The Hunger Games

[Havok C.]

Is it more like Running Man than Battle Royale?

Does it matter? We're talking about the Hunger Games, not vague and obscure movies people haven't heard about.

[Simbob4000]

Does it matter? We're talking about the Hunger Games, not vague and obscure movies people haven't heard about.

You mean Hunger Games, that thing most people haven't heard about until right now, when they started showing commercials for the movie?

Sure Battle Royale is somewhat obscure, I guess, I mean it's not like real obscure...but vague? What do you even mean by that?

[Cowtools]

Is it more like Running Man than Battle Royale?

It has a similar premise of teenager fighting each other from Battle Royale, but the idea of the media coverage as a form of modern day 'bread and circuses' is more akin to The Running Man.

There's also a dash of classic dystopian stories aka Logan's Run, and a critique of reality TV ala Series 7: The Contenders.

But to me, the movie it most closely resembles (in themes, not style) is Gamer, the Nevadine/Taylor movie with Gerald Butler from a few years ago; particularly the themes of desensitization and media manipulation for political purposes.

Ultimately though, the books read more like an original story that was arrived at independently of any other story; it just happens to be very archetypal story.

[Cowtools]

Well, I just got back from seeing this film at a midnight screening, and I genuinely think it was the best possible adaptation they could have managed. Which is to say it was really, truely great.

It hit all the right beats of the story and didn't detract from the serious themes. It gave equal weight to the build-up and to the games themselves. The games were less action packed than might be expected, but the super-fast editing and shakes cam make you feel like you're in the games with Katniss and it really conveys an alternating sense of dread and panic.
I generally don't like this style of filming, but here it's actually appropriate; so much is conveyed through the style of filming that they don't have to linger on gory death scenes. That was a smart decision, as I think younger kids will enjoy watching this film as it doesnt talk down to them.

But what carries the film is the acting. Everyone was so believable and affecting. Even Lenny Kravitz, who brought real gravitas to what could have been a stock character. Woody Harrelson - not my first choice - was terrific, bring some black comic relief. But Jennifer Lawrence pretty much had to carry the film on her shoulders, and she is just exceptional. She doesn't fall back on a stereotypical 'tough chick' act or soap opera style histrionics; she creates a character who's almost painfully free of artifice, but nevertheless somewhat inscrutable. Lawrence conveys so much of Katniss' character in what she doesn't say and how she doesn't say it.

The music is beautiful too, a mix of ironic heroic orchestral music courtesy of James Newton Howard, and heart-tuggin Americana from T Bone Burnett. Used sparingly. Every element of the design - the music, the costumes, and set design - was carefully balanced so everything blended to create a convincing dystopian world.

TL,DR = If you're a fan of the books, don't worry. If you're not, you'll enjoy this as well.

[felix77]

How's Josh Hutcherson as Peeta? I am a little curious of the scenes he has with Lawrence.

[thwhtGuardian]

You mean Hunger Games, that thing most people haven't heard about until right now, when they started showing commercials for the movie?

Sure Battle Royale is somewhat obscure, I guess, I mean it's not like real obscure...but vague? What do you even mean by that?

Eh, you may not have heard about it until the movie came out, and there are certainly others like you...but it was a best selling series of novels before the movie was announced so I don't think it was obscure to most people.

[Simbob4000]

Eh, you may not have heard about it until the movie came out, and there are certainly others like you...but it was a best selling series of novels before the movie was announced so I don't think it was obscure to most people.

I didn't say I didn't know what it was, I rememeber seeing something about it before or around the time it came out, and I've known about it for awhile now because of Battle Royale. But, it's still obscure, it doesn't matter if it was a best selling series, most people didn't know what the hell Hunger Games was until they started showing commercials for it. Hunger Games wasn't like something people just knew about like Harry Potter and Twilight, it wasn't ever out there and all over the place like Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was for a time.

[Cowtools]

How's Josh Hutcherson as Peeta? I am a little curious of the scenes he has with Lawrence.

He was great!
Peseta is a strange character by action film standards; he's not a wuss, but he's not a man-of-action either. He's a follower, not a leader. You can believe he's strong enought to survive for a while, but not that he'd ever win. He's more of a Action Survivor.
Hutcherson effectively captures Peeta's lack of guile and intrinsic good nature without overplaying it and making him a mopey loser.

