THE HUNGER GAMES: May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

[lifeismorethankicks]

Movie got cheesy after a while, didn't live up to the hype. 

 

[D Fly]

I am getting so tired of hearing about this...

 

[mronegative]

 

[josednk1068]

Movie was lame


21 Jump St >>> Hunger Games

 

[dmxgod]

Saw the movie this weekend..

Didn't read the books..

Loved the movie..made me root for the underdog even though a regular movie-goer can predict the ending to a certain extent..I really enjoyed it..when Rue died..i almost cried..she was easily likeable character even though she didn't have much air time..thought Woody Harrelson owned his scenes..

Jennifer Lawrence is so bad

 

[josednk1068]

Originally Posted by dmxgod

Saw the movie this weekend..

Didn't read the books..

Loved the movie..made me root for the underdog even though a regular movie-goer can predict the ending to a certain extent..I really enjoyed it..when Rue died..i almost cried..she was easily likeable character even though she didn't have much air time..thought Woody Harrelson owned his scenes..

Jennifer Lawrence is so bad

How would you be on the brink of crying, there was no character development? They gave little/no background on any of the characters.

  

 

[DCAllAfrican]

The Hunger Games movie review - a glimpse of our own future if the cancerous growth of government is not checked - http://www.naturalnews.co..._Games_movie_review.html
[h1]The Hunger Games movie review - a glimpse of our own future if the cancerous growth of government is not checked[/h1]by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor 

(NaturalNews) The Hunger Games is a wildly popular new movie set in a dystopian future where an all-powerful, high-tech centralized government rules over "districts" of impoverished populations barely surviving in third-world conditions. The film, based on the book of the same name by Suzanne Collins, is important to understand because it depicts the very future that the global elite are trying to create. In fact, much of what is shown in The Hunger Games has already begun (see below).

The film is set 74 years after a popular uprising that failed to overthrow a corrupt, centralized federal government. As punishment for the attempted uprising, the all-powerful government now requires each of 12 districts to "volunteer" a young girl and boy each year to participate in the Hunger Games -- a bloodsport "breads and circuses" event that serves as the opiate of the masses to distract society from the fact that they are all slaves living under tyranny.

Spoiler alert: This article reveals plot elements that may spoil the movie for you if you haven't yet seen it.

[h1]The central themes of domination and control[/h1]The movie reflects numerous central themes of government control over the masses, including:

• Control over food: Residents of the 12 districts are not allowed to eat more food than they are allotted by the government. Being caught catching a squirrel for food results in severe punishment.

• Control over land: The 12 districts are fenced off with high-voltage power lines, much like you might find in North Korea today. Most of the world is "conserved" as wild forest and grasslands, with humans only being allowed to populate confined regions where resources are sparse and starvation is a daily reality.

• Control over the media: The government controls all media, and every broadcast is a staged theatrical event, completely fabricated by the government to serve the interests of the government itself. This, of course, is a reflection of present-day mainstream media which is completely whored out to corporate and political interests.

• Control of technology: While the masses live in squalor, the techno-elite enjoy advanced hovercraft ships and live in gleaming high-tech cities. Advancements in medicine, 3D displays and weapons systems are available only to the centralized government, never to the People. Also in the film, RFID chips are used to track the game participants.

• Control of DNA: Residents of the districts are identified through the taking of DNA blood samples. The government stores their DNA in a database in order to track and identify individuals. Insects are genetically engineered to serve as weapons, such as GMO wasps that cause wild hallucinations to those who are stung.

• Control over life itself: The government toys with human life and seems to be amused by expressing heartless power over the masses. Their priorities are simultaneously focused on fashion, status and meaningless cuisine. In one scene, when the teenage girl (Katniss Everdeen) is trying to ask her mentor how she might survive the games, her elitists coordinator can only spout about how much she loves "chocolate truffles" and why they should all enjoy a round of desserts.

[h1]A parade of fashion, makeup and style gone wild[/h1]The style and fashion of the elite class who live in the high-tech cities seems to be echoed right out of a modern-day parade. People are adorned with bright, extravagant clothing and accessories, and they're painted up in outlandish makeup and hair color. They literally prance around like frolicking maniacal members of royalty, and they experience great joy from causing others to suffer.

