On the Outside Looking In

I've been meaning to write a review of this movie for months. So has my girlfriend. So we wrote our reviews together.

One of my favorite spots in the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park is The Magic of Disney Animation, nestled within the Animation Courtyard. I'm a fan of Disney's classics, Pixar's amazing body of work, and animation in general. This building served as a tribute to Disney's legacy of animation as well as an opportunity to entice fans with what's to come with teaser posters for upcoming Disney and Pixar films, which I would always check for. It's where I first saw the balloon-powered flying house with the word "Up" above it, knowing I would be in love with that movie. And it's where I saw a sillouette of a head, filled with circles of color and the words "Inside Out".

The poster also said "Meet the little voices inside your head." As a former philosophy student, an actor who has to be in touch with emotion, and a Gemini, I was eager to discover which voices of our pysche they'd be bringing to life. Even more than that, I was excited that Pixar was diving into some deep concepts to make a colorful animated film about it. I'm a huge fan of Pixar's films, and I knew that I was destined to be a fan of this one too, so there was no need for trailers to convince me to watch. If anything, I would rather experience the emotional rollercoaster without knowing any of the twists and turns ahead. Free of spoilers, expectations, and having already seen the cool moments and funny jokes. Since seeing that poster, I did my best to plug my ears and shut my eyes around anything that would give me any semblance of what I was in for. Which was difficult to say the least. However, by the time I was finally in the car to see it, all I knew was that the film was about the five emotions, they looked relatively human but with glittery hair, and Amy Pohler was one of them.
Well, I guess that's not entirely true. My girlfriend let slip one or two more of the voice actors. Which isn't a big deal but coupled with the character posters plastered all over Los Angeles, a picture was beginning to form and I didn't want that. This was the only time I was going into a movie virtually clueless, and getting to see it come together and unravel as the filmmakers wanted me to experience it. As we were looking for parking, my girlfriend asked if she could share a friend's thoughts on the movie, which had no specific details of course, yet I still responded with an abrupt no. That kind of shut her down, which I instantly felt bad about. So I tried to make up for it by apologizing, explaining myself, and lightening the mood, which was a little difficult. But we were so close to watching the movie! I knew once we were in the theater and seeing it, everything would chance and we'd be enjoying our time. Finally we were. And to my credit, I had no idea what I was in for.

Joy comes on screen. She is our guide into this emotional world. I immediately identify with her, not just because the filmmakers have made her the voice to trust, but also because she is an upbeat person who wants everyone to be happy and optimistic. She's a leader who is ready to take on challenges and fix problems. She enlightens us on the roles of the other emotions and how everyone fits together to keep the little girl they oversee alive and well. The film continues and the dynamic shifts. The world in which they live is tilted and changes occur. Before Joy and I know it, she is displaced and stuck with Sadness, the one emotion she just can't figure out. To make matters worse, Sadness getting in Joy's way and ruining everything. Literally, every memory she touches turns blue and is forever altered. And it was upon this revelation that I really identified with Joy.
Before everything went topsy-turvy, Sadness touched one of the memory balls they keep on hand for the little girl, Riley. When she did, it turned blue and became a sad memory. What was once a happy yellow experience is now a sad moment in Riley's life. When Joy panicked and ripped it out of Sadness' hands, it stayed blue. I thought to myself, why doesn't it change back when Joy touches it? Later on, thick in the topsy-turvyness, Joy finds Sadness has compulsively, unknowingly touched a long row of Riley's memories and turned them blue. Now I'm asking myself, why is she doing this? Even if she doesn't know why, what is the reason behind it? And why hasn't Joy figured out a way to undo it? I turn to look at my girlfriend next to me, and instead of insight I find tears are streaming down her face. Then I start to realize that she understands Sadness' actions and the laws governing the blue memories more than I ever will.
But Joy's actions are beginning to elude me as well. I understand her focused determination to get back to Headquarters and make things right. I cheer on her tactics of keeping things positive and moving forward. It helps to achieve the goal of getting back. But there was that one moment, when she couldn't get Bing Bong back on his feet, and it's Sadness who makes it happen. Not deliberately, but because she empathized with him and saw him through a rough moment. Nevertheless, Sadness accomplishes what Joy couldn't and begins to sees Sadness' strengths. Joy asks Sadness how she did that, and doesn't really get an answer, but Joy doesn't ask again. I see Joy on screen, now as an example for me, someone who is bouncy and upbeat, who doesn't understand those who aren't, and still accepts them for who they are.

