Movie Night: The Hunger Games

I was in the worst possible situation with this movie: I hadn't read the book, so I didn't know what to expect, but I had picked up so much from book blogging and TVTropes that I knew all the surprises anyway.

One of the annoying things about being a writer is that you can't help looking at other people's stories and thinking how you could write them better. One problem that many people are citing with the film is that the tributes weren't properly developed as characters. This annoys me too, and probably more than most, because there was a golden opportunity in the training sequences. As I noted over at Cyna's place, the smart thing to do here is to start the film with Katniss' arrival in the capitol, cutting all the scene-setting at the start, and expand the training sequences so that we get to know the characters and establish some kind of dynamic between them. You could say that it's necessary to have those early scenes to establish the world these people live in. But they didn't work: Cyna talks about how they didn't portray properly the extent of the poverty in District 12, and I, too, got a very poor feel for what the situation was outside the capitol. Again, shoring up the characterizations of the tributes would have alleviated this. The kind of person you are is testimony to what you've been through. Details can be filled in with the occasional flashback or haunted monologue or puff piece glimpsed on a viewscreen, like the interview between Ceaser and Seneca near the start.

But of course, they couldn't do that, because of the great monkeywrench of modern lit-to-film adaptations: "It was/wasn't in the book." The audience won't tolerate deviation. This is the kind of thing that annoyed me with the anime community. I get how people object to twisting the story to be something it wasn't in the original form. But somewhere along the line nerd rage stopped being about the story and started centering around petty nit-picking. The audience demands the Gale scenes be in there, despite the fact that Gale isn't relevant to the story. They demand that Cinna have a role, even though he does nothing of significance. (Although Lenny Kravitz played him remarkably well, I agree.) What the film spends its time and energy on is dictated not by the needs of the story, but by self-important internet whiners with no idea how to tell a tale in cinematic media and jaded directors more than willing to pander to them. The people complaining about how Hollywood ruins everything are the very people who are the cause of it.

And now I'm nerd raging. God dammit. >_<

Putting all that aside, I did have a good time at the movie. The districts were underdeveloped, but they did a good job representing the capitol's extravagance and shallowness. Acting was generally good, with Donald Sutherland standing out even though his role is little more an extended cameo. I've been told that they pulled a lot of punches in pursuit of a PG-13 rating, which is disappointing but cinema has much different standards for this sort of thing than literature. And Katniss is a compelling heroine, attempting to hold on to her principles and moral fiber in a world that does everything to take it away from her. Carrie Vaughn's review criticized the film for never forcing Katniss to face a moment where she has make the choice to kill someone in cold blood. She's wrong, though: Katniss did have a choice, at the very end. Kill Peeta, and go free. And she made the right choice: say "Fuck that." She held to her principles, even when it meant becoming a martyr: Peeta was not the enemy. The capitol was the enemy. Don't give them what they want.

I liked it and would definitely watch the sequel. But going a few weeks after opening, when the fangirls are tired of it, was definitely the right move.

Movie(-ish) Night: The Booth at the End

I was going to review the Hunger Games film today, but I have more to say about The Booth at the End, so HG will have to wait until tomorrow.

This isn't technically a movie. It's a series of five twenty-three minute episodes, which are best watched back to back. So it doesn't have to be watched as a movie, but it's better that way.

The premise: Somewhere in America (or maybe in Canada, where filming took place, but in any case somewhere in the English-speaking world) is a diner. Sitting in a solitary booth in the corner is a man with a notebook. He sits there all day, from the time the diner opens to the time it closes. And all day, people come to him, because they've heard that this man has a gift: he can make whatever you desire happen. But there's a price. Before this man will do something for you, you have to do something for him. It may be something small, or it may be something large, but it will always be something you don't want to do. And until it's done, you must return to him frequently, and keep him appraised of your progress. The series follows the stories of several people and their interactions with the man with the notebook, as they are forced to confront just how far they will go to get what they want.

