THE HUNGER GAMES: May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

Racism & predjudice are alive & kicking in the US. Why are white hunger game fans disappointed about black actors being cast in some roles in this movie? Text below from the CNN post here.

Hunger Games' fans tweet displeasure over black actors

You can't please everyone when adapting a book for the big screen, especially one as beloved as "The Hunger Games," but director Gary Ross and the casting team likely weren't anticipating this.

According to Jezebel, there appears to be a group of fans who are displeased that black actors were cast to portray Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Rue (Amandla Stenberg) and Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi). While Cinna's complexion isn't described in the novel, author Suzanne Collins does describe the latter two characters as both having dark skin.

As chronicled on the Tumblr "Hunger Games Tweets," it seems some readers either didn't pick up on the description or didn't read the description as depicting two African-American characters, and as a result have been vocal about their disappointment.

"Why does Rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie," wrote one fan in a tweet posted on the "Hunger Games Tweets" Tumblr.

Another described the "Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the little innocent blonde girl you picture," while another said: "I was pumped about the Hunger Games. Until I learned a black girl was playing Rue."

On Okeniyi's casting, another Twitter user weighed in: "Naturally Thresh would be a black man. #NotImpressed."

In a post, the Tumblr notes that the reactions began cropping up last summer, but since the film's March 23 release, the writer says that "the amount of people who seem to all share these views just increased exponentially."

As a result, the blog aims to unveil "'Hunger Games' fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books."

The writer adds in a separate entry that all of the tweets collected are from people who've read Collins' trilogy.

"Clearly, they all fell in love with and cared about Rue. Though what they really fell in love with was an image of Rue that they'd created in their minds...And then the casting is revealed (or they go see the movie) and they're shocked to see that Rue is black...This is so much more than, 'Oh, she's bigger than I thought.' The reactions are all based on feelings of disgust."

The point of collecting these reactions, the Tumblr's author writes, is to draw attention to what the writer sees as "MAJOR TIE-INS to these reactions and the injustices that we see around the world today."

That..."and to also point out s****y reading comprehension. LOL."
 
Originally Posted by Pill Clinton

The hype surrounding this movie is RIDICULOUS. I know THAT many people didn't read the book.

The movie was good though. Besides the shakey camera and the corny love %##+, I liked it.


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Not having known anything about this book, I feel that this whole movie/book is really being force fed to the public.
 
Movie was awful. Pacing was bad. I wanted to go to sleep during the middle of the movie. We got the point that she wanted to be popular to gain sponsors, didn't need excessive scenes like the one with the dress on fire and spend 30 minutes on that point.

No character development.

Changing rules every 5 minutes.

Creating monsters out of thin air.

Running Man was better.
 
Now for me...the first 15 minutes of the Hunger Games were almost perfect. A part of it was me not realizing how hyped I was for the movie until it started and just sort of being amazed at this rural There Will Be Blood town being painted in front of me. Because mind you...Suzanne Collins, the writer, kinda sucks. Kinda didn't put too much thought into a lot of things and hid it by just not talking about them or brushing over the details or just having Katniss go to sleep, or eat a meal and obsess over every bite. But that's the book...lemme try and keep this on the movie.

And as I say that...in the book, Prim wasn't really a character. More like a symbolic motivation. A human Livestrong bracelet. But in the movie, they really made her flesh and blood. They got across so much about the way they live, through her. More than Jennifer Lawrence did.

And mind you, I really liked it when I heard she was casted, good for them, she can act. And then reading the books, I loved the idea of it, because I saw Winter's Bone and this is that same strong, well deserved Oscar nominated, character that she played, so there should be no worries. But seeing this movie...seeing District 12 actually rendered as a real place of hardship...and even seeing District 11, I get it...Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong person for this. And I hear that people are saying she's too fat to play the role. That's not fair, but I get that. And she's not fat, but for once they actually needed an emaciated actress for the role. Prim gets so much across about what it's like to live there in minutes, but Katniss...Katniss looks like she eats good and the fact that this film is allergic to any type of sensible flashback and can't bother to ever pick the right perspective in any moment, says she needed to look that way.

You have a big story to tell...tell it...or make it small and personal and only through her eyes...like the book...sure...but don't pick both. Hell, this movie picked neither. There's a lack of nuance in this film that's just blatant trolling, because the least bit of effort would've given it so much more depth or just clarity on what the hell you're trying to say. I'll explain that in a second.

