It's not really about the plane's crash, unlike what the trailers suggest.  That fact would have been extremely disappointing if I didn't already learn that on my own before going in.  So I wasn't completely blindsided by it.  No, the movie is, quite simply, about an alcoholic and his trek towards redemption from this struggle of alcohol addiction.  The Flight isn't the plane's flight per se, but more his own flight, towards the freedom from his own private prison.  When you know that fact going in, it's a little easier to accept.  That doesn't mean the movie itself is easy to watch, however.  It was actually downright depressing seeing a movie depicting a critical event from the perspective of a man who is his own worst enemy.  Just put the drink down! How hard can that be?  Quit running to a bottle and own up to your responsibilities!  But no...it's never that simple.  Alcoholism is the villain in this movie, and I hated it.  IT, as in, alcoholism itself and what such an addiction can do to people.  But everyone has their weaknesses; everyone fights their own demons.  And in that sense, through Washington's superior acting chops, this movie is pretty good.  Because in end, through his own admission of guilt with a tear down his eye, he finally, FINALLY admits to the world, "I am an alcoholic," and thus the first step to becoming a changed man was taken.  The plane crash for this man was something of an eye-opener for him.  Though alcohol had nothing to do with the crash, it had everything to do with how he dealt with the crash.  It was his escape form life, from problems, from responsibilities.  It was ugly to see just what addictions can do to people, helping them run away from who they are or who they're meant to be.  It's a good thing when someone wins against a dangerous addiction.  

What I didn't care for was the integration of religion in certain areas, at least not in the manner it was presented. It was evident that they were simply going for a sort of "godly" revelation for Denzel's character using the various characters and/or occurrences in the plot, but I just wish it was presented in a less err...invasive manner? I mean, I'm a Christian, and I found even myself repulsed by a character's freakishly robotic declaration of praising Jesus.  Christians presented in such an overly religious, stoic, unfeeling, or zombie fashion isn't accurate, or at least it isn't supposed to be.  And frankly, it makes me sigh that there are self-declared Christians out there who act in the manner that these couple of characters did, fooling the world into thinking that this is how Christians are supposed to be.  In the movie, the co-pilot and his wife are quite clearly meant to represent Christians of a "holier-than-thou" persuasion, sneering at people who are not believers instead of loving on them.  You don't grip your cross around your neck while staring at someone with your hallow eyes and just randomly say "Praise Jesus!" when someone states their own translation of what they think God did or did not do.  It makes you look foolish, hypnotized, and in need of your own freedom.  But as I said, it appears that what they were going for is to have Denzel's character be reminded by everyone around, whether they be religious or not, that he needs to change his ways.  So if those versions of Christians still did their part in the movie to help spark his transition, then so be it.  In the end, the most important matter is that he finally realized that through all events that occurred, he ended up a free man, even if he had to spend it in prison.  What's most important is that the one moment when he could have cowered behind his drinking one final time, where the blame could have been placed on the shoulders of a dead woman whose last act of heroism lead to her death, he instead chose to own up to it, to face it dead in the eye, and become what he is supposed to be, whatever that may entail.

I also didn't care for the useless nudity by one of the female characters.  It seemed without purpose and exploitative in nature.  At least at first.  But then, when I analyzed it enough, it seems to be a point all its own. Not the nudity itself, but the woman in general.  In the end, when this lover of his was presented to him in an unpleasant manner (having had problems with drugs and alcohol herself), it seemed to have struck a personal chord with Denzel's character.  He sees what she was before she died, and then saw what she was capable of in her last moments: saving a little boy, casting herself aside.  So she's not some whore or prostitute or trashy girl he's sleeping with, as my first thought suggested. She was a human being who can do heroic things no matter how ugly her past was.  It was the final nudge for him to make his own heroic act, so as not to have her image tarnished by hiding his own.  All in all, a good movie that depicts humanity in its ugliest form, along with its most beautiful form.  A hero wrapped up in an ugly package on his "Flight" to freedom.

Still on overhaul everyone!  Apparently, there's a glitch on Xanga that seemed to have magically developed that is no longer allowing me to update and edit my theme.  In other words, I'm back to the old, boring, impersonal look for now. I've attempted to just delete all my themes to start over, which worked, but now it's not letting me update to add a new one.  A major problem that is actually very aggravating, and inexplicably so.  That's the story for now.  Try not to get whiplash.

Well, my absence wasn't really an overhaul as it was a lengthy break and a slight makeover.  I suppose the overhaul was merely a mass-privatizing of all my posts in some measly attempt to start anew.  Not like I haven't done that before in my 9 years here on Xanga.  But I suppose you can never refresh things too many times.

At any rate, here I am once more. I am eager to try this blogging thing again, though as always, am a little rusty.  There will still be some changes afoot, though, so it's all a work in progress.  In case you've stumbled upon this place for the first time ever, or the first time in awhile, expect to see changes here and there.  Having become more familiar with WordPress, there are features it has that I'd love to at least try to integrate here, namely the ability to categorize blogs.  I just love that. How I'll do it or if it's even possible, I don't know.  But I certainly have to brush up on my HTML knowledge.  I still like to dabble in the craft of writing and self-expression.  What was always lacking was time or, more importantly, subject matter.  But oh well.  Here I go again.  

