Who's seeing The Hunger Games this week???

[valsa]

Saw it today and loved it. I kept elbowing my friend when Rue showed up but she loves her too, so it worked. She got me back by silently laughing at my attempts to quietly bawl my eyes out when Rue died.

I'm still up in the air about Katniss not getting the bread from District 11. We did get the awesome riot footage but I worry that's going to take some of the shock away from the second movie (the scene where Katniss and Peeta tour D11 and the old guy (?) starts whistling Rue's song, then gets killed for it) If we've already seen the Peacekeepers' violent methods of putting down the rebellion, it'll just be old news in Movie 2. Then again, I don't think any of the rioters were outright shown as being killed in this movie. I kept anticipating (not in a good way) hearing shots fired in the riot scene but never did)

Almost all the other changes I understood and was fine with. Peeta keeping his leg was a little weird. I know it wasn't a vital plot point that he lose it (at least, not that I remember) but it did serve to highlight that even the winners of the Hunger Games were losers. I’m also a little disappointed the dog creatures weren’t like in the books*. I understand that they would have really been hard to convey properly in a movie but they do begin the trend of President Snow using shit like genetically engineered creatures to fuck with people. One thing I outright did not like was that they cut out the part where Peeta finished off the girl who lit the fire near Katniss on the first night. I know they probably thought it would make him too unlikeable but I thought it showed how far he’d go to protect Katniss.

*For those who don’t remember, the dog creatures were specifically engineered so that their fur and eye color were the same as the hair and eye color of the dead children. It seriously fucked with Katniss’ head because, in her exhaustion and grief, she briefly thought they might also have the minds/consciousness of the dead kids as well. I’ve always found that notion one of the creepiest things in the books (about child murder games), so I was sad to see it go.

One and Done, most of the gore happens just off-screen. They usually pan away as the kill itself is taking place, then pan back to the dead (or in the case of Rue, dying) child. There was a four year old watching it in the theater I was in who didn't seem bothered by it, but different kids are sensitive to different things.

[Deleted02]

Yeah, the violence is down played IMO.

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm gonna take her then if the violence is downplayed. All reviews have been positive so i'm excited to see it too!

[doggie]

I have a feeling i'm going to be the odd one out on this, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, it's good! But there were a lot of little things that were changed for no reason that bothered me, and something about the filming put me off, but I can't really put my finger on it.

Still going to try to see it again if I can get someone to watch the kids. :D

ETA - they showed a promo thing for Kirk Cameron's new movie before the show! All of the comments I overheard when it was showing were mocking him, which pleased my heart greatly.

I agree it was not bad but it was not fantastic either. Katinss never really went through most of what the did in the book. it was enjoyable but not earth shattering.

[Deleted02]

Well the book is written as though she is telling the story and it's her thoughts. That can be hard to portray in a movie.

[valsa]

I agree it was not bad but it was not fantastic either. Katinss never really went through most of what the did in the book. it was enjoyable but not earth shattering.

I think some of it was limited simply by the movie format. In the books we were inside Katniss' head and had a front row seat to all of her emotional turmoil and suffering. I think it's almost impossible to convey that inner emotional stuff in a format where we're not only not inside her head, but we're in an environment where she can't even talk about any of it to someone (usually an adequate way to externalize things that were internalized in different formats) because 1) she's alone most of the time, and 2) even if she weren't alone, she couldn't risk the ever-present Capital hearing and punishing her or her family for whatever she said.

ETA: Because Whiskeykel beat me to it and because "duffering" is not a word.

[shrewlu]

My 12yo son and I went to see it today and we both enjoyed it. He thought it was amazing and I thought it was pretty good. Jennifer Lawrence did a good job as Katniss and it was a very pretty movie.

[StarrieEyedKat]

I think some of it was limited simply by the movie format. In the books we were inside Katniss' head and had a front row seat to all of her emotional turmoil and suffering. I think it's almost impossible to convey that inner emotional stuff in a format where we're not only not inside her head, but we're in an environment where she can't even talk about any of it to someone (usually an adequate way to externalize things that were internalized in different formats) because 1) she's alone most of the time, and 2) even if she weren't alone, she couldn't risk the ever-present Capital hearing and punishing her or her family for whatever she said.

ETA: Because Whiskeykel beat me to it and because "duffering" is not a word.

I know I'm being nitpicky about most of the things that bothered me, it really was a great movie and very true to the books, so I was pleased for the most part. I especially enjoyed Stanley Tucci (I have ALWAYS loved him) Elizabeth Banks and Woody Harrelson, they brought a little much needed humor and nailed their parts. I was let down by Lenny Kravitz though, I loved Cinna, but he was a little boring to me in the movie.