Before all that, I can't express how well the 3 (kinda 4) real actors did in this movie. Woody Harrelson wasn't what I pictured in the book, but did a great job. I barely even recognized Elizabeth Banks but she killed every scene too. Effie was a pretty flat character in the book, but she breathed life into it. And then Stanley Tucci...perfect. Caesar's interesting in the book, even though Collins does that trick where she kinda sorta describes dialogue without writing it or being descriptive enough.
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Those banners with his faces behind him, though.
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They each brought something special to the role, better than they were written. And then Donald Sutherland was really good in a role that didn't really exist in the first book...and the little twist at the end was a nice touch. All of them worked.

Outside of them, that guy they got for Cato (big baddie) was well casted and I loved Prim, liked Rue, Foxface (the ginger), that blonde chick who got stung made me hate her in short time, the chick with knives...all did good enough. Gale and Peeta were OK and Jennifer Lawrence owned a couple scenes...and that fire was well done...gamemaker central too...

I think those are all the nice things I have left to say about the movie.

Now let's get into the budget, and by extension the studio. Budget shouldn't mean that much, because look at District 9 and even Chronicle (even though the cgi wasn't too great). But I accept that $80 million for a movie like this is about half what they should've spent. Why go there? All Lionsgate makes is crappy horror movies and just bad movies for people who like bad movies. How thirsty studios are to make books with big followings...whatever. Collins could probably care less where or for how much it was made, long as she gets paid. It is what it is...what if Chronicle had double the budget? That shouldn't affect the quality of the movie this much.

Why did they shoot it like The Bourne Supremacy? Not even...that movie had nuance. The DISTANCE of the camera...it feels like every shot is the same distance from the face...there's no nuance or rhythm to it, and that makes the movie feel small, makes the arena feel small, makes the games feel short, dulls all the emotions and acting and action. You shouldn't notice that. In the director's commentary of this movie called George Washington, the guy says you gotta pull tricks sometimes to tell your story...when you're working with non-actors, you give them less to say to hide that. Well when you've got a director who can't direct the movie he's been hired for, he shakes the camera around, sticks it way too close to everyone's face and just lets the actors freestyle it. There's no composition or mastershots that work anywhere. And then I find out the dude hasn't made a movie in a decade...

That explains why this movie, except for the cgi dogs, looks like it was made in 1998.
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But besides how the movie was made technically...just the storytelling is bad. What matters is the flashbacks...two incredibly important ones...one of Katniss' dad blowing up in the coal mine and the other maybe a week after that of a an 11 year old Katniss starving, looking for food in the streets for her sister and mother, ready to die when Peeta throws her bread that he burnt on purpose so he could be allowed to 'throw it away.' These two moments are vital, they open the world up and the characters up in a way that nothing inside of the games could. They're both handled so terribly it's disgusting.

The coal mine...they decide not to show it like a flashback dream during one of the however many times she goes to sleep in the arena. No, they randomly show it while she's in a trackerjacker hallucination where I guarantee you anyone who didn't read the book just thought it was her going crazy or not that big a deal. I mean they just show him in an elevator, random explosion and now half their house gets blown up? What? It'd only cost a couple minutes and vision or some kind of real (modern) understanding of storytelling, to just try and make this a moment. Nope. But that was fine, that can be what it was, because as long as you stick the other one, you're fine...

How do you +%## that up? They only use two flashbacks in the book...it's not like Game of Thrones with a million callbacks or something. I almost laughed when I saw it. All they manage to show you is Jennifer Lawrence randomly laying down in the rain outside of Peeta's place like a creep..and it literally looks like it happened a week or 2 before the games, because they for damn sure look the same age as now (16) and not 11. Then Peeta comes out to feed the pigs and oh...there's another pig over there...lemme throw her some bread too. The end.

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How do you +%## that up?

The story is that her dad dying was supposed to be a big deal. Somehow in vague (I don't like thinking things through--I can't write dialogue or talk in pictures--what do you mean I ripped off Battle Royale 'Suzanne Collins') wording Katniss watches her dad blow up in the coal mines and between that and what happens next, that's why she's the cold, kind of unlikeable person that she is. And when it happens her mom practically goes comatose. She's struck with grief and won't do anything...won't go to work, won't talk, won't move, won't take care of her two daughters, and really soon the food runs out and they're literally starving to death. Because in District 12, it's not even that uncommon...just something that happens. And there's no neighbors or friends to ask for handouts, because everyone is just barely surviving. (That's why Katniss, illegally, sneaks out of the electric fences the cop dudes in white forget to turn on and hunts to trade or feed her family...but at 16, now when she was 11) So they reach the point where if she doesn't find something quick, they're gonna find bodies in her home in a day or 2, so she goes out in the rain looking/begging everywhere, finally gives up and gives in to how weak she feels and lays there ready to die, when Peeta sees her...burns bread on purpose (because even the bakers don't have enough food in District 12 and have to live off whatever goes stale) and goes out and throws a burnt loaf to her. And that gave her hope and saved her and her sister's lives, but she never had the nerve to talk to him about it until now that they're in this situation. And suddenly there's this real, strong connection with this person who might be trying to kill her soon.