So...life as I know it has been....well...interesting.  Drama all around.  My sister and husband are fighting; she even asked what we'd think if she and he were to break up.  Her husband and my other sister are also on non-speaking terms.  My folks are back to their old ways of getting along merely on the surface.  Not to mention my cousin's wife has been cheating on him for a year with his best friend.   And me...well, nothing very drastic, other than being in love with someone I am not meant to be with.  How's that for an adventure?  Not one I'd recommend, that's for sure.  A family vacation is forthcoming in November, though, so that should be a very welcomed escape for all of us.  It'll be my first holiday vacation in...well...probably since I was still in school well over a dozen years ago.  Though I won't be getting paid for this vacation due to lack of benefits with my job, it doesn't even matter right now.  I want the escape.  And I'm certain I'm not the only one.  

I don't know the details of the drama between my family.  Even if I did, I'm not about to plaster those details, as it's no one's business.  I just know that it's so frustrating from my own standpoint, being on the outside looking in at all these relationships that just fizzle away for reasons that you sometimes forget happen in real life and not just the movies.  I wish I can just bleed out my own thoughts on the matters everyone fights about, but I can never seem to articulate the right words to share.  Why would anyone even bother to take me seriously anyway?  I'm just a single woman who's never been married, so what do I know?  And yet, despite it all, it still doesn't stop me from wanting marriage.  Something always tells me that I'd be of the percentage of women who'll be blessed enough to be involved with someone who'd be just as committed to making it work like I would.  Even now, it isn't such a foolish notion.  And I refuse to believe it is.  

And being in love?   You read it right.  No point trying to deny it anymore.  At least here, anyway.  In the flesh, though, that's not something I intend to parade around.  It'll never be accepted, never be understood.  There would be panic and gossip, judgments and accusations.  And neither I nor he would be deserving of it.  Is love in secret real love at all?  Some people may think so, but I say it is.  Not that those things should stop us, and if we were meant to be together, those things likely wouldn't.  But he and I both know that he is not my husband and I am not his wife.  We know and feel it.  And just because there may be real love, doesn't mean we simply MUST get married.  Is this preferential to not feeling anything at all?  As in, is it better to love and lose than to not love at all? Eh...I'm still torn about that one.  I now know what it's like to be on both sides of the spectrum, and I honestly can't quite say which is preferential.  It's both wonderful and horrible.  Comforting and excruciating.  Perfection and mess.  But at least I finally know what works for me.  And that's one bit of treasure I aim to hold on to tightly.

Life as I know it is still in transition.  I learn about myself every day, which I guess is how it ought to be.  I'm a growing soul, always a work in progress.  I look back at the pieces of life I chose to spill out onto pages and screens and really do see a difference in the person I am.  Much of it is simply maturity, but there's still that little something I can't quite put a finger on.  Oh of course it's a neverending process, but it's still pretty fascinating to notice anyway.  There's the parts that will never die, and the parts that die.  All there is to do is hope that the parts that die aren't the good parts. Oh bleh....I don't even know what I'm talking about.  Sleepiness taking over.  Typical.  I will attempt to contribute blogs on a more regular basis now, a slow come-back.  I already don't see myself doing it every day, but perhaps on a weekly basis. We shall see.  In meantime, here I am.  And but now I go.  Bed beckons.

And apparently if I get that chicken at Chick-Fil-A, I'm automatically classified as a supporter for what Chick-Fil-A supports.  Um, no. Sometimes it's just about eating chicken.  What the organization itself decides to support is not my concern.  My money, once paid to them--or any other place for that matter--is no longer mine, and places will do with it as they see fit.  I can't go through life making my decisions based on what the other guy is doing.  I don't care.  If someone is free enough to thrash someone else's freedom to choose what they want to support, then why should I be any different?  That's what makes the whole fiasco about Chick-Fil-A so....wasteful.  Why do people, gay or straight, care?

Now coincidentally, I do not support homosexuality, nor do I praise the life of a gay person.  One must conclude that I therefore do not support gay marriage, which is why they'd think I'd have no problem "supporting" Chick-Fil-A.  Yeah.  No, I'm afraid it's still about the chicken.  But anyway, it's not something I blatantly share with people, because apparently, it makes me a hateful person to stand by what I personally believe in.  And then those people themselves become hateful.  Ironic, isn't it?  The gay movement demands equality and acceptance, yet many of them do not want to accept someone else's reluctance or choice to not support it.  Now true, there are too many examples of hateful people who go out of their way to express that hate, but I'm simply not one of them.

I myself am not hateful. I've met plenty of gay people in my life and have been fond of almost all of them. There are some great, great people out there who are gay.  That orientation doesn't make the person horrible.  It's rare to hear me express my thoughts about homosexuality to them, however, since folks who don't believe in God usually won't understand Him or care what He has to say.  Why would they?  But that doesn't change the fact that homosexuality is a sin.  Sometimes it's not even that.  It's a demonic spirit running rampant in the lives of people, even when they're not aware, even when they don't want it. It's why people are "born" with homosexual tendencies, why people feel that it is never a choice to be gay.  Part of me agrees with that.  Does that mean it should be accepted, embraced, loved?  No. It's something to be delivered and saved from.  If one so chooses to be.

