The Edge

Movie review duel: The Hunger Games

Posted by Jaime & Victoria on April 11, 2012

Welcome to another installment of the M-Edge Blog. Today we are interviewing two of our in-house movie fanatics, Jaime and Victoria on their take of The Hunger Games movie. A little back story on our movie critics:

Jaime dutifully attends almost all midnight releases (no matter how awful, cough Sucker Punch cough*) and regales us with her witty reviews in the company newsletter.

Victoria attends most comedies and blockbusters and generally has a positive opinion unless watching highly anticipated movies such as Like Crazy and then being devastatingly let down by its lackluster storyline.

Both are begrudgingly forced to attend chick flicks and RomComs such as The Vow, Eat Pray Love, One Day and Something Borrowed with Devon. When asked their opinion of these evenings, both had no comment.

Book vs. Movie?

Victoria: Book! My wild imagination takes me to the darndest places.

Jaime: I loved the book but the movie felt like watching bare bones cliff notes. Dead kids. Check. Fire. Check. Wasps. Check. Weird mutated dogs that were left unexplained to anyone who hadn't read the books. Check. Drunk Woody Harrelson. Check. Angsty teen love triangle. Double check.

It lacked the conflicting emotions of the book where at one moment you're relieved and cheering on Katniss for successfully escaping death, sometimes by killing another tribute but at the same devastated because hey, you're OK with kids killing kids.

Peeta vs. Gale?

Jaime: Orphan or Clove, if you prefer. Was Gale even in the movie? He had like one speaking line.

Victoria: Gale! Peeta is a whining ball and chain wrapped around Katniss' neck. It's a wonder she even survived the Games with that dead weight.

Hunger Games or Twilight?

Jaime: Is there a difference? Kudos to Suzanne Collins, who at least knew more verbs than "scowled".

Victoria: The Hunger Games! After years of the Twilight crew smearing together something they call a movie, I'm ready to throw in my Team Edward water bottle.

Jaime: Spoiler Alert: There's a Team Peeta bottle in your future.

Jennifer Lawrence or Kristen Stewart?

Victoria: Do you even have to ask that?

Jaime: For a minute there, I was afraid Jennifer Lawrence had been replaced by Kristen Stewart because of the ridiculous amount of screen time dedicated to showing close- ups of Katniss breathing into the camera and biting her lip.


Pictured: Another thanks to Jaime's skills of finding two "mouthbreathing" photos to prove her point.

Gripes?

Jaime: Well my whole review is a gripe, but I'll settle with the intensely shaky camera. The camera motion was so shaky; it was hard to stay focused. Like every twenty minutes, I had a mini seizure.

Victoria: I second that.

Overall thoughts?

Jaime: My biggest issue was how less I could have cared when each tribute died because I knew nothing about them due to the lack of characterization given to anyone but Katniss. If anything, it was an easy way to countdown to how much longer I would have to sit in the theater; as they dropped like flies, I knew I was closer and closer to going home...

Victoria: (shooting Jaime a dirty look)

Jaime: If this were the Hunger Games, you'd be the first to go.

Victoria: You're being a reeeeeallll Clove right now...

Jaime: At least I lasted longer than you.

Victoria: I'm Katniss. I won.

Jaime: You won a train ride home with Peeta. I think I'm glad I died.

Victoria: ...

Jaime: Well enjoy your ball and chain and his dumb hair.

Host: This continued for a while, so I'll go ahead and wrap up. Stay tuned for more of the Jaime & Victoria shtick throughout the summer blockbuster season!