The government-worshipping elite class see themselves as intellectually superior to everyone else, yet they lack any real-world skills. They also lack anything resembling ethics, and they see nothing wrong with cheating or lying their way to positions of ever greater power in their warped society.

[h1]Enslavement through the illusion of hope[/h1]At the top of the government, the leader played by Donald Sutherland is a Rockefeller-type master of deception and human emotions. As he explains in the film, the purpose of the Hunger Games is to keep people enslaved while giving them "a little hope, but not too much." A little hope keeps the enslaved masses in line, but too much hope might actually make them think they have real power.

The threat of government violence against the enslaved masses is carried out by a class of enforcers who, in contrast to most other dystopian films, are actually clothed in white, not black. They are the TSA of the Hunger Games, and their job is to oppress the people, bash in a few heads, and remind the masses who's really in charge.

One can't help but notice in this film that the elite class of prancing government worshipers is the logical extension of today's irrational worship of government as the savior of society. Where government is put in charge of everything, the People are forever enslaved. And that seems to be the goal of the government-worshippers in society today who desire to make all people dependent on the government, hand over all power to the government, and destroy individual human liberties (and the Bill of Rights). It is no coincidence that the enslaved masses in The Hunger Games are entirely disarmed and only the government is allowed to own high-tech weaponry. This is a key provision of the leftist "anti-gun" movement witnessed in society today, which says that all guns should only be in the hands of government, not individuals. Such a centralization of weaponry in the hands of corrupt government, of course, only leads to tyranny, as history repeatedly shows.

[h1]Human dignity[/h1]Most interesting to me is the idea that government elitists have no ethics, no morals and no basic dignity. In contrast, the only real expression of dignity comes from the District 12 volunteer, Katniss Everdeen (the female lead). She enjoys a closeness with nature and a respect for life. When other participants in the Hunger Games are killed around her, she shows them respect with a makeshift burial ceremony. She only takes life as a last resort, yet she's also quick to act out of self defense, and she's willing to take action to kill others if they are truly intent on killing her.

This reflects a fundamental human right to self defense. When we are attacked, we have the right to hold our ground and return fire as her character demonstrates several times throughout the film. By doing so, she saves her life and ultimately shows the elitist government that it cannot control her.

That point comes out strongly at the end of the games, when she and her male partner are the last two survivors. The elitists government commands them to try to kill each other so that only one victor emerges. But instead of giving in to this command, the two decide to eat poison berries together and thus demonstrate to the global audience watching the event (which is practically the entire population) that the government shall not have the freedom to decide when we live or die, and that even a slave can still decide when to end their own life, independent from an oppressive government regime.

Unexpectedly, the government suddenly halts the games before the two can eat the berries, announcing them both as winners. This is obviously a last-ditch effort to make sure no one expresses any power over their own lives -- not even the power to end your own life because such expression of individual power would embarrass the government.

Throughout the film (and the book), the government is obsessed with total oppression of the people, denying them food and resources and carrying out mind games against them that sap their courage and convince them they have no personal power.

[h1]Actors, writing, photography and screenplay[/h1]On the technical side of things, the acting in this film is superb. The key female character in the film is played by Jennifer Lawrence (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2225369/) who delivers a convincing, heartwarming performance. She demonstrates both strength and vulnerability with astounding authenticity. This film succeeds largely because of her performance.

Woody Harrelson also delivers a convincing performance, but that's not surprising given his reputation and experience as a performance professional.

Screenplay is surprisingly solid, considering that this film is based on a novel. It's rare to see a novel translated well onto the screen, but The Hunger Games pulls it off nicely with compelling pacing and well-planned editing of the book's detail.

I also want to give props to two departments that typically don't get the attention they deserve: Costume design and sound design. In The Hunger Games, both of these departments went far beyond the norm, showcasing a masterful assembly of visual and auditory highlights that add great depth to the on-screen artistry.

