Chino? Eww!

  

 The pilot episode of The O.C. begins with a glimpse into the rough life of Ryan, who is arrested for stealing a car and thrown out of his house by his mother. Soon, however, the show changes pace completely and the viewer becomes engrossed in the lives of the elite of Orange County. Ryan is welcomed (is that too strong a word?) into the home of Sandy and Kirsten Cohen who live in a neighborhood full of affluent teens who spend their time partying. Alcohol features prominently on the show and I have to agree with the "Ten Years Later" article, that drinking is at least somewhat glamorized on the show. When Ryan and Seth arrive at the beach house party the audience is immediately accosted with images of gorgeous "teens" (who definitely are portrayed by older actors and actresses) drinking and doing other drugs, having a great time. Admittedly, the show does portray some negative effects. Seth and Ryan get into a fight after drinking, but it appears to be the fault of the bullies, not a consequence of alcohol consumption. Slightly more serious effects appear when Marissa Cooper arrives at home, carried by her friends, completely passed out. Unable to find her house keys, they leave her unconscious on the sidewalk. Luckily, Ryan comes to the rescue, carrying her into the Cohens' pool house. So, getting passed-out drunk can increase your romantic options. Good! Drinking seemed to be portrayed as normal on the show. While I do not think anyone watching the show would think ending up in Marissa's situation is a good idea, the show did not really warn against it either.
   That being said, I do not think television shows with partying teenagers has a huge effect on the way real teenagers act. I do think that there can be some negative effects if the person watching the show really has no established morality for themselves, but I like to believe that people watching The O.C. do so for a fun escape. I'd be interested to see what the actual statistics about whether teens who watch shows that portray teen drinking are more likely to engage in the behavior themselves. The "Ten Years Later" article brought up some interesting points about how the characters' behavior was perceived by viewers but never really discussed how that transfers to real life. I guess the problem with shows like this is that it normalizes the behavior on subconscious level. While I hope no one watching purposely sets out to be the next Marissa Cooper, teens who internalize the actions of these glamorized characters begin to see drinking as "no big deal".

This was harder than I thought it would be...

1.       A Visit from the Goon Squad

 

2.       Gone Girl

 

3.       The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

4.       The Road

 

5.       The Hunger Games

 

6.       Orphan Train

 

7.       The Art of Racing in the Rain

 

In Which I Complain About Tiny Details

Good:
Jennifer Lawrence is an amazing actress and I love her. Katniss really comes to life on screen and still retains her main character traits while being more likable which is needed since we are not inside her head.
That leads me to another good thing, no voiceovers. It would have been so annoying if they had Katniss narrate the whole thing just because the book is in first person. If they had done that there would have been no point in adapting it to the screen in the first place.
Also because we are not in Katniss' head it is nice to get to see what is happening outside the arena in the games. We get to see the Gamemakers at work, President Snow, the beginnings of rebellion in District 11, and both Capitol and District 12 viewers of the Games.
Stanley Tucci is such a great actor and he really makes the small role of Caesar Flickerman unforgettable. I could not stop smiling when he was on screen.
I really liked the whole atmosphere of District 12 and the Capitol.  I like that District 12 seems to be set in the past with the styles of clothing. It almost looked like people living in the Great Depression. This contrasted so much with the crazy futuristic fashions of the Capitol.

Okay:
As sad as Rue's death was in the movie, I thought it was so much sadder in the book. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I think the pacing had something to do with it.
Overall the pacing of the movie was just all right. As much as I love the scenes in District 12 and the Capitol, in fact those are my favorite parts, I think more time was needed in the Games. There just wasn't enough urgency like there is in the books during the Games. It annoyed me that Katniss just kind of stands there for a good five minutes when the bloodbath at the Cornucopia is going on. She should be making split second decisions at that point. Also she finds water way too quickly. In the book she nearly dies of dehydration.
Josh Hutcherson is also kind of annoying as Peeta and though I think he is good in the Capitol scenes he emphasizes all of Peeta's weaknesses once the actual Games start.

Bad:
One thing I really did not like in the movie was the way the Careers were portrayed. I think I understand the interpretation they were going for which was a very teenagery mean cool kid type thing but I just did  not find them intimidating at all. I hate that part where they're laughing and clomping through the woods after killing the girl who set the fire. I get that the director is trying to show what little regard for human life the society has but I just found it annoying and not effective. Glimmer saying something like "Did you see her face? She was like, 'Oh please don't kill me!'" seemed so forced and kind of badly ad libbed.
Wow that was a really nitpicky criticism but its the one thing in this movie that has annoyed me so much every time I have watched it.

Apparently they're not happy about my opinion.

Overall the movie's a really good adaptation. Most of what is important from the book is in the movie but I kind of feel like some of the spirit of the book got lost along the way. Luckily, Catching Fire is even better and stands alone as a really good movie while still being a really good adaptation.