The Hunger Games Trailer or This Alice's Rabbit Hole

Is it sad that I spent an inordinate amount of time reading reviews of a movie trailer? Yes. Is it going to stop me from giving a review of my own? No.

And while this is shamelessly stealing from what others have done…Top 5 moments of The Hunger Games trailer…in a very particular order.

1. Katniss volunteering to take her sister’s place in the reaping. I had the same gut-wrenching feeling I had in my stomach when I read it almost two years ago. But since Yvonne and I had locked ourselves in a conference room to watch it on her phone, I refrained from actually crying in front of her. That is THE scene that pulls you in. PERIOD. It is spot on and you can hear it in Jennifer Lawrence’s voice. I’m thrilled with that casting decision. Maybe we won’t have to see Kristen Stewart in so many movies now.
   


2. The brief glimpse of Haymitch giving Katniss instructions before she goes in front of the Gamemakers for the last time. For some reason people are complaining about how Woody Harrelson appears. I disagree. I could see that hint of Haymitch from Mockingjay that was hiding under the surface in The Hunger Games and I loved it.
   


3. Peeta and Katniss on the roof/Gale saying goodbye to Katniss after the reaping. Because there IS a love story here. Even if it is hidden under the death and tragedy of the Capitol.
   


4. Katniss looking back at Cinna right before she heads to the arena, because he is the ONLY person she has had complete faith in. She doesn’t trust Peeta or Haymitch at this point, and she knows this is going to be the last friend she sees. It’s like they are both wishing they could change their minds and not send her in. Also reminiscent of a scene to come in Catching Fire and I love me a little foreshadowing.
   


5. Wes Bentley and Donald Sutherland as Seneca Crane and President Snow. Two people who had absolutely no lines in The Hunger Games, but so crucial to the story. I had never even really thought of Seneca before, but now that I’ve seen him…that beard and the slick evilness of him…I hope he gets more screen time.

Sorry if you were hoping for another blog post about my magical life, but I had to take time out and pay homage. March 23 cannot come fast enough.

Mirror, Mirror

I debated writing this until I watched Grimm on Friday, but what the hell…

I’m not sure why the big and small screens have suddenly found their way into my backyard, but I’m not complaining. Yet. Welcome to my world.

Yes, I want to live in a fairy tale. A dark and twisted fairy tale. Preferably one with tuff (Outsiders’ spelling) princesses and slightly flawed princes that happen to be either ruggedly good-looking or boyishly charming. Take your pick.

The rest you of may not have noticed yet how popular the brothers Grimm have been getting. It must be a sad, lonely place out there for you.

I tried re-capping Once Upon a Time about FIVE times, but I can’t do it. I’m not a re-capper. Visit Entertainment Weekly or something.

I like it. It’s not too sunny, but my girls still liked it, if only because they loved Snow White and the little boy Henry who is the only one that has figured out the curse. Also, they were intrigued by the Evil Queen and Rumplestilskin without being completely afraid of them at this time. (There may have been some eye-closing when the queen’s black knights came to steal the baby.)

The fantasy-world is in between HBO and SyFy quality, which I think is pretty impressive for network to invest in. The creators say that it’s going to focus on more than the Snow/Charming story, and as Henry flipped through his fairy tale book, I did notice a picture of a certain caterpillar sitting on a mushroom. I can only hope, but I do know that we will at least meet Cinderella fairly soon.

Favorite supporting characters thus far are Red Riding Hood and the sherriff, only because in my head I think he is the huntsman and should be Emma’s side kick. (Emma being Snow White’s grown up child in the real world that is going to save them all.)

On a way darker side…Grimm starts on Friday, which proposes the original brothers and their descendants hunt down mythical baddies hiding in our world that only they can see. Girls will not be watching this one, but I’m practically salivating because it’s from teams Buffy and Angel. As Zoe would say…”HOLLLA!” (Yes, we watch too much Shake It Up.)

In 2012, there are going to be TWO…not one, TWO…Snow White movies.

The first one is still showing up on IMDB as the “Untitled Snow White Project”. Considering this movie is in post-production, don’t you think it’s about time SOMEBODY came up with a title for it?

It’s going to win someone a wardrobe Oscar, but I’m not sure about anything else. It’s very over the top with the gowns. Apparently, Julia Roberts (as the queen) can’t even take a couple steps in some of the get ups they put her in. Visually very appealing in the stills I have seen.