So it's not about what I'm supporting or what I'm not supporting.  It's simply about what is and what isn't.  And nothing will change the fact that sexual acts with the same sex is not something to be paraded and proud of.  It is not God's design, and one's belief in God makes no difference to what His design is meant to be.  I believe in God and I believe in His word, the Bible.  I am by no means declaring my perfection, since that couldn't be further from the truth.  I am not even declaring that I am right.  All that is right is God above, and any righteousness that I have is because of Him, not me.  I am not afraid of homosexuals, nor do I hate, ridicule, or taunt them.  As far as I'm concerned, they're still people in need of the Lord, just like every other person in existence.  I simply do not condone homosexuality, much like I don't condone cigarettes, or drunkenness, or foul language, etc.  So to be called "homophobic" is actually a ridiculous label for someone such as myself, and rather disrespectful to me as a person.

In the end, I don't care about Chick-Fil-A's affiliations.  So they support organizations that don't support gay marriage.  Okay?  And?  If they were supporting gay marriage, I STILL wouldn't care.

Seriously.  I just want some chicken.

Don't know what's to become of this.  Xanga just isn't the same for me.  Still cannot fathom deleting it, though.  So, overhaul it is.   For now.

Went to check out the remake of Total Recall today.  Wasn't very good.  For once, and weirdly enough, I'll agree with the one reviewer who claimed that it's just a whole bunch of stuff borrowed from movies I've seen already.  Or as the reviewer claimed, "from movies you actually care about."  Yes, yes.  I'm afraid I must agree.  It was like Star Wars meets Avatar meets I, Robot meets The Fifth Element.  The robot soldiers were the color of storm troopers, and the movements of the trade federation robots. The city itself was like the one from Avatar (and heck, even Star Wars too).  The chase sequences were like I, Robot's and Fifth Element.  Nothing felt...."wow" enough to me.  While a handful of aspects were cool (I did like the hologram head device), a majority of it gave me the sense of "been there, done that."  Not that the original was all fantastic either, (in fact, I still find the original movie kinda stupid), but at least it was cool in its freaky and corny originality.  So eh...it's not really worth a thorough review.  Pretty forgettable and won't be joining my collection.  But that's no different than the original, which also hasn't joined my collection either anyway, so no biggie.

Anyway, not much else to say.  As is common lately.  I can't quite say the blogger in me has died, as I still do enjoy writing and/or typing.  But talking about myself or my day to day life just seems so...wasteful.  It's a big reason why I never bother to blog anymore.  Facebook is to blame too, since it's so much simpler to access and update.  I often cringe thinking about the nonsense I once blogged about back in the day.  But then I also think, if I ddn't express or share myself, would I be the person I am today? Would I be better? Worse?  Can't know for sure, of course.  But it is what it is.  I have to take steps to get out of this rut of mine. I gotta stop relying on the addition of any one particular factor to dictate what I should or should not do in my life.  Of course I'll be so much happier with a man in my life.  Of course I'd enjoy being around him in even the most boring of days, and of course I'd love it even more if he felt the same.  But I can't put all my eggs in one basket.  That's a happiness that will have to be delayed for now while I dabble in other areas that can make me happy.  I need to lose weight once and for all.  I need to awaken my inner artist again...drawing, sculpting, and video editing.  And most importantly, I need to re-establish my relationship with God again.  I need to stop going waking up in the morning, going throughout my day, and going to bed at night without ever acknowledging him or saying a prayer.  I need to find myself.  And maybe when I do so, I wouldn't be sitting here pining for something else.

I know, I know.  Stop talking about it and get it done.

Though I'm likely in the minority, (for some reason I cannot possibly fathom,) I thoroughly enjoyed the newest Spiderman. It was awesome. Like VERY.  And in all my excitement, I had this great mini review typed out on it, but unfortunately it got lost in cyberspace even AFTER it was safely submitted. It even stayed on the screen for a few minutes and then....gone.  Stupid me for not copying it, I know.  Anyhow, I can already tell that whatever initial reaction I had in response to the movie was lost with that baby review, so whatever I say here won't be as sparkling as my original.  But alas, I will not be stopped. You'll have to forgive me if this review seems all over the place as I'm trying to grasp what I had last night before I fell asleep.

As I was saying, I thought the movie was quite awesome.  I do still think a reboot of the franchise was a little premature, but fortunately, I still thought it worked.  I wish I can venture to say it was "amazing" simply for the sake of utilizing the pun, but alas, "amazing" only applies to my current hero favorite The Avengers. Anyway, to quote myself after my sister asked if I liked this one better than the original, "It tears them ALL up."  I admit, though, that that's a slight exaggeration. I remember a time when Raimi's Spiderman was always my favorite back in the day, surpassed only by its sequel.  That is before the Iron Mans and eventual Avengers came into my life. I mean, the Spiderman movies were definitely awesome.  J.K. Simmons' portrayal of Jamison is still to this day unbeatable.  But.  BUT! Because Spiderman 3 left such a bad taste in my mouth, I found myself turning my back on the franchise altogether when they seemed to have lost their chance to be cool again.

