Board 8 > The Hunger Games: A triple read through topic! SPOILERS [crim] [inviso] [FD]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Just got back from the movie. Was really good. I loved the performances from Haymitch, Effie and Katniss. Cinna...maybe it was just me, but he felt VERY creepy in the movie, like a child predator. >_>

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

Lol, glad you felt weird about Cinna too.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

*braids Crimson's hair over one shoulder*

Part 2, Chapter 11
[Pages 148-160]

~FD can pick a quote too~

"Eleven dead in all. Thirteen left to play."



~Stuff that happened~

The platform rises and all the tributes are given 60 seconds to take in their environment before they are allowed to move. There is a huge Cornucopia in the center of the tributes packed to the brim with survival gear and so a massive fight is about to go down. Katniss considers making a dash for the bow and arrow she spies but Peeta distracts her and so she loses her chance. Instead she struggles with a boy over a backpack. She wins the struggle when he gets stabbed in the back and then she takes off for the safety of the woods. She goes a decent distance away and then climbs into a tree to sleep in her sleeping back that came in the back pack.

! She is awakened by some one who decided to build a fire in a clearing near her tree! Katniss curses the stupid girl who created a bright light near her hiding place. But she waits it out and before long a pack of "Career" tributes show up and finish her off. They have a small dispute when the cannon does not signal the kill, but one of them says he'll go back and make sure she's dead so its all good.

Except it's NOT all good, because that "one of them" was Peeta!



~Forceful's Thoughts~

S*** just got real. Like really real.

After reading this chapter I had no idea where Peeta was coming from. My assumption is that he's still on Kat's side and he's just playing the careers, but he's done a good job ensuring that I'm not absolutely certain about this.

I feel bad that she didn't pick up the bow and arrow, but if it was the only one available then we know it's going to cross her path again later. They wouldn't spend the entire first part of the book establishing her pedigree with a bow only to withhold a bow during the event.

Either that or the sponsors will raise enough money to send her a bow? I almost regret that this book is going to stay in Kat's perspective the entire time because I'd like to see what Haymich is doing behind the scenes while she is in the games. I'd also like to see what Gale is up to back in D12. It would make for a much longer book but those are things I want to know ;_;

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~Ç~ http://img.imgcake.com/AlecTrevylan006/fdshieldpngyn.png Eff_Dee
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Part 2, Chapter 10
[Pages 133-147]

~FD can pick a quote too~

"And then, because it’s Effie and she’s apparently required by law to say something awful, she adds 'I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I finally get promoted to a decent district next year!'"



~Stuff that happened~

I can kind of see why Katniss hasn't had a boyfriend before this point. As soon as she found out Peeta was in love with her she wanted to punch him in his face. She gets all angsty and mad at everyone while they collectively explain to her that what Peeta said will, if nothing else, result in sponsors being MUCH more interested in the both of them.

Next Peeta and Katniss have a discussion on the roof about the games and how they don't like them but they're ready to play. Peeta says he expects Katniss to win and naturally she has no idea how to respond to anyone saying anything nice to her.

And the time has come! Katniss get dressed in her game clothes. She re-equips the mockingjay pin and begins to rise into the arena.



~Forceful's Thoughts~

She's a good main character but sometimes katniss' reactions bother me. How hard is it to take a compliment without wanting to kill someone or at least respond completely disproportionately to the perceived "offense"? Very hard, for katniss at least. Aside from that she's a strong main character and everything and I and looking forward to see how she tackles the games, but I still can't help but wish she wasn't so socially backward.

But otherwise this was just a short chapter and now it's game time! Woooo!


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From: Inviso | #253
*braids Crimson's hair over one shoulder*

Hey, you can bake my bread anytime 'viso ^_~

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Bake bread?

Are you saying I'm Peeta? Ew.

I'm definitely Clove.

--
Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

Let me rephrase. Ahem...

