Movie Review (Letter #2, 2012)

Hello there,


Once again, I've been at a loss for a nice-sounding title, so I went to the obvious alternative of... the obvious. (inner voice: Haha, bet you think you're pretty funny with that wordplay now.)


Today's been one hell of a long day, from missing first period of class, to talking more about Japan with our lecturer, to an impromptu visit to the mall with my friends. Which brings us to today's topic of the ever-tricky movie review. Although to be honest, it isn't as much an actual review as it is a highly-opinionated essay by an amateur regarding the movie. By the way, if you just read that sentence without looking twice, that means you're much more awake and aware than I am.


So, the film ran around a good 2 hours, and to me, the first act was too damn long. Right off the bat you have this text describing what the Hunger Games are, which lets anyone who has the slightest capacity for imagination know exactly what to expect from the movie, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of watching it in the first place.
The film goes to great lengths to show you these characters, who they are etc., but for me, it's not really enough time to really invest and care for them. There are points in the storyline that just has me thinking right now, "So what? What was that for?"


Another thing that bothered me early in the movie was the shaky camera work. Or as I say quite cleverly (note the sarcasm), the Un-Steadycam shots. That said, I suppose it's quite a minor thing to dislike anyway and isn't that much of a big deal.


To me, every scene in a movie should serve a function, primarily to evoke certain emotions in the audience. This could mean anything from very strong emotions of anger, excitement, or despair, to such transitory emotions that accompany a sigh of relief. (No, that last sentence didn't make much sense to me either, but I'm really sleepy, so I'm excusing myself for now) And a really good movie would let those emotions flow seamlessly from one scene to the next.
That said, at numerous points in the film, I found myself wondering what the hell was going on. I kept waiting to see what purpose that particular scene served and didn't find much at all. I was constantly feeling detached from the film, feeling very aware that I was watching a film, whereas in my most favorite movies I can just become lost within that world.
At times, it felt like Twilight (yes, I have unfortunately read and watched the first one), where I was aware that most scenes wouldn't really work as well for people who haven't read the novels. Right now, I can't help but feel the same thing may be going on. Maybe the film adaptation of The Hunger Games is better suited for people who have actually read the novel.


Aside from all that, there were some silver linings. The performances by the actors were quite remarkable (in my eyes as a casual viewer, definitely NOT an expert on the matter though). The costumes were everything from inspired to absolutely ridiculous (it's a fictional universe after all, and again I'm no expert). And I'm not sure how many conventional songs are in the film, but the score was subtle enough and definitely helped the viewing experience.


Overall, I think the movie had a great potential in terms of premise/concept, but failed to fulfill that potential to its maximum capacity. It definitely had much to offer, but in the end failed to deliver.
Some movies, either intricately complex or beautifully simplistic, can leave you with a sense of enrichment when the credits roll. A sense that you've just been touched by magic. The Hunger Games, sadly, is not one of those movies for me.


Everything I just said is of course my own personal opinion, with no intention to change anyone else's. Like or hate it, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if you could enjoy the movie more than I did, then good for you. Creative ventures work best on the personal level anyway.


Until next time,


- Zet Valentine

Recap (aka Letter #1, 2012)

Greetings, and salutations,

whatever that means.

As always, it's been a long time since my last post, and obviously much has happened since then. That being the case, there are a few things which I would like to mention, or at least attempt to, in somewhat reverse-chronological order.

Back when I was still active here I used to have this thing where I numbered each post (or letter) in the title, as above. Obviously it's been ages since I did that, and frankly I'm too lazy to open my previous posts and do a headcount of which letter this is. Therefore I've decided to restart the numbering based on what year it is. As you can see this is my first letter of 2012, hence the above title. As before, not all posts will be explicitly given a number designation, but I will try and keep track of these things.

I may or may not have mentioned this, but I'm currently attending college (university, whatever you wish to call it. There isn't much distinction in my mind), majoring in Japanese language and culture. Last December, I took the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) along with my girlfriend and one of my best friends.

For those of you who are wondering, The JLPT is basically Japan's TOEFL test. Under the current system, it is divided into 5 different levels, N1-N5, with N5 being the lowest, and N1 the highest. We took the N3 test this time, which, aside from being a formal way of saying you might survive day-to-day life in Japan, is a requisite (am I using that word correctly?) for graduation. Fortunately I passed. Not with flying colors, but I passed. What that means to me as a job-seeker is that if I apply for work in Japan or at a Japanese-owned company, chances are I could get somewhere between entry- and lower mid-level positions, IF I'm deemed good enough. Something like that. I'm just drawing my own conclusions here, so people with more experience on the matter may wish to bash my skull in.

On the subject of Japan, our university has this exchange program (though as far as I know, it's not an 'exchange' per se as we don't really receive students) with a language institute in Japan. The headmaster (I think he was) was kind enough to come here to Indonesia and explain the program for those of us who were interested, which definitely included yours truly. The problem of course being financial in nature. As of this writing I'm still in negotiations with my mother and am keeping my fingers crossed.

I have the preview for this blog open in the next tab, and frankly I wish to do something about the design. However I've never been particularly good in either technology or aesthetics, so I'm not sure how to make that happen. Suggestions, anyone?

I suppose that's it for now; if I go any further I might as well start writing an autobiography. Don't forget to check my friend's blog (for those of you who missed the link it's http://jellyjyun04.blogspot.com/ ). It's in (somewhat broken) Japanese, which really has me thinking about doing a Japanese post as well, for practice.

Hope to see you again soon!

Sincerely,

- Zet Valentine

P.S

Experimenting with font sizes, tell me how it is in the Blahbox or comments section please.