The acting from EVERYONE was by far the most effective aspect about the movie, especially from Andrew Garfield, our newest Spiderman.  He was practically genius, a perfect pick.  I didn't see it before and wasn't sure how I'd like it, but now I'm totally hooked.  As Peter Parker, he really had me believing he was truly going through all the emotional strains a teenager in his predicament would be going through, from impulsiveness and premature delusions of grandeur, to self-control and acceptance of responsibility.  And of course, his high school crush, someone with an extremely likable personality and who wasn't there to be just eye candy.  The chemistry between Emma and Andrew was superb and so very teenager-ish.  The hesitance, the nerdiness, the boyishness. It totally won me over.  But his most notable performance for me personally was pain.  Complete and utter PAIN, especially at the loss of those he cared about and loved.  There was such childlike innocence to Garfield's Peter Parker and you really, REALLY feel for him.  He had me choking UP when Uncle Ben died.  Though I think the execution of Ben's death could have been handled better, it was still genuinely so very sad, I kid you freaking not.  Man I felt so bad for him, and this is fiction!

Speaking of Uncle Ben, Martin Sheen was absolutely wonderful.  Thankfully his acting chops came to good use here, and his portrayal of Uncle Ben was seamless.  It was a portrayal that was also slightly different than what we've seen of Uncle Ben in the original Spiderman, however.  Sheen's Uncle Ben was, to me, just a tad bit more confrontational and a bit less gentle than his predecessor, but it wasn't drastic and not at all bothersome.  He still had the correct emotional pull as an elder man with much wisdom that was needed to draw me in.  As I mentioned earlier, his death could have been executed a little better (having him outright lunging at the guy with the gun was a little silly, when he could have simply thrown himself in the path of the bullet to protect someone or something.)  But it was still just as tragic.  And Sally Field as Aunt May was actually, (and surprisingly) very good.  And she DEFINITELY had that protective, extremely gentle, and motherly "old lady" vibe about her that was very cool.  She was very sweet in her Sally Field way. Perfect. 

And of course Spiderman himself, while still took some getting used to, was great. From what I'm told, Spidey's supposed to be this huge blabbermouth when facing off against his many villains, always wise-cracking.  And this is what shines in this film.  But it was also what took getting used to, since Toby's Spiderman's scarce witty remarks weren't even really that witty, and almost felt forced and awkward.  This time around, you can very much tell our Spidey is a teenager who, quite simply, can't keep his mouth shut and I LOVED that.  His overall look was great too, very lean and muscular, not overly bulky.  Sure, Toby Maguire has a nice build, but I guess I can see why a lean Spidey is ideal.  Lean and tall.  I can believe he'd be able to slither through the city with his web shooters.  His INORGANIC web shooters.  His transformation into Spiderman was actually SUPER fun, all his crazy realizations about what he can now do.  The visuals were absolutely stunning too, very well-done.  The Lizard was very realistic-looking and I thought he was a very cool villain. I know not much about the Lizard, so I can't properly comment on how right or wrong he was.   But he sure seemed right to me.

But what I really, really, REALLY loved--and I'm willing to say that this is one of the many reasons why the movie won me over--was the female lead, Emma Stone and her character Gwen Stacy.  In both Spiderman 3 and Amazing, I loved Gwen. But I never really was opposed to Mary Jane before their version of her in Raim's Spidey movies.  I'm no fan of Kirsten Dunst already, so my distaste of her portrayal of the usually cool Mary Jane (at least from the toons) wanted to make me freaking gag every time.  I understand that this is perhaps strictly the female in me declaring this complaint, or maybe just my aversion to Dunst, but whatever.  It doesn't change the fact that I finally, FINALLY no longer had to deal with that freaking needy, self-involved, whiny, manipulative, classless, devious, screamy, damsel in CONSTANT distress (for all 3 friggin' movies,) with her "look at me as I parade my soaked boobs in your face even though I was almost just raped" ANNOYING Mary Jane, who seemingly was strategically placed in those movies as something to be objectified and glorified for God knows why, other than to just be Peter's inexplicable obsession.  FOR 3 FRIGGIN' MOVIES. That crap got old WAY fast and frankly, I was more than eager to say goodbye to that plot line.  I wanted out.

Now I'm not gonna say this movie doesn't have its flaws.  It does.  In fact, it probably has many flaws.  But for me, they weren't enough to put me off.  There was too much to love for me to hate what wasn't right.  Maybe they weren't even really flaws, since what some people dislike are what other people LIKE, and that certainly applies to me.  As any other movie, it's a matter of opinion.  I haven't read any negative reviews, but I'd venture to guess a big problem people have with the movie is the pacing, its length, the score, its copy-cat similarities to its predecessor, and perhaps whatever inaccuracies it had in comparison to the comics. The pace is slow and took its time, but it worked for me, as it built up a Peter Parker first before Spiderman.  Plus, it was entertaining.  As far as its length, it's noticeably long, but I'm usually not one to complain about sitting through a long movie. I hate when they're rushed and short, so I say, take your friggin' time as long as you present to me something interesting.  And the score, my gawd the score.  What an amazing score.  It was like magic mixed with fantasy mixed with heroism and all for the purpose of budding a new hero in a fresh way.  I purchased it on itunes like a half hour ago too.  But I'm probably too biased, as I'm a rabid James Horner fan and it's hard not to like his work.  As far as this movie's copy-cat similarities to its predecessor? So minor.  It's all from the same comic book series anyway, so by all means, give me different translations and just make it cool.   As far as inaccuracies compared to the comics, well...I wouldn't know since I don't know the comics very well.  But I do know I'd be plenty of annoyed too if my beloved source material was brutally ravaged and used improperly, so I don't blame anyone for hating a movie for that reason.  That's probably, to me, the only real understandable reason to hate this film.  To each their own.