[h1]The Hunger Games is coming true in America today[/h1]When watching the Hunger Games, you can't help but think about the recent armed raids on Rawesome Foods in California. There, armed government thugs confiscated and destroyed $50,000 worth of food and poured gallons of raw milk down the drain even while a food bank that could have used all that food was right next door. (http://www.naturalnews.com/033220_Rawesome_Foods_armed_raids.html)

This destruction of food carried out by the government of California is also routinely carried out by the oppressive government in The Hunger Games. One of the most powerful strategies for total government domination is to deny people access to real food. That's exactly what we're seeing today in the government's attacks on raw milk, raw almonds and other nutritious foods. In Michigan, for example, state bureaucrats there have announced their plan to start destroying all the pig livestock of small, local ranchers and arrest them as felons (http://www.naturalnews.com/035372_Michigan_pigs_farm_freedom.html).

We also see in society today a growing class of the ruling elite who express total disdain for humanity, the natural world or anything resembling dignity or ethics. This is perhaps best reflected in the philosophy of Goldman Sachs, a financial investment giant so steeped in the culture of greed that they reportedly think of their own customers as total idiots to be viciously exploited for dishonest profit.

We also see the key elements of tyranny and oppression reflected in the Obama administration, where Obama himself signed the NDAA on New Year's Eve, 2011. This law nullifies the Bill of Rights and eliminates any right to due process for Americans. It allows the government to arrest, detain, interrogate and torture any person, for any reason, even if they are never charged with a crime. It really is like something ripped right out of a dystopian sci-fi film. The mass population, meanwhile, seems to have no idea this has already been signed into law. (http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html)

Similarly, on March 16 of this year, President Obama signed into effect an executive order that seizes control over all food resources across the country, including food, seeds, livestock, farm equipment, food processing facilities, and animal feed. This is written in clear English, right in the order itself. (http://www.naturalnews.com/035301_Obama_executive_orders_food_supply....)

Once again, virtually the entire U.S. population seems to have no idea that this executive order was signed by Obama. In modern society, as in The Hunger Games film, most people live in a world of delusion, oblivious to the reality of how government is creepily expanding into a totalitarian dictatorship with each passing day.

[h1]We are already living in the early stages of The Hunger Games[/h1]The real kicker in all this is that, to a great extent, we have already begun to live in the early stages of a "Hunger Games" society. Those who worship government and believe in total government power over the People are pushing us in that direction every single day.

Here are other signs of a Hunger Games type of government growing all around us:

• The TSA reaching down your pants and calling it "security" (http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=979D7B9F44BA6EAE0DF65B3DE6E4EE33)

• Staged false flag security events to keep people afraid (http://www.naturalnews.com/034325_FBI_entrapment_terror_plots.html)

• Janet Napolitano on giant TV screens at Wal-Mart warning everyone to spy on their neighbors and only trust government (http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=5A4B5D4B84344D5D9CBD262A53D8B071)

• Armed government raids on farms and food distribution centers

• Corporate control over seeds and all intellectual property

• The push to disarm the People and centralize all weapons in the hands of government

• Mad science genetic engineering of crops and animals

• The total theater of fabricated "humanitarian" causes (Kony 2012) which are really nothing more than a tactic to get public support for mass murder by governments

• The total worshipping of sports figures and sports events by the dumbed-down masses who watch football, basketball and the UFC while having no clue whatsoever that their government is raping their future and destroying their liberties.

[h1]Big Government will accelerate us into a Hunger Games dystopian future[/h1]Ask yourself: What political position does all this sound like? End the Second Amendment, put government in charge of all food, give up liberties in the name of security, surrender individual power to state power... ring a bell? It's the platform of America's political elite, whether you're talking about the left or the right. Both political parties believe in big (and bigger) government, dis-empowered people, and total government control over all resources (including land).

Only people who believe in small, limited government can reverse this trend. Ron Paul supporters, in other words. A small government is a safe government, as any government that gets too big and too powerful becomes a clear and present danger to the People.

Each day that our government becomes larger and more powerful -- which almost automatically happens following staged terror events such as 9/11 -- we are hurled ever close to a Hunger Games type of future reality.

Let us hope that We the People can stop the insanity of bad government and find a way to restore liberty before this fictional movie called "The Hunger Games" becomes far too real for comfort.

 

[josednk1068]

Just copied and paste an article, no highlighting of important pts. Thanks for the major contribution to this thread man...

