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The detractors of the film are many, like the love between Katniss and Peeta. It's never really explained if she does love him or if she is only doing it for the show and to survive. I suspect the latter will eventually turn into the former, but as of right now, the film does not make this clear.[/rating]
The Hunger Games
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The Hunger Games
I was aware of the similarities to Battle Royale but decided to put them aside and give this a go. Would rather have watched BR again. Was a competently made film with some good production sets but pretty dull and devoid of redeeming features. The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes. The delivery of the concept was pretty uneven, they don't seem to have a consistent idea of what the 'Games' wanted to achieve in terms of lead Katniss' surviving and/or giving a good show. The characterisation of her was too preoccupied with making her morally likeable and avoiding make her commit to any cold blooding in the 'Game', using pop up deux ex characters to resolve any situations where she would need to use violence. Then worst of all, the conclude the 'Game' with a ridiculous shark jumping moment of magicking monster dogs out of the ground which sealed my low opinion on it.
I was aware of the similarities to Battle Royale but decided to put them aside and give this a go. Would rather have watched BR again. Was a competently made film with some good production sets but pretty dull and devoid of redeeming features. The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes. The delivery of the concept was pretty uneven, they don't seem to have a consistent idea of what the 'Games' wanted to achieve in terms of lead Katniss' surviving and/or giving a good show. The characterisation of her was too preoccupied with making her morally likeable and avoiding make her commit to any cold blooding in the 'Game', using pop up deux ex characters to resolve any situations where she would need to use violence. Then worst of all, the conclude the 'Game' with a ridiculous shark jumping moment of magicking monster dogs out of the ground which sealed my low opinion on it.
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[i]
The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes.
The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes.
That's why i've never understood the whole 12A certificate rating when applied to the horror genre. If you want to emphasise the nastiness of a situation, then you need a certain amount violence to show that.
I won't be seeing this anytime soon.
This.
That's why i've never understood the whole 12A certificate rating when applied to the horror genre. If you want to emphasise the nastiness of a situation, then you need a certain amount violence to show that.
I won't be seeing this anytime soon.
That's why i've never understood the whole 12A certificate rating when applied to the horror genre. If you want to emphasise the nastiness of a situation, then you need a certain amount violence to show that.
I won't be seeing this anytime soon.
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It may not be a horror be strict definition but the situation is certainly horrific and they don't do enough to emphasise that. It was too Disney, lacking enough threat to make the premise work. The psychological development of the characters was not existent, surviving the games and any ramifications of the inevitable mental damage was superseded by a love triangle.
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All I gotta say was I felt like a perv pedo thinking Peeta was so frikkin' adorable! LOL he's 19 and I'm 22 so its not that sick that I kind of fell in love with his character... BUT my little sister is 18 and in my eyes her and her friends are still little kids, thus making Hutcherson a little kid in my eyes LMAO. Anyways tho, great movie. I didnt read the books so I dont have a comparison but the movie was great. Kept me interested all through and now I cant wait for the new movies to come up and see where the story goes.
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Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage^to be in 14 movies in the next two years^
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The Hunger Games
I was aware of the similarities to Battle Royale but decided to put them aside and give this a go. Would rather have watched BR again. Was a competently made film with some good production sets but pretty dull and devoid of redeeming features. The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes. The delivery of the concept was pretty uneven, they don't seem to have a consistent idea of what the 'Games' wanted to achieve in terms of lead Katniss' surviving and/or giving a good show. The characterisation of her was too preoccupied with making her morally likeable and avoiding make her commit to any cold blooding in the 'Game', using pop up deux ex characters to resolve any situations where she would need to use violence. Then worst of all, the conclude the 'Game' with a ridiculous shark jumping moment of magicking monster dogs out of the ground which sealed my low opinion on it.
I was aware of the similarities to Battle Royale but decided to put them aside and give this a go. Would rather have watched BR again. Was a competently made film with some good production sets but pretty dull and devoid of redeeming features. The urge to make it appeal to the young teen demographic harms any potential of showing the 'horror' of the situation with a low rating and focus seems to shift to an undeveloped love triangle of puppy dog eyes. The delivery of the concept was pretty uneven, they don't seem to have a consistent idea of what the 'Games' wanted to achieve in terms of lead Katniss' surviving and/or giving a good show. The characterisation of her was too preoccupied with making her morally likeable and avoiding make her commit to any cold blooding in the 'Game', using pop up deux ex characters to resolve any situations where she would need to use violence. Then worst of all, the conclude the 'Game' with a ridiculous shark jumping moment of magicking monster dogs out of the ground which sealed my low opinion on it.
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Here's mine, for whatever its worth.
