Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Hot & Cold Snack Size Reviews

I've had the pleasure of going to the movies a few times recently to see Catching Fire twice (yes, twice!) and Frozen. While I know it's quite possible to write rather lengthy reviews of both (especially Catching Fire), I thought I'd just share some simple thoughts and point out a few details that stood out to me. Thus, I bring you a hot and a cold snack size review! Enjoy them while they're hot...or frozen. ;)

Catching Fire

In a word: intense! This 2½-hour movie version of the second book in "The Hunger Games" trilogy is extremely well-done, capturing all sorts of emotions and vividly bringing the story to life. I was surprised at how much I liked the movie, as Catching Fire wasn't my favorite book of the series - and I had been worried about the increased level of violence. Yes, I did end up closing my eyes frequently, especially in the second half. But yes, I still saw it twice in theaters. What really hit me was the contrast between the horror/fear and some powerfully tender and poignant moments. (I have to add that Finnick endeared himself to me much more in this movie than in the book. Great actor!) Moments of sacrifice. Glimpses of love. It wasn't just hope of survival that carried the story - it was the survival of hope. And it was those moments that really made the story stand on its own rather than become a "sagging middle" with no purpose other than moving the plot along. As Johanna says, "Love is weird." Indeed it is. Indeed it has to be, for it to be given to such lost people. And oh, how we need it...


In two words: frozen fun! Corny? Well, yes, it definitely has its moments. (If you find musicals somewhat silly with their random outbursts of song, this often follows in that vein. There are times you wonder why they can't just express their feelings without music...but I digress.) Still, the animation is generally quite splendid, many of the songs are quite catchy, and the oft-told but important message is sweet. The highlights for me were the beginning with the ice harvesting scene and song about frozen hearts, the twist that I didn't see coming (kudos!), and, of course, the romance with its humor and girl-carrying (I'm a sucker for a guy carrying a girl). I appreciated the sister theme, but I doubt my sister appreciates how much I now love to sing, "Do you want to build a snowman?" LOL.

6 comments:

Tales of Whimsy said...

Cute. Winners! I need to see them both.

Rissi said...

Yay! Cannot wait to see both of these. Catching Fire will for sure be DVD but perhaps I'll get to Frozen. We'll see. I'm just so glad to know you enjoyed both. :)

Amber Holcomb said...

Juju,

They are definitely both winners, in different ways! :) Hope you enjoy them when you see them!

~Amber

Amber Holcomb said...

Rissi,

That would be fun if you could see Frozen soon! Do let me know how you like it if you see it. :) And I will be very curious to hear your thoughts on Catching Fire! I thought it was even better than the first movie, even though it was more intense/violent and that's not really my thing.

Thanks for reading my thoughts! I did indeed enjoy both of these. :)

~Amber

Jillian said...

Great reviews! I really hope to see Frozen sometime soon. It looks like such a cute movie :)

I loved Catching Fire so much. You're lucky you got to see it twice! I agree, I think it was a lot better than the first movie. The actors were perfectly cast, and the movie stayed so true to the book. Like you, I didn't like the violence and had to shut my eyes a few times, but that didn't distract much from the movie. I really enjoyed it!

Amber Holcomb said...

Jillian,

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed Frozen overall, and I think it will be like Tangled where I'll enjoy it more after each viewing. :) Hope you get to see it soon, too!

I was really fortunate to be able to see Catching Fire twice. My sister really wanted to see it again, so my mom let us go. ;) I agree with your assessment of the movie!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

~Amber