On the other hand, Snow White and The Huntsman…

I’ve been keeping my eye on this one for a LONG time. First off, it was originally just named The Huntsman and had Chris Helmsworth (Thor) in the title role. Reason alone for me to keep my eye on it. Or both of them.

Basically, when he takes Snow to the forest, instead of just leaving her to find the dwarves he becomes her mentor and teaches her how to be some kind of medieval warrior to come back and kick the queen’s ass.

Here’s the flaw with this movie, and it’s a damn big flaw if you ask me. Kristin Stewart is Snow White. UGHHHHH! I don’t know if her Twilight fame is what got them to change the title of this movie, but I DO NOT approve. Do you hear me, Stewart? Acting requires you to become a different character, not make all your characters act like you.

I would much rather she swap with the newcomer Lily Collins who plays the Snow White in the Julia Robert’s one.

In non-Snow White news…

I got a new version of parental anxiety when Morgan asked me if I thought her Halloween costume was weird. Apparently, at a party she went to, some kids kept asking her why she was a crayon and chased her because they wanted to write with her. Oy.

One, I honestly don’t think the kids were being mean, I think they thought they were being funny. Two, Morgan is uber-sensitive.

But it was all I could do to resist my urge to crack some skulls. I am not very over-protective when it comes to physical activity, but my mind starts kicking it into high-gear if I think someone or something is making my kids feel bad about themselves.

I have a feeling Scott is the same way, since his first reaction on my relaying this story is to say that he will go buy her a new costume if she wants one. Which I get, but she LIKES her costume. She didn’t think it was weird until someone questioned her and quite frankly it’s NOT weird. It’s a fucking crayon.

So I take a breath and say, “Next time someone asks why you are a crayon, just ask them why they are a princess or a pirate or whatever they are. I like your costume.” This seemed to satisfy her.

I will now be attending the school’s Halloween parade, which I was going to skip. I just absolutely cannot NOT be there. Wrong?

CONSTANT VIGILANCE!

It has been brought to my attention that I should be giving my final opinion on the conclusion of the Harry Potter Empire. I’m not sure how much my opinion really matters one way or another, but I guess maybe I could attempt to explain to you why I am in mourning for The Boy Who Lived.

MOVIE AND BOOK SPOILERS!

Background

Back in 2000…I happened to mention that I wondered what all this Harry Potter hype was about. I thought Mr. Potter was the author; his name was so prominently displayed on all the book jackets.

I received the first three books for my birthday, finished them within nano-seconds and promptly went and bought Goblet of Fire the day it was released. Then spent the next THREE years reading fan fiction to tide me over until The Order of the Phoenix was published. (My early days of Ernst & Young left me with a LOT of time on my hands.)

I reserved tickets for the opening day of The Sorcerer’s Stone. I had t-shirts. I was “sorted” into Ravenclaw. I stalked the Oberlin book store for a maroon and gold scarf. I drove to Border’s to get my pre-ordered Half-Blood Prince hours before leaving on vacation and I read Deathly Hallows by flashlight when our power went out. I named my dog Potter for Christsakes!

This might seem odd for a grown person to do. I can’t disagree with you.

Why I Love the Books

Would I classify the books as literary works of staggering genius?

Style – No. There is some cringe-worthy dialogue, a few over-used plot devices, and many more pages than necessary for the sake of the story (with the exception of the first three books).

Substance – Yes. There is no denying that she spawned a renewed interest in reading to a generation of kids that may have never seen the inside of a library otherwise. Her books are so rich with characters and her world is so vividly set in front of you, that you have to be dead inside to not want more of it. It’s not Charles Dickens, people. It’s fairy tale.

Is it original?

No – The hero myth has been used since the beginning of time in storytelling and she has one of the most faithful adaptations to it with the thankful exception that she refrained from killing off our hero.

Yes – The depth that she gave to each character keeps it from being just a hero myth. It’s about friendship and loyalty as much as it is about good versus evil as much as it is about choosing your own path. Harry Potter can be a “brave little toaster” (Chamber of Secrets), whiny little bitch (Order of the Phoenix), and a selfless savior (Deathly Hallows). He grows…and sometimes regresses…the whole way. Those heroes are few and far between.

What I like best…

…is what they opened me up to. As a child, I loved fantasy…Roald Dahl (of Willie Wonka fame, but James and the Giant Peach was the best), E. B. White (Charolette’s Web) and Robert O’Brian (The Rats of Nihm) were huge favorites. Guess what? As an adult…I still love them. And I had almost forgotten how much.