It would've taken a few short minutes to just try to get that across...but no.
Act like that isn't more important than most of the whatever they showed.

I mean the letdowns were early and often. Woody Harrellson and Elizabeth Banks owned every scene they were in, even though there wasn't enough of them and they completely left Woody in the sticks when it came to sponsors and parachutes. It was so simple to solve too, explain how inflated the price of sending anything into the arena is and that 'sponsors' meant as much as just getting the richer people in the Capitol to love your character on this Big Brother type show and basically vote to help you stay on the show. The book has something (only one thing) well thought out and meaningful to say about reality television and that need to control your persona to appeal to and manipulate the audience...none of that gets across...it literally just sounds like Haymitch passed around a collection plate and instantly got them whatever they needed.

And the parachutes, not at all what I imagined. What if I told you that every time a person dies in the arena, the cannon is supposed to go off instantly. And then a hovercraft (like the one from the beginning of the movie) is supposed to de-cloak or appear outta nowhere and grapple the body up. Even grapple a few times if the body is in pieces. Every time. Apparently that would've cost too much, so they just didn't do it. But even Doctor Who could fake that on a TV budget. That makes the reality of the situation so much more intense and serious and just cinematic. If you kill someone, people will have an idea where you are soon, so run. Instead the parachutes, for some reason have a chime that lets you and anyone in earshot know that it and you are there. Really? And the speed that the parachutes come to Katniss' aid undercuts the tension so badly.

The worst part about this movie is the fact that at no point whatsoever do you ever ever ever fear for Katniss' life. I get it that we know she's gonna make it, but nothing says she's gonna get out in one piece. And what about Peeta? What about all the kids who aren't the Careers. Maybe for the first few minutes you feel any kind of fear, but then what? It just feels like she's hiking around, having an OK time and climbing trees. Are we supposed to worry about her with the fire? Sure. But right after she runs into the Careers, climbs a tree and then say 'welp, let's just go to sleep right here.' Is the girl with the knives supposed to be scary? Cuz 2 seconds later Thresh guts her and says 'hey...I was watching everything that happened back home on my TV, so I'm all caught up...you can go Katniss.' Were the dogs who get made up outta nowhere and just send them to the roof supposed to be scary? Cato who looks half dead when they find him?

The Hunger Games are supposed to be this constant state of paranoia and thirst and loneliness and fear, but the director has no idea what nuance is at all. He just stuck them out there and said yea ok, just walk over there...look around...ok just sit in that tree real quick...ok run run, let's go. That Mike D'antoni school of direction. It's so disappointing.

I mean let's take the plan at the Cornucopia for instance. She joins up with Rue (...and who doesn't love Rue?) says hey let's trick them into going over there and mess with their stuff, cuz that sounds like a plan. But we're supposed to understand how ridiculously hungry and thirsty you can get in the arena by now. It's supposed to be ingrained in every scene that dying of thirst or starving is a reality, and the careers don't know how to hunt or find food, they've just been training on how to kill. We were supposed to know by now that the Cornucopia was stacked with food and that they've been eating good. So this masterplan is a big one...you get rid of the food and suddenly you don't need to be bigger or stronger or roll deep like them. You just need to hide and get food for yourself. That levels the playing field. But nope...none of that. And then, they don't even manage to make the place look like anything special at all. The Cornucopia sucks...that's it? That looks like a Raiders tailgate...How do you make an open field look so ugly and worthless? The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has better production value. Lost's forest>> And the landmines...it just looks like some stupid @*! gopher holes. And they don't bother to have a 60 second show-me that explains that the kid left guarding the food, was the one who moved the landmines and that's the only reason they kept him alive...because of that AMC budget we get no info, so who knows where the bombs even came from.

Then the apples dropping looks straight out of Walker, Texas Ranger.

