Killing is OK

This is a rant. I warned you there’d be some of these.

Picture this:

You and the girl you’re kinda into (except-let’s-keep-it-in-the-subtext) are running across the planet in a bid to find safety. The crazy, murderous preacher who’s tried to kill you both before is coming after you. In a climactic moment, he catches up with you and tries, yet again, to kill you. Somehow you get the upper hand. You don’t kill him. Instead you keep running.

Rinse and repeat three (or is it four?) times.

That’s pretty much the plot of Chaos Walking, a trilogy by Patrick Ness.

Chaos Walking actually has an interesting premise: In the future when Earth is inevitably ruined by careless, violent humans, other humans seek a new life on other planets. One group lands on New World, a planet where the natives (Spackle) communicate telepathically. Pretty soon, the newly-arrived men find that, like the Spackle, their thoughts are being transmitted aloud for all to hear. They call this “Noise.” Women, for some reason, aren’t affected.

Like I said, it’s an interesting and original idea. Leaves lots of room for discussion.

However. There were multiples times when I wanted to reach into those pages and shake the characters till their teeth rattled in their imbecilic heads.

Namely, whenever

Is The Hunger Games Movie Better Than the Book?

Back in November, I wrote about my excitement for the Hunger Games movie, and my hope that it wouldn’t be a total flop or butcher the story too much.

I went to see  it on Wednesday.

It was a very interesting experience for me because though I read the books, it’s been a while. I only had a vague memory of the general storyline, but as I watched, the scenes came back to me like a half-remembered dream (apologies for the cliche, but that’s how it felt).

I didn’t like Katniss Everdeen in the book version. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that I actively disliked her. I don’t remember why, but it might have had something to do with her prickly personality. Katniss, as portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, is much more likable. Possibly because the audience can’t tell what she’s thinking. The reaping scene where she screams, “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!” gives me chills every time I watch it.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Peeta Mellark was probably the most