The Hunger Games (2012 Movie)

[Guest Starlitelet]

i so love The Hunger Games. I have been ignoring the raves about the books for years but I just couldn't let the chance to see the film pass by. I ended up buying the trilogy set because I can't wait for 2013 to know the sequel and God knows when they're gonna be able to finish shooting Mockingjay. Loving every part of the books! I will be forever thankful to the filmmakers for making me see what I have been missing!

I love how the romance part has been luring a lot of fans and yet it is not the main plot. Love the subtlety of it all. No over the top confessions nor cheesy lines that make you cringe. Just a plain and simple goal of getting each other out of the arena alive.

  

Whoever cast Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss should be given proper credit! She looks right perfect for the part!

And Peeta, Peeta, Peeta. I've been raving about him. Everyday. Never mind the height. Josh, you got a new fan in me! Whohoo!

Hi lualm ^^!

I'm so glad you got into THG! I must say that the movie is quite a good adaptation, and it's a great standalone movie ^^. It's always a bonus to draw in more peeps.

I also think THG has no age limitations. A lot of grown-ups probably hesitate due to all the hype, and the fear that it'll be another "teen" angst/literature.

Anyway, which part are you on ^^? I'd love to hear every detail - haha. I also love how the romance doesn't feel forced or unrealistic... well, maybe they were forced a tiny bit - haha. Then again, they learn to care/understand each other (at least on Katniss's part). Sometimes I just feel so bad for Peeta though because he loves her so selflessly. He's such a sweet guy. Peeta is a unique name too - haha!

Here are my thoughts on THG trilogy... I don't know if this is the correct place to post it, since it does say THG (2012 movie), so I'll just put it in a spoiler tag ^^.

I love all three books equally for different reasons.

The first one felt fresh and the main characters were great. I got

to admit that most of the action occurred in the first book. The

introduction of the Capitol was also nicely done. It didn't show too much of

it nor did it show too much of any of the districts. I think it kept it

at focus on Katniss's struggle. The most suspenseful out of the three

books IMO. The first one was the most predictable though.

The second one was exciting because I had no idea where they were

heading after the first book. There's a lot more twists and turns. The

story also gets darker. It's quite funny how the color of the covers get

lighter, yet the content/material becomes grittier/darker. The

cliffhanger of book 2 was one of the biggest cliffhangers ever. I'm not

saying that this book wasn't as suspenseful as book 1 as a whole, but

the "action part" didn't span for long. I also love how we get to

understand more of our beloved characters from book 1. There are quite

some new characters. You don't get to invest in them quite yet, but

there's a connection. You also get to see more of the districts. Loved

those new additions.

The third book was the most realistic and the most unpredictable out

of the three. Definitely the most mature in content wise (out of the

three). Great character developments/arcs from all our beloved

characters that we've come to know. You get to see more of the Capitol.

The pace is a bit slower, but I was never bored. Many unexpected events

occur as well. I think many people don't like this book because it's not

your typical average ending or turn of events. Definitely no fairytale.

Also, be warn that there are some unexpected deaths. I was literally on

the edge of my seat till the very end. By the way, this one felt like a

war novel.

All in all, it depends on what you're expecting. I thought in terms

of content and exploration, it got better and better. If you expect

something "typically epic" than you might be truly disappointed. I tend

to look at it on a bigger scope. It's so much more than some epic

novels. When I think back to what the Mockingjay represented and what it

represents now, I am blown away. Truly, truly symbolic and meaningful.

Katniss is a thoroughly fleshed out character, in my opinion. She's

possibly one of the few flawed (female) protagonists that I've come to

love/admire in young adult literature.

[Guest HERMIT]

Not having read the trilogy, I imagine the "love triangle" has already been settled for those who already are well ahead in the story.

But despite this, are there still not camps who are for the "Peeta + Katniss" union versus a "Gale + Katniss" coupling?

I was thinking which one I would go for, but then I decided not to make the choice because I simply didn't like what's implied by the "team names".

