Doc Hop

Happy Hunger Games, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the movie as much as I did.

As should come as no surprise, I headed down to Aventura last Thursday night for the midnight showing — arriving about an hour early so I could be sure to secure a solid spot.

The theater was packed, and the crowd was pretty crazy. A woman behind me was dressed as Effie Trinket, the District 12 escort — complete with a pink wig and flower headdress. A line of pre-teens was practically lined out the door to take a photo with her.

I wish I had half her patience. While I was definitely not the oldest one there, I was far from the youngest. As happy as I was to see the movie, I don’t know that I could I have listened to one more girl discuss how much they loved Peeta. (Not to mention — I totally missed the entire Breaking Dawn: Part 2 teaser because the crowd couldn’t stop shrieking for the 20-second clip. Lame.)

But alas, the movie started and it was absolutely incredible. This post will focus on my favorite scenes, the scenes that surprised me the most and the scenes I wanted to see but didn’t. Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below.

My favorite scenes

The movie was filled with great parts. These were the best.

5. The Reaping

Haunting.

That is the only word I can think of to describe the reaping.

No music played throughout the entire drawing, which only added to the tension that was pulsing throughout the theater as Effie Trinket pulled Prim’s name. Katniss seemed frantic as she volunteered in her place, and Peeta was shocked as his name was called. (Of course, all the pre-teens in the audience were swooning and shouting the moment he appeared on screen even though he was, presumably, heading to his death. WTF, ladies?)

My favorite part was when Gale grabbed Prim after Katniss volunteered. I’ve always been “Team Gale,” and I felt like I could feel how much he cared for both Katniss and her family. And Willow Shields did a fabulous job as Prim. I was skeptical during previews, but I thought it was a very emotional portrayal.

4. The Pre-Games

Ok. I was nervous about how the “girl on fire” would come across on film. I was afraid that Katniss and Peeta’s parade through the Capitol was going to be really over the top and that their costumes would look extremely fake or pathetically cheesy. Luckily — I didn’t have to worry for long, because the scene was awesome.

The director did a great job of building tension before District 12’s big entrance, and Katniss and Peeta looked amazing engulfed in flames. My heart skipped a beat when they grabbed hands, and I don’t think there is any fan alive who wouldn’t admit to that same confession.

The interviews were well-played as well. Stanley Tucci was a fabulous Ceasar Flickerman, and both Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson managed to stay true to their characters despite slight deviations from the book. (The most notable being the fact that in the book Katniss was on stage when Peeta confessed his feelings for her. She was backstage in the film — but reacted EXACTLY as I expected her to. Heatedly.)

Training was also pretty cool. Since it’s hard to fit 350-plus pages into a two and a half hour movie, the film didn’t have much of an opportunity to introduce viewers to all of the tributes. Training allowed audiences to gain a bit more insight. (And Rue was ridiculously cute. And black. That’s really okay, people. She was black in the book too.)

3. Rue’s Death

Rue’s death was incredibly sad but very well-done. The film stayed true to the book — Marvel spears Rue, Katniss avenges Rue, Rue dies in Katniss’s arms, Katniss covers Rue in a bed flowers. I didn’t hear any sobbing from across the crowd, but I’ll admit that I did tear up. Seeing such a strong scene on the big screen pulled my heartstrings.

That being said, I was impressed by how the film handled the deaths of all the tributes. Critics were concerned that the story’s dark plot line would have an adverse effect on PG-13 audiences, but their worries were wasted. The camera movements were quick and only focused on brief snippets of action — allowing viewers to understand what was going on without the guts and gore. If I had a 13 year old I’d not only see no problem with letting them see the movie, I’d encourage them to do so. (After they read the books.)

2. The Cave

I’m one to peruse the IMDb message boards, and one of the most common complaints I’ve seen from fellow fans is that the cave scene was way too short. As much as I loved that part of the movie, I’d have to agree.

In the book Katniss and Peeta share a plethora of food, kisses and emotions in the cave– many of which were cut short in the five or so minutes the film dedicated to the scene. Two days in the book became one in the movie.

That being said — what was there, was perfect. I wasn’t a huge Peeta fan while I was reading the first book, but the movie definitely turned me on to his charm. Unlike the Twilight series, The Hunger Games is more about overcoming oppression than finding love, but it was still a very sweet scene.

1. The Feast

Katniss’s time in the arena was pretty epic. While I wish the movie would have shown her while she was searching for water and going through an intense dehydration, and despite my surprise when she didn’t knock Peeta out with sleep syrup, I know that some scenes had to be cut. Luckily — the feast wasn’t one of them.

The cornucopia did not look anything like I’d expected, but Foxface did a stellar job of sneaking out of it with her pack quickly in hand. Clove was a perfect little child psychopath as she stood over Katniss, and Thresh’s tough-as-nails portrayal was spot on with how his character was written.

My only complaint was that the movie didn’t show Cato’s reaction to Clove’s death. Cato is one intense career, and when I read the book I thought the scene did a good job of showing a bit of his softer, more emotional side. I would have liked for that to be included in the film.