 

[janitor]

Originally Posted by hod

Originally Posted by MrONegative

Now for me...the first 15 minutes of the Hunger Games were almost perfect. A part of it was me not realizing how hyped I was for the movie until it started and just sort of being amazed at this rural There Will Be Blood town being painted in front of me. Because mind you...Suzanne Collins, the writer, kinda sucks. Kinda didn't put too much thought into a lot of things and hid it by just not talking about them or brushing over the details or just having Katniss go to sleep, or eat a meal and obsess over every bite. But that's the book...lemme try and keep this on the movie.

And as I say that...in the book, Prim wasn't really a character. More like a symbolic motivation. A human Livestrong bracelet. But in the movie, they really made her flesh and blood. They got across so much about the way they live, through her. More than Jennifer Lawrence did.

And mind you, I really liked it when I heard she was casted, good for them, she can act. And then reading the books, I loved the idea of it, because I saw Winter's Bone and this is that same strong, well deserved Oscar nominated, character that she played, so there should be no worries. But seeing this movie...seeing District 12 actually rendered as a real place of hardship...and even seeing District 11, I get it...Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong person for this. And I hear that people are saying she's too fat to play the role. That's not fair, but I get that. And she's not fat, but for once they actually needed an emaciated actress for the role. Prim gets so much across about what it's like to live there in minutes, but Katniss...Katniss looks like she eats good and the fact that this film is allergic to any type of sensible flashback and can't bother to ever pick the right perspective in any moment, says she needed to look that way.

You have a big story to tell...tell it...or make it small and personal and only through her eyes...like the book...sure...but don't pick both. Hell, this movie picked neither. There's a lack of nuance in this film that's just blatant trolling, because the least bit of effort would've given it so much more depth or just clarity on what the hell you're trying to say. I'll explain that in a second.

Before all that, I can't express how well the 3 (kinda 4) real actors did in this movie. Woody Harrelson wasn't what I pictured in the book, but did a great job. I barely even recognized Elizabeth Banks but she killed every scene too. Effie was a pretty flat character in the book, but she breathed life into it. And then Stanley Tucci...perfect. Caesar's interesting in the book, even though Collins does that trick where she kinda sorta describes dialogue without writing it or being descriptive enough.

Those banners with his faces behind him, though.

They each brought something special to the role, better than they were written. And then Donald Sutherland was really good in a role that didn't really exist in the first book...and the little twist at the end was a nice touch. All of them worked.

Outside of them, that guy they got for Cato (big baddie) was well casted and I loved Prim, liked Rue, Foxface (the ginger), that blonde chick who got stung made me hate her in short time, the chick with knives...all did good enough. Gale and Peeta were OK and Jennifer Lawrence owned a couple scenes...and that fire was well done...gamemaker central too...

I think those are all the nice things I have left to say about the movie.

Now let's get into the budget, and by extension the studio. Budget shouldn't mean that much, because look at District 9 and even Chronicle (even though the cgi wasn't too great). But I accept that $80 million for a movie like this is about half what they should've spent. Why go there? All Lionsgate makes is crappy horror movies and just bad movies for people who like bad movies. How thirsty studios are to make books with big followings...whatever. Collins could probably care less where or for how much it was made, long as she gets paid. It is what it is...what if Chronicle had double the budget? That shouldn't affect the quality of the movie this much.

Why did they shoot it like The Bourne Supremacy? Not even...that movie had nuance. The DISTANCE of the camera...it feels like every shot is the same distance from the face...there's no nuance or rhythm to it, and that makes the movie feel small, makes the arena feel small, makes the games feel short, dulls all the emotions and acting and action. You shouldn't notice that. In the director's commentary of this movie called George Washington, the guy says you gotta pull tricks sometimes to tell your story...when you're working with non-actors, you give them less to say to hide that. Well when you've got a director who can't direct the movie he's been hired for, he shakes the camera around, sticks it way too close to everyone's face and just lets the actors freestyle it. There's no composition or mastershots that work anywhere. And then I find out the dude hasn't made a movie in a decade...

That explains why this movie, except for the cgi dogs, looks like it was made in 1998.

But besides how the movie was made technically...just the storytelling is bad. What matters is the flashbacks...two incredibly important ones...one of Katniss' dad blowing up in the coal mine and the other maybe a week after that of a an 11 year old Katniss starving, looking for food in the streets for her sister and mother, ready to die when Peeta throws her bread that he burnt on purpose so he could be allowed to 'throw it away.' These two moments are vital, they open the world up and the characters up in a way that nothing inside of the games could. They're both handled so terribly it's disgusting.

