Disclaimer: My brain is a bit out of balance due to a cold. I watched the movie in Spanish. I haven't read any of the books in the trilogy.
Juegos del Hambre
Joel wanted to see why the movie is experiencing so much success, so we walked to our neighborhood centro comercial, DiverPlaza, for the 3p.m. showing of Los Juegos del Hambre. So that we wouldn't feel the effects of hunger ourselves, we stopped for granizos (slushies) before entering the theater. The other patrons chose to purchase traditional, overpriced giant buckets of popcorn.
Note to self: In the future, arrive 30 minutes late to avoid tasteless movie previews as well as silly Super C & Vitamin Zinc health propaganda.
Overall, I think they did a good job on the movie. The good guys were good, but flawed. The bad guys were obviously bad, but had some draw to make them believable.
The contrast between the town and the capital is interesting to look at. To use the word humble to describe the townspeople isn't quite right. They are in humble circumstances, but are still proud enough to live as orderly a life as possible. They are a proud people in a simple town. The city is modern, and its people are ostentatious. They are obviously as thoughtless as the fatuous host of The Games. The director didn't have to put much effort into convincing us of this. You don't want to be like them, except perhaps our heroine's cool counselor with the gold eyeliner.
Just? We are relieved when the man in charge changes the rules for the benefit of our team, but when they change them back, our first impulse is to think it is not fair.
Right? The competitors are being watched. Appearances can help or hurt them in the games. There is a reward for actions that appeal to the audience...encouraging deceit.
Effective. Perhaps it doesn't mean much to say that I trembled and cried at points. That isn't anything out of the ordinary for me, even with tacky movies. What surprised me was that as I reflected on the experience, the feelings filled my body, threatening to force out some emotional response again: revenge for Rue, the wrong of K's deceitfulness, and the realization that the end of this Hunger Game was only the beginning.