Hey, you can pin me down and sexually assault me with a bunch of knives anytime 'viso ^_~

--
http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Book One: Final Character Rankings

Katniss > Rue > Clove (3 pages is all she needs) > Peeta > Effie > Foxface > Glimmer > Thresh > Cato > Everyone else

I can relate to Katniss’ emotional constipation and thick headedness and really enjoyed her as a main character. I’m looking forward to seeing how she changes emotionally throughout the next two books. Peeta has definitely grown on me and even though I’ve been hard on him in my write ups I’ve actually come to like the guy. He’s so goofy and lovable, like a puppy dog that gives you bread. With Gale and Prim… they honestly didn’t make much of an impression on me. Gale is just kind of like whatever at this point, he hasn’t really had much of a role yet. Prim, all I have to say is if I had an older sister as badass as Katniss I’d be out in the woods every f***ing day with her doing stuff. But clearly Prim takes after mom and Katniss takes after dad.

I will agree with Inviso and say the girl tributes easily out shined the boy tributes. Even if most of them only got one defining trait, they were all better than the boys. Not including Katniss/Peeta/Rue since they actually got real characterization. Let’s see:

Clove: Psychotic knife thrower who clearly gets off on torture.
Foxface: Book-smart uncatchable stealth machine who makes it to the top 4 by basically laughing at the Careers and stealing their stuff.
Glimmer: Incompetent ditz trying to make people believe she’s useful.

Thresh: Strong silent type. (Although he actually had potential)
Cato: Hulking rage monster.
District 1 boy (Marvel): Uh… Uh…

But, all that being said, I can’t say I really actively disliked any of the characters.

Book One: Final Thoughts

The Hunger Games was a great read. Do I think it was an earth shattering work of literary genius? No. I do think it was entertaining and interesting, and the subject matter is something that appealed to me. The narrative wasn’t overly complex and the book didn’t shove its social commentary in your face. It wasn’t trying to be something the author knew it couldn’t be, which I liked. There’s nothing worse than trying to read and getting chastised and berated every five seconds because the author has some sort of agenda. The book is always first and foremost the story of Katniss Everdeen, and I appreciate that. I can see why the fan base is so large and diverse. It’s simple enough to read that it’s not intimidating to young people, yet the subject matter is complex enough to keep older readers entertained.

I think it’ll be interesting to go back and re-read this at some point in the future, knowing what I know now (and after reading the second and third books) and see if that changes my opinion of Katniss and her relationships. Maybe not at all, maybe a great deal. We’ll see. I just know I’m anxious to get started with Catching Fire.
Movie commentary coming up shortly.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Thoughts on the Movie:

Warning SPOILERS for THG movie.

Honestly, I thought the movie was fantastic. I think it was everything you could hope for in a movie adaptation of a book you like. I didn’t realize just how huge THG was, even in these past few weeks reading it. I’m happy they allowed for it to be so long (about 2 hours 20 minutes) because they were able to keep in everything that mattered.
Hilariously, every single time Katniss told a character they were going to be alright, they were most certainly not alright. I found it seriously funny. Prim? Don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright. BAM Reaping’d. Rue? Don’t worry, our plan will work, everything will be alright. BAM spear’d. There were other instances, but I can’t remember them off hand. It was just funny because it seemed like Katniss would say the exact same line just before something terrible happened to the other character.

Some minor gripes:
-District 11 didn’t send Katniss bread. I found that to maybe be the most powerful moment in the entire book, so I was a little disappointed that detail didn’t make it into the movie.
-Two of Katniss’ girlfriends are inexplicably nowhere to be found – Madge and Avox girl. Admittedly some things had to be cut, and I actually sort of prefer the new origin of the mockingjay pin, so I understand them tossing these guys.
-What blood/gore there was was done well, but I could have used a little more. I’d have liked Glimmer to be a little grosser, I’d have liked Katniss’ burns to have been a little more severe, same for Peeta’s leg. It was hard to kind of feel like they were really in peril. Everything just a liiiiiittle more would have been ideal. Still, I understand the need to keep the PG13 rating.
-Clove’s big scene with Katniss was less hot and more… creepy. I thought the actress did a good job, just in a different way than it was done in the book.
-This is super minor, but Foxface’s nickname. Peeta just randomly says it near the end one time and that’s all we hear of it the entire movie. Like, why would he even call her that? Would have made more sense to me if Katniss would have at least said it, then Peeta would be like who? And she’d just say oh, that’s a nickname I gave to the girl from District 5. Would have taken like two seconds. I’m sure no one else really cares, but Peeta saying it in the movie just didn’t flow well for me. He could have even said something like “that fox-faced girl,” and it would have been better. Does the non-book audience even know who Foxface is? How could they? But like I said, incredibly small detail and it doesn’t really matter since she’s dead lol.
-If it were me I’d have gone for a nice round 2 hours and 30 minutes and expanded the ending just a tad. At least a scene where Katniss and Peeta discuss how the whole love thing was kind of an act. This is the one flaw in the movie for me. There’s no way the audience that hasn’t read the book knows that Katniss is acting with Peeta. They’re not putting the love triangle thing front and center (thank God) but they’re not really explaining it properly either.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Improvements:
-We get to see a little of the betting/sponsor finagling taking place, which is something I wanted in the books. Yay!
-We get to see the unrest in District 11 over Rue’s death. Something not in the book but what I thought was a really good addition. Unfortunately it came at the expense of the bread.
-Effie and Haymitch’s banter. Really funny and cute. It was touched on in the book, but came off really really well in the movie.
-Katniss and Foxface run into each other and have a nice long stare-down. Mmmmmh.
-I liked going behind the scenes with the Gamemakers. Definitely a good addition.
-I dunno if you could call this an improvement or not but I was happy to see what they did with the Cornucopia. I honestly couldn’t for the life of me picture what it might look like while reading the books, glad I can finally put an image to it. Although I did think it was stocked with way too many weapons.

