The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 [Review]

Hi guys! So it has been a little while since I've actually posted a review or anything like that apart from the Doctor Who feature a few weeks ago which was a lot of fun! I've been busy with work and also combatting some pretty nasty pain that I am hopefully now, with the help of my doctor, in the process of conquering! I have also, as I mentioned in my previous post, been trying to get out myself out of a colossal reading slump that I didn't think would ever end, but thankfully it has! So I am back and hoping to post a lot more regularly!

A week or so ago now, on the actual release day, I went to see Mockingjay Part 1 and boy oh boy was it amazing. So amazing in fact that I decided to write a review. I never really review films, but I am thinking of reviewing adaptations every now and again. Comparing them to the books, what I thought and whether I liked it or not. There are a lot coming up soon (Roald Dahl's Esio Trot has been made into a tv movie and will be on over Christmas, the same for David Walliams' The Boy in the Dress) so it is just something I wanted to try...

Anyway, yes... MOCKINGJAY!! Please be warned that there may be spoilers ahead. If you haven't read the books or seen the movie then read at your own peril! You have been warned!!

Oh man! I knew this movie would play with me. I knew that it would leave me a complete and utter mess, just like the book itself did. I personally feel like the book is HUGELY underrated. Yes, it wasn't as action-packed as the first two, but something that does annoy me is that people seemed to be expecting another games. I don't think some people, especially people who haven't read the books, realise that after what happened at the end of Catching Fire there was no going back and things were going to be completely and utterly different. Katniss was now at war. Both with herself and her choices, and alongside the rebels against President Snow. The book, for me anyway, is an emotionally charged story of war that highlights the consequences you can face both with your decision making and your actions. Having re-read the book prior to going to see the movie this was only re-iterated to me and I really noticed it this time around more so than ever before I think.

The first half of the book was more about the build up to what it so come in the second half, so naturally Part 1 was always going to be more story driven, more narrative driven, more emotionally driven, as things were being laid out in plain sight ready for the final showdown to come in Part 2. Personally I do not think Part 1 was lacking in the action department. I mean the scenes in District 8 literally had me on the edge of the seat and I bit down all my nails right to the quick. I was rapt and could not even for a millisecond drag my eyes from the screen. Then there was the blowing up of the hydro dam in District 5. STUNNING scenes! Stunning, beautifully executed and well placed as well.

I feel like the pacing of the film was done really well. The action sequences were nicely placed so that just when it might of started to feel slow, BAMN, action, BAMN, explosions and death and loss of electricity. BAMN BAMN BAMN!

And the MUSIC!!!! Can we talk about the score for this film! Lorde (pun intended) have mercy! James Newton Howard has done another stellar job with the score. They just keep getting better and better! I like that he keeps the same sounds but builds on them. Makes them more and more menacing, more and more haunting, every film and this time it is simply stunning. I have purchased all of the movie scores for the series so far and as soon as this one popped up on iTunes I just had to have it! Not least of all because of The Hanging Tree... Oh god! The Hanging Tree! What were once just words on the page, read like any normal sentence, not with a melody in mind or anything like that, have been transformed into what is now a stunning and haunting and infections song that makes you want to weep buckets and yet listen to it over and over again on repeat... Something that I haven't been doing... I swear... Okay... Just A LOT! It's been on repeat on my iPod so much the last week it is insane! But it is so good! JLaw says she cannot sing - well JLaw lies!

And it isn't just The Hanging Tree music that is incredible. It's the whole thing. I love the music that played along with the air raid scenes in District 13. The music when Katniss goes back to District 12 on her own and the bit where she finds the bodies... It's just so, so perfect and I cannot wait to see how they build upon it for Part 2!

The scene with The Hanging Tree has to be my favourite part I think, or at least one of them. It was so well done, so well filmed and the mockingjay just perched on the rock was such a nice touch. I love how it kept going and transformed from just Katniss, to Katniss and the people in the districts. It was so powerful, so beautiful, I may of had a tear or two.

And the ending. Oh wow! The ending. Controversial opinion alert... I with they had finished it the first time the screen blacked out. I think it would of worked better as a cliff hanger and would of had people in uproar demanding to see or read what happens next. I just think it would of been ten times more epic. But at the same time I do like they way it actually did end. Coins speech does feel like a definitive closing point and did make sense.

