Stephenie Meyer has become a household name. Even if you've never read her books, you've at least heard of her and her either much-loved or much-hated Twilight series. (I'm in the 'much-loved' category, and I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit it.) In the middle of the Twilight hype, Stephenie released The Host, the first book I ever read by her and one that was completely over-shadowed by the noise of squealing Team Jacob and Team Edward teenage fans. It's a shame, really, that this book didn't receive the attention it deserved. It's more science fiction than paranormal ~ think Revenge of the Body Snatchers ~ but it's more about the surviving and thriving elements of humanity than about the conquering of the world by an alien race. Just trust me ~ it's good ;).
They made movies of all of Stephenie Meyer's other books, so it makes sense that would make one based on The Host. I stumbled upon the trailer and cast list ~ the movie will be released in March, 2013 ~ and although the trailer looks awesome, I'm a little perturbed about who they are casting as Melanie Stryder ~ Saoirse Ronan. I love her, don't get me wrong, but I always pictured Melanie as this dark Amazonian looking woman who can outrun just about anyone. I guess we'll find out..
My preconceived notions aside, here's the trailer for The Host. Looking forward to it :).
Probably the most anticipated weekend of the year (aside from Breaking Dawn this fall), Hollywood did not disappoint readers with their adaptation of The Hunger Games.
The book and the movie go hand in hand, complementing each other. The movie stays close to the events in the book, and as a reader, I was happy to see the actual story that I read and fell in love with on screen. Of course, not everything can be exact ~ details in a book are much more intimate than that in a movie ~ but I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't constantly thinking, "that's not how that happened!." This movie will make people want to read the books just so they don't have to wait a year for the next movie to find out what happens next. (As they should...)
Jennifer Lawrence ~ nobody else could have played Katniss. She was incredible, awesome, perfect in this role ~ exactly how I imagined our heroine. In fact, all the actors chosen matched their characters to a t. Peeta, well, I was a little wishy washy about Josh Hutcherson, but he soon won me over as I watched. His relationship with Katniss was the biggest, and pretty much the only, deviation from the first book, although I can't say whether or not they will bring up the reality of Katniss's feelings in the second movie. We were able to witness Katniss's inner thoughts, doubts, and hesitations in the book. It's difficult to show that in a movie, so usually we only get what's on the surface.
My favorite aspect of the movie was the emotion I felt practically dripping off the screen. The acting was amazing and every moment had a physical presence ~ it was almost overwhelming. I knew what was going to happen, how events were going to unfold, but I still felt the sting behind my eyes and the breath stopping in my lungs at the portrayals of the fear, anger, terror, love, and courage that are the center of this story.
