tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post6062597974958654221..comments2024-01-19T02:23:51.665-06:00Comments on Journal Wunelle: Bon Appétit!wstachourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-34733159795218937442012-05-01T12:02:33.089-05:002012-05-01T12:02:33.089-05:00wunelle said: I'm a little curious to see wher...wunelle said: I'm a little curious to see where she goes from here (the character and Jennifer Lawrence both!).<br /><br />Resistance Leader and... far I'm guessing.CyberKittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394155516712665665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-35273942973862434082012-05-01T06:50:12.803-05:002012-05-01T06:50:12.803-05:00I did love the girl-as-smart-survivor thing. Not h...I did love the girl-as-smart-survivor thing. Not having read the book, I'm a little curious to see where she goes from here (the character and Jennifer Lawrence both!).wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-56985303537056735222012-04-29T21:22:16.307-05:002012-04-29T21:22:16.307-05:00The best thing about Harry Potter is that it final...The best thing about Harry Potter is that it finally got my son to read for pleasure. I never read Twilight and only saw the first movie. Unfortunately, I saw the Saturday Night Live parody of Twilight before seeing the actual movie. I therefore could not really appreciate the movie because I kept seeing the parody in my mind and laughing. As for Hunger, M and I saw it, M thought it was really dark because of the whole kids killing kids thing. I did't find it dark (must be becuase of my violent childhood) and I found it enjoyable to see a girl as the hero of the story who was smart and determined.VVhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08751403913379728345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-84412722519826079102012-04-25T05:53:45.369-05:002012-04-25T05:53:45.369-05:00It's significant, I think, that I have yet to ...It's significant, I think, that I have yet to hear from anyone who read the books who did not also like the film. So I expect it's valuable to have all the stuff that a book naturally fleshes out. Susan said she didn't think it's my kind of book, but she certainly liked it (all three, actually) and talked a lot about them as she read them.<br /><br />And your last point is most a propos: I heartily embrace anything that turns kids / teens / tweens on to reading. I fear that reading an old-fashioned, long-form book may become a rarer and rarer activity in our new electronic age.wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-55324995095009307902012-04-25T00:37:27.257-05:002012-04-25T00:37:27.257-05:00Just one more point. If The Hunger Games can serv...Just one more point. If The Hunger Games can serve as a gateway for younger adults to read similar and more profound material (<i>1984</i>, <i>Brave New World</i>, etc.), I feel it will have served a purpose.dbackdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700991588554336491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-91527045065442762092012-04-25T00:35:10.252-05:002012-04-25T00:35:10.252-05:00I've read the book and we went and saw the mov...I've read the book and we went and saw the movie this last weekend. It is actually the first book that my wife, my son and I have all read.<br /><br />While I don't believe the movie is groundbreaking, I do feel it is well above most of the material that is aimed at its particular demographic. At least it is hitting upon subject matter that is topical and actually important. Whereas, <i>Twilight</i> is a thinly veiled abstinence and anti-abortion allegory with a weak, whimpering female lead (played by an otherwise great Kristen Stewart ... good actor, bad material).<br /><br />The movie hews very close to the book. If anything, it holds back a little on the violence to assure a PG rating.<br /><br />Where the book is better is in the character development and explanation of the political intrigue. The character Rue, for example, is much less of a helpless victim in the book. We all liked the book more than the movie but we also all agreed that the movie did about as well with the material as you could hope without it being a much longer movie. As it was, it was 2 and half hours.<br /><br />Anyway, I don't greatly disagree with you guys on anything major. If anything, just give the <i>Hunger Games</i> a small pass for its simplicity because it is, by design, not intended for hyper-critical, policy-wonk, movie-geek brainiacs like us. :-)<br /><br />If I get off my ass, I might muster up a combined review of the book and movie.dbackdadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10700991588554336491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-76900671224246673452012-04-22T09:32:30.885-05:002012-04-22T09:32:30.885-05:00Agree entirely. I'm not inspired by the film t...Agree entirely. I'm not inspired by the film to check out the books, so I may never know if these defects are addressed there.<br /><br />I suppose I'd not object to seeing the next film, though, to see if some of my questions get answered. Still, that's not much endorsement.wstachourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12447198404608861357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15935045.post-28588182124030859632012-04-22T08:38:07.365-05:002012-04-22T08:38:07.365-05:00Just about the only thing I liked in this rather q...Just about the only thing I liked in this rather questionable movie was Jennifer Lawrence - and not just because she's an attractive young woman. She can actually *act* (as ably shown by her role in Winters Bone) so was somewhat wasted in Hunger Games. <br /><br />Not having read the book(s) I found the movie rather incoherent. The decadent rich society was probably meant as a metaphor but turned out to be a parody - and IRL simply wouldn't have worked and most definitely not for 74+ years! The idea that the games gave the Proles some hope (but not too much) was at best simplistic or, as I found it, ridiculous. <br /><br />I understand what the movie - with sledgehammer predictability - was getting at: it was a critique of celebrity culture, violence for entertainment, the soporific effects of television and no doubt a few more things that passed me by. Unfortunately on just about every level it really didn't work - at least not for me! <br /><br />Maybe the books make more sense. Maybe they're more coherent and structured than the movie. I understand that they are two very different media and that movies must, of necessity, butcher the written word to shoehorn it into a few hours of screen time. The movie hasn't really prompted me to find out though. I guess I'll never know....CyberKittenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06394155516712665665noreply@blogger.com