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On buses, in stores, and in libraries, you’ve seen them being read. The Hunger Games is becoming something of a phenomenon. Like Twilight, it is manufactured primarily for young adults (or YA) and does its best to deal with ‘serious’ subjects. But this is precisely where I find both of them to be disturbing and completely unnecessary. The Hunger Games, for those uninitiated, is about a post-apocalyptic future where adolescents and teenagers are pitted against each other for a battle to the death. Indeed, Battle Royale did it before, but there’s a big different between what the latter did and what The Hunger Games is doing right now. In the case of The Hunger Games, we have an author and filmmaker who are seeking to sell this pasteurized, ironed out science-fiction world, where all of the real disturbing nature of what’s actually happening has been cleaned up and removed so it can be sold easily and digested by young adults and 20-somethings alike.
Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence (blander than she’s ever been before), lives in complete poverty in a district ominously named District-12. She resides in a future-world named Panem, what was once North America. She does her best to take care of her mother and younger sister with the use of her terrific hunting and marksmanship with a bow—and like in all futuristic societies, there’s an overbearing, almost totalitarian regime that does their best to keep all of the districts in line and impoverished. The Capitol— the hub of the rich and well-off— host an event called The Hunger Games. It’s an annual event that brings together all of the districts, as two contestants are selected from each one. Katniss’ younger sister is chosen, but in order to save her from the games, Katniss nominates herself instead.
Director Gary Ross gives the film a gritty, handheld aesthetic that works for the most part, considering the rugged, earthy tones while in District-12. And the world is indeed very believable, especially the districts. But the problems are the cast of characters we have here. Katniss, indeed, is a strong female protagonist. However, she proves herself to be completely without personality, right alongside everyone else. A majority of the contestants in The Hunger Games event prove themselves to be faceless, nameless people merely set in place for the kill. One of the best examples is the band of one- dimensional, ‘evil’ teenagers. Cato (Alexander Ludwig) is the alpha-male leader by default. They are never given much sympathy. In fact, they are almost completely deranged. And yes, there are several others characters whose names they share with people of the Ancient Roman Empire—as if the symbolism wasn’t heavy-handed enough.
It doesn’t get much better. Katniss slowly falls for her fellow District-12 member, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who loves her dearly. This is where it starts to show its teeny-bopper roots. Unbelievable and underdeveloped, the romance works as only a gimmicky way for us to show some sympathy towards the two. It could have benefited from some extra breathing room for the characters to bond. There’s barely any time for that. The Hunger Games does flow well, though. It moves at a brisk pace despite the long running time (142 minutes). It does commit a few faults, which include numerous deus ex machina. Katniss, of course, is miraculously saved time and time again by the author/screenwriter rather than her own skills and abilities.
Okay, well, I’ll admit, I’m being very harsh towards it. It’s not a bad film—it’s well-made and the sense of foreboding and suspense are certainly there. It also shows some signs of intelligence. Katniss illustrates her warm-hearted nature by refusing to kill, and when she finally does, she expresses her anguish by attempting to wash the blood from her hands. Does this make up for the rest of the bloodshed? What about all of the other teenagers who were needlessly killed, manipulated and discarded for no reason? Katniss expresses her sadness when a loving, sweet character dies—but what about everyone else? Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins, as good as their intentions may be, created a film that exploits and relishes in the fight to the death of innocent kids. And I realized, as I looked around the theater and as the ‘games began’, that people were— ironically enough—excited about seeing the bloodshed. This can’t have been what they wanted, right?
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On buses, in stores, and in libraries, you’ve seen them being read. The Hunger Games is becoming something of a phenomenon. Like Twilight, it is manufactured primarily for young adults (or YA) and does its best to deal with ‘serious’ subjects. But this is precisely where I find both of them to be disturbing and completely unnecessary. The Hunger Games, for those uninitiated, is about a post-apocalyptic future where adolescents and teenagers are pitted against each other for a battle to the death. Indeed, Battle Royale did it before, but there’s a big different between what the latter did and what The Hunger Games is doing right now. In the case of The Hunger Games, we have an author and filmmaker who are seeking to sell this pasteurized, ironed out science-fiction world, where all of the real disturbing nature of what’s actually happening has been cleaned up and removed so it can be sold easily and digested by young adults and 20-somethings alike.
Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence (blander than she’s ever been before), lives in complete poverty in a district ominously named District-12. She resides in a future-world named Panem, what was once North America. She does her best to take care of her mother and younger sister with the use of her terrific hunting and marksmanship with a bow—and like in all futuristic societies, there’s an overbearing, almost totalitarian regime that does their best to keep all of the districts in line and impoverished. The Capitol— the hub of the rich and well-off— host an event called The Hunger Games. It’s an annual event that brings together all of the districts, as two contestants are selected from each one. Katniss’ younger sister is chosen, but in order to save her from the games, Katniss nominates herself instead.
