Saturday, June 11, 2016

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

  Many people say that Catching Fire is 'The good Hunger Games movie'.  While the movie's plot and characters wereloyal the the books, a feat in which I have great respect for, I don't know why it's called, 'the good movie'. To me, a  good book-to-movie adaptation is a 100% percent loyal one. And the movies aren't really this, I mean, it's intense and all, but really?! NO MADGE UNDERSEE? NO DARIUS AND LAVINIA?! BONNIE AND TWILL?! HAYMITCH'S GAMES?! Speaking of the movies, do you ever have that friend who always says that 'The movies are better than the books?' As a BOOK blogger who tends to enjoy intense emotional scenes that, for some inconceivable reason, cannot be shown as well in movies, not to even mention the snarky thoughts and opinions of our main character that provides a (to me, anyway) dark comedy, I disagree. Especially when you consider the fact that those people have probably never read the books, so they do not KNOW WHO MADGE, DARIUS, LAVINIA, BONNIE AND TWILL ARE! HOW HAYMITCH WON THE GAMES! Man, those scenes were so tense and added so much to the plot and the characters! YOU DON'T JUST OMIT THAT, LIONSGATE! 



Thank you for reading my rant. Onto the review. 


As usual: GET OUT OF HERE TO AVOID SPOILERS, WHICH YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THE LAST BOOK REVIEW  and every other one before that........

  The story begins with Katniss hunting in the woods for Gale's family. Gale himself is forced to work at the mines. She goes on to tell us what her life is like now, with her regular comments about them, which make me laugh so hard. Really though, I like this style of comedy used in the first two books, only in the last one things situations were too serious to make any fun out of it. Not that book Katniss is one for jokes, nut I just enjoy her little remarks about others. Nor do I hate Mockingjay for lacking this comedy,as I also enjoy, as previously stated, intense emotional scenes just as well.

  After President Snow makes his threat, we get to kind of cliche of the character not-telling-anyone-their-worries-because-they-will-worry etc. But no matter how many times I read this plot line, I can never get enough, because it adds so much layer to the story, despite myself practically screaming at the character TO JUST. TELL. THEM.

In the movie, the ramp-up-the-romance-while-not-really-seeing-each-other-for-a-while was played really well and looked a lot like a imagined it. The Victory tour scene in the movie was also very convincing all well planned. You could really feel the tense moments in the actor's expressions, and they almost perfectly show the emotions described in the books. Most of the scenes after that could be shown that way too, even the scene just after the shooting, where admittedly Peeta doesn't shout, but his fury is shown. 

The next major event after the Victory tour is, of course, the sudden change of Head Peacekeeper. Thread uses his authority with an iron grip, which he displays when Gale arrives with a turkey, unaware that the Thread is in power. Gale is whipped many times over in the square until Katniss intervenes. There is also a line that says: Maybe we're it. The only three people in the district who could make stand like this. This shows he power of the victors, and why, possibly why, Snow had wanted some of them dead to quell the rebellion. This was, unfortunately glossed over in the movie. 

Another thing glossed over in the movie: Madge Undersee. Madge is the one who gives Katniss the pin the book, who gives the Everdeen family morphling . She gets such a development in this book, where some of her past is uncovered in Haymitch's quell. Speaking of Haymitch's quell, CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT?! Haymitch's quell video in the books, uncovered so much of Haymitch for us, why he acts the way he does now, what lead him to be so broken to be so drunk all the time, why he sleeps with a knife in his hand, why he can Katniss and relate to so many things. I think it was great aspect to the character. It was fit reasonably well into the book, I can't see why it wasn't it in the movies. 

The tributes. The tributes from 1-2 are mentioned as not too cooperative. At the interview, Cashmere, the tribute from 1, states that Katniss looked ridiculous in her gown. Brutus and Enobaria are the tributes from 2 who try to kill them later in the Games. From 3, we have Beetee and Wiress, and I like them. Wiress, I think, has perhaps a impediment of some sort, and Beetee makes it out alive, which is good. 4. I'm not really afraid to admit that I cried when Mags died. I think, that if she stayed alive for Mockingjay, she could have acted like a person to keep Katniss company after the war. Finnick, who is portrayed as cocky in the movies, is far more like able here, in the books. 5 and 6 are pretty much skipped or only briefly mentioned. In 7, we have Johanna Mason, who was mentioned as a passable piece of information in the first book. In the books, Johanna is more of an angry, bitter girl from all of Snows harshness. There's no one left I love. In many other books, such as the sequel to this one, the main hero's loved ones are taken and tortured before the hero's eyes. Johanna's statement makes you wonder, What if you could fight in these battles with literally nothing to lose? How would everything change? What's more, I would like a more backstory to Johanna, to understand her anger at, pretty much the world. 9 and 10 aren't put into much detail as I remember. except for Katniss accusing he stylists from 10 of stealing Cinna and Portia's ideas, asking why the tributes from that district, who are dressed as cows, doing with fire belts. 11. Chaff is a friend of Haymitch, who, and here I quote, Chaff doesn't seem too bad at lunch. He's sober, and while he talks too loud and makes bad jokes a lot, most of them are at his own expense. I can see why he would be good for Haymitch, whose thoughts run so darkly. Seeder is said to look like people from the Seam, and tells Katniss the stories of Rue and Thresh's family to Katniss, and is brutally murdered in the Games. Once again, like Mags, I think she would have been like a older sister figure to Katniss after the war had she survived, 

Lets go the ending. Okay. The ending. I did not see that coming. I was pretty preoccupied with what had just happened to even consider 13 and a rebellion, let alone one already in place. I don't really approve of Katniss just attacking Haymitch out of no where like that, but then again it is understandable. Also, the end of the end. As in the very last line. There is no more District 12.  I have never read many books where the main character's home was destroyed, so this was also an unexpected twist for me, and probably for Katniss too. 

Conclusion: This is kind of more of a movie review rather than a book review, what with constant comparisons. I hope you didn't mind too much.

Thanks for reading!~ I hope you come for more book (no more movie comparisons, I promise) reviews! 
-Sooyoung Jo, age 12-

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