Catching Fire
Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
Actor Impression:
As always, Jennifer Lawrence is flawless in her return to the screen, this time reprising her role as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. Her performance was more emotional and intense than the last movie required from her character, and the viewer was definitely pulled in by the character's emotional turmoil throughout the film.
Josh Hutcherson definitely upped his game in this film, as well, but I think the character/actor that stole the film was Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket. I've read the book, of course, but I didn't remember Effie being so involved in this one as much as she had been in the last one, but she quickly became my favorite character in this movie. She was more vocal and funnier, and Banks brought heart and character into the "tribute handler" in the most unusual and funny ways.
I think all of the women in the theater were happy to see more of Liam Hemsworth, but his character and development in Gale were less than what we could have expected next to Katniss, Peeta, and even Haymitch (Woody Harrelson).
Notable performances definitely need to go out to Philip Seymour Hoffman as Pultarch Heavensbee, Sam Clafin as Finnick Odair, and Jenna Malone as Joanna Mason.
Plot Impression:
Once again, I'm impressed with how much the screenplay was able to stay faithful to (at least what I remember of) the original book. I only noticed one thing that was left out, and it really wasn't all that important (not that it would have been very hard to slip in, either.) Although I was a little disappointed that we didn't get the scene between Katniss and Peeta, as they watched all of the other tribute's Hunger Games victory tapes, and see Haymitch's win. I think that would have been an interesting scene, and really changed the way the audience looked at Haymitch and his "gruffness."
Overall Impression:
This was a fantastic film, expertly costumed, written, and edited, and I loved how faithful it remained to the book. I think it is more than worth the movie stub price, and while I'm not a big fan of HUGE cliffhangers, there was really no way of getting around it in this book ["There is no District 12..."]
The Blonde Rating: 4.5/5 *****
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Hypable Rating: A-
Now the real question for Mockingjay is...how the hell are they going to make that two movies? Or follow up THIS act? That will really be impressive.
That's all for now!
Happy Holidays!
The Blonde
What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?
I promised myself and the few people I know that actually read my reviews that I wouldn't put in any spoilers for this book. I promised, but that means the review is going to be shorter than usual.
So this book was pretty good. I definitely liked its predecessors better, but it was a good, conclusive ending. I really hate "endings" that leave things ambiguous and unresolved, but don't worry, there aren't too many questions on the last page of Allegiant.
There were a few bits and chapters that I thought didn't seem to have too much impact or a necessity to the rest of the story, but those were few and far between. There were a couple of characters that seemed to act a little differently than what I was used to them behaving (See: Tobias chill-axing with Peter, of all people).
I really liked the changing perspectives between chapters, from Tris to Tobias, but it would sometimes create frustration for the reader when we knew what one character was thinking and doing, but keeping it from the other. Like, haven't we already figured out that that doesn't work, guys? You just end up fighting!
Overall, a satisfying ending with a little bit of frustration around the middle, but keep your tissues close by in the last 70 pages or so.
Blonde Rating: 3.5/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.7/5
Amazon Buyers' Rating: 2.9/5
Sorry, this review is a little lame, but i promised, no spoilers. Check out the Insurgent and Divergent reviews. They are spoilers galore.
Thanks!
The Blonde
UPDATED:
So I've had time to really sit on this review and my thoughts about the ending and the series as a whole, and I've heard about the crazy people and their death threats to the author, and how upset they were about the "shock" at the end of the book, and I've decided that I don't like this book as much as I thought I did.
I loved Divergent, don't get me wrong, and I actually really liked Insurgent, which a lot of my friends are saying they hated, but Allegiant just did nothing for me.
I will say that I still liked the switching POVs, but it seems pretty dumb now, knowing that, really, nothing is happening in this book.
Think about it. They're just sitting around, gathering "information" that doesn't really help or harm them until about the last 100 pages or so. In a book 550 page book, the last fifth of it shouldn't be the only interesting part.
While I will always appreciate well-constructed prose, it can't always make up for an overly drawn out finale.
I'm re-issuing my rating to a 2.5/5
and I'm giving the series as a whole a 3/5
Sorry for the update, I promise I will sit on and think more thoroughly through my reviews in the future.
The Blonde