And how shoddy the direction was, it looked to me like Katniss was plain as day standing right in front of the Careers and no one noticed her.
But I'll admit, they did really well with the Rue scene, but that scene writes, acts and directs itself.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Thresh though. The did dude so dirty. Just bad blocking, directing, editing, storytelling, everything. The way we saw it, the girl with knives attacks her, almost kills her, Thresh kills knives girl, then tells Katniss she can dip...in the book most of that's the same, except while he's got knives girl she's screaming for Cato, because we were supposed to understand that she and him are from the same District, so that whole 2 people can win thing, only applied to those two beasts and the District 12 kids. And Cato is screaming her name from the woods getting closer, and after Thresh kills her Katniss tells him what she did for Rue, all the while Cato is running towards them. Thresh says you get 1 pass and we're even half because he cared about Rue (everyone now would care more about the other person from their District since they could've both went home) and half because he knows Katniss is a small fish, the big game is coming. So in the background of her running is this Battle Royale of the 2 strongest guys in the game. That's why Cato looks half dead when they find him on the roof. But of course, the director %%+** that completely.

Just the Careers in general. they shortchanged the training so bad. and not even in length...they didn't much explain anyone. How do you shrink 22 people trying to kill you into, 1 guy, a couple **+$!$% and a bunch of redshirts? The Districts...at least make an effort to try and keep track of who's still alive...at least, no? couldn't change anything? we didn't bother introducing them so why bring it up now? cool cool cool ...The Training...
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+%## outta here. You know when someone lets you mess with a piano or drums or w/e and you realize just how badly you're never gonna be worth anything at it. That's all the training montage was. Uncreative storytelling, simple scenes that only have one dumb thing to say. The cgi at the chariot scene
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That's Spartacus first episode ever bad. The fire dresses were important because blah blah they didn't have time, whatever. I almost forgot the trackerjackers...whatever, I just looked at how much I typed...I don't even care anymore. They shoulda been bigger and had more of an effect? Sure, why not. And that girl who got killed by Katniss, the campfire girl...If i'm not mistaken, she was only half dead and Peeta went back and killed her...that would've at least gave you a shot at thinking OK, he's with them. But nope...then they change the perspective to basically have him wink at her like, hey it's cool. like cmon man...you're not even trying. [insert other random stuff I didn't enjoy]

Oh...ok yeah...Cinna. Lenny Kravitz. Lenny did fine, but that's not good enough. *puts on Hogwart's hat* In the book he's sooooo much better. Yeah, whatever...why did I get suckered into writing all this? But yeah, Cinna's on Haymitch's level in the book. These...surrogate fathers Katniss is collecting. He's supposed to be the window that bridges the Capitol people with the District people and explains their %$%+%+ up lifestyles, perspectives and priorities. He explains how such decadent, dignified people could enjoy something so ugly and terrible. I thought they were gonna do some really profound things with him in the next books, but nah, they don't do much...except for a really really strong scene in the next movie. Unless they mess that up too. Lenny was fine, but he didn't make that lasting impression he needed to. And wasn't given much of anything to say or do.

Like Gale...and Peeta. I laughed my @*! off when I saw him by the river...just as stupid looking as it read it in the book.
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I'm done. I'm tired of typing...it's just not a well done film. There's no nuance and so many oppurtunities lost. The action isn't well directed, the tone isn't consistent, the writing isn't much good, the acting feels like the director didn't give them any real direction and just thought, let's get this over with, and the first 15 minutes promised a movie that never showed up.
 
I didn't read the books, but saw this movie when it came out and thought it was pretty good. I just read a short description about the movie and just like many of you, it reminded me of Battle Royale. I would actually go watch the movie again because the movie went by so fast, I felt like I missed a few things. 
 
Originally Posted by psk2310


Racism & predjudice are alive & kicking in the US. Why are white hunger game fans disappointed about black actors being cast in some roles in this movie? Text below from the CNN post here.

Hunger Games' fans tweet displeasure over black actors

You can't please everyone when adapting a book for the big screen, especially one as beloved as "The Hunger Games," but director Gary Ross and the casting team likely weren't anticipating this.

According to Jezebel, there appears to be a group of fans who are displeased that black actors were cast to portray Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Rue (Amandla Stenberg) and Thresh (Dayo Okeniyi). While Cinna's complexion isn't described in the novel, author Suzanne Collins does describe the latter two characters as both having dark skin.

As chronicled on the Tumblr "Hunger Games Tweets," it seems some readers either didn't pick up on the description or didn't read the description as depicting two African-American characters, and as a result have been vocal about their disappointment.

