Welcome, Welcome... to the Hunger Games

[John Doe]

Well the movie is finally here. Well, it was release at midnight a half day ago (my time). I'll go see it after the rabid fans see it... something after next week. No offense to you fans on this forum but every midnight showing I've been through has been less than satisfactory because the kids are overly excited and more than a group has to talk through it all or make noises of all sort, whether its sighing, oooing and ahhhhing, or clapping, or the few who screams out at the screen just to be heard.

Anyway, I am a very big fan of the books.

So, did anyone go see it already? How was it?


(Seems like the trailers for this movie can't be embedded... )

[Freddyness]

I seen the Ad it seems like one of thoes films I wouldn't pay more than a pound for XD

[Anya]

I saw the movie today. It was amazing. Just like the books. I think fans of the books will definetely enjoy it.

[Cyhort]

Never read the books but I saw the movie today and it was pretty damn good. Better than I thought it'd be. I still like John Carter more, but I'd definitely see it again b^_^

[intune]

I haven't read the books but I'm really excited to see the movie, the previews were interesting

[Anya]

Hah...well you didn't really have to read the book since the move was just like it. I thought it was very well done. A hundred times better than the Twilight book to movie adaptation for sure. Ugh...I just loved it. Definetely gonna see it again as well.

[Audi]

Going to watch it on Monday

[CassieQ]

I am going tomorrow. The wait is killing me. I thought the books were excellent, the kind that I can rip through in a couple hours. I hope the movie lives up to all the hype I've been hearing.

[colinian]

We're absolutely going, but only when the crowds are smaller. I hate standing in lines.

 

The books are excellent. There's always something new happening, usually something bad. That's good! Keeps the interest up.

 

If The Hunger Games had been posted on GA chapter by chapter, I think the title of the most notorious cliff-hanger author would have to be transferred from CJames to Suzanne Collins.

 

Check out all of the vids from, about, and based on The Hunger Games on YouTube. Amazing!

 

Colin

[methodwriter85]

So, I just got back from seeing the movie...my thoughts...

 

S

 

P

 

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L

 

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I hated them not having the part where Rue's district sends Katniss bread, but I think I got why they did it. Instead of Peeta's speech in Catching Fire inspiring the riot, it was watching Katniss put the flowers on Rue that did it. In the book, it was clear that the part with the flowers was not shown to the audience, but it looks like they saw that here. That realization made it a little easier to deal with them kiboshing the bread scene. It was weird- I agree with the general sentiment that they underplayed Rue's part, and I didn't cry during the actual death. It was when Katniss put the flowers around Rue that I teared up.

 

My favorite scene had to be the trayjacker part- it had all the right tension to it, and they didn't shy away from turning Glimmer into the mangled mess she was described as being. I was thinking the violence would get really toned down, but it didn't get toned down as much as I thought- the neck snap of the District 3 boy was just ruthless, and I'm glad they didn't take that out. I loved how much glee they depicted the careers having when they killed- that felt right.

 

And I liked Cato's speech a lot. My interpretation of it was that Cato came to the realization that they had picked out Katniss and Peeta as the final two, and he was quite literally just cannon fodder. Cato had been raised to believe that he was going to be the valiant hero, and in the end, he was just the final obstacle for Lover Boy and the Girl on Fire. Cato never had a shot, and for someone who genuinely believed that he was going to be so much better at these games than everyone else, to realize that he was being thrown under the bus for two white trash hillbillies from District 12 drove him to the end.

 

Jennifer Lawrence managed to convey a lot of emotion while still having me believe that this was a girl who generally did not wear her heart on her sleeve. The cold, cold interaction with her mother was so well-done. As well as the end, when Katniss is wearing that ridiculous yellow tulle dress, and she's trying to sell this big romance- the dazed look on her face while she recited what Haymitch told her to say was great. The chariot outfit kind of disappointed, but that yellow dress was hilariously perfect- you could see clearly see it as, "Look at this silly young girl so in love that she tried to pull a Romeo and Juliet. She wasn't trying to call the Capital's bluff at all, no siree!"

