the delphic expanse

Anyone see the film? It's obviously huge. I'm going this weekend!

Haven't yet. Trying to get the kids to finish reading the books so we can all go. The books were fabulous and I hear the movie is just as good. Saw in Entertainment Weekly that Woodly Harrelson is playing Hamich. Great casting there.

Fans of the books that I know had reactions from a shrug of just being happy to see some of the scenes from the book come to life, to raving mad that they left out key scenes that may seem unimportant at first glance, but are important for character development. People that haven't read the books first, seem to love it. But book fans seem to be okay with it at best, at least from what I've encountered.

My personal take on it? It had a totally different tone from the book. It still comes across as a strong heroine overcoming horrid obstacles, but the story seems simple and rushed. I thought it was a good movie but it could have been better. But if you've read the book and go see the movie, the one thing you need to chant repeatedly to yourself is that it is not the book on film. It's Gary's vision (Addams Family Ref) of the book on film.

and my pet peeve about the movie for those that have seen it:

They made Peeta very weak and vulnerable. In the book, he stands up for himself often whether arguing or fighting, but in the movie he constantly needs Katniss to protect him, lead him. The destruction of a fully fleshed out character isn't what drives me completely nuts, but the idea that they had to do it because a strong female lead would wither next to a strong male.

I'm on the fence about seeing this movie. Haven't read the books, either. I understand that there is a big following, but something about making children kill each other makes me feel a little queasy, even if it's just in a book or a movie.

Is it weird that I'd never even heard of these books until maybe a couple of months before the movie was due to be released? Apparently they're a big deal in young adult literature. Granted, I don't really read a lot of YA stuff (the Percy Jackson books were the last ones I read), but I'm surprised I hadn't at least heard of The Hunger Games if they've got such a huge presence in current pop culture.

The books are absolutely huge. My students, who are college age, defend them passionately - saying that they are the anti-Twilight. And I love that a series of books with a very strong female protagonist is a huge hit among both male and female readers. The books are dark, and children do die - but boy, do the young people I know respond to the high stakes.

Although the writing and story are targeted toward teens and tweens, the story itself is very rich and complex. What I've heard is that because the author purposely did not pull any punches for the sake of the target audience and it does requires a level of maturity, teens love it... they're not being "talked down to".

But I also think this is what draws a lot of adults as well, myself included. Funny thing is that I thought I saw some stats that showed 60% of the audience for the movie were 25+. I don't know if I read that correctly, but from the people I know, I wouldn't doubt it.

The subject of kids killing kids is not a light matter in the book and is not violence just for the reader's entertainment (the movie, I think, loses some of this depth just because there is just not enough time or insight to really understand how horrific this vision of the future is).

The movie finally brings to the screen a strong action female without having to use her sexuality to take control of her life. The book is that and an emotional roller-coaster for the reader (I'm not kidding, EVERY emotion).

I loved the film. I liked the books, though I'm somewhat apathetic about YA novels. (Very few of them wow me. I think the Harry Potter series was the last YA novels that utterly captured me. And I am not a fan at all of the films.) I will say that I would much rather my daughters emulate Katniss than Bella.

Now I can say I know of someone that loved the film and read the book when asked about the film (there seems to be a lot of people that want to ask before going).

Now if you want to talk about books then I think you are definitely not alone in the like department. Where each Harry Potter book was more interesting than the last, the Hunger Games books (my opinion as well as a lot of others I know) were not.

OK. Slightly off topic but it was too funny not to pass along....

This is what a cat thinks about the Hunger Games....