"Why does Rue have to be black not gonna lie kinda ruined the movie," wrote one fan in a tweet posted on the "Hunger Games Tweets" Tumblr.

Another described the "Awkward moment when Rue is some black girl and not the little innocent blonde girl you picture," while another said: "I was pumped about the Hunger Games. Until I learned a black girl was playing Rue."

On Okeniyi's casting, another Twitter user weighed in: "Naturally Thresh would be a black man. #NotImpressed."

In a post, the Tumblr notes that the reactions began cropping up last summer, but since the film's March 23 release, the writer says that "the amount of people who seem to all share these views just increased exponentially."

As a result, the blog aims to unveil "'Hunger Games' fans on Twitter who dare to call themselves fans yet don't know a damn thing about the books."

The writer adds in a separate entry that all of the tweets collected are from people who've read Collins' trilogy.

"Clearly, they all fell in love with and cared about Rue. Though what they really fell in love with was an image of Rue that they'd created in their minds...And then the casting is revealed (or they go see the movie) and they're shocked to see that Rue is black...This is so much more than, 'Oh, she's bigger than I thought.' The reactions are all based on feelings of disgust."

The point of collecting these reactions, the Tumblr's author writes, is to draw attention to what the writer sees as "MAJOR TIE-INS to these reactions and the injustices that we see around the world today."

That..."and to also point out s****y reading comprehension. LOL."
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%#* woow 
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Originally Posted by cguy610

Movie was awful. Pacing was bad. I wanted to go to sleep during the middle of the movie. We got the point that she wanted to be popular to gain sponsors, didn't need excessive scenes like the one with the dress on fire and spend 30 minutes on that point.

No character development.

Changing rules every 5 minutes.

Creating monsters out of thin air.

Running Man was better.
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This is a movie adaptation of a book, and it seems like most of your beef is with the book. I thought that the movie itself wasn't terrible at all, but pretty damn good. My response to a couple of things you pointed out:
The allegory of the fire outfit and fire dress play into Katniss's role as "the girl on fire". It plays into the larger motif that follows throughout the books, which is more apparent with the title of the second book, "Catching Fire". 

The rule changing is just to show you how much POWER the capital has over the games and over everyone, really. Same with the monsters and fireballs and everything else. I thought it was stupid as well, honestly, but it just goes to show you how much power they have and how much it's going to take to try to overturn such an entity, which is what I believe will happen in the later movies/books. 

I did think that the movie fell into some of the pitfalls that most movie adaptations fall into such as the lack of more in-depth character development, but I think it actually did really great for the amount of information and the book, and the amount of time they had for a movie. 
 
I was a little disappointed with the movie after reading the book. I loved how they really explain everything in the book. I also liked how the book had Katniss thought process narrated throughout the time she was in the arena. I liked how they explained why she was kissing him in the cave, so that she could get the parachutes and all that. I dunno.. I just really loved the book so the movie didn't really do it for me.
 
Seeing this tonight. Not expecting much. With all the children in the movie I'm not intrigued. Can't pass up $5 movie night though. Plus they serve beer so that makes up for the lame movies. I was surprised by John Carter so you never know I guess..
 
Originally Posted by MrONegative

Now for me...the first 15 minutes of the Hunger Games were almost perfect. A part of it was me not realizing how hyped I was for the movie until it started and just sort of being amazed at this rural There Will Be Blood town being painted in front of me. Because mind you...Suzanne Collins, the writer, kinda sucks. Kinda didn't put too much thought into a lot of things and hid it by just not talking about them or brushing over the details or just having Katniss go to sleep, or eat a meal and obsess over every bite. But that's the book...lemme try and keep this on the movie.

And as I say that...in the book, Prim wasn't really a character. More like a symbolic motivation. A human Livestrong bracelet. But in the movie, they really made her flesh and blood. They got across so much about the way they live, through her. More than Jennifer Lawrence did.

And mind you, I really liked it when I heard she was casted, good for them, she can act. And then reading the books, I loved the idea of it, because I saw Winter's Bone and this is that same strong, well deserved Oscar nominated, character that she played, so there should be no worries. But seeing this movie...seeing District 12 actually rendered as a real place of hardship...and even seeing District 11, I get it...Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong person for this. And I hear that people are saying she's too fat to play the role. That's not fair, but I get that. And she's not fat, but for once they actually needed an emaciated actress for the role. Prim gets so much across about what it's like to live there in minutes, but Katniss...Katniss looks like she eats good and the fact that this film is allergic to any type of sensible flashback and can't bother to ever pick the right perspective in any moment, says she needed to look that way.