Which is to say, would I consider myself "Team GaNiss" (pronounced 'gayness', I guess) - or would I prefer to be on "Team PeeNiss"?

In the end, it just seems like a lose-lose proposition. 

Somebody please tell me that there has to be different names for these alliances.

[Guest canityo]

^ Those who don't particularly like 'PeeNiss' go by 'EverLark' instead, I think.

I'm completely in love with Jen Law and Josh Hutcherson. It's becoming a problem. They were so flawless in the movie.

[Guest Starlitelet]

Not having read the trilogy, I imagine the "love triangle" has already been settled for those who already are well ahead in the story.

But despite this, are there still not camps who are for the "Peeta + Katniss" union versus a "Gale + Katniss" coupling?

I was thinking which one I would go for, but then I decided not to make the choice because I simply didn't like what's implied by the "team names".

Which is to say, would I consider myself "Team GaNiss" (pronounced 'gayness', I guess) - or would I prefer to be on "Team PeeNiss"?

In the end, it just seems like a lose-lose proposition. 

Somebody please tell me that there has to be different names for these alliances.

Hi HERMIT !

I actually find they couple names sound "unique" - haha. No I'm not a pervert. It's just... I wonder if Suzanne Collins noticed about it when she made their names - haha. It's like they're "forbidden lovers" or star-crossed lovers, so just give them a "forbidden" or "odd" name.

Anyway, I have no understanding of how someone can prefer Gale for Katniss after they've finished the third book, let alone the first book. First of all, he rarely appears and lastly, he totally killed his chance (unintentionally) - haha.

^ Those who don't particularly like 'PeeNiss' go by 'EverLark' instead, I think. 

I'm completely in love with Jen Law and Josh Hutcherson. It's becoming a problem. They were so flawless in the movie.

Hi canityo !

I've always been a fan of Josh Hutcherson. As for Jennifer Lawrence, she`s the type of actress that I just come to like her genuinely even though I haven't watched much of her movies. Whenever I see her, she just screams out talent.

I thought they had a lot of chemistry together, despite the time limitation and lack of relationship development. They didn't get a chance to grow, but I could clearly see chemistry between the two actors. 

Everlark sounds so cool!

[Guest canityo]

Hi canityo *quoted image*!

I've always been a fan of Josh Hutcherson. As for Jennifer Lawrence, she`s the type of actress that I just come to like her genuinely even though I haven't watched much of her movies. Whenever I see her, she just screams out talent.

I thought they had a lot of chemistry together, despite the time limitation and lack of relationship development. They didn't get a chance to grow, but I could clearly see chemistry between the two actors. 

Everlark sounds so cool!

J Hutch is literally Peeta. I was just floored by how well he presented Peeta. These are the two scenes that really stuck out to me:

- When Katniss and Peeta were riding off with Effie after the reaping/goodbyes. Peeta on the verge of crying/just finished bawling. It was exactly how I pictured this scene in the book.

- When Katniss and Peeta are ready to eat the nightlock, and just before it happens he touches Katniss' braid.

J.Law is such a fantastic actress. Before The Hunger Games, I had seen a few of her movies. Besides her great acting skills, her personality is so cute! It's impossible to dislike her. Her interviews are always such a blast.

This has got to be my favourite interview with Josh and Jen,

And it's true, they had a lot of chemistry together but it was cut short because of the time restraints. I think it also goes the same for Rue and many other characters.

Rue's death didn't pull my heart strings as much as it did in the book. But I completely lost it when District 11 was rebelling after Rue's death. I thought that was a fantastic addition to the movie.

Hopefully for Catching Fire, we'll be able to see more development between all the characters in general. Excited to see how Finnick will turn out!

[Guest Starlitelet]

I found this amazing MV that matches so well with our beloved Katniss and Peeta! It's like the song was made for them .

Katniss/Peeta - we found love in a hopeless place

[Guest hunterheart]

Liked the movie to an extent but thought delivery of some parts were weak, especially since they seemed like significant parts in the book.

