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Saturday, March 24, 2012

On the Importance of an Actors Eyes

I went and saw the Hunger Games yesterday and I just thought I wanted to talk about something.
Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actor.  I don't just mean the way she talked or, you know, acted, I'm talking about how she brought the character to life in her eyes.  I've always been a kind of eye-watcher when it comes to movies, especially if the movie is boring. Not that I'm saying that Hunger Games is boring, far from it.  But if a movie is boring, or in a slow part, if you watch the actors eyes, you can usually see their emotions. Sometimes the actors just bored, and you can see it in their eyes.  Other times, the actor is having a hoot and a half(ie fun), and you can see it in their eyes.  I can usually forgive a bad movie if it's obvious that the actors are having a good time.
But Jennifer Lawrence did something I rarely see, she expressed Katniss's emotions in her eyes.  When she was afraid, her eyes were wide and trembling.  When she was angry, they were narrow and  cutting.  It really drew me into the movie.  Bravo Ms Lawrence, Bravo!

Now to a slightly less strange topic:  the Movie itself.
It was good!  Like really good.
I had already read the books so I can't tell you if you could follow it if you hadn't but I thought it was an extremely faithful adaptation.  What was cut was not drastically important(although I could have used a little more Buttercup), and what was kept was well translated and put together.  This being said, I thought the pacing felt rushed at the beginning and the ending felt less than satisfying.  I donno, I just walked out of the theater, thinking 'Hey, that was a good movie but the ending felt flat'.  I know the book didn't end on a breathless cliffhanger but, I donno, it could have been done better.
Heh, here I am criticizing people who had been doing this for ages.  Hey, what do I know about making a book into a movie?  Absolutely nothing.  Jack squat. Nada.
All in all, go see it if you'd like a thrilling ride with a different kind of movie.  Just a warning though, they keep the most of the bloodyness but they hide it well.

So, what did y'all think, noones? Favorite character? Favorite moment left out from the book? Sound off below in the empty comments section.

4 comments:

  1. My favorite character: Seneca Crane's awesome beard.

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    1. Seneca's beard was pretty creative. I found it pleasantly distracting anytime he was on-screen.

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  2. I agree that Jennifer Lawrence really nailed Katnis but I just wish they had kept in some of the violence. It's a books about a terrible event where kids have to fight to the death, it shouldn't be kid friendly!
    And, it seemed to me that the romance between Peeta and Katnis was played down. Weird choice since the film makers were obviously trying to draw the Twilight crowd.
    @Anonymous: Cranes beard was pretty amazing:)!

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    1. Yeah, I noticed the lack of convincing romance too. But then, I was kind of ok with it. I've never really been a big fan of random romances and this series is more about Katniss then Katniss/Peeta. But....Peeta over Gale if I must be honest.

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