You have a big story to tell...tell it...or make it small and personal and only through her eyes...like the book...sure...but don't pick both. Hell, this movie picked neither. There's a lack of nuance in this film that's just blatant trolling, because the least bit of effort would've given it so much more depth or just clarity on what the hell you're trying to say. I'll explain that in a second.

Before all that, I can't express how well the 3 (kinda 4) real actors did in this movie. Woody Harrelson wasn't what I pictured in the book, but did a great job. I barely even recognized Elizabeth Banks but she killed every scene too. Effie was a pretty flat character in the book, but she breathed life into it. And then Stanley Tucci...perfect. Caesar's interesting in the book, even though Collins does that trick where she kinda sorta describes dialogue without writing it or being descriptive enough.
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Those banners with his faces behind him, though.
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They each brought something special to the role, better than they were written. And then Donald Sutherland was really good in a role that didn't really exist in the first book...and the little twist at the end was a nice touch. All of them worked.

Outside of them, that guy they got for Cato (big baddie) was well casted and I loved Prim, liked Rue, Foxface (the ginger), that blonde chick who got stung made me hate her in short time, the chick with knives...all did good enough. Gale and Peeta were OK and Jennifer Lawrence owned a couple scenes...and that fire was well done...gamemaker central too...

I think those are all the nice things I have left to say about the movie.

Now let's get into the budget, and by extension the studio. Budget shouldn't mean that much, because look at District 9 and even Chronicle (even though the cgi wasn't too great). But I accept that $80 million for a movie like this is about half what they should've spent. Why go there? All Lionsgate makes is crappy horror movies and just bad movies for people who like bad movies. How thirsty studios are to make books with big followings...whatever. Collins could probably care less where or for how much it was made, long as she gets paid. It is what it is...what if Chronicle had double the budget? That shouldn't affect the quality of the movie this much.

Why did they shoot it like The Bourne Supremacy? Not even...that movie had nuance. The DISTANCE of the camera...it feels like every shot is the same distance from the face...there's no nuance or rhythm to it, and that makes the movie feel small, makes the arena feel small, makes the games feel short, dulls all the emotions and acting and action. You shouldn't notice that. In the director's commentary of this movie called George Washington, the guy says you gotta pull tricks sometimes to tell your story...when you're working with non-actors, you give them less to say to hide that. Well when you've got a director who can't direct the movie he's been hired for, he shakes the camera around, sticks it way too close to everyone's face and just lets the actors freestyle it. There's no composition or mastershots that work anywhere. And then I find out the dude hasn't made a movie in a decade...

That explains why this movie, except for the cgi dogs, looks like it was made in 1998.
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But besides how the movie was made technically...just the storytelling is bad. What matters is the flashbacks...two incredibly important ones...one of Katniss' dad blowing up in the coal mine and the other maybe a week after that of a an 11 year old Katniss starving, looking for food in the streets for her sister and mother, ready to die when Peeta throws her bread that he burnt on purpose so he could be allowed to 'throw it away.' These two moments are vital, they open the world up and the characters up in a way that nothing inside of the games could. They're both handled so terribly it's disgusting.

The coal mine...they decide not to show it like a flashback dream during one of the however many times she goes to sleep in the arena. No, they randomly show it while she's in a trackerjacker hallucination where I guarantee you anyone who didn't read the book just thought it was her going crazy or not that big a deal. I mean they just show him in an elevator, random explosion and now half their house gets blown up? What? It'd only cost a couple minutes and vision or some kind of real (modern) understanding of storytelling, to just try and make this a moment. Nope. But that was fine, that can be what it was, because as long as you stick the other one, you're fine...

How do you +%## that up? They only use two flashbacks in the book...it's not like Game of Thrones with a million callbacks or something. I almost laughed when I saw it. All they manage to show you is Jennifer Lawrence randomly laying down in the rain outside of Peeta's place like a creep..and it literally looks like it happened a week or 2 before the games, because they for damn sure look the same age as now (16) and not 11. Then Peeta comes out to feed the pigs and oh...there's another pig over there...lemme throw her some bread too. The end.

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How do you +%## that up?