Well anyway, I think I've said my piece.  I loved it and to be honest, would love to see it again.  I also hope, despite any negative reviews, it will do well enough to bring me sequels, as I'm curious to know the direction they intend to take this new franchise in bloom.

Saw it twice this weekend.  Not only because I always did want to see it more than once, but also because I wanted to like it more than when I saw it the first time.  Does that mean I didn't like it the first time?  Not at all.  I'm already blaming my problems with it on simply my own nitpickiness.  Of wanting too much of the book.  And though the movie had PLENTY of the book, it just had so much of the book that the scenes felt a little....watery.  Diluted.  In other words, they put so much into it for seemingly the sake of including it, instead of adding the necessary weight to make it work.  That's why, despite the length of the movie, it felt rushed and short anyway.

Makes me wonder why they chose to leave out certain bits and not others. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but it's almost as if I'd rather have less scenes from the books in the movie if the scenes that ARE in the movie carry the exact same emotion the book does.  If they don't carry that emotional weight, then what's the use of including them?  I'm aware that I'm in the minority, though, because it seems that many fans of the books are still loving the movie regardless of what's missing.  And I guess I can very easily feel differently if the opposite were the case.  That too much was left out of the movie that was in the book and that it doesn't do justice, etc etc.  But I can't really say since that isn't the case.

Anyhow, despite my being aware that I'm being nitpicky, I'm going to state my problems anyway.  But to be fair, I'll state my praises too about The Hunger Games.  As is usual for my thorough long-as-hell movie reviews, I'll start with the good, bad, and the ugly, mostly for the sake of expressing my thoughts on the movie, even though I still loved it.

THE GOOD

Characters. As in, pretty spot-on representations of what I visualized in the book.  My favorite on-screen character, as far as accuracy goes, was Prim.  Though her role was of course smaller than that of Katniss, I really felt for her during her every bit of screen time.  That little girl gave me chills...made me REALLY feel like she was going through what the movie and book depicts.  What an absolute PERFECT Prim. Gale was well-done too, though a bit underdeveloped to my liking.  Still, he is the spitting image of what Gale was in the book. I was troubled by his lack of an ALMOST declaration of love for Katniss just as he was being pulled away from saying goodbye to her, however. I suppose it won't hurt much, though.  Rue was definitely how I pictured her too, from her size to her sweet, innocent voice.  There were still issues I had with her in other ways, to no fault of the actress, but I'll cover that later. Effie was another bit of perfection.  She was exactly how the book describes, and almost freakishly so.  So chipper and flamboyant, never full realizing the pain of the tributes. Haymitch was another well-done character, as far as looks and personality goes. But just like Rue, I have other issues to no fault of Woody, which I will cover later as well.  Cinna was just....flawless.  A great-looking man portraying a gentle character.  There was nothing that went wrong with him at all.  I just wish I saw more of him.  Last but not least, Katniss.  Though her character was described as skinny and slim, I still think Jennifer did an amazing job bringing Katniss to life.

The Reaping.  And I actually didn't really see the beauty of it until my second viewing.  At first, I was bothered by the lack of a music score during a majority of the scene. I'm such a music score junkie, that when I don't hear it during a dramatic scene, I find it dull.  And The Reaping, in my opinion, should be VERY dramatic.  So it was odd not to hear anything to enhance that for me.  But my second viewing helped me realize that the quiet of the scene was exactly as how the book describes, and exactly how it's supposed to be.  It's supposed to be so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. And I think the lack of score made it work so much better.  It helped me feel the fear depicted by not just Prim, but also Katniss. The haunting silence of it was very effective.

Pre-Arena.  Katniss shooting the apple? Perfect.  And I am so GLAD she said that infamous line, "Thank you for your consideration."  The chariot scene was perfect too, from the costumes, to the fire, to the score. True, I wish there was a little more time spent on preparation of it, not just with District 12, but the other Districts.  I would have loved to get to know the other districts before the arena.  But I suppose it was more important to see the flaming suits anyway. The interview was great too.  I am actually surprised they kept Katniss' spinning dress moment too. Even sort of surprised they kept most of Peeta's interview, including the confession of love, even though Katniss' face being on the capital's camera after the fact would have been nice, something to magnify her disapproval of his actions. The training scenes were great too, though a little more focus on specific districts to hone in on their skills wouldn't have been too bad to see. Bleh.

The Arena/Environment.  The LOOK of it was very good. But then, how difficult can it be to film in a forest?  Though the appearance was accurate, I was disappointed with other factors about the arena, but I'll get to that later. I loved the quiet tension before entering the arena from the glass tubes.  The eerie humming sound that likely haunted our character as a sort of nasty reminder that they will no longer be in the safe haven of the capital and are entering their probable deaths. It so worked.

Capital.  The look of the city was...in a word, extravagant.  Very futuristic and filled with weird-looking people. It would have been cool to see futuristic things being used at random moments, especially since that's what the book describes at certain situations, but alas, you can't have everything.  The general futuristic theme was there at least.

Arena Cannons/Anthem.  EXACTLY how I imagined them, as far the look and sound of them.  Too bad they were underused. But more on that later.

Rue's Death. Pretty well-done. Slightly different from the book as far as execution, but it still worked and the acting was superb on both of their parts.  Having her death be felt from her perspective, the with the light beyond the trees getting brighter and brighter before finally fading away was a touch of genius.  

