Didn't you like it?

Didn't care for it at all.

Lawrence is great in Hunger Games. She owns every single scene she's in (and that's most of the movie).

I enjoyed Lawrence as well, but good or not she does not look 16 years old as portrayed in the story. She actually looks older then she is.

I had not read the books, and was with the film (for the most part) up until

.  What follows after is a totally unwarranted rebellion scene (which I understand is not part of the books).  And then that tacky love story, which also comes out of nowhere (apparently it was the focus of the books). 

That, and what felt like a very rushed climax, brought it down from a 3-star to 2-star flick for me.  The Capital scenes, and some of the performances, were the highlight.  Everything else just seemed to get worse and worse as it went on...

I really don't get these "Young-Adult" phenomenon's. I guess it's better then Twilight, so hooray, but I really kind of despise this whole "genre". As a teenager, I didn't need a fucking classification of books that were targeted at my age range, I'd just read, you know, books. Don't tell me a 12 year old can't read Asimov, or Heinlein, or Clarke, or any other real sci-fi author out there. Everything about this series looks so "sci-fi lite" to me, and as Dorkman pointed out, mentions ideas instead of exploring them.

Just from the trailer, it's already apparent that the entire premise is a cop-out from the get-go. The whole thing that makes these reality-tv, people fighting to the death movies interesting, is that we can imagine them as an extension of our existing culture, which forces us to examine where we are as a society. So what do they do? Instead of making it a relate-able world, it's set in this really abstract, fantasy-type world, with crazy costumes, and that has no bearing on the real-world. (compare this to The Running Man, which has a disturbingly accurate portrayal of American game-shows)

How much more interesting would it have been to see modern-day kids in a world we can recognize, having to kill each-other (Yes, this is basically Battle Royale at that point, but I think it would be interesting to see it done with the culture of modern-day American teens)?

Sigh.....at least we're improving from Twilight. Maybe after another 3 more of these stupid teen phenomenons, there'll finally be one that results in a good movie.

P.S. Jennifer Lawrence basically ruined X-Men: First Class, so I kind of really wish she would just go away.

Yeah, I posted that in another thread as there wasn't a Hunger Games thread at the time. I haven't seen the film, just thought the pic was funny

EDIT: I'm not complaining, I just quoted Shadow's post rather than qouting the photo again

Last edited by Jimmy B (2012-04-01 22:07:32)

I think Catcher in the Rye does, perhaps Ender's Game was not the best example, but what about Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, I know why the caged bird sings, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Princess Bride?  These are all immensely entertaining to both genders whilst being of significant educational and philosophical value.

I agree entirely, but I believe social perception amongst the younger generation and the increasing influence of a mass media that actively helps in selling things like Twilight and the Hunger Games (which dominate the young adult section of book-stores and on-line retailers) is hindering the ability for people to find these books.  But you are right in saying that it might lead to people reading for pleasure beyond high school, something that is important and that I hadn't previously considered.

Oh I completely agree but I'm worried that people who read Twilight now will end up reading Danielle Steele.  Of course, if they derive pleasure from this then I have absolutely no qualms, but I think that people read these at the expense of books that really matter and that can really change peoples lives.

Hunger Games left me completely underwhelmed. I read the books last year and enjoyed them (didn't love them, but they're a super-quick and fun read).

The movie had been getting very positive reviews so I was excited, and maybe I let my expectations get too high.
Here are a few problems I had:

I normally don't mind the shaky handheld camera gimmick or quick cuts, but the amount and severity of them in the first act distracted the hell out of me.

I think the movie failed to illustrate just how big the social and economic gap was between District 12 and the capitol. Obviously there was a difference in luxury, fashion and technology, but nobody in District 12 seemed to be starving or as destitute as portrayed in the books.

Katniss never seemed to fulfill her role as a figurehead of a rebellion (which I'm sure will happen in the sequels, but the groundwork wasn't properly laid).