Movie Character Rankings
(How well I feel the character was represented based on what we know from the book. See the book rankings for how much I actually like each character.):

Effie >= Katniss > Prim > Glimmer > Peeta > Cato > Rue > Clove > Foxface

Just to preface this, I was generally happy with all the performances. I wouldn’t think to swap the any of the actors out with anyone else.
Effie was phenomenal and hilarious and exactly what I wanted.
Katniss was dead on and the scene where she kicks Peeta’s ass was perfect. And Rue’s death scene? That was some great anguished sobbing. And the scene just before she enters the arena? Very good. Two thumbs up Jennifer Lawrence.
Prim did a really great job and for such a little actress. She really put a lot into her performance, I felt. The character is grating but was played very well.
Glimmer was hilariously bad and even more ditzy and useless than in the book. Spot on, spot on. Plus those two blonde braids were really doing it for me for some reason.
Peeta I liked, I thought he was cast well and looked/talked exactly how I pictured him in the book.
Cato I actually preferred in the movie. He seemed more interesting to me than he did in the book, and I’d consider that a good thing. Seeing him rage out and snap District 3 boy’s neck was a lot cooler than reading it. And they even tacked on a little characterization at the very end for him, which is nice.
Rue I thought was cast well, but I just didn’t love the performance. If was fine, but I actually misted up when I read her death in the book. The movie version just didn’t have the same impact for me, although I don’t know if it was necessarily the actress’ fault. Rue just wasn’t as charming to me in the movie. Maybe it’s because we didn’t get her back story?
Clove still good, and cast well I think. She definitely looked like a creepy psychopath, but I think she could have taken it further. And let’s be honest guys, in the end I’m just disappointed she didn’t come on to Katniss while trying to murder her.
With Foxface… I don’t think they did a particularly great job with her characterization, through no fault of the actress. I can’t explain it. I think it’s very difficult to capture her charm from the book and translate it into movie form. Mostly because we obviously can’t hear what Katniss is thinking about her.
Everyone (Gale, Thresh, Haymitch, Cinna etc.) else did a good job acting-wise, nothing to complain about there. Although I will say I didn’t really believe the Katniss/Cinna friendship like I did in the book. Something about Cinna just didn’t quite click with me, I dunno. He seemed kinda creepery, but not to the point of distraction.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

And that pretty much wraps up book one with a nice little bow. I’ll probably be starting book two within the next few days, so look out for that relatively soon =]

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

My major ending gripe with the movie comes from the whole "lack of gore" thing.

In the end of the book, it's down to Cato vs. Peeta/Katniss and they're fighting atop the Cornucopia. This comes on the heels of Cato running for his life from the mutts and actually having a moment of "Oh s***, maybe we should work together a little, just for now". What's good about this is that it kinda flips the script where you have Katniss/Peeta sitting and waiting for Cato to come to them. It makes THEM the hunters and kinda makes a bit of a more morally gray "We have to kill him to survive" thing. Then Peeta gets his leg mauled and Cato dies and it makes that scene with the berries that much more poignant, because Peeta's going to die unless Katniss does something. And his injury then leads to her freaking the f*** out onboard the hovercraft. And all this leads to the much more heartbreaking rejection from Katniss onboard the train, where even SHE can't be totally buying what she's selling.

