The Hunger Games

[Keith]

That is an interesting point, because when me and a friend were discussing the film after seeing it, she seem to think he had true feelings for her, but they were not receeded, but I disagree, for me she only came accross as being cold, because she is far more inderpendent and a stronger character overall. Also don't forget it was Peeta who encourenged the love angle for the sake of the show from the start. Also the love story is part of the satire.

KIF think you are really misreading this film, Lawerence gives another very powerful and emotionally effective performance, and it is far more than just good effects, the film has a dark heart and is a very tough watch in places. There are flaws I am not suggesting other wise, but as a far a blockbuster with depth, but also plenty of thrills in, this is the best in awhile.

 

[The_King]

That is an interesting point, because when me and a friend were discussing the film after seeing it, she seem to think he had true feelings for her, but they were not receeded, but I disagree, for me she only came accross as being cold, because she is far more inderpendent and a stronger character overall. Also don't forget it was Peeta who encourenged the love angle for the sake of the show from the start. Also the love story is part of the satire.

I've had this debate a lot over the past few days haha. When I said creepy stalker, I was being a bit over the top haha. Anyways, prior to the Tracker Jacker part, Katniss is ready to take him out, and after she realizes what Peeta is doing, she still acknowledges that she'll have to kill him eventually. During the cave scene, I think they become close friends, and it ends there on Katniss' part. In terms of the love angle, I love the way Collins almost parodied it in the book, but from what I've heard (haven't seen the movie yet), they turned it more Twilight-esque. Finally, I'm not sure if you've read all three books (don't want to spoil haha), but I think Katniss is presented as a teenage girl struggling in a love triangle. However, I think that, ultimately, she is still a very cold person who looks for herself above all else (there is a ton of stuff that both contradicts and support this, but I think the end of book 3 might be the best support [some would consider it the best evidence against though haha]). Anyways, there's my essay haha.

KIF think you are really misreading this film, Lawerence gives another very powerful and emotionally effective performance, and it is far more than just good effects, the film has a dark heart and is a very tough watch in places. There are flaws I am not suggesting other wise, but as a far a blockbuster with depth, but also plenty of thrills in, this is the best in awhile.

Glad to hear the part about JLaw. I was worried she wouldn't live up to Winter's Bone. Easily one of my favorite actresses.

 

[John McHenry]

I think for what it was it was as good as should have been expected could it have been better probably but book adaptations are never perfect because every reader interprets things differently

 

[Keith]

I've had this debate a lot over the past few days haha. When I said creepy stalker, I was being a bit over the top haha. Anyways, prior to the Tracker Jacker part, Katniss is ready to take him out, and after she realizes what Peeta is doing, she still acknowledges that she'll have to kill him eventually. During the cave scene, I think they become close friends, and it ends there on Katniss' part. In terms of the love angle, I love the way Collins almost parodied it in the book, but from what I've heard (haven't seen the movie yet), they turned it more Twilight-esque. Finally, I'm not sure if you've read all three books (don't want to spoil haha), but I think Katniss is presented as a teenage girl struggling in a love triangle. However, I think that, ultimately, she is still a very cold person who looks for herself above all else (there is a ton of stuff that both contradicts and support this, but I think the end of book 3 might be the best support [some would consider it the best evidence against though haha]). Anyways, there's my essay haha.


Glad to hear the part about JLaw. I was worried she wouldn't live up to Winter's Bone. Easily one of my favorite actresses.

No have not read any of the books yet, but may well give the first one a go soon. No don't think the film and love trangle is anything like Twilight, at least not in the first movie.

 

[The_King]

Glad to hear that my expectation on the love triangle is wrong haha. Yeah, I'd highly suggest the books. I personally think the third one is best, but it strays heavily from the original concept. Second one is pretty similar to the first.

 

[CaptainxBumout]

Review

I saw this movie opening night so forgive me if I forgot a couple of things but I'll try and remember it as best as I can. I feel the whole movie is casts nearly perfectly. Banks played Effie to a tee. Harrelson was great as well. I really wanted more scenes of Haymitch. In the book Haymitch is perceived more as a drunk and doesn't really help them until the games start. If I remember correctly, he make Katniss put up with a lot before helping her in the book. Since I try to be fair to all movies, this will not affect my overall thoughts. Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress whether it's in an Oscar nominee movie like Winter's Bone or a great Blockbuster movie like X-Men First Class. She seems to know how to pick out which movies she wants to do. The chemistry between Katniss and Rue was great. It made for some really memorable moments. The two really meshed and made you believe they cared for each other even though they just met.

I however did not care for Peeta. He seemed a bit bland to me. I've liked movies that Josh Hutcherson has done in the past but he just seemed to have a wooden face throughout the whole movie. His characters survival skills consists of being strong and painting himself which is one of the most unrealistic traits. I know it's a part of the book but again, I'm reviewing this as a stand alone title. I feel this movie suffered being a PG 13 movie. A movie about kids killing each other should not be PG 13. Don't get me wrong, I don't need blood spewing everywhere, I'd just rather have a choreographed opening to games rather than a bunch of shaky cam bullshit kills. That might be a bit more personal taste than anything but I really didn't like that part. Was it effective, yeah but it could have been so much better.

There are some very dramatic scenes that work extremely well. The quietness of the wilderness was very well done however, I felt it was too quite in most parts. Some score would have been nice a lot of the scenes but then again it might take away from the movie. The movie was a tad bit long. Usually length doesn't really affect me in a movie but this movie did. There was a lot of scenes they could have cut. One flashback to how Peeta and Katniss first met would have been enough instead of breaking it up and showing the same thing 4 different times. I also could have done without the whole speech the night before the games. The love triangle seems a bit more played up here in the movie but it's by no means Twilight standard. I would have liked more character development on the other participants but that was my main quarrel with the book as well.

Overall I thought this was a very well made movie adaptation. Great cast all around (minus Peeta) and good tension. This movie really suffered from the PG 13 rating but then again that would have been a bad business decision. Overall I give it a 7/10.

Pros
-Lead does an amazing job
-Dramatic scenes are very effective
-Light enough to attract the young audiences, Dark enough to keep the attention of the older ones

Cons
-At 142 mins. It runs too long
-Too quiet
-Most interesting scene is a convoluted mess

 

[Keith]

See where I disagree is with the lack of violence. I thought there was plenty of violence, and I don't think they soften it for the teen audience. I supose the point is that this is just as a much a satire as an action movie, so for what it was they got just about the right level of violence.