And the acting! Oh my the acting has ramped up a bit hasn't it? JLaw as per the usual was incredible but in this one... Man! If she doesn't get an Oscar for this one I will be furious. This is without a doubt her most Oscar-worthy performance yet. She shows just how damaged Katniss is, both by the games and by the weight that is being placed on her shoulders as she becomes the Mockingjay. I thought that Josh was immense in this one and even though he doesn't have that much screen time, his performance is so memorable and moving and dark and just so good. I loved Effie even more in this movie despite my reservations that she was being put in the film when she wasn't in the book. I like that she replaced Fulvia who I wasn't that much of a fan of in the book, and did it really well. The "they're either going to want to kiss you, kill you or be you line" had me shivering! So good!

The sight of Johanna and Peeta as well at the end, seeing what the Capitol had reduced them to was almost too much! It made me feel so sad and sorry for them! And the strangling scene! OMG IT WAS EVERYTHING I EVER DREAMED OF! It was incredible and had me squirming in my seat! Literally, hearing the whole cinema scream in shock especially when the screen blacked out was INCREDIBLE! So good, so well done!

I have to say that Francis Lawrence is doing an INCREDIBLE job! I love that he is so adamant that the films need to stay as close to the books as possible. It's so reassuring as a fan to have him at the helm and I can only say that I am so glad that Lionsgate chose him to close out the series! He just has this knack of getting it and the last 2 have been so beautifully filmed and pieced together. It's very reassuring!

So overall I think it's safe to say I enjoyed Mockingjay Part 1! Ha! Who am I kidding, I freaking loved it! I think that it's the best of the films so far and reject that the lack of action makes it boring. Boring it most definitely is not. All the action has been saved for the finale to offer up a slice that is going to literally slay us all! Mark my words. Part 2 is going to wreck us even more than Part 1! I'm not going to lie I was close to tears watching the movie and knowing what is to come only makes me nervous for next November. But as well as being nervous I simply cannot wait! Bring it in Lionsgate! Bring it on!

Rating: 5/5.

The Fault In Our Stars - Movie Talk

Okay, so I don't normally review movies. I watch a lot of movies, I own a lot of them, I am a big fan of the DVD and not such a massive fan of actually going to the cinema because it annoys the life out of me that people cannot sit and be quiet just for a few hours, they have to sit there on their phones, talking, rustling, making unnecessary noise and it annoys me... But, I want to do something a bit different around here and since I have just gotten back from seeing The Fault In Our Stars movie adaptation at the time of writing this originally, I thought, why not review movie adaptations of your favourite books? I wanted to do this when I saw Divergent at the UK and Europe premiere in March, but for some reason I just never got around to doing it... So here I am...

The Fault In Our Stars.

Having read the book when it originally came out early in 2012, just the name of the book is enough to ignite strong feelings, "feels" it has been branded by some. Just those five words together in that sentence is enough to make me feel giddy, miserable and elated, all at the same time. When I first heard that there was going to be a movie adaptation I was both excited and scared... Would they do it right? Would they do it justice? Would it affect me as much as the book did...

Well... As I write this I'm sitting on my bed just a few hours after watching the film at my local cinema and I've gotten my answers. Yes, they did it right. Yes, they did it justice. And yes, it affected me as much as the book did. Lord almighty I sobbed and sniffled and laughed, and cried again as the story so many have fallen in love with plays out before your very eyes. I cannot begin to explain just what an experience seeing this movie was. We arrived early and the cinema was already packed, in fact the cinema posted on Facebook earlier that day that it had already sold out! It took us a while to find a set of seats together and once we did, we settled in for the feels! And boy oh boy did we feel!

The cinema was filled with laughs, oohs and aahs at the sweet moments and complete hysterical sobbing at the sad moments, in fact one girl behind me sounded like she was about to stop breathing she was crying that much. 

