HUNGER GAMES... My thoughts

If you DIDN’T read the books and you’re into action packed, suspense filled, fiction movies, then you will love Hunger Games.

They were faithful to most aspects of the original story, changing them slightly to fit the film version, and made sure to include some of the moments of substance in the book, like:

• The bakery flashbacks to show their history together
• Peeta confessing he wanted to show Capitol they didn’t own him, which tied in nicely with the berries double suicide attempt
• The original interviews, with a funny and caring Caesar Flickerman, and where charming Peeta confesses his love for Katniss
• Peeta shaking his head at Katniss at the cornucopia willing her not to go in
• The three finger kiss salute to Katniss at the reaping and then for Rue after she is killed

 I also found it fascinating how they included bits that were not in the story but gave it a nice twist, like the Capitol control rooms, the reaction from district 11 when Katniss said goodbye to Rue, and then from Gale in district 12 when Peeta and Katniss kissed, as well as Haymitch working to get sponsors after he sees Katniss suffer from her burns. Even though they weren’t in the book, it all alluded to things implied in the overall story, like the pure evil of the Capitol, the Peeta/Katniss/Gale love triangle and Haymitch’s willingness to help.

However, if you DID read the book, then like me you most likely enjoyed or will enjoy the film, but you’ll feel a little disappointed by more than a few missing pieces and inconsistencies.

For starters the whole Peeta/Katniss relationship was underplayed. In the book, Katniss develops feelings for Peeta, which can be seen when she calls his name, goes to search for him, nurses him to health, risks her life to get his medicine and then loses it when she thinks he’s dying at the hands of the medics. However, she struggles with these because she has been, since the beginning and per Haymitch’s instructions, playing up their image as star-crossed lovers, so almost every active sign of affection she shows, in terms of kissing, sharing and snuggling, is an act, regardless of how she feels, whereas Peeta truly is madly in love with her and believes she has finally fallen for him. In the film her inner struggle is not as intense and it is implied that Peeta knows it is all an act.

Another inconsistency is when Katniss sets out to find Peeta, in the book she overheard how Cato had cut him after he saved her following the tracker-jacker wasp attack, she knew he was badly hurt and had to be close to water to survive, but in the film she never reached that conclusion, so in a place as big as the arena, how did she know to look for him by following the river?

Finally there is Peeta’s leg, when Katniss risks her life at the cornucopia to get his medicine, it was for an injection to fight the blood poisoning, and even though it made him substantially better, it was not the miraculous ointment they showed in the film, which appeared to completely cure him. By changing this they underplayed his true condition, not only missing out her attempt at a makeshift tourniquet, and the medics on the hovercraft working to save him, but they completely cut out that he was left with a wooden leg, which considering there are two more books/movies to come, I would have thought would be worth mentioning.

I have a great imagination, and am the kind of reader who can envision the book happening inside my head, making bookmarks along the way of moments that should have made it into the movie. Most of them are not necessarily moments that a person MUST know to watch the film, but they would have certainly added to its essence. Some of the missing moments I would have liked to see include:

• Drunk Haymitch stumbling off stage at the reaping, and then agreeing to sober up enough to help the tributes
• Katniss’ screaming out Peeta’s name (as opposed to whispering it) when the rule change was announced, it was her instinct to call for him and showed she actually cared
• The realization that the mutations were actually the fallen tributes
• Peeta being worked on by the medics while Katniss screamed for him behind the glass that separated them
• Video recap showing all their intense moments, him saving her from Cato, her screaming his name, finding him and nursing him to health, the kisses, the medics, etc.
• Peeta’s heartbreak at the realization that all her affections had been part of a strategy

 All in all, despite the shortcomings, it was a great film, and I will be looking forward to the next two, hoping they try and get a few more moments of essence from the books.

Until next time… Smooches to all xXx

SHADES OF GREY AND MAYBES

‘Patience is a virtue’, well, it’s not really a virtue I possess. I’ve never been very understanding or forgiving either. Nobody’s perfect, I’ll admit that much, but until recently I sat quite comfortably on my imaginary high pony, judging sometimes too harshly those who I considered were not as righteous as I though myself to be.

I’ve always had strong opinions, and I’ve never been one to budge on these, something that has sometimes been criticised by friends, family and even my boyfriend. Not really about silly things, but about topics I’ve taken a firm stand on, like abortion for example, I understand and respect that women have a right to choose but I personally associate abortion with ending a life, and would never do it. Then again I’ve never carried an unwanted child product of abuse or anything of the sort, so I can’t really say how I would react in that situation (thank God).

In the forgiveness front I’ve always been very harsh with people in my life, my philosophy has been ‘fool me once shame on you, fool me twice… nope that won’t happen because you’re not getting the chance!’. I’ve lost quite a few ‘friends’ for thinking this way, but I maintain that some of those didn’t deserve a second chance, some may have but it’s too late for that now. These days I try to be a little more forgiving, after all I’ve made some mistakes too and been granted forgiveness a lot quicker than I would have given it myself. I still ban from my life those who have harmed me in truly unforgivable ways but I like to think that as I’ve grown I’ve learned to get over the silly mistakes we all tend to make.

In relationships I always said I don’t forgive beaters or cheaters, and if the latter happens then the person in the relationship isn’t the only one to blame, the willing participant who knew about the absent partner is just as guilty. I stand firm on my beaters view, anyone who thinks it’s ok to vent their anger by beating on someone they claim to love is clearly not someone I want to have around. Now the cheaters view, I have come to realise, is not as black or white as I once thought, circumstances have a lot to do with it and sometimes it’s just not worth losing a loving and committed relationship because of a one off, clearly stupid mistake. To err is human and we all screw up sometime.

When it comes to serial cheaters however, I do think it’s imperative to get rid of the bastard, second chances are allowed, we all make mistakes after all, but if you have to give someone third, fourth, fifth, and 100 more chances, then clearly it wasn’t a one-off mistake, it’s a pattern that regardless how many times they apologise they’re clearly just going to do it again. In those cases you just need to decide how many times you’re going to let someone walk over you before you finally stand up for yourself.

I think as I’ve matured and made some mistakes of my own I’ve learned a thing or two and adapted to life as it evolves. I’ve heard that ‘we learn something new every day’, and as far as my life lesson is concerned, I think what I have learned, maybe not today but certainly in my recent past, is that life isn’t as straight forward as I wish it was, it’s not all right or wrong, black or white, yes or no … the world is made up of shades of grey and maybes.

Until next time… Smooches to all xXx