It made me go back and read things I missed as a kid…Baum’s Wonderful World of Oz and Lewis’s Narnia.

And it made me pick up new things I would have otherwise ignored…Pullman’s Dark Materials and Collin’s Hunger Games (both of which are stylistically written a thousand times better than HP).

Why I Love the Movies

I thought I would hate the movies. They couldn’t possibly come close the Hogwarts in my head. But they actually managed it brilliantly whether they planned on it or not. The supporting cast alone had us all drooling (Hello! ALAN F-ING RICKMAN!) despite the unknown nature of the three central characters.

Having Columbus direct the first two made the focus on the characters of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Their faithfulness to the book made you become comfortable with the actors. Being comfortable with the actors makes you a little more agreeable to artistic license with the material.

Cuaron got the “coming of age” story, which was right up his alley. Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite book and my favorite movie, despite the fact that it was the first to start the traumatic separation of church and state (read: book and movie). If Columbus had made that movie it would have been too light (and too long), if Yates had done it – way too dark. And Gary F-ing Oldman!

Newell had the odds against him. Kloves and Rowling had to cut the Goblet of Fire screenplay drastically from the original manuscript. The effects had to be better. The mood had to be darker and take a serious turn away from a “kids” movie (up to PG-13). And this guy’s resume is all over the place. I know there’s controversy over this one, but I thought it was seemless. And I think the trick is to NOT re-read the book right before the movie. I took the movie for what it was and didn’t compare. End of story.

Which brings us to Yates and the last three books.

My second favorite movie was Order of the Phoenix - which is odd, because I was so annoyed by Harry in the book. But it finally left Hogwarts. So, visually, it was the most appealing to me. (Although, it also marked the moment I had to accept that Sirius was really and truly dead, so I had no hope of him returning in the yet-unpublished Hallows). This was Helena Bonham-Carter at her craziest and she rocked it.

The Half-Blood Prince was more about a love story to me, so this is the only film that left me wanting more. Everyone hop aboard the good ship Harry and Ginny. Who cares that the Death Eaters are on a rampage and the Ministry has taken over the school. Harry is finally in love with Ginny and all will be right with the world…That message did not get delivered.

I thought The Deathly Hallows was much too long of a book. Maybe Rowling had gotten Stephenie Meyer (Twilight) Syndrome. So when I heard Yates was cutting it into two movies, I sensed a little money-making scheme underway. But it was completely the right thing to do. As a non-fan reviewer put it…Part 1 got to be moody and full of despair, while Part 2 got to be all out Voldemort Ass-Kicking War. It would have been strange to mash those together.

Am I Done Yet?

If you’ve made it this far, you either:

A. Really like to read my blog
B. Really like Harry Potter
C. Have nothing better to do

So I will wrap it up.

Don’t underestimate the camaraderie to be formed while waiting to find out if Snape is good or evil. I had a completely bizarre and in-depth conversation with a Border’s employee while pre-ordering my Hallows.

I continue to be amazed when a seemingly non-suspect individual shows up with a Gryffindor mug. Harry Potter is for everybody. Unless you don’t like a good fairy tale. Then it’s not for you. So go back to your CNN and stop reading my blog.

"Camelot" vs. "Game of Thrones" - Part 2

The following contains spoilers.

The most blog hits I have ever received for a single post was my Camelot/Game of Thrones review (250 and counting), which I wrote early in both series. Now that I’ve seen all episodes of both (with the exception of the 9th episode of Camelot, which for some reason isn’t On Demand) I’ll give my final verdict.

So if you are reading this and are not my facebook friend…please comment! I mean, you can comment if you are my friend, but this is the only time that random people come to my blog and it’s kind of awesome.

In Summary (from previous post)
Camelot (Cam) is loosely based on the rise of King Arthur and is historically accurate for the period and geography, regardless of whether Arthur himself is fact or fiction. On the other hand, both Merlin and Morgan practice sorcery. So in that regard, it is still of the "fantasy" genre.

Game of Thrones (GoT) is based on a fictional world which looks almost identical to medieval times but seems to have a large variety of cultures (though mostly British accents) within an unfathomably limited square mile area and some zombie like creatures on the attack.