The plot plays out pretty much as you'd expect: what seems at first to be a series of unrelated vignettes evolves as the storylines converge and overlap. And, yes, a lot of it is predictable. Wish-granter stories are very old, and 99% of what can be done with them has been done. But even old stories can be invigorated by a fresh approach or good execution. The Booth at the End has both, and thus elevates itself above its worn premise magnificently.

Cyna, a friend of mine who I have mentioned before, is always grumbling about books that tell instead of show. This film might make her twitch, because the central conceit -- the camera never leaves the diner, and every scene takes place in The Man's booth -- means that the entire plot is the characters telling The Man what they need or what they've done. It works, though. It gives the production a kind of low-budget indie-film vibe, and transforms what could have been a cheesy morality play into an unflinching, character-driven study of human nature. The actors are all relative unknowns*, but iMDB profiles reveal respectable careers in small film roles and TV, and it shows. With literally the entire series standing on the strength of their performances, they rise to the occasion with top-notch work.

(*- Well, unknowns to me, but that might very well mean that I know jack shit about actors. Timothy Omudson of Psych is here, and fans of the Twilight films - I know you read my blog - might notice Sarah Clarke (Bella's mom) playing a nun in the midst of a crisis of faith.)

Perhaps the most memorable character in the series is The Man himself. There are a number of stock portrayals of this sort of character: mysterious but ultimately benevolent; manipulative and deceitful; playful trickster-god. Or make him a complete cipher, a living plot device rather than a true character. The Man is none of these. He veers towards one or the other occasionally, but as the stories unfold, we start to realize that The Man is just that: a man. He may make a show of his seeming omniscience sometimes, but in the end he's not omniscient, possibly not even supernatural. He's just another pawn on the board, an intermediary between his clients and who or whatever is truly making the magic happen. His job is a blessing and a curse, to sit in his booth all day and behold the best and worst of humanity.

The Booth at the End was apparently created specifically for Hulu, and is streamed there 100% free and legal. I highly recommend taking two hours to watch them straight through, it's damn fine bit of low-budget film that spotlights a cast with talent far exceeding their fame.

It continues...

More BoF-related guest posts and reviews are showing up. Quick summation:

- This past Friday, I had a guest post up on Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy, prognosticating on indie publishing and its role in the future of the industry.

- Also Friday, Bengal Reads interviewed me.

- I'll have another guest post up this Friday at Nocturnal Book Reviews.

- Last but far from least, Known to Read has given me a very positive review.

My personal blog is also going to be active this week. I've got a few non-book things I wanted to review, plus my review of Running with the Pack should be up on Lupines and Lunatics sometime this week. Busy, busy, busy!

Blog Hopping 4/13/2012

Welcome, fellow bloghoppers! You're looking at the personal blog of S.J. Bell, independent author. My first book, Bonds of Fenris, is coming out May 7th, and reviews are starting to show up around the blogosphere.  Yesterday, I linked a number of early reviews. I saw The Hunger Games film a few days ago, and I'll post some thoughts on it sometime next week. And just to remind you, there are still ARCs of Bonds of Fenris available for book bloggers. So, if you're interested, my e-mail's right there on the sidebar!

I also have a review blog, Lupines and Lunatics. Latest review is Promise of the Wolves.

This week's ice-breaker for Feature & Follow:

"What is one book that you would be nervous to see a movie adaption of because you think the movie could never live up to the book?"

Kitty Norville, because it wouldn't work as a movie. The structure of the storytelling makes it much better suited to a TV series. But really, I think it's a mistake to think of a movie as an extension of the book. Thinking like that gives us adaptations like The Golden Compass, so obsessed with putting the big scenes and moments on screen they forget about the story thread that connects them. A proper adaptation is more of a retelling, like how Mallory's Morte d'Arthur took the old french Arthurian romances and repurposed them for contemporary British sensibilities. An adaptation, in other words, does not have to live up to the book. It has to live up to the story.

This week's ice-breaker for TGIF @ GReads:

"If you could read a book about any song, which song would you love to see written down in story form?"

