Catching Fire (Spoilers)

Before I begin, I'm realizing I like to do reviews in their entirety. I try to beat around the bush as much as I can but I do like talking about the entire movie. So I've decided to mark the reviews where I go spoilers balls deep. Just a warning. And with that, here's Catching Fire.

Holy moses. I was caught off guard by this movie. I was told that it was good but I just thought that was the die hard fans just spouting off. This movie is really well done.

Not to say the original movie wasn't good, I've already said what needs to be said about that movie. But this movie is one of those movies that is just very well done. And I'm not just saying that. Catching Fire, the book was actually not my favorite. I haven't read the third book yet and there's a reason. It's because of this book. I remember finishing that book and saying, "Well that was alright. Not great, but alright. I'll maybe read the next one... maybe."

The movie turned that tune around big time.

The movie begins with Katniss back at District 12. She's living in the Victor's Village, she's still hunting but she's haunted by her experience with the Hunger Games. They did this very very well.

Believe it or not I think they did it better here than in the book. Of course the book can always describe what's going on in Katniss's head but seeing it just made things a lot clearer for me.

And while we're on the topic, Jennifer Lawrence nailed it. I may have mentioned it in my Hunger Games review, but she used to be very bland. She has definitely made herself at home with this character and this time around did a lot more than just stare. Was it still there, yes it was. But it wasn't as apparent this time around. Not to mention, Jennifer Lawrence is a fox.

Her and her fellow victor Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson) need to keep their relationship that had started in the first movie alive in order to convince the Capital and especially President Snow that the stunt they pull at the end of the first movie, threatening to commit suicide so there would be no winner was just a desperate act of love and not of defiance to the government. Although President Snow knows it wasn't, he wants them to act as if it was.

Because there is uprisings going on within the Districts. Riots are beginning and people are not happy with the government. Snow knows that Katniss has become a symbol of hope in a world of fear.

On this tour, they are joined again by Woody Harrelson playing Haymitch and Elizabeth Banks playing Lady Gaga... or Effie. And Lenny Kravitz is back.

But back to the topic on hand, that's another thing, this may be a silly observation but there's not much of an explanation as to why President Snow is kind of an asshole. He just is...

I'm sure the easy answer is that Snow is in a position of power where he is a corrupt dishonest leader who has control doesn't believe in freedom or equality and exploits the lesser Districts through the Hunger Games, blah blah blah.

We're never really given an explanation as to why President Snow is an asshole or how he came to be such an asshole.

I think I'd be really interested to hear the story of President Snow and how he came into power. Maybe it's just as simple as he inherited the role or he was elected in corrupt circumstances.

My point is there's not really any explanation to President Snow. There are a couple of decisions he makes with the help of Plutarch Heavensbee, who (spoilers) turns out to be helping the rebellion, that are really stupid. Like murdering a guy in District 11 for whistling the mockingjay song and doing the Katniss Salute.

There's no reason beyond that, it was just in opposition to the government. Any sign of opposition, kill it, flog it. We need to paint this government as the most corrupt and V for Vendetta like government so our heroes have something to fight for.

I think this was something that bothered me about Occupy Wallstreet. (Little bit off topic tangent coming)

If you don't remember Occupy Wallstreet, it started as a group of protestors camping out in Zucotti park in New York in opposition to Wallstreet and big businesses in their part in the recession (among other things). This was a fad that spread across the country, across the world. It originally was inspired by the Arab Spring.

Well with this fad came a number of incidents that kind of made me angry. There were several times when stories would come up of protestors who weren't doing anything to break the law and they would get arrested for no reason, violating their freedom of speech.

The thing that bothered me about these circumstances, is that while some of them were probably actual accounts of the police acting unprovoked, many of them were probably blown out of proportion and were just situations of police reacting to rowdy and provoking behavior. Nobody really knows for sure because all we have are verbal accounts and videos that don't show the whole situation.

My point of this rant is to connect it to Catching Fire. These parts in the movie where people do the Katniss Salute and get shot for it are really exaggerated scenes and are really just used to make the Capital look like Nazi Germany. I just feel like the Capital needs to be given a human side. I don't know if they do that in Mockingjay but it wasn't prevalent in Catching Fire.

That entire thing being said, it was done beautifully. The entire first half of this movie when Peeta and Katniss are out doing their tour and seeing all the Districts, watching the revolutions begin, it was done perfectly. I remember being kind of bored during that part when reading the book but they did a really, really good job in the movie.

I'll mention my thoughts on President Snow later.

And you could have guessed it, there's a sort of competition between Gale and Peeta in this movie again. The question of who Katniss is going to choose. The thing I liked about this is that Peeta is really a bro in this movie. He knows he's not the one Katniss is going to choose and he accepts it. Is he hurt, yeah but he's concerned about Katniss and will do anything to keep her alive and happy.

Half way through the movie, Katniss realizes this. Peeta actually becomes an important part to her and you can see it. This is attributed to both Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, who stepped up his game in this movie as well.