What the movie missed:

While the movie did many things right, a lot was left on the cutting room floor. Below are some scenes that I wish had been included in the film.

6. Food, People! Food!

I don’t know if I missed it, but did the movie address the fact that the tributes in the Hunger Games were playing for a year’s supply of food for their district? Because if not — that is a HUGE detail to omit. It shows why the districts would go along with such a sadistic tradition rather than risk revolt, and it shows why the tributes work so hard to win.

I remember Katniss asking Gale how many times his name was was in the drawing, but I don’t remember anyone explicitly stating that kids between the ages of 12-18 could receive rations of grain and oil for entering their names multiple times or that their name went in an extra time each year.

5. Haymitch Falling at the Reaping

What the hell, man?

As much as I loved how film handled the reaping, Haymitch falling off the stage drunk before the drawing was the only comic relief to the entire scene! It was funny, and it was  sad. I think it would have shown how much Haymitch depended on the drink since winning the games, and I’m sorry it didn’t make the final cut.

4. Final Goodbyes

Katniss’s final goodbyes to her family and friends before heading to the Capitol to compete in the games were so brief in the movie! While I knew that Madge was going to be cut after seeing previews of Katniss finding the Mockingjay pin at the Hobb, I hated that Peeta’s father was left out of the film.

The fact that he brought Katniss cookies after the reaping was significant, and the film didn’t even bother to gloss over it. Was he trying to distract Katniss from the games? Did he fear for her future? People who haven’t read the books are missing out on that entire dynamic, and I think it should have been included.

3. District 11 Sends Bread

To show appreciation for Katniss’s treatment of Rue’s death, in the book District 11 pulled together resources and sent Katniss a basket of their bread. It was the first time a district had ever sponsored a gift to a competing tribute, and I thought that it spoke volumes to how it’s people viewed Katniss.

While the movie did a good job of showing that District 11 was the first district to revolt, I don’t think it did a great job of showing how highly it’s people held Katniss. The Mockingjay was hatching — but you wouldn’t know it from the film.

2. The Red-Headed Avox

In the book, while hunting Katniss and Gale witness a couple trying to escape to District 13 through district boarders. The man is killed, the woman captured.

Katniss later recognizes the red-headed captive in an avox — chosen to serve her at the Capitol. The Capitol has cut out her tongue, and Katniss can’t speak to her out of fear for the avox’s safety.

I can see why editors ultimately cut the back story, but that doesn’t decrease my disappointment in the fact that it wasn’t addressed.

1. After The Games

I loved Katniss and Peeta’s final scene in the arena, but I couldn’t help but wonder why producers didn’t think it was important to include all that happened afterward?

While the movie goes on to show the couple in their post interviews and on the train back to District 12, but it doesn’t begin to touch on all that happened before they got cleaned up.

Katniss and Peeta were supposed to be lifted into a medical hovercraft and taken to a hospital, where Peeta loses his leg and Katniss almost loses her mind. The movie completely omits this scene, which offers a lot of insight into what the tributes went through and how strongly they feel for one another. (Plus — how is Catching Fire going to cover for the fact that Peeta lost a leg somewhere between the two movies? “Oh, and by the way, Peeta actually lost a leg in the games.” “Fake leg? What fake leg?”)

On-screen surprises:

I’m not easily surprised, but I’m one to give credit where it’s do. Here are some scenes that pleasantly surprised me.

4. Seneca Crane’s Nightlock

Seneca Crane, the Capitol’s head gamemaker, didn’t show up dead until Catching Fire, but I still loved how the movie handled his murder. For allowing two victors to survive the games, Mr. Crane was sentenced to death, but while the books left the manner of his demise unanswered, in the movie he was forced to imbibe nightlock — a deadly berry. I found it very fitting, given Katniss and Peeta’s narrow escape.

3. District Reactions

The book is told from Katniss’s perspective, so viewers never get to see how district viewers are reacting to what is going on in the games. I loved the cuts to Gale as Katniss comforted Peeta, the reactions of District 11 rebels and Haymitch’s concern as Katniss made her way through the arena.

2. Haymitch Secures Sponsors

Since Katniss couldn’t see what Haymitch was doing to secure sponsors from the arena, I loved that the movie showed him sucking up to the Capitol’s finest to help her survive. Readers knew he was doing it anyway — but I enjoyed watching as the old drunk went the extra mile to save his kids.

And the little notes in the parachutes he sent were cute as well. I thought it was a neat way of showing the unspoken connection that Haymitch and Katniss held throughout the first games.

1. The Gamemakers’ Arena

I always wondered how the games would look from the gamemakers’ point-of-view, and even though it wasn’t a part of the books, I think the film provided a spot-on portrayal of how the games looked from Crane’s perspective. I loved watching as the Capitol tracked the tributes’ location, plotted ways to bring them closer together and unleashed the deadly mutts at the story’s climax. Not to mention — it all looked very cool.

So — that’s what I thought, folks. Comment below and let me know what you thought. I hope that after months of anticipation it was all that you hoped for and more.

I, for one, loved it.

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“This is the time to show them everything. Make sure they remember you.” — Haymitch Abernathy, The Hunger Games film (2012).