I really appreciated how they added in the behind the scenes look of how the Games were run - I'm actually kind of sad the Seneca Crane died, because he was awesome. The biggest things that bothered me were small and insignificant, but I feel like they were left out/played down for no reason. Things like the the food they eat - both on the train and the big meal that the sponsers/Haymitch sent while they were in the cave (they shortened the cave scene too much, that's where they really delved into Katniss' and Peeta's "love" story), they left out the sleeping medicine that Katniss used on Peeta and it bugged me that the medicine sent to save Peeta was another topical cream and not liquid in a hypodermic needle for his blood poisoning, that fact that they didn't show Katniss dealing with dehydration before she found the lake, the fact that Thresh didn't question how she honored Rue's death...just a bunch of little stuff like that. I get why they couldn't keep the mutts looking like the tributes (although I was REALLY looking forward to seeing them) and I understand why they cut things like the Avox story, but I feel like they spent too much time on the first half of the book - it was a little slow at parts - and sacrificed a little too much of what went on in the Games. I was also disappointed with the outfits Cinna was suppose to have created, I thought they were a let down.

That's probably the best way to sum all of this up - with every HP movie, I was looking SO forward to seeing them and I was never let down. I was anticipating this movie just as much, and I felt a bit let down after seeing it. Still a great movie, just not as great as I was hoping it would be.

[Conuly]

I just saw it today. Still processing....

1. I love that they included some of the behind the scenes things about how the games are produced, and also that they showed what happened to the producer. We couldn't get this in the book because of the first person narration, but it's a great addition.

2. I kinda wish they'd added in some voiceovers, though. I don't know if it could've worked, but I think the movie is missing something without Katniss' cynical little insights and occasional snark. Also, some of the scenes they cut or altered that I wanted IN the movie, I suspect they changed because they made less sense without the context of Katniss explaining things for us.

So I understand why they altered "bread from District 11" to "District 11 has a riot" (because without Katniss explaining the significance of the gift, the meaning would be a little spoiled - probably also why she didn't get the sedative for Peeta) and I don't particularly MIND the change, but I would have preferred it, I think, the way it was in the book.

3. I felt like they kinda shortchanged Rue. We could've had the scene where she talks about her own District, one more scene.

4. I can understand why they cut the scene with the Avox. It doesn't really add much to the story except to reinforce that the Capitol sucks, and my goodness, the movie was long enough as it was! And I can see why they changed Madge's gift so it came from Prim, and cut Madge altogether. I'm okay with that change.

[valsa]

Just saw an article that said Hunger Games' opening weekend beat out all the Twilight movies. My faith in humanity may be restored yet.

[lilwriter85]

I was originally going to see the movie with a few friends today but we ended up going last night. The theater was almost packed. The trailer for Kirk Cameron's movie didn't come out and I was a bit disappointed. I loved the movie and I loved the performances by Jennifer Lawrence and Elizabeth Banks.

[lilwriter85]

Just saw an article that said Hunger Games' opening weekend beat out all the Twilight movies. My faith in humanity may be restored yet.

I heard about that too and I kind of laughed. I do like the Twilight movies but not to an extreme extent. I think The Hunger Games series are better than the Twilight books. I have seen people bash both Suzanne Collins and Stephenie Meyer. I think Collins is a better writer than Meyer.

[DistantStar]

I just got home. No Kirk Cameron, which leaves me both disappointed and relieved.

I really liked it. I didn't love it, but I thought it was really good.

And there is no comparing this with Twilight. Katniss? Is an actual character. And nobody sparkles -- well, their makeup does, but it's not the same thing at all.

[BlackHawk]

You know... I didn't like it that much. I mean, it was much better than Twilight... but it just was too rushed.

In my opinion, they didn't spend a lot of time on the parts they should have... the parts that made Katniss human and showed the growth of Peeta and her relationship. I do love the behind the games scenes with Haymitch... I just wish they would have paid more attention to the smaller details.

Now I am off to purchase and read the second book... I just hope they get better instead of worse like I've heard a few people say happens!

[StarrieEyedKat]

You know... I didn't like it that much. I mean, it was much better than Twilight... but it just was too rushed.

In my opinion, they didn't spend a lot of time on the parts they should have... the parts that made Katniss human and showed the growth of Peeta and her relationship. I do love the behind the games scenes with Haymitch... I just wish they would have paid more attention to the smaller details.

Now I am off to purchase and read the second book... I just hope they get better instead of worse like I've heard a few people say happens!

I agree with what's under your spoiler tag!

And as for the books, they don't necessarily get worse, but the third one is completely different from the first two - some people weren't a fan, others were.

[Conuly]

In the third book, a lot of people don't like how Katniss acts.

Frankly, I think Katniss by that point is fully losing it. I think she spends most of the first two books with a case of PTSD, and by the third book she's pretty much incapable of keeping it together. It's just hard for us to tell because at that point in the series we have multiple examples of people who are superficially worse off than she is. But I think she's written as somebody who's just really good at faking, because if you don't people might know you're weak and take advantage of you.

[holierthanyou]

Typically I am not a fan long long movies, but in this instance I was surprised by how "fast" it felt like the movie was going. I only wish they could have added another two hundred scenes!

Of course that's always the challenge with a novel adaptation, but I really wished they could show Katniss' relationship with Gale was more at the beginning, and demonstrated all the little ways that Peeta slowly began to earn her trust.