Gore Factor
Besides the fact that Sir Ector/King Lot was the best death scene ever, there never was the same amount of gory blood in Cam as Spartacus, which I was thankful for. Then they went and decapitated a nun. So now I have the same criticism from GoT that decapitation just can’t be made to look realistic for me.

Closely rivaling Cam for the best death scene ever would be Khal Drogo’s men pouring hot molten gold over Viserys head to give him his “crown” that he begged for – but that wasn’t really gory. I personally love that some of the best bloodiness was at the teeth of the Stark children’s direwolves. And even though I knew it was coming (yes, I read spoilers) they really had me sucked in to Ned Stark’s treason trial…right up until they decapitated him. Ugh.

Winner: It’s actually a tie. With one much-mentioned exception, all the violence effects were very well done in both of them.

Incest Themes
I said it all before…GoT is way heavy on the incest themes for reasons I can’t quite fathom. Cam did finally seal the deal with Morgan shifting into the shape of Guinevere to make a baby with Arthur (her half-brother) so she could “give birth to a king”. But since that’s the closest they have ever come to the actual Arthurian legend, I can’t fault them for it.

Winner: Camelot.

Nudity
Cam did finally catch up to GoT on this one. And I’d say they even surpassed by the mere fact that all of the main female characters got naked. (It is possible that Claire Forlani had a body double from the way they edited that scene together.) GoT on the other hand (with the exception of that first episode with Daenerys), left it to the whores, which I thought was sweet.

Winner: Another tie. It all washed out in the end.

Plot
Cam had some really good moments. Some were great re-imaginings of the legend - pulling the sword from the stone, the lady of the lake, and the beginnings of the round table. Some were completely new concepts that fell right into place. But some just went too much against my pre-conceived notions – Arthur stealing Guinevere from his champion. And then there were places where I could tell the plot was trying to be good, but the dialogue was so horrible it couldn’t quite get there. The storyline rallied in the final episode (And it looked like it may have in episode 9, too. Did I mention that On Demand sucks?), but like Scott says, anyone can write a premiere and a finale, it’s the in between stuff that’s the real measure.

I just downloaded GoT to my nook, but I heard that they really didn’t stray too far from that first book (of course True Blood didn’t stray far either and now it’s a cluster fuck). I thought episodes 3 and 4 were incredibly boring. And yes, I get that they were needed for character development – doesn’t make them any less boring. That being said…wow. In the end, there were no less than five essential plots occurring simultaneously and I was sucked into every one of them (another note to True Blood). Still love Daenerys and Arya the best, but John Snow’s moments at The Wall have been right up there.

Winner: Game of Thrones

Acting
So, my favorite actor of the Cam series (Leontes) sacrifices himself for the king in the final episode (presumably so he can go do his own show on Cinemax called Strike Back, which was apparently stolen from the UK). I still do not like Arthur, but he did become pretty bad ass in the finale, so when he’s not actually speaking, he’s okay. Or maybe it was because he had his horribly nasty hair pulled back in a pony tail. Gawain and Kay did a great job, but otherwise they might as well have brought in a whole new batch of knights. Honestly, the writing is so poor in parts that I can’t really tell whose fault it is.

If you’re not into SciFi and Fantasy you might not know who Sean Bean is, but to the rest of us, he is a god. Rest in peace, Ned Stark. I will definitely miss you. Again, it always helps to have good writing and I hear that most of the dialogue was taken directly from the book. But all these actors are amazing, even the children. If I had to pick the best out of the cast, not counting Sean Bean, just based on whose screen time I enjoy the most…Peter Dinklage as Tyrion (no shocker there), Maisie Williams as Arya, Rory McCann as Sandor Clegane, and – wait for it - Iain Glen as Ser Jorah in by far the best supporting role.

Winner: Game of Thrones

Naturally, the overall winner is GoT. HBO rarely disappoints me in the first season. And their second seasons are almost always better, because they don’t have to deal with that pesky character development. But that leaves GoT in a bind. With the death of Ned Stark, King Robert, Viserys, and Khal Drogo, there are new characters that are going to come into play. They are going to need some slick skillz to introduce them without derailing the momentum.

As for Cam…it’s been cancelled. Apparently, everyone hated Arthur as much as I did.

Starz "Camelot" vs. HBO "Game of Thones"

I’m in fantasy heaven while Starz and HBO battle it out to capture the same audience. The following contains a lot of spoilers so if you had any intention of watching these, you've been warned.

