The Hunger Games Movie

Movie:
The Hunger Games

Release Date:
March 23, 2012

Rating:
PG-13

Genre:
Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

Starring:
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth

Writers:
Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins

Director:
Gary Ross

Length:
142 Minutes

IMDb Summary:
Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.

IMDb Rating:
7.7/10

My Rating:
6.5/10

My Thoughts:
Honestly, I didn't see what all the hype about this movie was. That being said, I do want to know what happens afterward. Even though I found it extremely disappointing, and, dare I say, boring, I must admit that I am very curious as to what happens next. I did not read the books, and I probably won't, so to find out what happens next, I will probably see the next movie.
In this movie, Katniss volunteers as a tribune into the Hunger Games in place of her sister, whose name was selected from a drawing that would decide who would be entered into the hunger games. The man chosen from her district was Peeta. Okay, let me fill you in on some background information first. So, every year, 24 children ages 12-18 are chosen to compete in the hunger games. 2 from each district; there are 12 districts. One is a boy and one is a girl. There may only be one final victorious winner, and the rest of the players die. The winner is the last player alive. These people that are in charge of the games can affect the games by setting the woods on fire and making huge carnivorous creatures appear. It's very dangerous and no one wants to be a part of it, for fear of dying, except for whoever comes from Districts 1 and 2. They spend their entire life training for it and volunteer to go into the hunger games and almost always end up winning.
So, anyway, back to this hunger game. Katniss needs to win for her mother and sister, and her boyfriend back home, Gale. (I really don't know how the author of the books came up with these names, I mean, seriously? Gale and Peeta as boy names? Those definitely sound like girl names to me...) Peeta is just scared to death, it appears, to be selected as the male participant from District 12, Katniss's district. Anything can happen. Peeta tells a blue oompa loompa talk show host that he's had a crush on Katniss for a long, long time, and by playing the role of "star-crossed lovers", Peeta and Katniss somehow get the game warden to rewrite the rules, stating that if the only two survivors left are both from the same district, they may both win the hunger games. So, do Peeta and Katniss win? I suppose you'll have to see the movie to find out. (If you want to know that bad, *SPOILER ALERT* Yes, they do win.) When the winners get back to celebrate, Katniss and Peeta are together, but Katniss and Gale are sort of together, too. So, that's why I want to know what happens next. I want to know whether Katniss ends up with Gale or with Peeta.
Also, I do believe that this movie was just of the first book, Mockingjay, but I want to know what the other books have in store for it to be such a large series, each with the same characters. And if this movie was more than just mockingjay, then will they still make another one? I don't know, and typing out this review has just made me a bit confused. Oh, well. Um, this isn't scheduled to post for a couple of days and in the morning, but right now it's 10:29 PM (as I'm typing this), so I'm just going to go to bed now.
You can either watch the movie, or not.
Oh, but while I was watching it, it did go from being in the dark woods to being in a bright office-like place quite a lot, which hurt my eyes severely and gave me a head ache. I think that it should have been less of a brightness change, especially as often as they did it. And, at the beginning of the movie, while Katniss was simply walking, no big deal, the camera was like bouncing and moving in ways I don't think it should have. It reminded me of the Degrassi episode where the kid is high off of meth and I don't think Katniss was high, so I'm not really sure why the camera was like that. Like I said, it didn't really fit that part of the movie. While she was running and in the woods and stuff, yes, that camera motion would have been, and was, fine, because she was in motion and you don't expect a camera to be still when it shouldn't be. Those two things really bugged me about the movie and that is no fault of the writers, but of the producer and/or director.
So, anyway, that's what I think of this movie, but you should be smart enough to make your own decisions and I'd love to hear them! Post your comments below on your favorites and least favorite moments of the movie!
I've also heard that people who've read the books were a lot more disappointed in it than those who haven't read the books. My friend Rachel loved the movie. Amanda liked it a lot. Drew was disappointed in it. My dad didn't understand what all the hype was about. Matt's friend said it was more of a chick flick. I agree with that. There wasn't any blood and gore or anything. There wasn't even any cussing. And you've obviously heard my opinion on it. So what's yours?