The coal mine...they decide not to show it like a flashback dream during one of the however many times she goes to sleep in the arena. No, they randomly show it while she's in a trackerjacker hallucination where I guarantee you anyone who didn't read the book just thought it was her going crazy or not that big a deal. I mean they just show him in an elevator, random explosion and now half their house gets blown up? What? It'd only cost a couple minutes and vision or some kind of real (modern) understanding of storytelling, to just try and make this a moment. Nope. But that was fine, that can be what it was, because as long as you stick the other one, you're fine...

How do you +%## that up? They only use two flashbacks in the book...it's not like Game of Thrones with a million callbacks or something. I almost laughed when I saw it. All they manage to show you is Jennifer Lawrence randomly laying down in the rain outside of Peeta's place like a creep..and it literally looks like it happened a week or 2 before the games, because they for damn sure look the same age as now (16) and not 11. Then Peeta comes out to feed the pigs and oh...there's another pig over there...lemme throw her some bread too. The end.

How do you +%## that up?

The story is that her dad dying was supposed to be a big deal. Somehow in vague (I don't like thinking things through--I can't write dialogue or talk in pictures--what do you mean I ripped off Battle Royale 'Suzanne Collins') wording Katniss watches her dad blow up in the coal mines and between that and what happens next, that's why she's the cold, kind of unlikeable person that she is. And when it happens her mom practically goes comatose. She's struck with grief and won't do anything...won't go to work, won't talk, won't move, won't take care of her two daughters, and really soon the food runs out and they're literally starving to death. Because in District 12, it's not even that uncommon...just something that happens. And there's no neighbors or friends to ask for handouts, because everyone is just barely surviving. (That's why Katniss, illegally, sneaks out of the electric fences the cop dudes in white forget to turn on and hunts to trade or feed her family...but at 16, now when she was 11) So they reach the point where if she doesn't find something quick, they're gonna find bodies in her home in a day or 2, so she goes out in the rain looking/begging everywhere, finally gives up and gives in to how weak she feels and lays there ready to die, when Peeta sees her...burns bread on purpose (because even the bakers don't have enough food in District 12 and have to live off whatever goes stale) and goes out and throws a burnt loaf to her. And that gave her hope and saved her and her sister's lives, but she never had the nerve to talk to him about it until now that they're in this situation. And suddenly there's this real, strong connection with this person who might be trying to kill her soon.

It would've taken a few short minutes to just try to get that across...but no.
Act like that isn't more important than most of the whatever they showed.

I mean the letdowns were early and often. Woody Harrellson and Elizabeth Banks owned every scene they were in, even though there wasn't enough of them and they completely left Woody in the sticks when it came to sponsors and parachutes. It was so simple to solve too, explain how inflated the price of sending anything into the arena is and that 'sponsors' meant as much as just getting the richer people in the Capitol to love your character on this Big Brother type show and basically vote to help you stay on the show. The book has something (only one thing) well thought out and meaningful to say about reality television and that need to control your persona to appeal to and manipulate the audience...none of that gets across...it literally just sounds like Haymitch passed around a collection plate and instantly got them whatever they needed.

And the parachutes, not at all what I imagined. What if I told you that every time a person dies in the arena, the cannon is supposed to go off instantly. And then a hovercraft (like the one from the beginning of the movie) is supposed to de-cloak or appear outta nowhere and grapple the body up. Even grapple a few times if the body is in pieces. Every time. Apparently that would've cost too much, so they just didn't do it. But even Doctor Who could fake that on a TV budget. That makes the reality of the situation so much more intense and serious and just cinematic. If you kill someone, people will have an idea where you are soon, so run. Instead the parachutes, for some reason have a chime that lets you and anyone in earshot know that it and you are there. Really? And the speed that the parachutes come to Katniss' aid undercuts the tension so badly.