In Summary
Camelot is loosely based on the rise of King Arthur and is historically accurate for the period and geography, regardless of whether Arthur himself is fact or fiction. On the other hand, both Merlin and Morgan practice sorcery. So in that regard, it is still of the "fantasy" genre.

Game of Thrones is based on a fictional world which looks almost identical to medieval times but seems to have a large variety of cultures (though mostly British accents) within an unfathomably limited square mile area and some zombie-like creatures on the attack.

Gore Factor
Camelot has had a lot of death, but not a huge amount of bloodshed with two notable exceptions. One of these exceptions is King Lot spearing Sir Ector in the gut and Ector walking forward on the spear, plunging it deeper and deeper until he gets close enough to Lot that he pulls a dagger out and stabs him the back. Best. Death. Ever.

Game of Thrones seems to favor decapitation, which just appears way too fake for me. Not that I've witnessed any decapitations in my life. It could very well look like that for all I know.

Winner: Camelot (if you're going to kill people make it look real)

Incest Themes
You would think that Camelot would have this wrapped up with the whole Morgan and Arthur relationship (they are half-siblings, but in the legends have a child together through a mistake of "enchantments"). But Game of Thrones stepped it up a notch when 10-year-old Bran comes across the Queen getting it from her twin brother. But wait there's more...because certainly that's not shocking enough...they also threw in some weird thing going on with an exiled Lord and his sister that he is selling off to a warlord to get his aide in winning back his throne. Sweet.

Winner: Camelot (I prefer my incest a little less overt)

Regular Old Sex
Speaking of sex, you can't have a show on HBO or Starz without it. Often. And I find myself saying that Starz has been almost tasteful in it's nudity in Camelot. The makers of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Shocking, yes? But if it's gratuitous boobies you want, turn right on over to Game of Thrones because there is plenty to go around for all of HBO, Showtime and Cinemax combined. Some of it just doesn't even make sense, but maybe that's just because I'm not as fascinated with bouncing orbs of fatty tissue...or silicon.

Winner: Camelot (because I'll take Leontes’ ass over 1000 prostitutes’ boobs any day)

Plot
Didn't think I was going to get to this, did you? So Camelot had a wealth of material to turn to from classical literature to modern fantasy, which they are clearly choosing to ignore. And though the average viewer probably doesn't give a crap, I would like...just for once...it doesn't seem too much to ask...for someone to tell the damn thing the way Tennyson or White or (and this is saying a lot for me, because it is mind-numbing) Mallory intended. Just once. If I pretend that this isn't about Arthur and Merlin, but rather too other people with the same name...it's pretty good. And they get two bonus points for doing the two most important scenes justice (pulling the sword from stone and retrieving Excalibur from the "lady in the lake").

Game of Thrones is the first book in a series that I never read, so right away it has that going for it. It's still a little confusing how the kingdoms are connected. Plus, there are multiple story lines to keep track of. But seeing as it is the first episode and I'm already drawn in by a couple of them, I anticipate them coming together more by the next episode. Particularly, the exiled princess Daenerys that was married off to some savage, the obviously honorable Stark household and their dire wolves (particularly the young tomboy daughter), and just who the hell these zombie things are.

Winner: Game of Thrones (clearly I'm biased)

Acting
I do not like the kid they got to play Arthur. He has not grown on me. At all. Compounded by the fact that they aren't making his character very sympathetic at the moment does not go over well with me. Joseph Fiennes as Merlin leaves me hot and cold. When he's being sarcastic, I like him. When he's being crazy sorcerer guy, he's over the top. Not thrilled with Gawain who I really want to like so maybe he's the one that will grow on me. I do like Kay, Gwynovere and Morgan. And the one person I shouldn't like (because he doesn't exist in the legend) ended up my favorite character - Leontes (and not because of his butt). He does an excellent job as the king's champion and recruiter of knights. Of course, if they end up revealing that his real name is Lancelot, I will give up the show in total because that is just wrong.

This is what I have come to expect from HBO. Even when I don't like the shows that much, they do an excellent job casting. Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings, Troy, The Lightning Thief) is the perfect choice to center this around. And while I have a great dislike for many of the characters, I'm pretty sure that is intended and a sign that they are being played brilliantly. (From what I can tell in one episode.)

Winner: Game of Thrones (I am having a tough time getting past my Arthur fixation)

OVERALL WINNER BY WEIGHTED AVERAGE:
Game of Thrones (but I'll keep watching Camelot until they piss me off with the Lancelot thing)