The Hunger Games

Like the Harry Potter series, The Hunger Games has reached beyond it's genre - young adult fiction. And the movie seems to have especially gone beyond.

I went to see it on Friday night. I don't usually like movies that have been made from books that I've read and loved. Exceptions are the Harry Potter series, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and now Hunger Games. The common thread seems to be the action that is alive on the page is so much better on the screen where you can see it played out. I truly cannot wait to see the next two movies.

What is missing in a movie is the thoughts - it's hard to portray what someone is thinking unless you have a narrator. I felt it missing in the Hunger Games - Katniss' thoughts are a large portion of the book and while they did an admirable job with some of the relationships the movie could not really convey all that the heroine was thinking.

I still prefer a good book - but the popcorn at movie is better!! If you haven't read the books, you should - they are easy and quick reads.

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Fall of Giants

I've long been a fan of historical fiction and just this past Christmas I received from my son Michael Ken Follett's most recent book, Fall of Giants. It is the first book of a trilogy that covers the 20th century and the first installment covers the early 1900s up to just after World War I. It includes characters based in Russia in the time of their revolution. While I studied the Russian Revolution in college, this book brought much back to me - including the chaos that reigned for years leading up to the revolution and continuing throughout. I write about this today because the Egyptian revolution reminds me of the Russian revolution. The Russian revolution started out quietly and largely as a protest against a harsh and autocratic government - the Tsar. The Russian people didn't have a say in their government and were very poor while the royalty in Russia lived large. The secret police in Russia often killed and imprisoned people for no apparent reason and there were ...

Don't cry for me ...

Song lyrics or titles run through my mind to often sum up a situation or add humor to one. Today, it's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina". Only today the title is "Don't cry for me anybody"! I mean, I get it, that people feel bad that I've got breast cancer and that I've been living with MS for nearly 27 years. And I've had other issues that I've blogged about related to #metoo. I get that it seems like a lot looking in from the outside. I hear your comments and appreciate your support. But here's the thing, it doesn't feel overwhelming to me, looking out from the inside. Know what I mean? I live the life that I've been dealt and do it with the personality and faith I've been given. Which means, I could do one of the following: A. Have a miserable, pity-me attitude that would lead to being miserable; B. Lean into my troubles and seek answers constantly either through research or angrily with God, which would lea...

Silenced

In April of 2010, I witnessed firsthand the pain and sorrow that comes with losing your voice. John had been in treatment for throat cancer for about a month and the radiation treatment burned his mouth and throat gradually making it more and more painful to talk. As we'd been married for 22 years, we could could communicate most things by gestures and looks (all you long-married couples know what I'm talking about!). But on Easter Sunday, when the congregation stood and began to sing , John was silent. I sang the first verse along with the congregation, but the knowledge of why John was not singing, that he was silenced, hit me like a tsunami and I began to struggle to hold back the tears on what was supposed to be a joyful Christian celebration. Cancer had rendered by husband's voice mute. Since November, I too have been struggling to find my voice. My written voice. The sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, almost-always positive voice that I've used in thi...

The Glass is Half-Full

Search This Blog