THE BAD

Anthem. From what I can remember, there was only one usage of the anthem. I suppose the repetitious usages of them weren't really necessary since they merged the Anthem with the cannons, but still. The Anthem was always meant to share who survived and who died.  The cannons announce a death, and the Anthem shares who it is.  The Anthem was also meant to be a distraction for the tracker-jacker scene, which brings me to my next complaint...

Tracker-Jackers. Not at all what I envisioned them to be, especially since she all out described them as being "larger than wasps, and gold."  I imagined them to be monstrous (so to speak), lethal insects that poison you and TRACK YOU DOWN in vengeance for bothering them, hence their name.  Not giving them that hunting aspect made the "tracker" part of their name utterly useless.  They were supposed to be much more deadly and menacing.  Glimmer falling to them was accurate enough, despite the lack of slimy skin falling off her bones, but the other tributes that ran off from them were supposed to be hurt by them also.  Those wasps weren't meant to be a joke.  But alas, I was given regular-looking wasps with a slight golden color that didn't do anything but sting you.  Sure, excessive stings are deadly, but even that can apply to regular wasps.  Like that stuff doesn't exist already?

Katniss and Cameras. She wasn't conscious of them as much as I expected.  In the book, she was always aware of them, always made it a point not to show weakness in front of them for the sake of her family. She wanted to always give them hope that she can truly survive the Games.  Thankfully, she at least acknowledged them after Rue's death and did the 3 fingered gesture to them, but that was pretty much it.  One of my favorite aspects of the book was always when she tried hard not to lose focus of the task at hand: surviving.  Showing no pain, whether it's physically or emotionally.  You never really see her family watching her beyond maybe a few seconds worth.  In a way, I wanted a lot more "Truman Show" aspects to it, where it's still obvious that what we're seeing is the perspective of what everyone else is seeing on their TV screen. But there just wasn't enough of that.

Cornucopia. It was ugly, not at all like the book describes, which was a metallic gold. I visualized something vast, maybe even beautiful, like one of those decorative table pieces for Thanksgiving.  This one looked like a rocket built by highschool kids or something.  Looked out place. No, it's no big deal, but why change something like that when it's simple just to leave it how the book says it is? No reason at all.

Avoxes.  Their existence in the movie likely wasn't needed, but to me, it certainly would have really magnified the sadistic, evil nature of the Capital if you displease them, thus giving them an even bigger reason to be hated.  It also would have made Katniss's utterance of having her tongue cut out have more weight and meaning.  That having your tongue cut out really is something that can happen.  But I suppose the mere Hunger Games at all was reason enough to hate the Capital.

Haymitch vs. Katniss. Not enough tension!  They got along remarkably well in this movie, save for maybe one or two little occasions.  The lack of tension made it seem like Haymitch was being a little too cold towards her by saying she isn't lovable or desirable or whatever else. I found myself thinking, "Well, WHY isn't she desirable?" Now thankfully, Woody Harrelson's a genius actor and he did pull off the character of Haymitch extremely well, as I mentioned earlier, but without him being all drunken and disgusting almost all the time, as the book says, there really isn't a reason for Katniss to be at his throat either.  It didn't balance out well to me. 

Muttations.  They weren't SO so bad, but eh...I was expecting more of how the book depicted them.  Intelligent, thinking creatures.  With human eyes. Wasn't really necessary, though.

THE UGLY

Rue's Lack of Development. While the actress, look, and voice were PERFECT, her development as a crucial character was sorely misused.  I never once felt a connection between her and Katniss.  I never once was given the impression that Katniss wanted to protect her as if she was Prim and I'm one who read the books! True, the impression was given that she maybe felt bad for her for being so young and cute to be in this situation, but that is NOT the significance in the book, at least not from my understanding.  In the book, Rue's innocence is supposed to be a personification of Prim's.  She's like a miniature Katniss trapped in Prim's body.  That's why, even after her death, Katniss' promise to Rue became even more important than her promise to Prim.  But in the movie, they just sorta...hung out for what seemed to have been a mere couple of days, and that was that.  It just seems like their placement in each other's lives was something out of mere obligation to follow the books, but without the necessary weight I felt was needed.  For instance, the mockingjay pin.  Katniss wanted to give it to Rue in the book.  In response to the gesture, Rue did something that I personally felt was a sneak peak into her heart.  She insisted Katniss keep the pin because it was a symbol that Katniss can be trusted and it gave Rue a reason to help her.  Their interaction was meaningful in the book, intimate even.  They taught each other how to survive using each other's tactics, shared their food, talked about their families.  But you never learn Rue's history in the movie, not even a little bit. There is no emotional back story.  And I think that is why I couldn't feel the connection with them.  Rue's story was supposed to...welll...break your heart, how no one volunteered for her in the Reaping, how she's the oldest of her siblings, and protected them like Katniss does.  How she sacrificed her own self for their benefit.  And here she is doing this in the age that Prim is.  It's a major, MAJOR reason why Katniss bonded with her. You don't even get a smidgen of clue as to how dire Rue's district is in comparison to Katniss's.  It was just SO important to get Rue right in this movie and, in my opinion, it didn't happen.  As mentioned before, they did get Rue's death right, at least, but again...I felt it would have worked even more perfectly if Rue was more developed than just a young kid caught up in the games.  Fortunately, katniss's reaction to her death was very meaningful, but that's just good acting.  