 

I think Josh Hutcherson did well- the smile and wave at the crowd was perfect, but if there's one thing the movie failed at, it was taking the little bits of dialogue that Peeta had, that really developed him as a character. They cut down on Peeta's cave scene speech so much, and we lost the bit about how Katniss's father could stop the birds with his voice, which was such a beautiful bit in the book. I also wish they had kept the bit about Peeta losing his leg, because that was such a permanent physical reminder of what they had gone through. But I guess they can't have their teen idol legless, right?

 

I'm undecided about Peeta not finding out that Katniss had completely played him in the Games, like he did at the end of the book. On one hand, that seemed really important, because it sets up the freezing out that Peeta does to Katniss during the early part of Catching Fire. On the other hand, there's something interesting about how Katniss pretty much has to play the lovestruck teenager the entire time they're back in District 12, without Peeta realizing that it's a showmance.

 

Overall, I'm definitely satisfied with the movie. Move over, Bella Swann. It's all about Katniss Everdeen now!

[hh5]

First it made 214 million this weekend

 

Second - i was checking IMDB to see what the movie was about and

 

and this comment was an eye catcher

 

"boycott a movie about kids killing kids"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/board/nest/196678407

 

Surprising it PG-13

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/parentalguide#certification

[Krista]

ooooh.. I wanna see this movie SO BAD!

[Traveller_23]

I haven't read the 3rd book yet, so I don't know if I can give a complete opinion. But I thought the movie was okay...some of right emotions and tension was missing though, IMO, i.e. Katniss and Peeta scenes were quite flat. Also, there wasn't enough explanation for people who haven't read the book (although I don't know how they could have done that without making the film long and boring!).

 

Also, Katniss. She's awesome sometimes....and sometimes she a slightly less pathetic version of Bella (based on her Gale/Peeta dilemma). Great.

[Prince Duchess]

This movie intrigues me, for a couple reasons. It looks interesting, its has the hot Liam Hemsworth in it and I just recently learned that the movie came from a book.

 

So I think i'll go see the movie and check out the book or books. I dont even know if its a series let alone what its about. lol

[John Doe]

They're a great series. There are three books totaled. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. Story is believed to take place in the future in a ruined North America. Katniss is the protagonist in which she enters the games, santioned by the government, to survive and to take the palce of her little sister who was actually called to "serve." The books are written well. I am very much in love with the first book. It touches upon a lot of things: freedom, and it's meaning; government and how we allow them to control us; and then the driving emotions that make us who we are and do what we do. You should read the books.

 

214... ah that must be the worldwide combined total. Which made me think... how is it that Americans always spends so much money at the movies? 155 million for US (domestically, if you are American).... I believe in an article I read this movie pulled under 10 mil for the UK and 7 mil from the Aussies. Huge difference. It's not just this movie... Twilight, Harry Potter, and Avator... all made huge amounts in the US and moderate or less than moderate amounts elsewhere when compared to the US sum... difference of culture? Is our population difference really that vast? Economic inflation? It boggles my mind.

[methodwriter85]

The United States has around 313 million people, while the UK has about 62 million and Australia has about 20 million people. It makes sense.

 

The books are great. The movie was pretty good, but god, I really wish they had retained more of Peeta's dialogue.

[comicfan]

The series was great. I don't know if I will get to see the movie. I loved the books, even though the last one was so dark. I won't spoil it for those who haven't read them. Sounds as though they did a decent adaptation of the book.

[methodwriter85]

Damn, this is so messed up.

 

Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed

 

I wish I could say this shocked me, but it doesn't. It's amazing how many people keep insisting that Obama isn't actually a citizen of the country.

[John Doe]

Damn, this is so messed up.

 

Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed

 

I wish I could say this shocked me, but it doesn't. It's amazing how many people keep insisting that Obama isn't actually a citizen of the country.

 

Yeah and those folks in the screen captures aren't just white folks... poor reading skills and they have a psychological brain washing of some sort.... the guy had copper red skin = white guy.... her olive tan complexion and cool brown eyes = white girl, his dark rich skin contrasted vastly with the butter creme lotion = very very tan white guy...