But the movie kinda f***s that up. Katniss/Peeta aren't searching for Cato...they're just trying to be the good guys, and they get chased to HIM. And Peeta doesn't get mauled (which honestly, is an improvement, because seeing him actually DO SOMETHING during the Cato fight is better than just "Whoops, I'm captured"), which makes that scene before the berries so...anti-climactic. There's a big difference between "Okay Katniss, you have to kill me now." and "Okay Katniss, I'll just bleed to death so you can win." The former is saying that she has to look him in the eye while she murders him, while the latter is almost absolving her of any guilt (which makes her emotional reaction that much more appealing). Then everyone lives happily ever after (as much as they can in the end of the movie), and the relationship is unresolved entirely.

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

XDXDXD

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

I guess it never occurred to me that Peeta would just bleed to death at the end of the book. I mean, I knew he was injured of course but because Peeta chucked the knife and there was so much focus on one of them shooting the other I didn't pay attention to the wound he already had. Interesting that had Katniss simply done nothing Peeta would have just bled out on his own. This does add more impact to the berries scene because you know Katniss was really just trying to save Peeta and not die in the process. The point wasn't necessarily to insult the government, although that was the end result.

Although, am I just remembering it wrong or was Katniss getting ready to have a standoff with Peeta before he threw in the knife into the lake? I seem to think she was.

The ending of the movie was a little weak, and things weren't really wrapped up very well. I'm not quite sure why they chose to change the things they did. I can understand cutting out the post game interviews and stuff, but why choose to not injure Peeta? Hell, even have Cato do it after a while to keep him engaged in the fight. Then have the hovercraft scene, the crowing thing with Snow, and give Peeta and Kat their little discussion on the train ride home. To me at the end of the movie it was pretty clear (besides the emo glances Gale gives Kat) that Peeta and Katniss are a thing. Why wouldn't they be? We're not really given any indication otherwise. Where as the book makes you think they're totally not a thing, but gives you a little hope (if you want it) for something later.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Yeah, as I recall, she was all "Well ****, he's going to stab me, but not if I shoot him first...oh he isn't going to stab me, we cool"

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Before I am even aware of my actions, my bow is loaded with the arrow pointed straight at his heart. Peeta raises his eyebrows and I see the knife has already left his hand on the way to the lake where it splashes into the water. I drop my weapons and take a step back, my face burning in what can only be shame.

And yeah - it's heavily implied that when Peeta removes his bandage near the end he's willing to let himself just bleed out.

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But whatevs.

Katniss emotional constipation is the one part of Book 1 I could do without. That archetype is grating for male readers and female writers seem insistent on using it :(

Anyways, now that you've finished the book Crimson what was your favorite moment? Thoughts on Book 2? What direction do you hope it goes?

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

From: TheConductorSix | #268
Anyways, now that you've finished the book Crimson what was your favorite moment? Thoughts on Book 2? What direction do you hope it goes?

Favorite moment? Probably District 11 sending the bread and Katniss thanking them. I thought it was really touching.

As for book two, I haven't really read any spoilers or anything, so I have no idea what's in store. I'm guessing it will be more political. I've heard that it's a rehashing of book one, so I'm not sure if that means Katniss is going back in the arena or not. Maybe President Snow is just like f*** it, throw her back in. Maybe it's an all-stars season? Does that mean Peeta goes back in? Now that'd be something. I'm highly anticipating being introduced to Johanna, since everyone seems to like her. And I wonder how Gale works into this. Obviously he has to be more important than he was in book one, otherwise that'd be a pretty one sided love triangle. If that is indeed what it's suppose to be and people just haven't made it up because that's what they want.

What I'm most hoping for? More characterization of secondary characters, a deeper look at the inner workings of the Games, a look at some of the other Districts and how the families of other tributes might react to seeing Katniss/Peeta -- whether with anger or admiration. Looking forward to hopefully seeing District 12 get some food aide and how they react to that. Also what Katniss/Peeta's lives are like now within District 12. I'm betting Katniss is going to feel extremely confined. I doubt she'll get much chance to illegally hunt now that she's a celebrity. Even though it will no longer be a necessity, I'm guessing she'll still want to do it. That's what she enjoys.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

FD, you'd better f***ing hurry up, because me and Crimson are ready to go for Catching Fire.