The Arena. It looked good and sounded good.  But all in all, it WAY TOO DANG EASY TO SURVIVE.  Katniss's first major challenge in the book was finding water. Heck, even in the movie it was meant to be her first major challenge, according to Haymitch. In the book, she doesn't find it right away.  She takes a long time to find it.  She travels for a few days to find it.  She contemplates returning to the big lake to get it, but she knew the journey back would certainly kill her.  She drags herself ahead into seemingly nowhere looking for something she isn't sure is close to being found.  She consciously looks up for a camera and says in a desperate, dying voice..."WATER."  The girl is about the die from dehydration just barely starting the Game and she knows it.  It was a smack to her face how DESPERATE her situation was, and how IMPORTANT it is to survive.  In fact, at one point, she chooses to give up and falls to the earth, ready to embrace death.  It was only when she notices that she's near some mud when she realizes how close she is. And even when she finds it, she STILL takes time to purify it before drinking.  Now granted, I don't demand every bit of this scene in the movie, but what I do demand is something equally dire.  But there was none of it in the movie.  I mean, even if it's just flashes of images that signify time passing, for crying out loud, I would have accepted that.  But yet, in the movie, it takes her all of...what...twenty minutes maybe? And she doesn't just find water. She finds the whole friggin' stream without even really being all that thirsty.  And I kid you not, when I saw how quickly she stumbled upon water, this thought crossed my mind.  "Oh. Well that was fast."  So much for a danger of dehydration.  Why is it her "new best friend" if it's seemingly so easy to find in the arena? You could tell that this arena, as well as all the others, was meant to be dangerous, because even the characters in the movie itself declared it to be so, what with most of them dying by natural causes like dehydration, infection from injuries, etc.  Um...seriously? Because the only thing deadly in the arena, according to what I saw on the screen, were the other tributes.  And heck, even they seemed to be getting along just fine.  They had a huge lake, a stream, a river, and all within a day's walk of everywhere else in the arena.  There were no bitterly cold nights, no storms.  No indication that the Capital can literally control EVERYTHING in the Arena, as was made very clear multiple times in the book.  There was just nothing that threatened their lives in the arena.  Just a forest with plenty of water.  Katniss also had the luxury of hunting easily instead of scraping away at berries and roots, and setting up fires to cook her meat, even though that was always risky in the book.  So risky that she often ate things raw whenever she could. Unfortunately, in the movie, it was just a whole lot of walking around and sleeping in a tree.

Lack of Drama.  At least during certain pivotal scenes.  This is totally what I was getting at when I first started this review, how the included scenes in the movie, while great to see, lacked the "meat" of emotional pull.  They were diluted and rushed.  I've already discussed Rue's presence. But there's more. For instance, Peeta joining the Careers.  It was always meant to be a surprise anyway, but in the movie, it was far too inexplicable.  In the book, what lead up to him seemingly ditching Katniss to join the Careers was something that was built up.  They agreed to be a team and enforced it heavily, until Peeta decides he wants to go solo. You don't really know why, but you suspect that maybe he doesn't want to get attached to her either, the same fear Katniss feels.  So while you'd never expect him to fight alongside her, you certainly aren't supposed to expect he'd side with the enemy.  Then BOOM, there he is, helping them, shocking her in the process, making her wish he'd die the traitor he is.  Tension.  You also find out why the Careers even tolerate him: he knows something they don't, and that's the strength and skill of Katniss. This notion isn't really explored in the movie, even though the general idea is there.  If I didn't really know what was going on, the regular moviegoer in me would have wondered what motivated Peeta to side with them and then NOT side with them.  But as I said, it's "diluted" from what it's REALLY supposed to be.  There's no rhyme or reason for it. In the movie, it just transitions from he is her teammate, then decides he no longer wants to be, then decides he loves her, then decides join the enemy's camp, then goes and hide by the river with a spear's wound.  Spear from whom? Why? How? And Katniss doesn't even seem very phased by it all. It's all so...meaningless on the screen. Other examples are the lack of apparent injuries suffered from everyone in the arena, but that's all relative to the arena being presented as not really too bad or deadly a place, as mentioned earlier. And still another example was the conclusion of the games, where Katniss and Peeta have to undergo major treatment from their injuries.  And Katniss expressed such passionate fear of losing him or never seeing him again.  Ugh, let's just put it this way.  Straight from the book, this quote pretty much says it all as far as how a tribute typically leaves the games: "There's usually a lag of a few days between the end of the competition and the presentation of the victor so that they can put the starving, wounded, mess of a person back together again."  And there you have it.  So to me, there was no such indication that the Games were really all that difficult to survive.  Lack of real major drama.

