thinking since '98

i really liked this movie. like, a lot. not that that surprised me - it had the makings of all my favourite films: life-changing road trips, loveable pricks, the blackest of humour and subplots dedicated to peeing. the fundamentals of caring was crude and heartwarming - exactly the way i like it.

mind the pun but this film had all the fundamentals of being a giant sob-fest. there's the dying kid and the man with the secret tragedy and the girl trying to find her place. thankfully, though, tfoc decided to say fuck all that and launched straight into broken characters who had either experienced or were experiencing shitty things but had more to them than their circumstances. they demanded no pity and instead forced their way into your heart with obstinate determination and humour as sharp as the metaphysical knife they wielded to slash through their grief.

to be honest, the story was a bit cliched but personally i would say that fell towards its favour. tfoc wasn't emotionally draining like a lot of other films that deal with sickness or dying. it flatlined in the best kind of way possible because it let you just genuinely enjoy the ride. my facial expressions didn't contort into side-splitting laughter or heart-wrenching tears. rather they found themselves in the content middle of the spectrum where they alternated between warm smiles, furrowed brows and surprised exhales of amusement. i sat here for the past 1 hour and 37 minutes and had a good time from the moment the first shot popped up till the end credits rolled. if this were a straight comedy movie, more likely than not that would mean the conclusion of my experience. but this was even better because it made me think. and it made me feel. its heartfelt-ness was quiet and unassuming and i'm so grateful it never felt like it was shoving good vibes down my throat.

i haven't read the revised fundamentals of caregiving yet and i hate myself for it. i can only assume it's even better than the film. except i've been a fan of craig roberts ever since i watched submarine so i'm kind of glad that i had the opportunity to get to know the tantalising character that is trevor through his lens. though, the real highlight of this film was getting to watch selena gomez portray grown up alex russo dealing with not receiving the family magic by running away from home, smoking, and unleashing the filthy language that we all knew was waiting to pounce behind her disney facade.

also, as an australian who has never eaten a slim jim, this has set my expectations soooooo high.

(born in 1998 and have a voice to share with the world? click here to find out how you can be heard!)

(photo credit to www.comingsoon.net)

i'd like to write an articulate post on the aspects of mockingjay part 2 that contributed to create an ultimately pleasurable viewing experience, but, screw that, i'm just gonna sit here and fangirl for a minute.

here is an accurate insight into my thought process while watching the movie: AHHHHHHHHHNOOOOOOHAHAHOOOOOOOOAWWWWAHHHHHHWHYYYYY*UNCONTROLLABLE SOBBING*

actually, that's what i thought i'd be feeling but in reality i was a lot more dead inside. i don't know if that was because i'm guttered that this franchise is coming to an end, but also i feel like mockingjay was anticlimactic. definitely not in the negative sense of the term, but more like there wasn't just one pivotal point that the film built up to. it was a roller coaster of ups and downs and i felt like i was just coasting along. even the end of the war didn't stir up a myriad of emotions. it happened and then something else happened and then something happened after that. the plot kept moving along, which overall was good because i never got bored (something that rarely happens)

my whole hunger games experience has been weird. i first read the books when i was like 13 and i received them for christmas. i use the term 'read' loosely; i devoured them, wrapping up the series in two days and emerging from the cocoon i built as a changed person.

around the time i finished, the trailer for the first film came out. i was very much excited. the hunger games was the first book-to-movie adaptation that i was really interested in. and, boy, i was not disappointed. i watched it at the cinema with friends and i loved it. i even studied it in grade 9. but between that and the release of catching fire, i didn't think much of the series. the trailer came out, i fell in the hype for a day and then i plateaued again. the movie came out, i obsessed for a week and then i moved on. that cycle repeated for the next two films. my life didn't revolve around the hunger games - or at least as much as other series i enjoy - but when something happened in its world, i remembered all over again why i fell in love with the series in the first place.

and i think a big part of that is because i still don't feel like i'm old enough to appreciate suzanne collins' work. the hunger games isn't like other YA dystopian franchises because it's much too real. maybe we're not chucking our children into arenas and forcing them to kill each other, but our universe isn't that far off from the one inside the pages. corrupt governments, imbalance of power, manipulation by the media. these are all things happening in our world.

and i just don't know how it's going to play out for us.

(born in 1998 and have a voice to share with the world? click here to find out how you can be heard!)