--
Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

The ending of the first book left a lot of be desired. I was totally waiting for a "Dumbledore explains everything that happened" like in the Harry Potter books. But all the off-screen stuff that happened was totally just skipped. I wanted to know how Peeta got himself in with the Careers, how Haymitch was able to get the rule change, what was in the other feast backpacks, etc. I mean I wasn't expecting every question to get answered but the exit interview was a good time to show at least some offscreen stuff. But nope, we got nothing.

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-Merc

Good point. They could have definitely revealed a lot of that stuff in the recap, would have been cool.

From: Inviso | #270
FD, you'd better f***ing hurry up, because me and Crimson are ready to go for Catching Fire.

Inviso and I have already been "Catching Fire" if you know what I'm saying.
But seriously hurry up.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Yeah I'll typed up in no time. Got convinced to join SSBM mafia and that ate all the time that I had for this. But you'll be happy to know that I'm dead so my time is back.

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~Ç~ http://img.imgcake.com/AlecTrevylan006/fdshieldpngyn.png Eff_Dee
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Good writeups. It seems like you mostly have a similar opinion to me: the book is really engaging and made me want to keep reading, but Suzanne Collins is also really weak on some of the details, like developing the other characters or the setting. You can tell she just didn't bother to think it through very much - like all of North America has only 12 districts, and district 12 is supposed to have just 8000 people in it? She does explain things a little better in the later books, but still. So yeah, enjoyable read, but I wish she had included more details about the other tributes and stuff.

I thought the movie was really good. It mostly captured everything it could, and Jennifer Lawrence did a great job as Katniss. The one thing that kinda disappointed me was the lack of development of the Katniss/Rue relationship. That was the best relationship in the book, and they barely even spoke in the movie. I don't think it was the fault of Rue's actress, I think they just cut out too much. They should have at least had the scene where Katniss offered to ally with her, instead of just assuming it.

On the other hand, I did really like the cut aways to the game makers, I thought that was a great addition.

Admittedly some things had to be cut, and I actually sort of prefer the new origin of the mockingjay pin, so I understand them tossing these guys.

I liked the book version of the pin better. I get why they had to cut Madge out, but the movie version seemed kinda silly to me.

"Hey Prim, I got you a present, it'll bring you good luck."

*Prim gets chosen for the reaping*

"Here Katniss, I think you better take it."

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I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience

Oh also I think the second book was my favorite... looking forward to seeing the crew's reactions. The third kinda went off the rails, but I'll say more when you get there.

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I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience

From: Kaxon | #274
"Hey Prim, I got you a present, it'll bring you good luck."

*Prim gets chosen for the reaping*

"Here Katniss, I think you better take it."

Haha yeah! That's exactly what I was talking about, I actually thought it was kind of hilarious. It's just like really Prim, obviously you want your sister to die >__>

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

For any Survivor fans, Rob Cesternino wrote a funny little article on how the Hunger Games could be improved taking cues from current reality TV: http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/03/26/survivor-rob-cesternino-hunger-games/

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

So when are you going to start the book 2 recaps?

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I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience

Umm, not sure. 'viso and I are ready but I don't know if FD is still planning to try and catch up, I'll have to see what he says.
I wanna start posting for sure by this weekend though, probably sooner.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Just finished the first book. It was really good, despite a bunch of typos and a ton of sentence fragments. I'll probably go out and buy the other two tomorrow, even though I can only see them being a bunch of angst and HOW COULD YOU between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta.

I do wish the book went more into some of the other tributes, but I think that that stems more from the book being told entirely through Katniss's point of view. I think Collins made the right choice in going first person for all of the psychological stuff, and I think in the end, it was more effective. You basically know what Katniss knows; she didn't know anything about the other tributes nor does she care.

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XS2 is the only good Xenosaga game - Lady Ashe
http://backloggery.com/cwistofu

I just realized that Katniss and Peeta basically avoid any serious confrontation. Kat worries about having to kill Rue and Peeta despite thinking of them as allies and she's afraid to have to fight Thresher and Foxface, but all of those are conveniently resolved by the plot without her help at all. Ehh.