Peeta and Katniss. They didn't seem properly developed.  Or, rather, they seem to be developing in a way different from the book.  I have no idea how to explain it, however.  I just have a feeling the filmmakers (at the okay of the author, most likely) are causing Katniss to not need much influence in being affectionate with him.  It's as if they want to give her her own desire to start liking him, rather than do so at the suggestions of Haymitch as a means of survival.  I mean, it's a LITTLE bit there, but it just seemed off to me.  At the conclusion of the Games, for example, Katniss is encouraged once more by Haymitch to play the love angle to the camera, without telling Peeta, who is still under the impression that what Katniss felt for him was real.  But when he discovers that it likely isn't, he's crushed, and this in turn crushes Katniss, who is in constant conflict with herself about Peeta.  She's a typical female, overthinking a situation, confused over love, torn what to do.  And at the end of the book, she expresses a final fear of losing "the boy with the bread."  But none of that exists here.  It just seems like she's gradually just choosing him without being conflicted over it.  The Cave scene was all sorts of awkward. There's too much to mention about it, but I don't know.  It's just as rushed and void of emotion just the same.  

Hovercrafts. Sorry, I just didn't like not seeing them.  Only 2 tiny scenes of them? Not good enough. I was going to put this into the bad category, but eh...I feel too strongly about it.  In the books, their presence was actually a character all its own. They were like a symbol of finality.  Capture.  Dead or alive.  They'd use them to fetch any of the dead bodies of the tributes.  And whenever they were seen, the fellow tributes would know where to go if they wanted to track each other down. The Hovercrafts pretty much would give away the position of a fallen tribute, but also expose the living one that likely caused the death, thus creating more tension. You kill a tribute, you get their supplies as quickly as possible, and then you run like hell, because chances are, other tributes will seek you out when they know for sure where you are by the Hovercrafts.  Ahhh, but there ya have it.  Another reminder of the lack of tension.  I was told by someone who hasn't read the books that they were glad there were no hovercrafts, that their addition would have gave the movie too unrealistic a feel.  I say meh to that.  I say, they're in the books and they serve a purpose, especially later on in the series.

Shaky camera. I HATED THIS!! Supposedly the effect is done to add realism, but to me, it adds aggravation. There's some major things going down and I hate not being able to focus on exactly what.  That combined with random zooming in or out, quick flickers of images before moving on to another.  It made it all feel so amateurish and I didn't like that one bit.  This isn't supposed to be a "found footage" type of movie, so why make it that way?  Maybe here and there is alright, but during most of the movie?  Ugh I loathed it.  It didn't make the scenes being filmed anymore tense or dramatic.  Like the subject matter can't be dramatic on its own?  But I guess when the movie lacked the tension and drama it was meant to have, the director decided to resort to this method in the hopes of overshadowing it.  I don't know.  It was another factor that prevented me from truly connecting with what I was seeing.  How could I? When the tether to do so is being shaken and grabbed and yanked around?  I so hope I won't have to sit through such nonsense the next time around for Catching Fire.

All in all, it was a great movie, and none of these nitpicky complaints make me hate it.  They are simply my thoughts, but I love the Hunger Games too much to hate it, even despite whatever it gets wrong.  If anyone read this far...WOW lol.  And thanks. 

Wither

These tears at night I try to fight,
This gem it's just not mine.
Memories soft just like that touch,
Not easy, not this time.

Deep bellow, oh that soothing voice,
Can't fathom you not there.
Wrapped up within these depths of flesh,
Hold tight please, everywhere.

At first it's wrong, but no so right,
Then back to wrong again.
Too close right there, then not enough,
Beckon me, tell me when.

Right by your side, I'm sinking in,
Cannot believe this bliss.
Tender lips upon unloved skin,
I'm lost, so lost in this.

But no, oh no, there can't be us,
No greater loss than you.
Believing His plans from above,
Wither, oh love so true. 

Dedicated to a wonderful man, the love of my life that can never be mine, for God's plan is even better.

SPOILERS

This isn't really a review.  Just...a spew.  By the previews, this one looked like a keeper.  I mean come on, a plane crash in the mountains, survival in the snow and cold, wolves trying to kill you simply because you're trespassing, and Liam Neeson leading the survival gang? Should work perfectly, right? True, perhaps a plane crash in snow-covered mountains isn't too original, but it's still something worthwhile to watch, and as long as the plot is interesting, you can't go wrong. But as it turns out, even a movie like this can go wrong.  If I had known it was a movie that seemed intent on subliminally suggesting there is no God, that you're on your own, that when you die you die, that no matter what ugliness comes your way in life, (like a horrid crash and murderous wolves), you're on your own in dealing with it without ever having the luxury of calling upon God in faith, I would have avoided it.  Of course, you'd never know that by the trailers and TV spots alone.  The suspense was there. The gore too.  But then there was....that.  Anti-God. Anti-faith.  I didn't like that.  

And that has to be the case, because without it, there really isn't a point to this movie.  Sure, there's the fight to survive, but that's obvious.  At least, after the plane crashes. But from the very start, Liam Neeson's character already flirted with the idea of death when he pointed the shot gun in his mouth, stopping only because he was distracted.  No fight to survive there.  I guess he wouldn't fight, seeing as how he was only trying to ebb the pain of losing his wife.  But too often was the mention of God or faith peppered throughout the movie, that this flick didn't seem like it was meant to be anything more than that.  What better way to prove that faith and God are useless than throwing our characters in the middle of insurmountable and deadly obstacles, getting them killed off one by one, and finally having the last survivor call out to God in desperation before cursing him for his "silence?" Followed by his choosing to embrace the death he longed for in the beginning and face what little life he has left on his own.  On his own.

On the plus side, large portions of the score were pretty amazing, but that was it.  Oh well.  There will be other movies that hopefully won't be unpredictably disappointing. I shall keep my fingers crossed.