I also wish I had slow close-ups of every single costume for all of the tributes!

[spragger]

I will be seeing this for a second time before I make a full assessment, but I am not a fan of Pita Bread in general and was not at all sad that they didn't focus that much on the love triangle. IDK we can't have a YA series with a female protagonist that doesn't focus on a love triangle.

The real shame is the rating system that means they had to censor the movie to get a PG13 rating. I hate that they rate movies! I hate it! It doesn't even make sense, and people have just gotten used to it and accept it as okay. Should you have to be 17 to read the books? Because they were a lot more graphic. It's a shame, and compromise artistic integrity IMO.

[Loveday]

Saw it Saturday night, after finishing the book just a day or two earlier, so it was still fresh in my mind. It was pretty faithful to the book, whatever was changed or tweaked didn't bother me much. I do wish they'd handled the mutts the way it was done in the book; that scene freaked me out a bit and I wanted to see it pulled off special effects-wise. But other than that, I was satisfied with everything.

I did see some sort of Kirk Cameron preview, but it was really short and I don't even remember what it was about now. I was too busy laughing to myself at the memory of everything I've read about him here on FJ. :lol:

[Deleted03]

I will be seeing this for a second time before I make a full assessment, but I am not a fan of Pita Bread in general and was not at all sad that they didn't focus that much on the love triangle. IDK we can't have a YA series with a female protagonist that doesn't focus on a love triangle.

The real shame is the rating system that means they had to censor the movie to get a PG13 rating. I hate that they rate movies! I hate it! It doesn't even make sense, and people have just gotten used to it and accept it as okay. Should you have to be 17 to read the books? Because they were a lot more graphic. It's a shame, and compromise artistic integrity IMO.

ARgh love triangles! I'm so sick of those, it does not happen in my life at the very least, seems so improbable most of the time.

I do love the books and read the three of them again as I managed to keep 2 days free of studying for my spring break. I'm concerned about the rumors of 4 movies. Seriously overrated to make the finale in two movies, specially with this book.

[CynicMom]

And of course love triangles have to be resolved by making one of the character a jerk... which they had shown no sign of being previously.

[hyperactress23]

You know... I didn't like it that much. I mean, it was much better than Twilight... but it just was too rushed.

In my opinion, they didn't spend a lot of time on the parts they should have... the parts that made Katniss human and showed the growth of Peeta and her relationship. I do love the behind the games scenes with Haymitch... I just wish they would have paid more attention to the smaller details.

Now I am off to purchase and read the second book... I just hope they get better instead of worse like I've heard a few people say happens!

I very much agree with that spoiler.

The way I see it, Katniss seemed to be much stronger and much less realistic in the movie. That's what I loved about the books: they were about a girl who didn't have all the answers. She was confused and constantly doubting herself but doing what she had to do. Life threw everything at her, and we saw her struggle and inner turmoil as she dealt with it. By the end of her first games, she's supposed to be losing her mind and almost unrecognizable physically. Neither of those things were present, so she just seemed like someone who stayed strong throughout all of it.

Peeta also didn't seem as near death as he was in the book, so the sense of urgency to finish the games and get him to doctors wasn't as present. Peeta's character as a whole was underdeveloped, as were Haymitch, Rue, and Gale. I did love seeing Haymitch chat up the sponsors and such though, and I loved the Seneca Crain subplot.

Overall, I loved the additions to the movie, but was upset by most of the cuts.

[Artemis]

Anyone seen the Huff Post article or Tumblr about all the racist tweets there've been about Rue and Cinna not being Caucasian. People are IDIOTS!

[Conuly]

Anyone seen the Huff Post article or Tumblr about all the racist tweets there've been about Rue and Cinna not being Caucasian. People are IDIOTS!

WTF? RUE. IN THE BOOK. IS EXPLICITLY. DESCRIBED. AS BEING. WHAT WE WOULD CALL BLACK. OMFG. :roll: THERE IS NOT! ENOUGH! PUNCTUATION! TO EXPRESS!!!! MY RAGE!!!! AT ANYBODY!!! CRITICIZING THAT CHOICE OF ACTRESS!!!!! IT IS THE RAGE!!! OF A THOUSAND!!! FIERY! SUNS!!!!!!!11!!!11!

[canela]

Anyone seen the Huff Post article or Tumblr about all the racist tweets there've been about Rue and Cinna not being Caucasian. People are IDIOTS!

I haven't seen the movie yet, but seriously? Do people actually read the words in books anymore? Rue was clearly described as having "satiny brown skin." It never crossed my mind that anyone could read that description and think that she was Caucasian. As stupid as that is, what really bothered me was that some of the tweets mentioned in this article went much further than voicing "surprise." Some were so atrocious, I felt physically sick. Some people are too disgusting to not be fictional bad guys.

As for Cinna, Collins described him in such a general way that any good actor could have played him. I can't say I know a lot about Lenny Kravitz's acting skills. If they are good, then he will be Cinna for me. At the very least, he'll be eye candy because Kravitz is one good looking dude.