Two movies means bigger bucks, of course, but
I completely forgive them for this money grab, unlike Peter Jackson who took a pretty simple book, The Hobbit, and turned it into three movies. Turning Mockingjay into two movies instead of cramming the whole book into one works for me, although on leaving the theater, my perceptive daughter said; “never saw a movie that ended in a cliff-hanger.” The last image was a powerful one. This third book is especially more complex, as it should be in sort of a maturity of ideas kind of way. I poked my daughter’s brain and explained some things, but it is hard to tell if the themes of propaganda war and media guiding reality, not reflecting reality, was understood.What is clear is the message that it is human relations that drive us, and love for others, not for State, that are the base of our actions. Jennifer Lawrence is an incredible, constantly emoting actress who captures the conflicts and imperfections of Katniss. Phillip Seymour Hoffman came back from the grave to wink at us and looked so healthy on the screen. Haymitch is the lovable drunk, still drug-seeking even after being forcibly detoxed, but seems to be one of the few characters to live outside of the clutches of the state. Gale: well, he’s a Hunk, can’t really carry a scene IMAO (In My Arrogant Opinion). Like Katniss, I only give him attention when he’s wounded and clearly acting wounded.
Book before movie, was the message around this house, so I dutifully read ¾ of the book, with the rest of it to wait until next year around the holiday, when a wonderful female protagonist role model will be waiting.
