This was the first time I actually watched the original since the theatrical release. I had forgotten what a game-changer (no pun intended) it really was. This launched Jennifer Lawrence into A-list status and reminded us that there's more than one hot Hemsworth. Beyond that, I had forgotten that it's a very enjoyable movie in and of itself. The shaky cam still annoys me, especially in the cornucopia scene, but I'm much more tolerant of it at home than I am in a theater.
I can't imagine at this point that there are people who still haven't seen at least one of the films but if you are one of these unicorns and you held out on seeing them to see how they would do, or because you hate cliffhangers, or YA adaptations, or movies that intentionally split a book in two to make more money..., you know, now that I think about it, there are probably a lot of reasons why you wouldn't see this movie. Watch it anyway. It's a damn decent film. Originally posted 25 Mar 12.
So this has become a huge thing. I went to see it because I had read the books (reluctantly, since I have a policy of not reading things meant for children) and I wanted to see what they would cut out to make it PG-13 (almost all of the blood and, in many cases, the actual moment of death) but I was not prepared for how many people would be in the theater. I didn't go to the midnight premiere, either, I went late in the afternoon on the day after it came out. Still, the two shows before mine were completely sold out and I couldn't even get my seat-on-either-side comfort bubble. I rose above my trials, however, to watch this movie and bring my thoughts to you. Here they are: you should probably read the books. I'm not saying you can't go to the theater tomorrow and watch this movie and not be able to understand anything. You totally can. But the books provide so much more in the way of context. This is one of those rare times for me that the book isn't so much better than the movie that seeing the film makes me angry. Whether that's a compliment to the movie or a dig on the book, I'm not sure. I found the narration of the main character a little choppy at times but she's basically a teenager with PTSD so that makes sense.
The one fatal flaw I found with the movie version is shaky-cam. So much shaky-cam. It made me want to throw things at the screen. I'm guessing it served to minimize some of the graphic violence that is supposed to be going on but, as a fairly bloodthirsty adult, it irritated the shit out of me.
In a future dystopian America, twelve districts are under the control of The Capitol. After a failed rebellion, the districts are forced to choose by lottery a boy and a girl between 12 and 18 to participate in a fight to the death called The Hunger Games. The winner's district receives comfort and food and the winner gets a life of luxury. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is a hunter from district 12, a poor coal-mining region, who volunteers to take the place of her 12-year-old sister when her name is called. Joining her is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), the baker's son. Once they arrive at the Capitol, they are handed over to a team of stylists, led by Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), and trained by their mentor, a drunk named Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), all while trying to come to grips with the fact that they will most likely die in the Arena.
These movies are going to make so much money that the two sequels are pretty much a given. Of the three books, I found Catching Fire to be the most entertaining of the three and The Mockingjay to be the most depressing. It will be interesting to see how they'll make the transition to the big screen and if they'll be able to get everybody back.
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