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XS2 is the only good Xenosaga game - Lady Ashe
http://backloggery.com/cwistofu

From: CrimsonOcean | #279
Umm, not sure. 'viso and I are ready but I don't know if FD is still planning to try and catch up, I'll have to see what he says.
I wanna start posting for sure by this weekend though, probably sooner.

Screw FD.

NGirl subbing herself in for that waste of space IMHO.

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Testosterone out, t**s in.

This topic just got 33.3% more sexy.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

I think every girl in here is going to love Johanna with her over masculine emotionally stunted attitude.

But thankfully book 2 has the guy version of that so all is well!

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Realo won gold at the Sex Olympics with a BROKEN FRIGGIN NECK.-Voltch

From: Weakupedia | #281
I just realized that Katniss and Peeta basically avoid any serious confrontation. Kat worries about having to kill Rue and Peeta despite thinking of them as allies and she's afraid to have to fight Thresher and Foxface, but all of those are conveniently resolved by the plot without her help at all. Ehh.

I agree, I was a little disappointed that it seems Katniss never really had to face another tribute head on. She sort of did with Cato, but even then there was Peeta and the mutts to factor in. Honestly if in the end it was a Katniss/Rue final two I think we would have gotten something quite similar to Peeta and the berries. Thresh is good for the scene he's in, but isn't really a source of contention for Katniss.

I think a duel with Foxface could have been pretty intriguing though. Katniss' hunter's instinct and sharp shooting versus Foxface's obvious intellect and stealth. But the fighting isn't really what these books are about I don't think. It's a part of it but just like the love triangle it's not the most important part, so it's not fleshed out as if it is.

From: TheConductorSix | #284
I think every girl in here is going to love Johanna with her over masculine emotionally stunted attitude.

You have no idea how pumped I am for this chick.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

I just felt sort of let down after all the build up with her worrying about the inevitable future and continuously just pushing it out of her mind. She never actually has to deal with holding onto her identity or however Peeta puts it. You could argue that she manages to do so at the end by outsmarting the gamemakers with the berries, but that really isn't very convincing at all.

Basically, the gamemakers did all of the work for her due to their own incompetence and I don't think it was intentional on Collins's part; she was just too afraid to take things all the way.

Now I want to rewatch Battle Royale.

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XS2 is the only good Xenosaga game - Lady Ashe
http://backloggery.com/cwistofu

I'm gonna be honest, I'm reading the Battle Royale manga right now and outside of Mitsuko I vastly prefer THG >__>

I don't really think Katniss is all that worried about holding onto her identity in the area like Peeta is. She comes to understand what he means, but I still don't think she cares that much. She's mostly worried about what other people will think of her (like the rest of District 12) and worried about protecting the ones she loves. Katniss also doesn't hesitate in killing in the name of self preservation. If she thinks she's in hot water and can't run, she'll fight. That's something I like about her.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

I just saw the movie a second time. A few thoughts:

One thing I noticed the second time around...Glimmer/Cato pal around a lot and they wind up cuddling during the night before Katniss unleashes bee fury upon them all. I thought that was kinda cute, and made sense, what with Marvel seeming gay and Clove being a raging psychopath.

Two, when Katniss gets the burn ointment and is applying it...it REALLY looking like she was tangsterbating >_>. I mean, she's sticking moist fingers below her waist and moans at how good it feels. Jus' saying.

I wish we got to see more of Peeta's gameplay. I mean, he does well in the interviews and waving to the adoring crowd, but within the game, he's very robotic and sullen.

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

Aww yeah, bring on the ngirl recaps. FD needs to hurry his ass up or get left behind!

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"Congratulations Thomas and Sylvia! But their happiness does not continue long..."

Ummm

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Dawwwwwww

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

That was absolutely, 100% brilliant.

Completely flawless.

Hell, Caeser is sitting on top of a copy of THG and Battle Royale.

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Amazing.

That was pretty good!

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I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience

Book two write ups will start tomorrow, but since I love you guys so much I thought I’d do something to tide you over. The Hunger Games Original Motion Picture Score came out on Monday, so I’m gonna go ahead and do a quick rank of the songs.