- I felt like it was a good idea I'd read the book already since I was inserting all this extra info as I watched the movie. I thought some parts were pretty vague - particularly the beginning with the whole sponsors thing. That could have been explained better since sponsors are a big part of the games. But I guess there's only so much you can squeeze in 2.5hrs

- Katniss' survival skills were totally downplayed. I would've liked them to have had her search for the river at the start of the games and have her dying of thirst. Consequently, Katniss didn't seem that strong of a character to me because the games almost seemed too easy.

- The death of Rue didn't seem as sad because I felt like Rue & Katniss didn't have much of a connection

*** The thing I didn't like most is how they didn't make it clear in the movie that the star crossed lovers thing was part of their winning strategy. In the books, even though Peeta's actions were all out of real love, for Katniss, a large part of it was all strategy since she was coached by Haymitch. Katniss probably did develop some feelings by the end of the games, but for most part, the books portray it as Katniss following Haymitch's orders to have a better chance of gaining the sponsors' support. And because the movie lacked this, the ending didn't have Peeta questioning Katniss' motives. I thought that was a major flaw in the movie.

Don't know if I should read Catching Fire before the movie now. It'll probably help to come in with less expectations.

AGREE WITH THIS POST!!!! We're such tough critics but throughout the movie, it was hard to enjoy when I thought it would be way more emotional but of course the movie fell flat. I didn't mind that some parts didn't go by the book but I thought that some parts that were changed were not done for the better. I think they focused too much on fanservicing for the movie... the guy beside me was hecka confused cause he never read the book.

[Guest graceyoon]

i also think the movie fell flat. it was ok but i was expecting more.. i didn't read the books so i don't really have anything to compare it to but i felt like it never reached a climax of some sort... i agree that character development was lacking.. i didn't care that any of those kids got killed.. if peeta was killed that would have given the big OMG moment.. but there wasn't any!

i did not like the male leads.. i didn't feel any chemistry at all..

i also don't get why the poor districts have to do coal mining... it's set in the future where they have salves to heal deep wounds and the technology to create things to appear in the game, but they dig for coal the old school way? since president snow was telling seneca how they still need coal, wouldn't they have come up with a way to get it more easily?

i'd still watch part 2 though lol.. i think part 2 will probably be better cuz it seems more of the main characters will be involved now that katniss and peeta are back with gale, prim, the mom etc and hopefully that will mean better character development

[dy0wtx0xpxx]

The movie was alright.. I watched the movie knowing very little about it (only knew that it was about people who were forced to kill each other, which sounded really familiar to me, in which I was right). The main thing that bothered me was the camera, it was too shaky. I guess some parts added to the scene but others were completely unnecessary. The actors for the most part did a good job at acting, and the movie wasn't bad at all. I just can't get over how disgusting the whole plot is. :/

[Guest graceyoon]

^ i advise you not to watch battle royale lol.. i swear i think the author got her ideas about kids being forced to kill each other from that...

and i agree about the shakiness!! i don't mind a lil of it, but they did it every time katniss was running in the forest so it was quite a lot.. i was asking my friends about that too but they said they didn't even notice...

[dy0wtx0xpxx]

^ i advise you not to watch battle royale lol.. i swear i think the author got her ideas about kids being forced to kill each other from that...

and i agree about the shakiness!! i don't mind a lil of it, but they did it every time katniss was running in the forest so it was quite a lot.. i was asking my friends about that too but they said they didn't even notice...

Eh, I don't plan on watching it! lol I hate gory stuff, but I've practically seen the whole movie cause all of a sudden everyone's posting / reblogging Battle Royale gifs all over my dashboard = =z I actually liked that Hunger Games wasn't so gory or graphic, but that's probably because it's PG-13.. (I think). I have a feeling the author did too. Yeah, I don't think my friends had any problems with the camera either so I guess it's just us lol :/ It really bothered me though hha

[Guest kpoptint]

It's been a full year since I finished reading the book, so when I watched the movie I thought it was absolutely well done. Perhaps it's because I've forgotten some of the details in the original plot, but you still can't expect a lot of character development in movies based off full novels. That's the main difference between movies and your imagination; your imagination is endless and can make things as real as you want it, but comparing that to movies is unfair because movie production are limited by time, money and people that aren't you.