As to his scenes with Lawrence... They were both very believable. Their interaction was very naturalistic. You could believe that Peeta had a crush on Katniss (who wouldn't?), and that she was completely flummoxed by the idea, but there were no melodramatic histrionics to shove it down our throats.
As to whether their scenes together will appease shippers... I couldn't say. It was all so understated. Don't expect too much squeeing or gifs of them locked in a passionate embrace. The filmmakers were smart enough to realize that pandering to the audience would undermine the story's intent.

[paulski]

Anyone else see Jennifer Lawrence on Letterman? She was just hysterical (and more than a little cute) - she's the best possible advertisement for this movie.

[Cowtools]

Anyone else see Jennifer Lawrence on Letterman? She was just hysterical (and more than a little cute) - she's the best possible advertisement for this movie.

Got link??

[felix77]

He was great!
Peseta is a strange character by action film standards; he's not a wuss, but he's not a man-of-action either. He's a follower, not a leader. You can believe he's strong enought to survive for a while, but not that he'd ever win. He's more of a Action Survivor.
Hutcherson effectively captures Peeta's lack of guile and intrinsic good nature without overplaying it and making him a mopey loser.

As to his scenes with Lawrence... They were both very believable. Their interaction was very naturalistic. You could believe that Peeta had a crush on Katniss (who wouldn't?), and that she was completely flummoxed by the idea, but there were no melodramatic histrionics to shove it down our throats.
As to whether their scenes together will appease shippers... I couldn't say. It was all so understated. Don't expect too much squeeing or gifs of them locked in a passionate embrace. The filmmakers were smart enough to realize that pandering to the audience would undermine the story's intent.

Good to know that. Josh said in an interview that he didn't want Peeta to come off too "Googly eyed" or lovesick to the audience. Basically, he said Peeta is a very level headed guy with a strong sense of who he is. Admitting he is in love with Katniss is Peeta's way of asserting himself and showing who he is. Correct?

Re-read the book recently. And Katniss comes off as really over-suspicious and a bit catty to the other characters.

Don't get me wrong. I understand where she's coming from. But it bugs me a little. Does this side of Katniss's personality show up in the film?

[Cowtools]

Re-read the book recently. And Katniss comes off as really over-suspicious and a bit catty to the other characters.

Don't get me wrong. I understand where she's coming from. But it bugs me a little. Does this side of Katniss's personality show up in the film?

Not as much as in the book I think. Because we don't get Katniss' internal monologue, she comes of as more of a taciturn loner in the film, rather than overly suspicious and socially awkward. We have to infer her thoughts from Lawrence's acting, which she manages to pull off exceptionally well. There's an early scene where she sits down to eat with Haymitch that is a perfect example.

[paulski]

Got link??

Sorry, no. I only happened to catch her on it while I was channel hopping the other night.

[leothelion]

I would have loved this movie if not for the shaky camera. Seriously, it goes back and fourth and it was hard to follow a lot of the events going on, when they all are starting to run to the supplies when the game begins you could barely see any of the fighting and you couldn't tell what was happening. This is what ruined the movie for me other than that I enjoyed it though I thought some of the characters could have been more flourished for those who did not read the book.

[Cowtools]

I would have loved this movie if not for the shaky camera. Seriously, it goes back and fourth and it was hard to follow a lot of the events going on, when they all are starting to run to the supplies when the game begins you could barely see any of the fighting and you couldn't tell what was happening. This is what ruined the movie for me other than that I enjoyed it though I thought some of the characters could have been more flourished for those who did not read the book.

I usually hate shaky-cam too, but I think it worked well in this film, because it's a very intense and disorienting way of filming, so it makes the action seem more violent without having to show much gore, and thereby it can keep the rating down so that teens can view it. I think it was a pretty smart play on behalf of the filmmakers.

(Also, I just learned that this film opened in Australia before anywhere else. It a weird feeling having seen this awesome film and having no one to talk about it with yet. That never happens in Australia, where we usually get films and TV at least a month after the US)