Gale on the other hand... maybe I just don't like his character but he gives the same expression, the same looks, the same performance that kinda makes you forget he was in the movie. They just threw random scenes with him and Katniss sitting looking out into the wilderness. This scene had no point, it was just a scene with them in the woods looking at the sun.

Peeta wasn't an emotionless blob in this movie. I think this is prevalent in the book, its been a while. But Peeta actually says, if you stop acting like I'm wounded around me, I'll try and stop acting like I am. He wants to move on and acknowledges that his and Katniss's love is an act. Again, Hutcherson picked up his game... Liam on the other hand kinda didn't do anything for me in this movie.

Anyway, the entire first half is Snow and Phillip Seymor Hoffman (Heavensbee) trying to turn the public against Katniss, which they fail miserably at. Obviously it was Heavensbee's plan but Snow is kind of an idiot to not see how stupid of a plan his plan was.

It's basically to flaunt Katniss and Peeta as the victors to divide the districts. It ends up uniting them. He then decides to put Katniss back into the Hunger Games again in order to get the Capital excited for another Hunger Games and to see Katniss kill more people. This ends up turning the Capital against Snow and putting Katniss exactly where Phillip Seymour Hoffman wanted her.

Peeta and Katniss are put back into the Hunger Games with former victors of the games. When I read the book I didn't like this, visualizing it, it's perfect.

That's kind of a theme with this book. A lot of it I originally didn't like but seeing it just looks phenomenal and makes a lot more sense. Maybe I'm more of a visual person. I do do a blog on TV shows and movies and not books.

When they're in the Hunger Games, the dynamic of the games change because they suddenly have to make alliances and be the team that they were fighting in the first movie.

Remember these guys? Katniss and Peeta have to make a team similar to that to survive. And of course its a team she obviously shouldn't have picked.

She picks an old woman, Mags (played by Lynn Cohen) and a pair of tech geeks. One of them being the CIA agent (played by Jeffrey Wright) from Casino Royale and the other being Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer) from Pulp Fiction.

They do get help from Finnick Odair (played by Sam Clafin) and Johanna Mason (played by Jena Malone). Yeah, Donnie Darko's girlfriend was in this movie. Who'd a thunk.

Unfortunately, the movie does what it did in the first movie where a lot of the characters names kind of get glanced over. They did a better job because there were more important characters this time around but again I kinda found myself saying, Oh look its Honey Bunny, that guy from Casino Royale, Old lady, etc. And the other tributes that weren't in their little club, I have no idea who they were.

Its not that big of a complaint as those characters aren't as important as Katniss and Peeta but still.

The movie ends with Katniss being rescued from the Hunger Games by Haymitch, Finnick and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. (I know he has a name but to me he was Phillip Seymour Hoffman). The movie ends with them saying that Peeta was captured by the Capital with Johanna. District 12 is burnt to the ground and Katniss, Haymitch, Gale and others are starting the revolution.

Okay good things first.

The movie was solid. Jennifer Lawrence was no longer awkward, she was good. Peeta was miles better. Woody Harrelson, still awesome. Good interpretation of the book. Good pace and good acting all around.

Bad things, as few as they are.

President Snow: If you read my Hunger Games review, you know my beef with President Snow. He's bland and little bit too much Santa Claus and not enough Hitler. I just didn't feel on edge whenever Snow was in the shot and that's what Katniss is suppose to feel. I think that's one drawback of having him have his own scenes. In the book he was just mentioned. Showed up physically very seldom and when Katniss knew she was in deep shit. In the book, it just seemed like Snow's presence was everywhere even when he wasn't anywhere near the scene. Donald Sutherland just doesn't impose and scare the shit out of you with the endless possibilities of things he could do to you if you cross him. I guess that's why I want them to give him a backstory, explain why he's such an asshole. Cause if he's not gonna go all the way asshole, make him a relatable human villain.

Also, I loved Phillip Seymour Hoffman but his plan was very based on too much chance and luck. He's got the entire games in his hand and he puts Katniss in a lot situations that could throw his plan right out the window. His purpose is to keep Katniss alive and rescue her from the Hunger Games. But his

position requires him to kill her with the elements. What if she had drowned, what if she had not been fast enough to run away from the poisonous gas, what if a monkey had killed her. This plan based on a lot of luck and coincidence. Perfect example: Haymitch was suppose to be outside the games in order for him to save Katniss. But Haymitch had a chance of being a part of the Hunger Games himself... what if he had gone instead of Peeta. Was Peeta in on it? Also what if Katniss had decided to kill of Finnick? Would that have screwed up the plan a little bit? Its not a huge complaint but its very convenient.

Finally, I mentioned this in my other review... but people who have not read the book don't know what District 13 is. I think they mention it once in Catching Fire, almost never in the Hunger Games and then at the end Gale says their going to District 13... What's that? This will probably be explained to non book readers by the third movie but its something they have failed to explain in the movies.

Anyway, Catching Fire was really good. Some conveniences were needed to fulfill the plot but that's not that big of a deal. President Snow and Gale can be overlooked because this movie was really good.

So have you seen Catching Fire? What'd you think? Tell me your thoughts about this movie, the series, MockingJay (without spoilers, I haven't read it yet).

I leave you with this.