When you think about it, isn't this the same question as above? A song, after all, is a story in itself. Some are more overtly narrative than others, but all of them tell a story. And you can adapt a story from one medium to another, but to do so you have to not be bound by the original text. I can't come up with an answer to this, but I'd be interested in how three to five minutes of music translates into 200+ pages. You need to expand a lot.

Of course, on the other hand, many of our earliest stories were also songs. Iliad and Odyssey, for example, are in verse because they're meant to be sung.

It begins...

Reviews for Bonds of Fenris are starting to trickle in. Singing and Reading in the Rain offers a pre-review to claim first post on Goodreads, with the promise of a full review to come at her blog later. Livin' Life Through Books logs a positive opinion, as does Gothic Mom's Book Reviews. Synchronized Reading offers another thumbs up, along with an author interview. Thanks, Janina!

Looks like I'm off to a pretty good start with the critics. ^_^ Remember, there are still a few ARCs available for fellow book bloggers!

Blog Hopping 4/6/2012

Welcome, fellow bloghoppers! You're looking at the personal blog of S.J. Bell, aspiring author. This week was pretty big for me. After a long hiatus, my review blog Lupines and Lunatics is finally back online! My latest review is Promise of the Wolves, head over and check it out. Also this week, I had a guest post up at Denim-Jacket Librarian Dishes, which I'm very proud of. I also had a cold, which was not so much a source of joy, but I'm feeling a lot better right now. My debut novel Bonds of Fenris releases next month through Smashwords, and there are still ARCs available for book bloggers. So, if you're interested, my e-mail's right there on the sidebar!

This week's ice-breaker for Feature & Follow:

"Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review?"

No, but that's because I rarely buy books. I get them at the local public library, a heavily underrated resource. I only buy books that have already impressed me, although I try to give as many as I can a chance.

While we're on the subject, though, maybe the latest bit of review-oriented drama necessitates linking my post on how bad reviews are not to be worried about.

This week's ice-breaker for TGIF @ GReads:

"Which book, from any series has been your favorite ending? What about your least favorite ending?"

We talking book ending, or series ending? Well, if the latter, I'd have to answer Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series. I've heard people say it wasn't a very satisfying ending. I agree that it's easy to miss what it's getting at; I had to read it twice before I understood. The thing is, the central conflict of the entire series has been our four protagonists learning to deal with their problems as adults. The end of Forever shows them doing that. The results aren't important, the important thing is the path they've decided to take.

Good News, Bad News

First the good news:

Good news: The first of several guest posts you'll be seeing from me in the coming month is up on my friend DJL's site. W00t and thanks, DJ! ^_^

Good news #2: Since most of the prep work for the Bonds of Fenris release is done, I've had time to focus on other things. One is the sequel. Another is my too-long-neglected review blog. You'll find a review of Promise of the Wolves there, and Running With the Pack to follow. From now on, however, I'm going to be doing things a little differently. First, while I'll do my best to provide the kind of thoughtful, analytic reviews my fans expect, I'm not going to force myself to say things when I have none to say anymore. That happened a lot with the old reviews, to their great detriment. Second, I'm not going to obsess over having a new review every week. Instead, I'm going to read at my own pace, and release reviews when I'm done. Hopefully this new philosophy will help to alleviate the mass of stress and burnout L&L became for me last year.

Good news #3: Good news #2 gives me a legit excuse to post this:

Bad news: I'm sick. Not life-threatening sick, just blaaaaaaargh sick. My tonsils are so swollen that swallowing is painful, and I've been reduced to subsisting on soggy cereal and bananas. Half the time I've got a fever, and not the kind that can be cured by more cowbell. The other half I'm wrapped up in a big quilt, shivering. My energy level has flatlined.

I say this not for your benefit, but for mine. People tend to judge their situation by the relative intensity of experiences. For the last few days, this cold has so obsessed me that I've been miserable. Putting it next to a few of the good things going on in my life helps me get a little perspective.

I just hope I'm better by Easter Sunday. It won't do to show up at the party unable to eat.