I've had friends who struggle with depression. I know this only because they have made mention of it. Otherwise, I would have been oblivious to it. It was my understanding that depression was a temporary thing, like the doldrums, being in a funk, or waking up on the wrong side of the bed. When trying to being a supportive friend with the fix-it mentality, I thought all it took was cheering up. If it didn't help I'd become frustrated and eventually give up. Earlier in my life I dated someone who had issues with depression, and it led to a lot of issues with our relationship because I really didn't get it. I'd make this baffled face at her which would only make her feel worse and then we'd both end up being frustrated at each other. Like Joy, I thought there had to be a solution and it was most likely playing a game or focusing on something new. Eventually, with the help of news stories, Tumblr, and paying better attention to my friends, I began to understand that depression and anxiety weren't just feelings people tend to have sometimes. Even so, it wasn't until I realized Joy was never going to go back to those blue memories and try to fix them that I realized depression is not something I could just fix with a touch of my hand.
I still struggle with wanting to fix my girlfriend when she is succumbing to anxiety. Just as I am currently struggling to bring this essay to a conclusive point. But just as that is an ingrained part of my personality, I now know there are these quirks of her personality that are just part of who she is. Of course I still do my best to cheer her up and keep her from spiraling or catastrophizing. I've succumb to those behaviors, as everyone has, so I know sometimes you have to just stop it from snowballing and turn that frown upside down. But I also know now that sometimes you can't. I no longer get frustrated when I can't turn her into a bouncing ball of light and instead acknowledge these feelings are not a problem to be fixed. I now take notes from Sadness, to follow her example and just sit with her until she's ready to get back on her feet and resume finding a train of thought.
Sometimes my girlfriend and I don't hold the same perspective. Honestly, I find it's one of the best things about our relationship. When she's getting caught up in worry, I'm doing all I can to assure her that things are fine, and when I'm freaking out about something she's usually the one keeping me sane. But as an extrovert dating an introvert, our contrasting personalities can sometimes feel like opposing personalities. Watching Joy and Sadness, who have always been seen as opposites in most people's eyes, form a relationship and make it through this expedition together, felt very supportive of our relationship. Seeing them come together in the end, no longer being seen as opposites but rather two sides of the same emotion orb, shows me that her sadness and inexplicable moments is not something my joy has to fix. Just like all five emotions working together enriched Riley's growing personality, it shows me that her sadness working with my joy enriches our relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the ways Inside Out visualized abstract concepts of thought and played with the funny little things about the human mind. But what I really brought home with me from seeing it in that theater was a greater understanding of a serious and, for me, elusive element of human behavior. Or to put it another way, I had a better idea of what my girlfriend and other friends of mine were going through. I realize that depression doesn't have a switch, anxiety is just as much of someone's personality as my often foolhardy optimism is a part of mine, and most importantly, that it's no wonder I couldn't wrap my head around it when it took Pixar's entire team just to help me start grasping these concepts. Really, I can't imagine how anyone with depression could possibly explain it by themselves. Luckily, now that it's out on DVD and Blu-Ray, we have a demonstration. I look forward to watching it again, paying better attention to it, and seeing if maybe I can get a little closer to relating to my poor girlfriend who was sobbing from having so much to relate to in this movie. Also because, again, I love Pixar and this a great film.

You can read my girlfriend's experience of this film here: On the Inside Looking Out

Mr. Allen would like to register his astonishment

I woke up about half an hour ago after catching up on the sleep I denied myself this weekend. The past three nights I gathered in the woods as dusk with the cast and crew of "Severus Snape and the Marauders"​, where we filmed a short epic film until dawn. The nights were long, cold, and last night they were rainy, but we made movie magic.

Last night I wrapped early, as did my cohorts Moony and Wormtail. We said our goodbyes while the rest of the team set up for the next shots. I took a while to part with everyone, just as I took a while to gather my things before finally leaving. This film was an experience, I don’t wanna let go of it. It occurred to me this morning I no longer have a need to take biotin pills, to listen to nothing but 70s rock music, or immerse myself in as much Harry Potter related material as possible. Though I probably will. But I realized I’m no longer working toward this goal of becoming Sirius Black. Shooting the film is now behind me, which means I can’t look forward to it and I have to move on to the next thing. I’ve already got the next thing lined up and coming up soon, but I enjoyed everything that putting this film together brought, I don’t want it to end.

