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seerofbread) wrote2013-11-21 11:01 pm
seerofbread) wrote2013-11-21 11:01 pm
Catching Fire!!!!
I got a ticket to the double-feature with The Hunger Games and then Catching Fire. I'm mostly sort of shell-shocked and having a pretty hard time putting my thoughts together, so I'll keep it brief, but....
Prim got revenge on the assholes who did the finger-prick scene in the first movie by being the cold-hearted motherfucker she's supposed to be. Buttercup had a major wardrobe change?
They skipped the Haymitch flashback. I would have died if they hadn't so I should be happy, though at the same time I'm still curious, I guess? Actually, they skipped over everything about Haymitch's game. I guess it makes enough sense, with the whole part where Madge doesn't exist anymore; suddenly there's no real point to introducing her family and stuff. I do wish they could have snuck in SOMETHING to at least IMPLY the sort of history that the mockingjay pin has in the books. (Also while we're at it can we stop making it be a thing that nobody can have a district token and it's a big deal to keep the pin quiet?)
The capitol was apparently filmed in Atlanta. I looked it up because they spent a lot of time in what was obviously some Marriott or another, and it turns out that it was indeed the one that Dragon*Con happens at. I am the squeeingest.
The arena was nicely-handled. Some parts of it were a bit odd, mostly in congruence with the first movie, which I might not have noticed nearly so much if it weren't for the whole double-feature thing. Not plot-relevant, per se, just visually incongruent.
Overall the arena was less horrifying than I imagined. This isn't too hard, though. I was pretty horrified by that arena. But the apes weren't as scary as I imagined and the jabberjays weren't as focused-on. The gas was opaque (no visuals on Mags dying) and the blood rain was never visualized, just talked about and described a bit.
The arena-managing scenes were interesting--you know, like last film had Seneca Crane and President Snow chatting. Now we have Plutarch Heavensbee and they do that. It definitely added a lot. It added a lot last movie, and that seemed like so little compared to how much it added to this one. Maybe in part because Plutarch lasts longer so his character development through those scenes seems more important? But also definitely in its own right.
In general: I almost cried. There was too much making out. It missed out on a lot of my favorite details but it wouldn't be a movie if it had all the details.
As a side note: My partner is cruising through Homestuck and got through the biggest plot-twist in immediate memory. I'm not sure what either of us will do when he finishes, but right now it's pretty fun and almost as squee-worthy. Almost.
Prim got revenge on the assholes who did the finger-prick scene in the first movie by being the cold-hearted motherfucker she's supposed to be. Buttercup had a major wardrobe change?
They skipped the Haymitch flashback. I would have died if they hadn't so I should be happy, though at the same time I'm still curious, I guess? Actually, they skipped over everything about Haymitch's game. I guess it makes enough sense, with the whole part where Madge doesn't exist anymore; suddenly there's no real point to introducing her family and stuff. I do wish they could have snuck in SOMETHING to at least IMPLY the sort of history that the mockingjay pin has in the books. (Also while we're at it can we stop making it be a thing that nobody can have a district token and it's a big deal to keep the pin quiet?)
The capitol was apparently filmed in Atlanta. I looked it up because they spent a lot of time in what was obviously some Marriott or another, and it turns out that it was indeed the one that Dragon*Con happens at. I am the squeeingest.
The arena was nicely-handled. Some parts of it were a bit odd, mostly in congruence with the first movie, which I might not have noticed nearly so much if it weren't for the whole double-feature thing. Not plot-relevant, per se, just visually incongruent.
Overall the arena was less horrifying than I imagined. This isn't too hard, though. I was pretty horrified by that arena. But the apes weren't as scary as I imagined and the jabberjays weren't as focused-on. The gas was opaque (no visuals on Mags dying) and the blood rain was never visualized, just talked about and described a bit.
The arena-managing scenes were interesting--you know, like last film had Seneca Crane and President Snow chatting. Now we have Plutarch Heavensbee and they do that. It definitely added a lot. It added a lot last movie, and that seemed like so little compared to how much it added to this one. Maybe in part because Plutarch lasts longer so his character development through those scenes seems more important? But also definitely in its own right.
In general: I almost cried. There was too much making out. It missed out on a lot of my favorite details but it wouldn't be a movie if it had all the details.
As a side note: My partner is cruising through Homestuck and got through the biggest plot-twist in immediate memory. I'm not sure what either of us will do when he finishes, but right now it's pretty fun and almost as squee-worthy. Almost.