The worst part about this movie is the fact that at no point whatsoever do you ever ever ever fear for Katniss' life. I get it that we know she's gonna make it, but nothing says she's gonna get out in one piece. And what about Peeta? What about all the kids who aren't the Careers. Maybe for the first few minutes you feel any kind of fear, but then what? It just feels like she's hiking around, having an OK time and climbing trees. Are we supposed to worry about her with the fire? Sure. But right after she runs into the Careers, climbs a tree and then say 'welp, let's just go to sleep right here.' Is the girl with the knives supposed to be scary? Cuz 2 seconds later Thresh guts her and says 'hey...I was watching everything that happened back home on my TV, so I'm all caught up...you can go Katniss.' Were the dogs who get made up outta nowhere and just send them to the roof supposed to be scary? Cato who looks half dead when they find him?

The Hunger Games are supposed to be this constant state of paranoia and thirst and loneliness and fear, but the director has no idea what nuance is at all. He just stuck them out there and said yea ok, just walk over there...look around...ok just sit in that tree real quick...ok run run, let's go. That Mike D'antoni school of direction. It's so disappointing.

I mean let's take the plan at the Cornucopia for instance. She joins up with Rue (...and who doesn't love Rue?) says hey let's trick them into going over there and mess with their stuff, cuz that sounds like a plan. But we're supposed to understand how ridiculously hungry and thirsty you can get in the arena by now. It's supposed to be ingrained in every scene that dying of thirst or starving is a reality, and the careers don't know how to hunt or find food, they've just been training on how to kill. We were supposed to know by now that the Cornucopia was stacked with food and that they've been eating good. So this masterplan is a big one...you get rid of the food and suddenly you don't need to be bigger or stronger or roll deep like them. You just need to hide and get food for yourself. That levels the playing field. But nope...none of that. And then, they don't even manage to make the place look like anything special at all. The Cornucopia sucks...that's it? That looks like a Raiders tailgate...How do you make an open field look so ugly and worthless? The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has better production value. Lost's forest>> And the landmines...it just looks like some stupid @*! gopher holes. And they don't bother to have a 60 second show-me that explains that the kid left guarding the food, was the one who moved the landmines and that's the only reason they kept him alive...because of that AMC budget we get no info, so who knows where the bombs even came from.

Then the apples dropping looks straight out of Walker, Texas Ranger.

And how shoddy the direction was, it looked to me like Katniss was plain as day standing right in front of the Careers and no one noticed her.
But I'll admit, they did really well with the Rue scene, but that scene writes, acts and directs itself.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Thresh though. The did dude so dirty. Just bad blocking, directing, editing, storytelling, everything. The way we saw it, the girl with knives attacks her, almost kills her, Thresh kills knives girl, then tells Katniss she can dip...in the book most of that's the same, except while he's got knives girl she's screaming for Cato, because we were supposed to understand that she and him are from the same District, so that whole 2 people can win thing, only applied to those two beasts and the District 12 kids. And Cato is screaming her name from the woods getting closer, and after Thresh kills her Katniss tells him what she did for Rue, all the while Cato is running towards them. Thresh says you get 1 pass and we're even half because he cared about Rue (everyone now would care more about the other person from their District since they could've both went home) and half because he knows Katniss is a small fish, the big game is coming. So in the background of her running is this Battle Royale of the 2 strongest guys in the game. That's why Cato looks half dead when they find him on the roof. But of course, the director %%+** that completely.

Just the Careers in general. they shortchanged the training so bad. and not even in length...they didn't much explain anyone. How do you shrink 22 people trying to kill you into, 1 guy, a couple **+$!$% and a bunch of redshirts? The Districts...at least make an effort to try and keep track of who's still alive...at least, no? couldn't change anything? we didn't bother introducing them so why bring it up now? cool cool cool ...The Training...