The story is that her dad dying was supposed to be a big deal. Somehow in vague (I don't like thinking things through--I can't write dialogue or talk in pictures--what do you mean I ripped off Battle Royale 'Suzanne Collins') wording Katniss watches her dad blow up in the coal mines and between that and what happens next, that's why she's the cold, kind of unlikeable person that she is. And when it happens her mom practically goes comatose. She's struck with grief and won't do anything...won't go to work, won't talk, won't move, won't take care of her two daughters, and really soon the food runs out and they're literally starving to death. Because in District 12, it's not even that uncommon...just something that happens. And there's no neighbors or friends to ask for handouts, because everyone is just barely surviving. (That's why Katniss, illegally, sneaks out of the electric fences the cop dudes in white forget to turn on and hunts to trade or feed her family...but at 16, now when she was 11) So they reach the point where if she doesn't find something quick, they're gonna find bodies in her home in a day or 2, so she goes out in the rain looking/begging everywhere, finally gives up and gives in to how weak she feels and lays there ready to die, when Peeta sees her...burns bread on purpose (because even the bakers don't have enough food in District 12 and have to live off whatever goes stale) and goes out and throws a burnt loaf to her. And that gave her hope and saved her and her sister's lives, but she never had the nerve to talk to him about it until now that they're in this situation. And suddenly there's this real, strong connection with this person who might be trying to kill her soon.

It would've taken a few short minutes to just try to get that across...but no.
Act like that isn't more important than most of the whatever they showed.

I mean the letdowns were early and often. Woody Harrellson and Elizabeth Banks owned every scene they were in, even though there wasn't enough of them and they completely left Woody in the sticks when it came to sponsors and parachutes. It was so simple to solve too, explain how inflated the price of sending anything into the arena is and that 'sponsors' meant as much as just getting the richer people in the Capitol to love your character on this Big Brother type show and basically vote to help you stay on the show. The book has something (only one thing) well thought out and meaningful to say about reality television and that need to control your persona to appeal to and manipulate the audience...none of that gets across...it literally just sounds like Haymitch passed around a collection plate and instantly got them whatever they needed.

And the parachutes, not at all what I imagined. What if I told you that every time a person dies in the arena, the cannon is supposed to go off instantly. And then a hovercraft (like the one from the beginning of the movie) is supposed to de-cloak or appear outta nowhere and grapple the body up. Even grapple a few times if the body is in pieces. Every time. Apparently that would've cost too much, so they just didn't do it. But even Doctor Who could fake that on a TV budget. That makes the reality of the situation so much more intense and serious and just cinematic. If you kill someone, people will have an idea where you are soon, so run. Instead the parachutes, for some reason have a chime that lets you and anyone in earshot know that it and you are there. Really? And the speed that the parachutes come to Katniss' aid undercuts the tension so badly.

The worst part about this movie is the fact that at no point whatsoever do you ever ever ever fear for Katniss' life. I get it that we know she's gonna make it, but nothing says she's gonna get out in one piece. And what about Peeta? What about all the kids who aren't the Careers. Maybe for the first few minutes you feel any kind of fear, but then what? It just feels like she's hiking around, having an OK time and climbing trees. Are we supposed to worry about her with the fire? Sure. But right after she runs into the Careers, climbs a tree and then say 'welp, let's just go to sleep right here.' Is the girl with the knives supposed to be scary? Cuz 2 seconds later Thresh guts her and says 'hey...I was watching everything that happened back home on my TV, so I'm all caught up...you can go Katniss.' Were the dogs who get made up outta nowhere and just send them to the roof supposed to be scary? Cato who looks half dead when they find him?

The Hunger Games are supposed to be this constant state of paranoia and thirst and loneliness and fear, but the director has no idea what nuance is at all. He just stuck them out there and said yea ok, just walk over there...look around...ok just sit in that tree real quick...ok run run, let's go. That Mike D'antoni school of direction. It's so disappointing.

I mean let's take the plan at the Cornucopia for instance. She joins up with Rue (...and who doesn't love Rue?) says hey let's trick them into going over there and mess with their stuff, cuz that sounds like a plan. But we're supposed to understand how ridiculously hungry and thirsty you can get in the arena by now. It's supposed to be ingrained in every scene that dying of thirst or starving is a reality, and the careers don't know how to hunt or find food, they've just been training on how to kill. We were supposed to know by now that the Cornucopia was stacked with food and that they've been eating good. So this masterplan is a big one...you get rid of the food and suddenly you don't need to be bigger or stronger or roll deep like them. You just need to hide and get food for yourself. That levels the playing field. But nope...none of that. And then, they don't even manage to make the place look like anything special at all. The Cornucopia sucks...that's it? That looks like a Raiders tailgate...How do you make an open field look so ugly and worthless? The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has better production value. Lost's forest>> And the landmines...it just looks like some stupid @*! gopher holes. And they don't bother to have a 60 second show-me that explains that the kid left guarding the food, was the one who moved the landmines and that's the only reason they kept him alive...because of that AMC budget we get no info, so who knows where the bombs even came from.