Though, in a way, it won’t. We still have to gather one more time for one last scene in March. Once that’s over there’s still however long it’ll be before the film is finished. I’m fairly certain I’ll be hanging out with the Marauders again, only this time Snape and Lily can come along. It wasn’t just that four of us were playing best friends. We each had the time of our lives with each other as if we been in each other’s lives for the past seven years. And everyone is so funny! I don’t know how he did it, but our director Justin and producer Liana found the perfect cast and paired us up with an phenomenal crew. It’s my hope that I get to work with the crew again on another film in the future. If I’m lucky enough I’ll have them all together again! From our first day’s interior shoot with our awesome extras, things went smoothly. Everyone worked hard without faltering, we got so much done in a short amount of time, and from what the monitors showed, the film will look amazing. If anything is a testament to how great our team is, it was last night.

The day started off with everyone gathering in our three-room green room tent. The cast managed to dress taking turns in maybe two square foot of space. Our makeup artists for the night, Lanie and Allison applied their work in a cramped space while their cast members held lanterns and smartphones so they could see their work. And once they were done, we moved crafty into the tent. It was a little unorganized but for muggles trying to fit three rooms and kitchen into one tent, we did well. Meanwhile, the technical crew was outside setting up lights across a small field, in the cold rain, working for far less than they deserve, so that the cast and I could play wizard for a few hours. When our AD Nikolai brought us to shoot, I was proud to see that everyone was just as focused and dedicated as they had been since the indoors shoot. They had two cameras going at once, and John and Thor never missed their mark. If anything there was pressure on us performers to make every take perfect, because we knew Stuart and Paul made a whole forest look incredible, Joey was getting the sound despite generators humming in the background, and Brian would get a perfect shot no matter how much we threw ourselves around in the shot. If I was better with names I’d be able to say what each person in this crew contributed to the shoot, but I think it’ll speak for itself in the final cut. Everyone was so good at their respective positions that we finished an epic in the rain.

Being a part of “Severus Snape and the Marauders” was an experience. It was the most professional and dedicated production I’ve been a part of. Trying to become a part of the quintessential fandom of my generation is the most compelling thing I’ve ever been invited to be involved in. And while I’ve probably put as much pressure on myself to get a character absolutely right, I’m not sure I’ve ever had as much fun with a role. Zack, who plays Peter and was kind enough to drive me home, and I reminisced about our initial emotions when we learned that someone out there wanted to make a Harry Potter fan film starring the Marauders. Neither one of us thought we had a chance. After initial hesitation, we submitted ourselves in the hopes that maybe we would be right for the part. We were cast, we met the others and were intimated at how perfect each of our castmates are, and with our director we put our little film out there against difficult odds. It failed at getting it’s funding. We were bruised, but determined. We kept working, we educated ourselves and tried again. We succeeded. We kept working, we had fans, they made art and contributed themselves to our little film. Then, before we knew, we were doing it. It wasn’t until I saw myself in the monitors just before my take it finally hit me that I was playing Sirius Black. And now, I’ve done it. We did it. We celebrated our fandom and made a Harry Potter film. It took months for me for it to hit me that it was happening, so I can’t imagine how long it will take me to realize that it did happen. Perhaps when we release the trailer.

The Dark Knight Rises

Usually for my reviews I find an alternate poster to share. One that American audiences don't get to see, but really should. Almost always these are international posters that, for some reason, are deemed not worthy of attracting the interest of movie goers. This time I'm posting something different. This is a collection of fan-made posters by Messenjahmatt. And I did enjoy The Dark Knight Rises advertising campaign, just the same, these are movie posters that would have been really cool to see in movie theaters and bus stops.

I wasn't planning on doing a review of The Dark Knight Rises, and in a way I'm still not. This will be more of a lecture. Again, something different. The film is outstanding. There were plenty of moments in the movie that had me stunned and whispering "oh no" to myself. But I didn't come out of the theater inspired to write about it like I was with the previous movies I've reviewed. Not because it didn't resonate in me, but there was nothing about the film which stuck out to me and I thought would go unappreciated. I knew everyone was going to see the movie, and I was certain that people would recognize all the immense awesomeness in it. I could give my opinions on Christopher Nolan's adaptation of Bane, or on how much I love Alfred. (Can I hug you Alfred? Please? I just really want to give you a hug and tell you how great you are.) But after seeing some other blogs written about the movie, I found something worth bringing up and writing out. I do feel there is an aspect of the film that is under-appreciated; the entire point of the Dark Knight Trilogy.
I feel enough time has passed I can post this without ruining someone’s day. But just in case,

SPOILER ALERT!