If it's worth mentioning, Suazanne Collins was part of writing the screenplay, and that kind of put my faith in what went in the movie (and what was left out, such as the significance of the mockingjay pin, Gale, Rue, etc).

As for the shots that were super zoomed in and shaky, I was worried in the beginning when it started (I felt nauseous watching The Pursuit of Happyness of cryin out loud) but after I realized how they were using it, I didn't end up criticizing it as much. They used it well to hide a lot of the detail in the killings at the beginning of the games (clever way to make it fit into the PG13 rating), as well as express the craziness and panicked emotions that the tributes were really feeling. I think it also emphasizes the insanity of the entire The Capitol + 12 Districts society and the concept of The Hunger Games used to keep them in line; it's something that we shouldn't accept as an answer for our future.

Overall I would give this an 8 out of 10. As much as I've been able to understand why it turned out as it did, I still wish there was less shaky cameras and more character development

[Guest lualm]

Hi lualm ^^!

I'm so glad you got into THG! I must say that the movie is quite a good adaptation, and it's a great standalone movie ^^. It's always a bonus to draw in more peeps.

I also think THG has no age limitations. A lot of grown-ups probably hesitate due to all the hype, and the fear that it'll be another "teen" angst/literature.

Anyway, which part are you on ^^? I'd love to hear every detail - haha. I also love how the romance doesn't feel forced or unrealistic... well, maybe they were forced a tiny bit - haha. Then again, they learn to care/understand each other (at least on Katniss's part). Sometimes I just feel so bad for Peeta though because he loves her so selflessly. He's such a sweet guy. Peeta is a unique name too - haha!

i didn't check this thread for days!

I've read Catching Fire and Mockingjay, which I've finished early morning today. I still have to read The Hunger Games since after watching the film, I felt it can wait. Am i allowed to talk lengthily about the sequels? But my mind's a bit blurred tonight from stalking Josh . Anyways, I just want to point out that what really got me is the vagueness of their love story, not just about the inclusion of Gale in the equation but what Peeta and Katniss have between them. It's like you know something's there, yet you can't define what exactly is there. The author won't let you go beyond because the moment you feel like the two are about to take off, Suzanne cuts to another scene like snapping you out of your senses and reminds you that hey, THG is not a romance genre, so save your tickles for your daydreaming later on.

I have to admit it's the cave scenes that hit me hard. Because I least expected it. Gary Ross was so right when he said too much romance wouldn't work. What stretched to several pages in the book, he contained in seven sweet minutes. Forgive me for focusing too much on this part. But those seven minutes made me want to read everything there is between Katniss and Peeta and the world they live in. Chemistry, it's perfect for me, like how Suzanne and Gary and whoever had a say in the casting decision. I really think Josh's eyes made him the perfect Peeta.

After finishing the last book, (which left my jaw hanging for some seconds) I'm extremely excited to see how Josh and Jennifer are going to interpret the scenes. When Suzanne said she got the inspiration from Iraq war, it is so evident from what the lead characters had gone through in this book. I will not blink one second. It's gonna be epic.

So much I want to say about the characters, the sequels, but I'm really overwhelmed at this moment because there really is so much to say. Maybe I'll come back when I remember everything.

Battle Royale, i have to admit I was bothered for a few hours when I learned about it. But then a premise does not make up the entire story. After the killing spree, then what? What ensued? Where do the similarities stop and where do the two stories begin to deviate? Does a story with a familiar premise make it brittle? I used to be critical about stories which are clearly rip-offs but when THG was accused of the same thing, it was hard for me not to acknowledge that Suzanne didn't rely solely on others' ideas. There's so much more going on for THG that it becomes a better version of BR, if I may dare say.

When is Catching Fire coming out? November 2013? Can anyone find me a time machine?

