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Hunger Games
The Rue plot in the book was very powerful, and I was disappointed that it was so highly abbreviated in the movie. I understand that a movie can't contain everything in the book and still be a civilized length, and they did a good job of trimming in general, but this one stood out as a misfire.
The book is written in the first person (first-person present tense, mostly, which is unconventional). This means that in the book you only see and know what the narrator knows. In the movie they showed some of what was going on "backstage" and I found those parts to be well-done, laying the groundwork for the political issues to come. They added rather than detracting -- not at all a safe bet when screenwriters decide to innovate.
Because of the POV, in the book the game-makers are largely invisible -- we see their work but don't see them. In the movie I thought the lead game-maker was particularly strong; seeing how what was going on in the arena affected him added a level of story not possible in the book. And oh, his final scene... nice touch.
A nit: I do wonder how Katniss was able to stay at full draw for so long, with a bow strong enough to kill a person, in that scene at the end. Especially given her state at that time. Just sayin'. (Also, what are the aerodynamic properties of silver arrows? The book referred to them as silver too, and it struck me as peculiar there too.)
The trailers I remember were:
- The Avengers: meh
- Spiderman: looked like it could be fun (but can wait for NetFlix)
- (something like) The House at the End of the Street: no (horror's not my thing)
- What to Expect When You're Expecting: looks very cheesy (that would be a no)
- some Twilight movie: no
- Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter: please make it stop!
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Silver Arrows: I took that to mean "Silver in Color, not Silver Metal." Bright, shiny silver-hued bow and arrows being lugged around in a combative forest setting would just fit what passes for a sense of humor among the GameMakers.
As for the time she spent at full draw, I offer no excuses. :)
I read an article about the challenges they faced making the movie, and some things that seemed easy enough in theory proved far more difficult in practice. Costuming was especially a challenge, and they had to aim for the spirit rather than the letter of the thing.
I wish I had not known how Cinna and Rue's characters were cast in the movie before I read the book. It seems obvious to me that the characters are, or at least could be, Black*. Knowing about the controversy before I read the book, my viewpoint was skewed: I wish I could have seen if I picked up on it without the Internet going nuts over it first. I am rather disgusted that people felt that the author didn't do enough to make it clear to them that they are Black. This is hundreds of years in the future. "African-American" no longer has meaning, to the extent that neither "Africa" nor "America" still exist as such!
* OK, to be fair: I think it was pretty clear that Rue was portrayed as Black in the book, though Hispanic or Indian (not Native American) could match the description as well. We see her through Katniss's eyes, and she has different cultural baggage than the readers do. I didn't get much of a sense of Cinna's physical characteristics at all: more time was spent on his personality.
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Yeah, I saw the trailer for that, with pretty much the same reaction. It's just... completely WTF.
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In this case, the author was one of the screenwriters, so their inivations weren't that risky. These changes looked like a bow to the change in perspctive that came with the change in medium. Thankfully they did add to the story.
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(I'm going to see Hunger Games tonight. Loved the book.)
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