It seems Nolan picked a keyword for each of his three films to use over and over, thematically. His cleverness is in using this keyword in a multitude of fashions to explore all the themes this word can provide, and of course tie it all in to the Batman saga. In Batman Begins it was “fear”. Bruce had to overcome his fear. Batman used fear as a tool. The Scarecrow exploited fear. The League of Shadows manufactured fear from a little flower and used fear as an instrument of destruction. It was Batman versus the Scarecrow, the two guys whose personae are all about fear. For The Dark Knight, obviously it was “knight”. Harvey Dent was the White Knight, Batman the Dark Knight. Then there was a play on words with the night being darkest just before the dawn and so on. But it was about Gotham’s two knights. Now for The Dark Knight Rises, I know you’ve probably thought of a drinking game with how many times the word “rise” is used. A fire is rising in evil. Batman must rise again. Bruce must rise to meet the occasion. The people rise up. Bruce has to rise out of a pit while everyone chants “Rise!” at him. The word is used more times than I care to count and for pretty much every major character in the movie. This is where all the confusion comes from, because the audience has difficulty placing where to put the emphasis. And being such a difficult and important obstacle to overcome, it makes sense that people would place the moment with the pit and people yelling “rise!” over and over as the pivotal moment of rising which the title suggests. Especially when that chant is used as the majority of the film’s score. But it’s not. The primary moment takes place, as it did in the previous two films, in the last seconds of the movie, right before the title card comes up. It’s the moment when John Blake discovers the batcave, steps forward, and rises up, as the new Batman. That is the moment when the Dark Knight rises.
That's right. John Blake is the new Batman. Not Nightwing. Not Robin. I know his legal name is Robin, but that was nothing more than Christopher Nolan having fun. It's just a nod. The franchise has did it before with the Riddler and Zsasz in the two previous films, albeit in a much subtler way. John Blake's origin story is, in a way, an amalgamation of the Robins', and so there's reason to suggest he is in fact Nolan's version of the Boy Wonder. However, he can't be. When he found the batcave it was filled with bat-stuff. Doing anything other than being Batman with it would just be a waste. Secondly, after becoming a caped crusader, Robin would never make his crime fighting name his actual name. No one of intelligence would. And finally, while there are similarities to the Robins, even his name, he is still a different character. His is John Blake, an orphan who grew up to become a police officer, and then Batman.
He is destined to don the cape and cowl and continue the Batman legend. Bruce Wayne left Blake with the coordinates of the cave so that he could provide him with the tools necessary to be Batman. He knew Blake would provide the rest. Bruce finally found someone he trusted with the Batman mantle, and, in doing so, could pass it on. He finally could let go of being Batman and move on with life. Just as Alfred hoped he would. After all, that was the point. Bruce couldn't be Batman forever. The film clearly showed how his body was giving out, how Wayne Enterprises was waning, and how everything that Bruce Wayne could give himself to in the name of Batman was wearing thin. If Batman would continue to live, he would have to do so without Bruce Wayne. Bruce was never meant to live up to the needs and expectations of Batman. He can't. The entire purpose of Batman was to allow Bruce to do more than he could as Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is just a man. An incredible, near superhuman, disciplined to his very core man. Still, Batman is something more.
Once again, Nolan focused on a key element of Batman in each film. In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne came to the idea of a symbol. One which wouldn't be ignored, and couldn't be destroyed. Batman is indestructible and incorruptible. In The Dark Knight, when Bruce is faced with the trouble of what to do to make things right, he has the faceless figure Batman to make the difficult choice and suffer its consequences. Batman can endure. Now, eight years later, in The Dark Knight Rises, Alfred reminds Bruce of all these qualities that Batman has, and that Bruce does not. Bruce can be destroyed. Bruce cannot endure. But he also reminds him of one thing about Bruce which does make him special. Only he can be Bruce Wayne. Batman, however, could be anyone. Nolan suggested this already in The Dark Knight when several citizens got their own capes and cowls to be wannabe Batmen. Any person could play the role, it's just only a very select few would do it well. So far it's just Bruce Wayne and John Blake. But Bruce has finally moved on. Now it's up to John Blake. Batman continues.

