Movie v Book "Hunger Games" and "The Secret In Their Eyes"

Here's another chapter in our dialog about whether a movie can ever live up to the book.

This week, I saw "The Hunger Games" based on the book by Suzanne Collins on DVD and "The Secret in Their Eyes" by Eduardo Sacheri.


I read the book, "The Hunger Games" and the rest of the series on my Kindle and I listened to the audiobook version of "The Secret in Their Eyes."

Listening to an audio book is a luxurious experience - the imagery is created by a voice that pronounces each word precisely and adds emotion to the reading.  It's an emotional rollercoaster to hear the narrator's emotion and also feel your own emotional reaction to the story and the words building.

I'm a fan of the Hunger Games series and can't wait to re-read the books and see the upcoming movies.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give both books a rating close to 10.  I'm a fan of both authors and can't wait to read more from them.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the movies will get very different ratings from me.  "The Hunger Games" will get a high rating and "The Secret in Their Eyes" will get a middle of the road ranking.  I have to admit that the "Secret in Their Eyes" as a stand-alone movie is probably marvelous, but after reading the book and seeing how the director and scriptwriter massacred the story line, I can't do the movie justice.  I hated it!!!!

"The Hunger Games" movie almost rivals the book.  It's very, very close, but there are some essentials gaps for me.  SPOILER ALERT:

So, for those who stop reading now because of the spoiler alert, watch the movie, "The Secret in their Eyes" and consider it influenced by the book, but not based on the book, and you'll probably love the movie.  For "The Hunger Games," read the book first and then savor seeing the images on the big screen.  There will be some diffuseness in depth of emotion, but the action is fantastic.

Hope everyone had a fun week reading and watching "The Hunger Games" on DVD.  We'll see what books and movies fire up the screen over the coming months.  OK, now the spoiler (scroll down below Cato's image...):

The biggest gap in the movie for me was the relationship between Peta and Katniss and the complexity and confusion in what Katniss knows to be real and what she isn't sure is real in her feelings.  I don't think the movie captured that completely.  Also, the pivotal scene between Peta and Cato is MISSING from the movie.  That really irked me.  However, I'll definitely watch this movie again and go see the next movie.

Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast

Tell me more, tell me more!  The movie, "Grease," starts off with the story about Danny and Sandy and their perfect summer love.  Summer dreams may rip at the seams, but oh,

oh, those summer nights....

We're down to summer nights here on Revere Beach.  Just a few more perfect beach days and then we'll have a few more imperfect beach days.  Sweatshirts and walks on the beach aren't all that bad in the fall, either!  

Nights on the beach with the moon reflecting on the ocean are beyond description.  It's mesmerizing to stand and watch the lights flash near Nahant all the way out to Winthrop and down to Boston, guiding the planes in from up and down the coast and across the Atlantic.

Fireworks over the water on a beach night are pure bliss.  

Walking home after fireworks and ice cream on a hot summer's night is about the perfect way to end any day - work day or weekend.

So, this is where my third book takes place....  oooooh, those summmmmmer niiiights!

I'm A Reader!

Flipping through the Fall Movie Preview edition of Entertainment Weekly (August 17/24, 2012), I adored the Q+A with Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series.

The interviewer went through the usual ropes - how does she feel about completing the movies, what to expect from the filming of The Host, the unusual choice of the baby's name from Breaking Dawn, what her favorite Twilight movie was, etc etc. Link to EW Q+A

The usual blah blah blah...

THEN...

"Q:  When you were writing the first Twilight, could you ever have imagined it would become such a phenomenon?

A:  If I'd had any idea that anyone would see what I was doing, I'd have stopped immediately.  I'd never have been able to finish it.  It's a huge amount of pressure, and it's taken me forever to be able to call myself an author.  I'm a reader, and to me authors are magical creatures."

Love you Stephenie Meyer! bravo bravo!

So glad you kept writing!

Fifty Shades of Grey - like a moth to a flame!

My book club chose Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James for its next book.  I was both happy to finally have an excuse to read it and dreading it out of jealousy.  E.L. James has written such a sexy, fun and SUCCESSFUL book that I have been green with jealousy over the whole sensation!

I do applaud the success of the series!  It's awesome to see a book take off like that!  Yes, I am green with jealousy, but I am also excited to see it happen and to own a copy.

Now, the book.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time.  Both the main character in the book and the book itself have this in common.

This book's simplicity is that it is an encyclopediac look at one man's sexual preferences.  We basically take apart Christian Grey's kinks until he's just like the rest of us - a guy who is searching for satisfaction.

He's a dominant who was a submissive for many years.  I'm not done with the book, but he's chosen a virgin who has no experience in the world of sex he  experiences.  His choice is very telling -- he's a dominant who in the end, wishes to meet his equal.

Will Ana be his equal?

Christian Grey says he wants her to be a submissive, but he is most attracted to her when she is assertive.  He bends to her will on many occasions and when she is submissive, the book tends to focus on how he bolsters her back up to being "open" and assertive.

Is our decision to read this book as telling or are we readers just attracted to the sensation?

So, can love between two people happen if neither one of them really is honest about what they want?  How do they "grow up" and be the people they truly are if they bind themselves into a fantasy world where they play out certain parts and then erase and re-do the fantasy so they feel like they can function in real life?  

The best love stories are when two people come together and honestly love each other in the way that makes them a powerful force as a couple.  My gut reaction so far to this book is that it truly is a middle aged woman's fantasy about what her life would have been like if she had met a rich, powerful man who introduced her to mind-blowing sexuality without any of the usual bad mistakes young couples tend to make early on (no money, no security, no power).

The only problem with this is that the girl does get the sex and the money, but where's the fun?

Part of the joy of a relationship in your early years is NOT having it right - not having the money, the power, the security, but having a hell of a good time together.

So, enjoy the fantasy!  Have fun with it!

Read to your heart's desire, but remember that love is all about the metamorphosis of one person into a person who is in love with a second person. That change into something beautiful and extraordinary has to happen to make the love story fun to read.

So, I'll keep reading and waiting for this story to hatch our of its chrysalis!  The world is attracted to this story like a moth to a flame. Hopefully, we'll enjoy the heat and the fun of reading the books.