+%## outta here. You know when someone lets you mess with a piano or drums or w/e and you realize just how badly you're never gonna be worth anything at it. That's all the training montage was. Uncreative storytelling, simple scenes that only have one dumb thing to say. The cgi at the chariot scene

That's Spartacus first episode ever bad. The fire dresses were important because blah blah they didn't have time, whatever. I almost forgot the trackerjackers...whatever, I just looked at how much I typed...I don't even care anymore. They shoulda been bigger and had more of an effect? Sure, why not. And that girl who got killed by Katniss, the campfire girl...If i'm not mistaken, she was only half dead and Peeta went back and killed her...that would've at least gave you a shot at thinking OK, he's with them. But nope...then they change the perspective to basically have him wink at her like, hey it's cool. like cmon man...you're not even trying. [insert other random stuff I didn't enjoy]

Oh...ok yeah...Cinna. Lenny Kravitz. Lenny did fine, but that's not good enough. *puts on Hogwart's hat* In the book he's sooooo much better. Yeah, whatever...why did I get suckered into writing all this? But yeah, Cinna's on Haymitch's level in the book. These...surrogate fathers Katniss is collecting. He's supposed to be the window that bridges the Capitol people with the District people and explains their %$%+%+ up lifestyles, perspectives and priorities. He explains how such decadent, dignified people could enjoy something so ugly and terrible. I thought they were gonna do some really profound things with him in the next books, but nah, they don't do much...except for a really really strong scene in the next movie. Unless they mess that up too. Lenny was fine, but he didn't make that lasting impression he needed to. And wasn't given much of anything to say or do.

Like Gale...and Peeta. I laughed my @*! off when I saw him by the river...just as stupid looking as it read it in the book.

I'm done. I'm tired of typing...it's just not a well done film. There's no nuance and so many oppurtunities lost. The action isn't well directed, the tone isn't consistent, the writing isn't much good, the acting feels like the director didn't give them any real direction and just thought, let's get this over with, and the first 15 minutes promised a movie that never showed up.

didnt read the book. you explained so much. much appreciated

+1. That was VERY insightful for someone like myself who didn't read the book either.

I agree with your assessment of the first part of the film too, thought it was excellent. Before the 'Games' started, the film did a great job of setting the stage and building a lot of tension.

 

[superblytrife]

Took my kids and my little bro to see this last week.  Definitely didn't see what the hype was all about.  The first hour or so was unbelievably slow and boring, and then when we actually got to the Games, that joint whizzed by like it was just another day at the ultimate frisbee course.  
I was mostly appalled that a movie like THIS is what has kids in a frenzy.  Kids offing other kids in brutal ways?  Word?  If something like this would've come out when I was a kid, everyone would've be in an uproar due to the violent aspect of it.  It just goes to show you how slowly our sensitivity to brutal violence has been whittled down over time.  Kinda scary, IMO.  

And I won't even get into the other obvious implications that this movie has....fenced off districts a.k.a. concentration camps, small elite ruling class, etc.  SMH.  

 

[venom lyrix]

Once again for people that want an impartial review, not skewed by skeptics, or fanboys/girls - http://bit.ly/GZWDTH

 

[mr kuter]

I have not read this thread:

I read all of the books before I went to see the movie and was thoroughly let down. The movie was so slow and just felt disjointed. I felt no connectivity to any of the characters or felt any type of thrill. We never got the scope of how impotant the hunger games were. We never saw how Cinna and his team felt about her being in different moments while in the hunger games. We didnt see her mom or primm go through the feelings. She didnt have any friends back home, besides, Gale routing for her. Just seemed stripped of anything that tied the districts and all the people together.

 

[jfmartimcdandruff]

seen it....i definitely need to read the books...ppl keep telling me i missed a lot not explained in the movie. And there's a great review in this thread that helped me out
one thing i gotta ask, is were they really about to commit suicide at the end though? 

 I mean i get the whole fake love/feelings, i was thinking that either Peeta or Katniss wouldn't eat the berries while the other did in order to win the game

 

[livemyreality]

Originally Posted by JFMartiMcDandruff

seen it....i definitely need to read the books...ppl keep telling me i missed a lot not explained in the movie. And there's a great review in this thread that helped me out
one thing i gotta ask, is were they really about to commit suicide at the end though? 

 I mean i get the whole fake love/feelings, i was thinking that either Peeta or Katniss wouldn't eat the berries while the other did in order to win the game

Yeah, they really were. In the book, Peeta said something along the lines that he wanted to prove a point or make a statement in the Hunger Games. So, unintentionally, the thought of committing suicide was a way of sticking it to the government. (Well, that's what I got out of the book. If I'm wrong, sorry.)
Just read the first chapter of the second book Catching Fire...It looks like this is going to be a good book.