1. Horn Of Plenty:
Ah the anthem of the Capitol. I’m pretty sure Arcade Fire wrote this for the movie and then they just kind of fiddled with it until it worked. Probably the song that leaves the biggest impression. It really does sound like a national anthem, chanting vocals, blaring trumpets. Good stuff.

2. Katniss Afoot:
Quirky, with some nice flute and string elements. Is it me, or does it sound a little middle eastern at times? I think that’s a citar I hear, but I could be wrong. I’m definitely no music expert. Anyway, this is what we hear when Katniss is sneaking off to the woods and we’re getting a look around District 12.

3. Searching For Peeta:
Katniss is on the move here, and the music reflects that. Another folksy tune, similar to Katniss Afoot but more intense. Has a lot of nice build like many of the songs on this soundtrack. I’m guessing the abrupt cutoff is when we actually find Peeta, lol.

4. Penthouse/Training:
Nice scene with Katniss in her room flipping her window over to the woods. It’s almost a surreal moment for her, and that’s how the beginning of this song feels. Sort of throws over to “The Hunger Games”/”Katniss Afoot” at 1:31 and makes you think of District 12. Cool switchover at 1:55 to what I’m assuming is the “Training” portion of this song. Pretty intense and intimidating, makes me think of the Career’s f***ing s*** up in the Training Center.

5. Booby Trap:
Beginning of this sounds like something out of a scary movie. Then I think it’s Foxface pulling some s*** and getting out of there before District 3 boy sees her. As if. Yeah, at the 40 second mark the music definitely fits Foxface. Katniss blows up the Career’s supplies. More citar to bring us back to District 12, kinda let us know what Katniss is thinking as she pulls the trigger. There are some aspects of this song that are really nice.

6. Muttations:
Pretty sure every single one of my friends jumped at 1:09 when the mutts started chasing Peeta/Katniss. Fast and exciting, definitely one of the more memorable tracks. Some cool percussion work. Cato’s death music manages to be sad and intense at the same time. Near the end of this song you kind of get the feeling of “Whew, it’s over. Let’s go home,” which I think is the point.

7. Healing Katniss:
The violin is just great here, you can kinda feel Katniss’ pain. Then at 1:16 Haymitch realizes Katniss needs help and getting sponsors for her in the Capitol. This soundtrack isn’t like, super memorable or anything, but I think it can really convey the emotion the characters are feeling at the time and what’s happening in a scene. Cool little flute ditty there at the end.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

9. The Cave
Sweet. Reminds me of Katniss’ vulnerable moments in the book, when she wanted to cry after finding out Thresh was dead but held it in. You can tell at 2:24 when Katniss decides to leave Peeta at the cave and go to the feast. Sneaky sneaky Katniss. Solid track all around.

10. We Could Go Home
Basically an extended version of “The Hunger Games,” a track I already like, so this is good stuff. A little longer, a bit less dark, very District 12.

11. The Hunger Games
The first song we hear in the movie, playing over the excerpt from the Treaty of Treason. Sets a nice folksy tone for the movie, while still remaining pretty dark and intense. Pretty short, but makes you want to know what’s coming next.

12. The Countdown
Being ushered in by the peace keepers, saying goodbye to Cinna, going up in the tube. Jennifer Lawrence played this scene really well. Music is fittingly intense and just keeps building and building until finally —maracas! The ending is ridiculously intense though. Must be when Katniss grabs the backpack and is running for the woods.

13. Tenuous Winners/Returning Home
Of course we get District 12 style folksy music here, as one would expect. A little bit of Rue’s Farewell too I think. A pretty nice wrap up piece for the movie, all told. Very swelling and melodic.

14. The Train
This song has a sad tone to it, like Katniss is saying goodbye forever. Gets really nice at around the 37 second mark. Can’t go wrong with horns and violins.

15. Rue’s Farewell
Not Rue’s Lullaby, by the way. Poor Rue. Of course this piece begins very somberly and doesn’t ramp up much from there. Some pretty forlorn guitar and violin. Fits the scene well. You can tell by 3:30 Katniss’ has said goodbye and I think District 11 is rebelling. If only the whole song was like this.

16. Learning The Skills
Lots of intense drums, but I have no idea where this plays. Obviously at some point in the Training Center, some kinda heart beat thing happening… I wish I could place it but I can’t. Beginning makes me think of Cato, so it could be when Rue steals his knife and he’s gonna beat the tar out of that other kid. Has some random clarinet thrown in for good measure.

