"Feature of the Month" Winner Announcement

Neptune Public Library 

Children's Writing Club                            
Imagination - Creativity – Inspiration

Congratulation to 
 Nicole Dykeman!

Your Film review on The Hunger Game has been elected 

"Feature of the Month" 

Winning prize: a movie pass for checking out DVDs free of charge
 for the month of June.  

Hunger Game
A film review by Nicole Dykeman

On March 23, at 6:15 pm, my life was changed. I laughed, I cried, and I jumped ten feet out of my seat. All of this happened within the course of two and a half hours at the mall movie theaters.
I waited one hundred thirty three days. It seemed like one hundred thirty three years. Yes, I counted. I don’t care if you think I’m a nerd, or a geek, or another creative name you wish to think up. Do you want to know why?
It was worth it. The Hunger Games movie had to be the best book based movie I’ve ever seen in my entire time on this planet. Every “i” was dotted, and every “t” was crossed. They really hit the nail on the head this time.
Normally movies based on books are really terrible in comparison, one terrifically awful example being the Percy Jackson movie. It was nothing like the book, and I was ashamed of it. For example, one of the characters, Annabeth, was supposed to be a blonde, and in the movie she was a brunette. For the Hunger Games movie, Jennifer Lawrence dyed her hair from blonde to brown to be Katniss, Josh Hutcherson dyed his hair from brown to blonde so he looked more like Peeta, and Liam Hemsworth dyed his hair from blonde to brown to look like Gale. Even the extras on set let the stylists dye their hair insane colors like blue and pink to be citizens of the Capitol!
The Harry Potter movies were actually well written, and most details were similar to the books. I mean, I understand that you can’t make a seven hundred page book into a two and a half hour movie and expect every little detail to be included. That’s why the Hunger Games movie was so amazing. They only had three hundred pages to transfer to screen.
Even though the mood of the Hunger Games is very suspenseful and serious, there were some funny moments included in the movie. Most of those moments were my favorite parts. There is one scene in the movie where Katniss slams a knife into the table so it’s sticking out. Another character, Effie, gasps from across the room and yells, “That is mahogany!” while Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta’s mentor tells Katniss, “Congratulations, you just killed a table!”
Every bit of this movie had terrific acting. One of the best scenes in the movie takes place right before Katniss is going to be sent up the tube to the Hunger Games arena. Katniss is being comforted by her stylist, Cinna, who is played by singer Lenny Kravitz. Jennifer Lawrence does a phenomenal job at making herself seem completely terrified, from the expression on her face, to the way she talks, and the way her body is shaking uncontrollably. It was so emotional, and it made me cry. The realistic acting is the same reason I cried when Katniss was speaking to her little sister and best friend Gale for the last time before she has to get on the train for the Capitol, and at the death of Rue, an innocent twelve year old sent along with Katniss to the heart-breaking fight to the death the government broadcasts on television.
I nearly had a heart attack when Peeta and Katniss are attacked by mutated dogs in the arena. It had suddenly gone completely silent and dark, and I knew it was coming too, because I read the books! Yet I still jumped out of my skin when the hideous monsters attacked.
Not only was reading these books and watching the movie enjoyable, but I learned a lot. Katniss is a great role model not just for girls, but for all young people in general. She is a strong independent individual who always puts her family before herself, just like when she volunteered to go to the Hunger Games so her sister Prim didn’t have to. I decided to start living my life as Katniss would, doing more for my family and making careful choices, knowing it affects everyone around me what I do. Maybe I’ll even start braiding my hair and take up archery – then I’ll be just like Katniss!