Honestly, my only real criticism of the film is the moment where John Blake's true name is revealed to be Robin. It was cute, but it really muddled up things. Him suddenly being Robin distracted the audience from him actually being Batman. By which I mean the next Batman. And thus it distracted from the moral of the story, anyone can be a hero. Each of those four men in the fan posters are heroes of Gotham. Each in their own way contribute to the role of Batman and ensure his success. But even more, on their own, each of them are heroes. A businessman who holds together a company so it may support charities to provide homes for orphans. A cop who isn't afraid to whatever is necessary to protect others. A father figure who bears hatred and sacrifices his happiness for something more important. And a man who put a coat around a little boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended. Each of them are heroes. Because he fought for good and put himself in harms way to do what needed to be done, People believed Harvey Dent was Batman. So why not any of these four men? Given the opportunity, they each would rise to the occasion. Well as it turns out, one of them did.

CMF

Back in college I competed in a competition called Campus MovieFest. My team’s film ended up being the little film that could, and somehow made it to the 2007 International Grand Finale.

Five years later the International Grand Finale is now CMF Hollywood, and it’s grown from a showcase of the fifteen best films of the year to a full-on convention with panels, workshops, and guest speakers. My co-star informed me that the event was happening this weekend, and that he and I were invited to assist as staff. They still remembered us, and liked us, and wanted us to join the crew. I caught up with a few people I had met in Georgia from when I was student competing in this little contest. And then I was asked to moderate a panel on producing with EVPs from Universal and Green Hat…

Never thought five years ago I’d be in Hollywood on the other side of the table, working with those people. Who knew.