The performances! Oh boy! I knew Shailene would be amazing because she blew me away earlier in the year as Tris Prior in Divergent and I knew Ansel would be great too because he did an awesome job as Caleb in Divergent, and the fact that he is smoking hot. But I was not prepared for the utter slayage that was about to play out before my eyes. They were perfect. The chemistry was amazing, so palpable and real you could almost taste it. They fit so well together and just look so natural. They were simply amazing. Ansel has such amazing timing that some of the lines that Augustus had in the book make you physically laugh out loud. His timing is so perfect.

But it wasn't just the main 2 who were amazing. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell were brilliant as Hazel's parents, Nat Wolff was hilarious as Isaac and had me in stitches during the Night of the Broken Trophies scene. 

Honestly, if you have read the book, you'll love it. If you haven't, you'll live it just as much. It has to be one of the most beautiful movies I have ever watched. It's poignant, touching and so thought-provoking, just like the book it is based on. I loved the little things, the voice over, the way the film begins, the way text messages and emails appeared on the screen and OMG the ending. THAT ENDING!!! Can we talk about the ending?!?! LORD!!! It was perfect and I had hoped it would end that way since watching the trailer and I have to say I am so happy that that's the way it ended!

I cannot thank 20th Century Fox, Josh Boone, John Green and all the cast enough for giving us the film of our dreams. It literally is perfect and has to be the closest film adaptation of a book I have ever seen. It is literally the book and I have to say I loved it! I cannot wait to watch it again and again! I'm seeing it again this Saturday (today, if you're reading this because it's just gone live...) and I'm supposed to be going again with another friend. I don't think I'm ready. I wasn't ready the first time and judging by how much I cried I'll be bone dry for a while to come! Bring on the DVD!!!

5/5.

Mockingjay officially to be split into two parts!

Hell yes!! Lionsgate, the makers of The Hunger Games films have just announced officially that they are splitting the incredible Mockingjay into two parts. I for one am so freaking excited! They'll fit in way more of the book, and hopefully show a lot more action than if they had to cram it all into one!

Part 1 is out 21st November 2014. And Part 2, the fourth and final film, will be out on 20th November 2015! So so so freaking excited! So far away, but I cannot wait!

The Hunger Games Movie Trailer

ARGH! The first official full length trailer of the long awaited adaptation of Suzanne Collin's utterly epic distopian novel, The Hunger Games, has at long last been released. And lawdy lawdy it is AMAZING. It has me so so so freaking excited. Already I cannot wait for Catching Fire and Mockingjay! God! MOCKINGJAY  WILL ROCK! Roll on March please!

News: Marcus Sedgwick's White Crow to be made into a movie!!!

Whoa whoa whoa! Stop. What?! This amazing book that gave me bare chills in the middle of Summer, made me feel like I was on the windy cliffs, the sea spray hitting my face along with Rebecca and Ferelith is about to be made into a film that I can go and see in an actual cinema, with my own actual eyes?! Well colour me excited!! This is by far my favourite book Marcus has written yet so I cannot wait to see this! He's a fantastic writer and you should all go and check him out. Notably, White Crow, and his new book, Midwinterblood, which I am actually in the middle of reading (and it's ace - if slightly weird!)

Check out the press release below! (And for those interested, my review of White Crow can be found here!)

Independent financier and production company Kerry, Kimmel and Pollack (KK&P) has secured the rights and will co-finance and co-produce the novel WHITE CROW, written by Marcus Sedgwick. The film will be produced and/or executive produced by Kami Garcia, NYT bestselling co-author of The Beautiful Creatures Series, Mark Morgan (The Twilight Saga), Michael Pollack (Quattrocento) & Brett Hudson (Cloud 9).
WHITE CROW is a psychological thriller that centers on a 16 year-old girl who moves to a sleepy seaside town with a deadly past, and discovers what’s on the other side of death.
KK&P plans to shoot the film in the fall of 2012 on Isle of Man, located within the British Isles.
The author, Marcus Sedgwick, has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, the Edgar Allan Poe, and the Guardian Children’s Book Prize.
WHITE CROW marks Kami Garcia’s entrance into the world of film and television production. While some Young Adult and Adult authors are currently producing their own novels, Garcia is not only producing her upcoming solo novel Unbreakable: Book 1 in The Legion Series from Little, Brown (also with Mark Morgan and KK&P), but other film and television properties as well.