 

[sleepybluedemon]

I read all 3 books and really enjoyed them. I got through all 3 in a week before I saw the movie. All I can say is that I'm not sure how anyone who read the books first was not let down at all. I hope they throw a lot more money into the next 2 to capture the magnitude and grandeur of the 2nd arena and the 13th district and the rebellions, along with throwing in maybe an extra half hour or so to get more relevant stuff from the book in. Also, katniss is beautiful but that actress' chubby cheeks kinda irk me a lil bit for some reason...

 

[dmbrhs]

Originally Posted by DrewDioxin

I wouldn't piss on this films canister or the books if they were on fire.

The broad that wrote the damn books kills me with the " I have heard of this Battle Royale thing, but never read it," BS. it's been out for a decade.

As I've said before, Battle Royale isn't original either. Both Battle Royale and Hunger Games owe their existence to a combination of The Lottery and The Most Dangerous Game. It's all derivative.

And Battle Royale is not a good movie. The only reason people like that movie is because it's an edgy foreign film. It's a piece of crap and almost unwatchable.

 

[pharelfor3]

Originally Posted by TheGr8BlkHope

was i the only one who would point and say "you maaaad" when they would cut to Gale after "Katnipp" kissed "PETA?"

I kept yelling "He Mad" when they showed the cutaway of him.


Movie was surprisingly good. Kinda suck they didnt show the black dudes death on screen.

 

[young handsome]

Just seen it at the movies... Cool movie


I would easily win the hunger games... I'm a real *@%%+
EDIT: I also said he was mad when they showed him viewing the kiss

 

[el rey jr]

This movie is definitely the worst movie I have eer seen. I was expecting way WAY more! Should of listen to people in this post.

 

[dmoney82]

Just saw it today. It was good but it could have been way better. I suggest you read the book, it's sooooo much better than this. They left out so much little stuff like Peeta cutting his hands after Katniss pushed him, Katniss ear bleeding, her hearing Cato saying he cut Peeta.... a lot of %!! that I was looking forward to seeing. Joint got mad slow at times.

 

[Junok]

Originally Posted by dmbrhs

Originally Posted by DrewDioxin

I wouldn't piss on this films canister or the books if they were on fire.

The broad that wrote the damn books kills me with the " I have heard of this Battle Royale thing, but never read it," BS. it's been out for a decade.

As I've said before, Battle Royale isn't original either. Both Battle Royale and Hunger Games owe their existence to a combination of The Lottery and The Most Dangerous Game. It's all derivative.

And Battle Royale is not a good movie. The only reason people like that movie is because it's an edgy foreign film. It's a piece of crap and almost unwatchable.

This is what i thought of when i've heard of The Hunger Games. Read this book back in Freshmen year of high school. 

 

[tdogg2k]

I saw the movie last night.
1st I want to say for all the people who had racist comments about the 3 black people in the movie. Thats just straight ******ed..1 said 1 line then died 5 mins later. How could u hate the little girl because she was light skin (you have no heart if you werent the least bit sad)
and finally............Lenny Krazvitz....(nuff said)

2nd movie was good to watch, but it doesn't pull me in to read the books, I can wait another year or so to watch the other movies, and to be honest I probably won't even go to the theater to do that. just wait for DVD..

Just wasn't terribly original, I think thats why...

Also Mystique...aka Katniss... Is cute. but the people who were saying like shes the next hot starlet.....STOP it.

NOT Hating on the people who like this movie though. like i said, it was good to watch.

 

[gopowergoh]

My wife made me watch the movie because she had read all the books. I thought the movie was okay, interesting concept. Check out the hunger games done with beanie babies. surprisingly accurate! http://io9.com/5898108/be...faithful-to-the-original

 

[All Ready]

movie was long as hell for no reason

it took an hour just for the actual games to jump off

def wouldn't watch it again

 

[roc4life24]

the actual games were not captured with the right of intensity as in the book.
the rue death felt weak and contrived on screen. 

the cave scene again weak.

director built no relationships really. didnt bond the character correctly in the first hour.

should have started with reasoning behind hunger games instead of those silly flashbacks

Peta and karniss didnt need flashbacks, should have started it as entire scene , not diced up.

i read the books and was very disappointed. hopefully Ross isnt around for the next film.