Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with the Hunger Games series. So, I highly anticipated this last movie in this beloved series. The last movie in a series has a lot of big expectations to fulfil. While I'd read the books and knew what was going to happen, I wasn't sure how the series would tie up everything together. I also knew some super sad stuff happens in the last book and for that I wasn't ready.

Last weekend, I saw it and here's what I've come up with. It was a good end to a beloved series. Like in life, not everything ends like a fairy tale, but you make choices and you live with them.

The movie opens with Katniss after the last movie ended with Peeta strangling her. She's bruised and struggling to live with life after Peeta has been brainwashed by the Capitol.

To get revenge, Gale helps develop bombs. A first wave a bombs will panic people and the second wave would get the rest of the people. Katniss doesn't like how cruel that is, but the Capitol has made Gale harsh.

She gets her way into the fight against the Capitol. They want her just to shoot film for film clips against the Capitol, but that's not Katniss, she can't stay away from the fight. Peeta gets sent along to be filmed and of course Gale is there. too. The Capitol is as evil as ever. As expected they face lots of traps and monsters from the Capitol. So the "sewer monsters" were scarier than I'd envisioned and as a result, I screamed the whole time they chased Katniss and company. Everything happened so quickly, it was hard to figure out who had died. I thought some of the losses would be focused on more in the movie than they were; that was disappointing. They eventually find an ally within the city in the form of a lady named, Tigress who has surgically changed her appearance to look like an actual cat/tiger.

Katniss's goal is to make it to the capitol to kill President Snow. She makes the trip from Tigress's store to President Snow's mansion where all residents are being ordered to come for shelter. Gale makes the trek with her, but he gets recognized and captured before arriving there. As Katniss gets closer, a bomb goes off. People rush in to help and there she sees Prim helping. People are encouraged to bring their kids to safety in the mansion. As she gets closer to the front, another bomb goes off. We know who it kills...and we know who created it. Her relationship with Gale ends with him apologizing and her ordering him to leave.

She finally gets her chance to execute President Snow, but instead chooses to take out President Coin who has vastly overstepped her role and has become part of the problem.

Katniss returns to her former District 13 and tries to live. Peeta returns to and they spend time together. The movie ends with Katniss and her family with Peeta. #TeamPeeta

While the movie was full of action, I wish there'd be more about her relationships; with Gale, Peeta, and Prim. She felt disconnected and I didn't feel the love.

Media

I try to keep up on music and movies and this is what I've come up with recently:

I fell in love with the fun song, "Geronimo" by Aussie band, Sheppard after hearing it on this super cute proposal video:
"So, say Geronimo!" Their music video was beyond weird, so I'm not including. :)

As a Hunger Games fan, I will definitely be in theaters opening weekend to see Mockingjay Part One. I watched the trailer recently; this movie feels like it will be more dark and sad. Which makes sense since it will take place after the games when District 12 is destroyed, Peeta is held captive by the Capitol, and District 13 is at war with the Capitol. I think this will be a rough one to watch. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, here it is:
Thoughts on the movie?

I'm also in love with Colbie Caillat's song, Try:

Reading

When I was little and learned to read, it was like everything turned from black and white to color; it was literally a whole new world for me. It forever changed my world. As a child, I'd get lost in books, imagining everything I read. Still to this day, I can get totally engrossed in a book. I almost felt like I needed a therapy group while reading the Hunger Games series; it felt so real. I wanted to call people and voice my deep worry for Peeta and Katniss. Down with the Capitol! I still really want a Mockingjay pin and I really would wear it. My addiction with Hunger Games is so bad that I cried twice while watching the first movie; once because the reaping scene was so emotional and once because I was finally seeing the movie and so happy/overwhelming. Nerdy, I know. :)

I love when a book overtakes my life! I'm currently reading, Born to Run; I can't put it down! The author much like myself wanted so much to love running that he kept trying, but really hated it and started getting injuries due to running. So what does he do? He keeps going to the doctor and they pretty much tell him to not run anymore. Much like me, he's really stubborn. So, he goes to Mexico in search of the Tamahumara tribe who can run for days, through impossible terrain. He wants to run like them.So, he searches for them, but they're hard to track. He finds them and well, that's about as far as I've gotten in two or three night of reading.

I've already finished a guidebook on Europe. That Rick Steves knows what he's talking about. I'm close to picking cities and setting an itinerary for my trip to Ireland; exciting!

Next, I'll start the second book in the Divergent series and then start an Ireland guidebook. The Divergent series is really addictive too. Very intense like Hunger Games, but not quite as good.