News: The Hunger Games Teaser MOTION Poster

I have no words for this. Beautiful.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Last night, I went to the cinema to confront something so terrible, so heart-breaking and yet so beautiful. And that thing? The end of my childhood. AKA... Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

It felt really weird in the hours leading up knowing that I was finally going to see those scenes with my very own eyes. It was just so... incomprehensible! After initially reading the first 2 books in 1999 shortly before the release of Prisoner of Azkaban I have been hooked. I have since re-read them and loved them even more than the first time, as I think as an 8 year old I couldn't truly appreciate them as much as I could later on. Anyway... it was thanks to my nan that I read the books as she brought them in a boxset. Still have those copies to this day and they are a little dog-eared so I think I should soon invest in some new copies, hardback of course! Accept no imitations people! She and my uncle took me, along with my sisters and cousin, to see the first two films, and the fact that she's no longer here also makes this a little bit raw. It's because of her I was introduced to the wonder of Harry Potter so she has a lot to answer for!! Anyway, I'm digressing again...

Harry and co have been a constant figure head in my childhood. From reading the books, to seeing the films, from 1999 to today, it's been 12 years. Wow! Really?! That's gone so fast when you think about it. But it's my entire childhood. From boy, to man, although I don't feel that grown up. Hm, the less said about that the better! The books have been there through good and through bad. Like an old friend, they always greet me in a warm embrace (chilling when Voldemort happens to rear his ugly head) and give me hours of happiness, even though I've read the books dozens of times each. 

This film has to be, for me, possibly the truest to the book they have been since about Prisoner of Azkaban. The subsequent books seemed to lose a little essence of the plot, but Deathly Hallows Part 2 had the rawness, the emotions and the heartache of the final half of the book. When I was watching it, I completely forgot about the book. The film one hundred percent sucked me in and I forgot everything. 

The effects were stunning. Absolutely perfect, and in 3D it was beautiful. The scenes in Gringotts were brilliantly handled and seeing the cover art for the UK Children's edition (the one I have) actually on screen, in action, made me a little giddy with excitement. That was one of the scenes I'd most been looking forward to! Then the battle itself. What can I say but... AMAZING! Really. It was handled beautifully. Going in to watch this film, I was possibly the most nervous I have ever been about seeing a film adaptation. Those scenes had to be done just right or the whole film, the entire series would of been a complete waste of time. If they weren't going to be done right, they shouldn't of been made at all. But they were brilliant. The curses in 3D. The destruction in 3D. Everything. I was blown away.

AND THE MUSIC! ALEXANDRE DESPLAT DONE GOOD! So epic!

I am something of a Harry Potter stan, so this was a massive deal for me and I cannot thank Warner Bros, the cast and of course everyone included in making the film, as well as the legend herself, JK Rowling. This has brought my childhood to a satisfying conclusion and has brought possibly my most favourite book and film series to a stunning end. I for one am happy, and shall be going to see this film as many times as possible in the cinema, and then I shall watch it again and again when it's out on dvd!

News: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 TRAILER!!!

I cannot believe, or excuse, how late I am in  posting this monumental piece of epic amazingness! The trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2!! I am so incredibly excited to see this film but at the same time so sad. Harry has been such a huge part of my life since I read Philosopher's Stone when I was about... 8 or 9. I loved it and now 10 years later the journey will be complete in both word and film. Sad! But good lord it looks amazing! Check it out!

News: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows poster

The first official poster or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been released and it looks amazing. It shows a burning Hogwarts, and looks as though it has been designed to echo the poster for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released way back in 2001! You can see the comparison here, courtesy of Mugglenet, but the actual poster is below! Also, Warner Bros. have release the actual picture (no logo) and it is perfect for wallpapers on your desktop, which can be found here.

But the tagline - "It All Ends Here" - makes me feel a little sad. I started reading the books not long after Goblet of Fire (the book) was released and have been a big fan of them since. I even went to bookstores at midnight to get the last two books, and was devastated when the series ended, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the films (although Half-Blood Prince was not as good as it should of been), and so will be sad to see the entire franchise come to an end. Excited to see how they adapt the book though. The trailer is still giving me chills.