 

[bUT BUt But but... the author didn't say black, Asian, or American Indian...

 

And the author definately stated white, riiiiight...

 

Reread those again it says white person! ]

 

It's almost as if those people have deluded themselves to think that if an author or decription doesn't flat out TELL them it's a black person, or Asian, or American Indian, etc. they automatically assume white... and then proceeds to tell themselves that indeed they were said as being white.

 

Reminds me of a project an artist did back in the 80s, where she went and photographed little non white girls and asked them which doll they thought were prettier and more attractive and 9/10 said the white barbie or the white girl doll... Part of this I see is a form of cultural disassociation, negative cultural stigma, poor self image, and the concept that to be successful one have to be white. This country (US of A)pretends its over race, pretends to march forward in race, but it's still rooted in race... heck even women still are a degraded group of minority (and this isn't even about race) and women make up more than half of the populous. Sad thing indeed.

 

Regardless, The Hunger Games is a great series. Check it out from your library (though you'll more than likely be waitlisted... my local branches has a waitlist of 400 plus peoples for the first book alone) or buy it.

[Anya]

The movie was just like the book. I dunno what their problem is. I loved both.

[CassieQ]

Damn, this is so messed up. Racist Hunger Games Fans Are Very Disappointed I wish I could say this shocked me, but it doesn't. It's amazing how many people keep insisting that Obama isn't actually a citizen of the country.

-I don't see how race effects the nature of the characters. Rue's personality made her who she was, not her skin color. I don't even see how this matters to people, it is beyond my comprehension.

-Fans should read the books. Rue and Thresh, at least, are clearlydescribed as having dark brown skin.

-In the main movie trailer (the one that John Doe posted) it shows Cinna and Rue's characters. (I recognized them right away). I don't see how many people could walk into this movie without seeing that. I understand not everyone watches movie trailers, but I think a fan would at least check it out. But like I said...it really shouldn't matter.

 

I loved the movie and thought it was very well done. I liked the casting, I thought it was great. I agree with methodwriter85 that having more dialogue with the cave scenes would have done well to develop Peeta's character. However, I think the way Peeta looked at Katniss while he was applying the medicine to her forehead did more for that scene than dialogue would have. Just my opinion.

[methodwriter85]

As much as I liked the movie...here were the two scenes that were done better by amateur Youtube fans than in the actual movie...

 

 

 

I was so mad they took out the part where Peeta tells her about how his father was in love with her mother, as well as the whole, "I remember everything about you. You're the one who wasn't paying attention." The cave scene was cut down so much in the movie.

[colinian]

As much as I liked the movie...here were the two scenes that were done better by amateur Youtube fans than in the actual movie...

 

 

 

I was so mad they took out the part where Peeta tells her about how his father was in love with her mother, as well as the whole, "I remember everything about you. You're the one who wasn't paying attention." The cave scene was cut down so much in the movie.

The Katniss and Rue scene is amazing. It has so much emotion. It's as good as most of the scenes in the film. I've probably watched this vid ten times, and will continue to watch it. Something I enjoyed is that the casts in the amateur vids look more age-appropriate than some of the actors in the film.

 

I agree with you about the scenes you listed for Peeta. How much longer would the film have been if they'd been included? Ten or fifteen minutes? Including them would have made it much better.

 

Colin

[Anya]

I went and saw the movie again today and I agree that they should have included those scenes with Peeta. E was more like a side character in the movie....but Josh sometimes had that childish, innocent look I liked about Peeta so much, so that was good.

[Pai-kun]

I loved the movie almost as much as I loved the books. The pacing of the movie was a little off imo. But considering how disappointed I usually am by movie adaptions of books I love, they did a great job! They did change some cruicial things both to the pace of the story as well as the characters(Katniss is portrayed as more in charge and heroic in the movie as opposed to the books). I love both the book and the movie as separate way of telling the same story! Gonna watch the movie tonight again!

Edited March 30, 2012 by Pai-kun