17. Reaping Day
Starts off very low and builds. A lot of these songs are pretty short, so just as you get into them they’re over. I’m guessing this played during the reaping, but it’s kind of unremarkable. Still, the horns/strings coming up in the middle is nice.

18. Preparing The Chariots
This just sounds like a prelude to Horn Of Plenty. It’s a complete build up and listening to it without moving right into the next song doesn’t really make much sense.

And there ya go. Quick and dirty, as if I knew any other way. Overall this score has its memorable moments, but it’s not the best I’ve ever heard. Still, it’s definitely fitting and at times really, really good. Every piece pretty effectively displays the emotion of the scene it’s used for.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Got into a rather large argument with people on facebook today about whether the success of The Hunger Games is a big step for feminism or not. This stuff really has people revved up. The sad part is, the girl who made the status was basically like: "Yay Katniss is a real girl who doesn't need no stinking man!" and then we all told her what the second two books were like and you could almost hear the wind going out of her sails.

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/ExTha/10and14.jpg
'I am the master of your whole keep. I am the pastor, flock ya like sheep.'

Bah, I hate how whenever there's a decent story with a strong female lead everyone immediately starts shouting about feminism.

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999

Ranking the districts:

11 > 12 > 4 > 1 > 2 > 3 > 7 > 8 > 10 > 5 > 6 > 9

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Captain Tracy Mombaro and Agent Mirasuke Inhara: Two of the toughest, hottest furrs you'll ever meet.

Waiting for the writeups!

District 4 is awesome. Maybe the best one.

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I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience

Fun facts before we get started:
-The word document for my book one read through was 37 pages, 19,447 words (at 12pt Calibri font, single spaced).
-Book two is 391 pages, only 17 pages longer than book one (but still 27 chapters).
-The average update for book one (not including quotes) was 594 words – or around 1 page single spaced.

Neat.
And now let’s get right down to it.

Part I: The Spark
Chapter 1
[Pages 3-17]

I will have to travel from district to district, to stand before the cheering crowds who secretly loathe me, to look down into the faces of the families whose children I have killed….

Summary:
Book two opens with Katniss sitting alone in the woods, guess she didn’t have any trouble getting away like I thought she would. It’s wintertime which means it’s been about half a year since the end of book one I think, and it’s time to set out on tour to shove her win in the other district’s faces. Obviously this trip is filling Katniss full of feelings because she’s been out in the woods for like half the night freezing and not killing things – very unlike her. Katniss doesn’t need to hunt anymore because she’s got enough money to pay people to do her hearing for her goddamn it, but Gale refuses to take any of her money since he’s too much of a man. Although that doesn’t seem quite right, since I’m pretty sure Katniss would be just as stubborn about it.

Katniss nails a beaver (she makes it almost too easy sometimes) and gathers some more game to take to Gale’s mother, Hazelle. While Gale refuses to take any of Katniss’ blood money he does allow her to provide game for his family since he’s too busy working in the coal mines now to hunt. Katniss also stops off at the Hob to spread the wealth around, making sure to buy something from as many stalls as possible, and paying a visit to our old friend Greasy Sae. We get a little interaction with the peace keepers which is kind of neat I guess. The peace keepers seemed a lot more pissy and hardcore in the movie than they are in the books. Eventually, Kat grabs some hard liquor and heads for Haymitch’s place. Am I the only one that pronounces it Hey-Mish in my head rather than Hey-Mitch?

Katniss wakes Haymitch up from his drunken stupor and tells him to get ready, it’s tourin’ day! We also get our first look at Peeta since book one, and Katniss and him are pretty chilly toward one another. Even Haymitch notices, and tells them they better warm up before the cameras start rolling. They still have to push the whole lovebirds angle after all. Although Katniss does admit she misses Peeta, her feelings of betrayal and sadness always seem to win out, and so in true Katniss fashion she remains awkward.

Katniss decides to peace out and go get ready, but when she gets home there’s an unexpected visitor waiting – President Snow. The game is afoot!

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http://img.imgcake.com/crimjpgpe.jpg Mo' buildings mo' problems
ocean kinda grew on me like a flesh eating ...fungus. -BIGPUN9999