Director Gary Ross gives the film a gritty, handheld aesthetic that works for the most part, considering the rugged, earthy tones while in District-12. And the world is indeed very believable, especially the districts. But the problems are the cast of characters we have here. Katniss, indeed, is a strong female protagonist. However, she proves herself to be completely without personality, right alongside everyone else. A majority of the contestants in The Hunger Games event prove themselves to be faceless, nameless people merely set in place for the kill. One of the best examples is the band of one- dimensional, ‘evil’ teenagers. Cato (Alexander Ludwig) is the alpha-male leader by default. They are never given much sympathy. In fact, they are almost completely deranged. And yes, there are several others characters whose names they share with people of the Ancient Roman Empire—as if the symbolism wasn’t heavy-handed enough.
It doesn’t get much better. Katniss slowly falls for her fellow District-12 member, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), who loves her dearly. This is where it starts to show its teeny-bopper roots. Unbelievable and underdeveloped, the romance works as only a gimmicky way for us to show some sympathy towards the two. It could have benefited from some extra breathing room for the characters to bond. There’s barely any time for that. The Hunger Games does flow well, though. It moves at a brisk pace despite the long running time (142 minutes). It does commit a few faults, which include numerous deus ex machina. Katniss, of course, is miraculously saved time and time again by the author/screenwriter rather than her own skills and abilities.
Okay, well, I’ll admit, I’m being very harsh towards it. It’s not a bad film—it’s well-made and the sense of foreboding and suspense are certainly there. It also shows some signs of intelligence. Katniss illustrates her warm-hearted nature by refusing to kill, and when she finally does, she expresses her anguish by attempting to wash the blood from her hands. Does this make up for the rest of the bloodshed? What about all of the other teenagers who were needlessly killed, manipulated and discarded for no reason? Katniss expresses her sadness when a loving, sweet character dies—but what about everyone else? Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins, as good as their intentions may be, created a film that exploits and relishes in the fight to the death of innocent kids. And I realized, as I looked around the theater and as the ‘games began’, that people were— ironically enough—excited about seeing the bloodshed. This can’t have been what they wanted, right?
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The ending was too mainstream and boring but overall the movie was interesting and entertaining.Just the thing is,that one day I saw it,and the next day I just forgot it. Nothing special but a good entertainment.I gave it a 7/10.
Nothing special but a good entertainment.I gave it a 7/10.
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The movie is quite interesting and nice to watch so its still fine for me but I'll still go for Battle Royale
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I have had a lot of time to think it, think about what it is, that makes somebody a good parent, and it's about a constant scene, and it's about patience; and it's about listening; and it's about, and it's about pretending to listen, even when you can't listen anymore; and it's about a love like she said. - Sam
I have had a lot of time to think it, think about what it is, that makes somebody a good parent, and it's about a constant scene, and it's about patience; and it's about listening; and it's about, and it's about pretending to listen, even when you can't listen anymore; and it's about a love like she said. - Sam
I read the book first, before seeing the movie in the cinema, and was a little disappointed with how the violence was completely toned down, amongst other things. I have just watched it again as it has just been released on DVD, and I was quite a bit more disappointed. Watching it again was a bigger let down that watching it the first time.
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What I enjoyed...
- Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. My god, this young woman can act. She was incredible. Emotionally intense, magnetic, and ethereal...a job well done. Lawrence's Katniss was reminiscent of Ree, her character in "Winter's Bone" - the poor, back-country girl with a fire that burns inside of her. Her performance as Katniss was just as damn good.
- The entire supporting adult cast: Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Lenny Kravitz, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland; all did a great job in their supporting roles.
- The Reaping scene. This was my favorite scene for two reasons: a) it effectively established the cruelty of The Capitol and prepared you for the Game, and b) because it was the exact moment when I fell in love with Katniss and became sympathetic to her plight. I think that this scene was perhaps the most important in the whole movie, and it was well-written and well-acted.
Totally my same view on the Likes. Someone other than Josh Hutcherson would have done better in the role of Peeta. Josh was just like wood - pathetic! Rest of the cast was good like Isabelle Fuhrman...
Waiting eagerly for the next part..
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SJ.
Wait and Hope
SJ.
Wait and Hope
Jennifer Lawrence might be a good actress, but nobody has even come close to being the next Meryl Streep. I mean, dear God, the woman is one of the few true acting chameleons out there. Lawrence is good, don't get me wrong - I see here moving on to great stuff - but there's only one Meryl Streep.
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