[Guest HERMIT]

In defense of the cameraman for the movie, I think if I was in close proximity to Jennifer Lawrence and had the honor to follow her around, I'd probably be shaking like crazy too.

I'm actually surprised that he didn't slip on his own drool and drop the camera altogether.  That's probably what would have happened to me.

[Guest itrayya]

the cameras didn't really bother me until the final scene where they were fighting.

couldn't see anything except for Peta's hair.

i still don't really like Peta portrayed in the movie. he already gave in to die from the start whereas Katniss was willing to at least fight to live. not only that, i still fully feel that he's using Katniss as his 'crush' to stay alive. which is smart too but i'm still iffy about him.

i read the next two parts on wikipedia... and it feels so choppy to me. like... oh this and then okay that. the end, WITH a ton of little things thrown in between. almost sound like a big mess to me and Katniss is right in the middle. haha. i hope Gary Ross can dissect the next two books and really make it good? but then with me not having read the books, i wouldn't know the whole picture.

i think Catching Fire is slated for November 2013. i think they're gonna start filming soon, maybe in the summer like they did the first one. i'm excited to see it, hope it is as good or even better than the first one!

[*.:AnGeL*BAbII:.*]

I went in with high expectations and honestly, it met them. It didn't leave me confused at any point of the movie even though I haven't read the book. The killings weren't too gorey, so I wasn't put off the movie but I was still surprised with how there was a family sitting on one side of me, which consisted of two 8 year olds. I also liked how they didn't put too much emphasis on the romance. I was expecting a lot more romance with all the comparison of The Hunger Games with Twilight (which I still don't really understand why they were compared...).

Now I'm really excited to read the books! It's good that I can know the ending without having to wait for all the movies to come out muahahahaha

[raini]

I liked the movie a lot more than expected

Never read the book, so basically it's a good clean slate to start off. Will be looking forward to watching the next two. So far can say it's a lot more fulfilling than Twilight and sometimes seems a bit deep even, not too much emphasis on romance which is great imo. Really like Katniss as a main character. She's such a cool girl

[Guest itrayya]

Gary Ross is not directing Catching Fire. Francis Lawrence is likely to direct it and i think and hope that Catching Fire is better than the first one. Francis did 'I Am Legend' and i love that film. so i think with his experience with a syfy/futuristic film, he'll bring something good to the next film.

this film has been #1 for 4 weeks now. those little youngins sure bring in the numbers.

[Guest Luv2Emy]

I watched the movie and then read the book and realized that the book gave A LOT more details. However, when I started reading the book I couldn't stop and I'm looking forward to the next movie!!!!!!

[Guest Starlitelet]

Gary Ross is not directing Catching Fire. Francis Lawrence is likely to direct it and i think and hope that Catching Fire is better than the first one. Francis did 'I Am Legend' and i love that film. so i think with his experience with a syfy/futuristic film, he'll bring something good to the next film.

this film has been #1 for 4 weeks now. those little youngins sure bring in the numbers.

Hey itrayya ^^!

I can't believe The Hunger Games lost against The Lucky One on the weekend's box office - haha!

Anyway, I don't know if I'm super happy that Francis Lawrence is the new director. I loved I Am Legend, so I guess I'll be crossing my fingers that he'll be able to deliver THG as well.

Suzanne Collins will be collaborating with the screenwriter once more right?

Anyway, I think Lawrence will move away from the shaky cam which is a bonus for sure - haha.

I watched the movie and then read the book and realized that the book gave A LOT more details. However, when I started reading the book I couldn't stop and I'm looking forward to the next movie!!!!!!

Hi Luv2Emy ^^!

I'm glad that you found the book a page-turner even though you have already seen the movie. Have your perception of the movie changed after reading the book? I went into the movie having read the first book twice. The movie certainly left out many emotional expects within the book, but I thought it was a great adaptation overall ^^.

Sadly, the next movie is less than 2 years away! Boy, it's gonna feel like ages!!

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edit: I saw it a second time, and I appreciated a lot more the second time around ^^.