Let's Do...A Movie Review: The Hunger Games

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Hello, dear readers,

I understand that the The Hunger Games series of novels, by Suzanne Collins, has a huge following. I decided to rebel against society and see the movie without reading the books first. It was rather nice, actually, not having to worry about the movie being different from the books, seeing as I hadn't read them. Granted, I allowed the book to be spoiled for me before going out to the theater.

The premise, as most of you already know, is that there are 12 districts that each have to send a male and female tribute to participate in the Hunger Games. This is an event that happens once a year, and is the result of an agreement between the districts and the Capitol after the districts rebelled years before. The tributes are supposed to kill each other, and only one will be victorious. The games are broadcast on TV for the districts to watch. Katniss Everdeen is the main character, and she volunteers as tribute instead of her little sister, who is initially picked. I hope I'm getting this right; please correct me if I'm muddling the details. I just don't have the desire to look up more information, and this is what I understood from the film. I'm sure everyone else probably knows better than I do about what happens in the books.

I have to say, the acting was impressive; it goes without saying that Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss Everdeen) is a very talented actress. I love Stanley Tucci (the Hunger Games show's host), and the rest of the cast was great as well. I think everyone involved in the movie did a great job of capturing all the emotions coursing through the characters as they waited to see who would be called as tribute, and then as the tributes had to hide in the woods and search for the others. There was a fair amount of humor in the beginning, and then it all got sucked away by the games.

There was a very clear sense that this was a horribly sadistic game of survival, and the amount of violence disgusted me, so it definitely did a wonderful job of evoking the right emotions. The only thing I couldn't take seriously was the romance, mostly because there wasn't much development of it. As I understand it, in the novel Katniss treats the romance with Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) as just a ploy to get sponsors, whereas in the movie it's actually a mutual affection. Also, who would be thinking about relationships when she was fighting to the death and praying she wouldn't be murdered in her sleep?

The film editing and camera angles were brilliant as well, adding even more depth to the sense of urgency and terror in the game. There were a lot of extreme close-ups of the characters and parallel editing in order to allow the audience to feel what the characters were feeling.

Overall, this was a very good film. The cinematography and acting were fantastic, and the violence, though utterly repulsive and upsetting, gave a very clear idea of the horror of these games. The costumes and set design were very visually appealing as well, especially the fire dress and the wacky outfits from the Capitol. The weakness in the movie was the forced romance of Katniss and Peeta, which caused one of my friends and I to erupt into (silent) fits of laughter. [Side note: I got really sick of hearing, "May the odds be ever in your favor." I get that it's an ironic line; stop repeating it!]

According to the other friend with whom I saw The Hunger Games, this film stayed extremely loyal to the plot of the book. If you loved the books, I'm guessing you'll like this movie. If you can't stand violence, don't watch this. I don't plan to read the books because I don't want to have to conjure up my own images of children murdering each other, not to mention I can't understand why Collins would write a book like this. However, I did enjoy the film, and I will see the rest of the series in theaters if they're being made into movies. I think they are.

I have to say, though, I will never love a young adult series as much as Harry Potter. Just had to put that out there.

Apologies for excess rambling and lack of expertise on the series.

Have you read the books and/or seen this movie? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Happy Hunger Games.


xEsther

7 Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag

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Hello, dear readers,

Remember when I constantly posted tags? Well, I can't remember the last time I did one, so I thought it was about time I filled another one out! The name of this tag, if you perhaps missed the title of this post, is the "7 Deadly Sins of Beauty Tag."

Here we are:


1. Greed: What is your most inexpensive beauty item? What is your most expensive?
My least expensive beauty item, aside from free gifts with purchases, would probably be my Avon Flavor Savers Lip Gloss, which I believe was about $0.69 on sale. I believe the most expensive item I own is the Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15. I pretty much go for drugstore makeup all the time, with the exception of the odd Clinique item.

2. Wrath: What beauty products do you have a love/hate relationship with? What product has been the hardest to get?
Both of these answers involve nail polish. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with China Glaze nail polishes, and Revlon nail polish in Minted. I love the colors, but the polish goes on unevenly and streaky in both cases, and it often takes 3-4 coats for me to get them looking even and pretty. I don't know if it's just me, but I have a hard time with those specific polishes. As for the product that has been the hardest to get, I would say Sally Hansen Insta Dri nail polish in Blue Away. The funny thing is that my mom was actually the one looking to buy it for me, ever since we saw it at the beginning of last summer. She and my dad looked for it at every drugstore they went to, even on their vacation. We finally found it in November at one of our local Ulta stores.

3. Gluttony: What are your most delicious beauty products?
You should ask my friends. They have a penchant for sniffing my lip products, despite my warnings that the majority of them have no scent or may carry an unpleasant chemically cosmetic scent. However, I think my Liplicious lip glosses from Bath and Body Works are the best smelling. I have them in Mango Mousse, Black Cherry, Raspberry Jam, and Fruit Punch. They smell exactly as the names would imply. Yum.


4. Sloth: What beauty product do you neglect, due to laziness?
I don't use many cosmetic items regularly as it is, so I have to answer with a skincare product. That would be lotion. I know; it's a horrible thing to neglect. I regularly moisturize my face and neck, but my hands [and the rest of me] are quite often ignored. I suppose it's ironic, considering I spend so much time and effort painting my nails. You'd think I'd want to keep my hands looking nice and smooth.

5. Pride: What beauty product gives you the most self confidence?
Lipstick, without a doubt. Despite my skin deciding that now is a good time to get the kind of acne I should have already gone through during puberty, I have actually gone out the past several days with very little to no face makeup. A swipe of lipstick brings color to my very pale complexion and balances out the contrast between my fair skin and dark hair. And lipstick is just fun!


6. Lust: What attributes do you find most attractive in the opposite sex?
I really don't see how this is relevant to a beauty tag, but alrighty then. There's really no specific trend or pattern for me as far as physical attributes. Nice eyes and short hair are always initial attractions, but that's very vague. Honestly, it's got way more to do with personality, and that's completely individual.

7. Envy: What makeup item would you most like to receive as a gift?
I would say a foundation, but since that's really a personal product to choose, and I've never tried any before, I'm going with a Lancome Rouge in Love lipstick. The Emma Watson ads are certainly doing their job, because I'm quite enticed by that product, despite the fact that lipsticks really shouldn't be so expensive, but that's irrelevant to the question. 


Those are my answers to the tag. I limited the requisite extra ramblings as much as possible, though I realize some of my answers aren't super specific.

I'd love to see your tag if you've done this one, or feel free to do it if you haven't. I think it's fun!

Happy Tuesday! [Random, I know. I couldn't think of anything.]

xEsther

Tales of a Disappearing Blogger

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Hello, dear readers,

It seems like it's been years since I last posted, though I know it's actually been a little over two weeks. Still, I feel like there's no excuse for staying away so long. I owe you a review on the powder products I received from Fusion of Color Cosmetics, and there is at least one tag I'd like to do. I have still been blogging for Chaos, so feel free to look over there if you have the patience to find my articles. My name happens to be at the bottom of the post in the smallest font, so I can understand if you don't want to sift through everything! It's almost entirely fashion, and I write the only regular beauty posts. However, I'd like to come back to my own blog and start posting again. Things [read: stressful situations] have settled down for me over this past week, and I am currently on spring break. I can't promise when my next post is up, but it will be sooner rather than later. I'm also aware that the majority of committed bloggers are busier than I am, hence the lack of excuses this time!

I hope March has been treating you well!

I'll be speaking to you soon.


xEsther