anything else... except for a bunch of movie posters.  In general, I enjoy movie posters, but the ones for Catching Fire I found very "Capitol".  One more thing, I forgot that they were splitting Mockingjay into two movies. Apparently this is a thing now.  So, I'm exciting for November 2014 and November 2015 and hopefully my life won't be as busy and I'll get to watch the movies in the theatre.

The Hunger Games (The Movie)

I loved The Hunger Games movie.  I will try to be as vague as possible, so that I don't spoil anything for those who haven't seen the movie yet.  Yes, there were a few bits that I would have liked to be more like the book, especially the muttations, but whenever a book gets made into a movie, things have to go.  Also, I would have liked the end of the movie to be a bit more like the book, concerning Katniss and Peeta's relationship, it was too positive.  The movie was a lot of action; a lot of the explanatory parts were very condensed, but since the movie was almost 2.5 hours, that is understandable.  Gale also felt a little stuffed into the movie, but whatever.

Overall, I was not disappointed.  I enjoyed The Hunger Games and my hubby did too.  If they made my hubby like this movie, I think they did a good job.  This movie is definitely not just for fans of the book.  People who like action movies will probably like this too.  A warning for those who think it’s all about the “teen romance”, it’s not.  There is death, a lot of it (not that it’s brutally violent, it’s rated PG-13).  It’s about 12-18 year-olds killing each other.  In The Hunger Games, the rules are 24 go in, only one comes out.  Some of the people in the theatre sounded shocked at some of the death scenes; what did you think was going to happen?  I described it once to someone as homicidal Survivor… with teens.

One more thing, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  It must still be leftover pregnancy hormones or something (they can last for a year post-partum), because the same scene that got me a bit teary in the book, got me in the movie too.  I’m so crazy!  It’s not like I haven’t read the book twice!  I knew it was coming, but it was so wonderfully done and pretty much what I had pictured in my head.  There is a lot of emotion in this movie, so don’t be surprised if you end up feeling whatever it is Katniss is feeling too.

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