The Hunger Games

Usually I write these reviews immediately after seeing the movie, and it's been a few weeks since I've had the time to do this, so forgive me in that the steam has died a little. I did just now watch the trailers to remind me of how I liked the movie, which was fun cuz usually I avoid trailers at all costs, so they were exciting to see. By the way, whoever edited the first theatrical trailer did an incredible job. Give that person a comfier chair, they earned it.
Alright, onto the review.
I mentioned in my blog that The Hunger Games was the first book I read in a day. If you wanna know why that's such a big deal, read my blog. But I bring it up to emphasize just how much I enjoyed the experience of reading The Hunger Games. I hoped that the experience I got from the film wouldn't disappoint. It didn't. I'll say it wasn't as solid of an experience, and I'll get to why that is in a moment, but it still was an enthralling movie viewing experience.
What won we over in Suzanne Collins' writing was how easily and purely she put the reader into Katniss Everdeen's place. The perspective in the book is entirely through her thoughts, memories, and reactions. It's so easy to connect to her and feel for her because the way it's read, we all might as well be her. The dialogue was casual and the asides were natural. Nothing felt elevated or forced, it felt just as if this was a first hand experience that went straight from her brain's synapses to the page. The writing was even clever enough that nothing needed to be explained to me in a direct manner. I was just given information and was allowed to put it together myself. Just like in the way my brain works. And considering this book was set in the new nation of a dystopian future with it's own customs and jargon, the fact nothing had to be explained to me says something.
Still, above the accomplishment of giving the reader information in a way that doesn't remind you're merely a reader of a book is Collins' ability to put the reader so deeply in the place of her protagonist that the reader truly empathizes with the character. That's what I loved about The Hunger Games film. The film gave its viewer as much of Katniss' experience as it could. Rather than letting the action play out in front of us, like some disconnected sports fan from the Capitol, the filmmakers wanted us to have the experience of one of the tributes right in the middle of the games. Director Gary Ross utilized all the techniques his crew had to let the audience be a part of Katniss' story, rather than just watching it. Shaky cameras, ringing silence, slowed moments, blurred focus,and misframed shots are things that usually deter an audience. And I'm sure it deterred some people in this movie. It made it harder to see or hear all the action going on in some scenes, but, in my opinion, it gave us so much more.
These tricks were craftfully used to give us Katniss' account of what was happening around her. Yeah, I didn't get to see a handful of nameless characters die in a flurry of blood and violence, but I got to feel the exhilartion and fear that Katniss must have felt as she ran into the choas and decided that was a bad move. I could tell just how bad it was. I didn't logically come to that conclusion by inducing the other characters killing each other may or may not come to Katniss' space where they would most likely decide to kill her as well. I knew she had made a mistake worthy of putting me on the edge of my seat in concern because I felt it. Ross had set the scene up to make me understand how scared she was by playing out her experience for us in the way it came to her, taking time when there was a long hallway, and throwing us into the madness when a countdown reached zero. Most films try to slow down the interesting moments and skip past the uninteresting ones, which usually is a very good thing to do. But Ross played out everything for what it was. He let us stew in the anticipation in that long hallway, and when the countdown reached zero our eyes and ears had to keep up or else miss something. I felt the pressure Katniss felt. I felt relief when there was calm, and my heart went racing when there was action. Just as with the books, I felt right there in Katniss' place because the film did it's best to let me experience it first hand.
Now, keep in mind what I said there. The film did the best it could. This film was incredibly clever to give us the information we needed in that casual, natural way that the book did. But it couldn't do it for everything. It still reverted to that old staple of having an educational video give us the exposition for the setting. It had to explain tracker jackers to the audience. And it had to use flashbacks to stir up Katniss' old emotions when words would only fail. That's just how it is. Movies have to be a little more blunt than books because movies can't tell us what a character is thinking. If it sets things up right it can suggest it, and actor can show us what a character is feeling, but the only way for a movie to spell out exactly what a character is thinking is with a voice-over, but then you just might as well have a narrator tell you straight up. So, Katniss can wonder what Gale is thinking of her when she's in the cave, but we won't know that's what's on her mind through the facade she's putting on unless the director cuts to Gale doing that.
So no, the feels-like-I'm-really-there experience of the movie isn't as solid as the book. And no amount of 3D is ever going to fix that. Unfortunately, to give those in the audience who hadn't read the books and already knew everything the information that was necessary to follow along, there were scenes which cut away from Katniss and our first hand experience. The film cut to the Greek chorus that was Gale and Katniss' loved ones, and to the narrator that was Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith's commentary. When those tracker jackers showed up, the writers went to that old staple so the audience knew they were not ordinary wasps and how they could easily kill a career tribute. I just wish they had been a little less straightforward with how they got that information out. I felt like the rest of the film was so clever in telling us stuff that to have it explained like an encyclopedia would do it just fell short. My only complaint really.
But getting back to what I was saying, the book had to be adapted into a movie. Pretty much all of them do when they become movies. So Ross decides to cut to a few scenes and take us away from Katniss for a moment. Well, if we're going to be forced to pause on the Katniss Everdeen Experience, and instead focus on someone else for a moment, we might as well roll with that. To give us perspective on what exactly is happening to her. Ross takes us behind the scenes to see how the show that is the Hunger Games is put on. He gives us insight to Haymitch's workings, and how events in the book get to where they can take place. He devises a new character to make this all relatable to the story. Pretty cool. Not sure whether I would rather it be left out like in the book, but I can see how it fills in the picture. I can only imagine that it's really setting the stage for the sequels. We'll just have to wait and see. I will say, in most cases these additions did give me more of the foreboding sense of the omni-powerful Capitol that Katniss already knew of. So I think it does tie back to the goal of giving us the first hand experience that the books did. However, there definitely were scenes that were just secondary plot unfolding. Yes, it made me dislike President Snow as much as Katniss and Peeta must, but it did seem unnecessary. Like I said, I can only assume it's needed for the sequels. I will say the final moment with President Snow brought out the same reaction I had in the final moment of the book; "I need to know what happens next!" Somehow they managed to flesh out the plot and expand upon the story, while also allowing us to take our time with scenes, and still keep things to the point. Even more impressive, they did all that editing and didn't miss anything.
What I enjoyed the most with this film is how well it managed to adapt the book and still give the same experience. Yes, characters were left out, and thus moments with those characters were also left out. Not everything happened the way it did in the book and therefore I did not have the same exact experience. What I'm saying is, through Jennifer Lawrence's phenomenal acting and the direction of this film, I experienced The Hunger Games. I didn't just watch it, I felt it. And just like with the book, I kept wanting to know what happened next. Being someone who had read the book beforehand, you'd think I wouldn't have that feeling watching the movie, but that's how immersed I was into this film. That's how well they snagged me; I felt everything all over again. All the anticipation and all the dread. The addition of new scenes and characters, as well as the exemption of others shook things up just enough, and then there was the reaction to Rue. Oh man. That was my favorite moment from the book. They took it out. But what they did instead really shook things up. Katniss didn't know what was going on, but I wouldn't want to miss out on that moment. It fills out the picture, and I know it's setting up those sequels. I'm glad they adapted that scene, cuz I can't wait to see what happens next.