Then the apples dropping looks straight out of Walker, Texas Ranger.

And how shoddy the direction was, it looked to me like Katniss was plain as day standing right in front of the Careers and no one noticed her.
But I'll admit, they did really well with the Rue scene, but that scene writes, acts and directs itself.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Thresh though. The did dude so dirty. Just bad blocking, directing, editing, storytelling, everything. The way we saw it, the girl with knives attacks her, almost kills her, Thresh kills knives girl, then tells Katniss she can dip...in the book most of that's the same, except while he's got knives girl she's screaming for Cato, because we were supposed to understand that she and him are from the same District, so that whole 2 people can win thing, only applied to those two beasts and the District 12 kids. And Cato is screaming her name from the woods getting closer, and after Thresh kills her Katniss tells him what she did for Rue, all the while Cato is running towards them. Thresh says you get 1 pass and we're even half because he cared about Rue (everyone now would care more about the other person from their District since they could've both went home) and half because he knows Katniss is a small fish, the big game is coming. So in the background of her running is this Battle Royale of the 2 strongest guys in the game. That's why Cato looks half dead when they find him on the roof. But of course, the director %%+** that completely.

Just the Careers in general. they shortchanged the training so bad. and not even in length...they didn't much explain anyone. How do you shrink 22 people trying to kill you into, 1 guy, a couple **+$!$% and a bunch of redshirts? The Districts...at least make an effort to try and keep track of who's still alive...at least, no? couldn't change anything? we didn't bother introducing them so why bring it up now? cool cool cool ...The Training...
laugh.gif
+%## outta here. You know when someone lets you mess with a piano or drums or w/e and you realize just how badly you're never gonna be worth anything at it. That's all the training montage was. Uncreative storytelling, simple scenes that only have one dumb thing to say. The cgi at the chariot scene
laugh.gif
That's Spartacus first episode ever bad. The fire dresses were important because blah blah they didn't have time, whatever. I almost forgot the trackerjackers...whatever, I just looked at how much I typed...I don't even care anymore. They shoulda been bigger and had more of an effect? Sure, why not. And that girl who got killed by Katniss, the campfire girl...If i'm not mistaken, she was only half dead and Peeta went back and killed her...that would've at least gave you a shot at thinking OK, he's with them. But nope...then they change the perspective to basically have him wink at her like, hey it's cool. like cmon man...you're not even trying. [insert other random stuff I didn't enjoy]

Oh...ok yeah...Cinna. Lenny Kravitz. Lenny did fine, but that's not good enough. *puts on Hogwart's hat* In the book he's sooooo much better. Yeah, whatever...why did I get suckered into writing all this? But yeah, Cinna's on Haymitch's level in the book. These...surrogate fathers Katniss is collecting. He's supposed to be the window that bridges the Capitol people with the District people and explains their %$%+%+ up lifestyles, perspectives and priorities. He explains how such decadent, dignified people could enjoy something so ugly and terrible. I thought they were gonna do some really profound things with him in the next books, but nah, they don't do much...except for a really really strong scene in the next movie. Unless they mess that up too. Lenny was fine, but he didn't make that lasting impression he needed to. And wasn't given much of anything to say or do.

Like Gale...and Peeta. I laughed my @*! off when I saw him by the river...just as stupid looking as it read it in the book.
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I'm done. I'm tired of typing...it's just not a well done film. There's no nuance and so many oppurtunities lost. The action isn't well directed, the tone isn't consistent, the writing isn't much good, the acting feels like the director didn't give them any real direction and just thought, let's get this over with, and the first 15 minutes promised a movie that never showed up.
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   oh HELLLLLLL no!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Originally Posted by pacmagic2002

Originally Posted by MrONegative

Now for me...the first 15 minutes of the Hunger Games were almost perfect. A part of it was me not realizing how hyped I was for the movie until it started and just sort of being amazed at this rural There Will Be Blood town being painted in front of me. Because mind you...Suzanne Collins, the writer, kinda sucks. Kinda didn't put too much thought into a lot of things and hid it by just not talking about them or brushing over the details or just having Katniss go to sleep, or eat a meal and obsess over every bite. But that's the book...lemme try and keep this on the movie.

And as I say that...in the book, Prim wasn't really a character. More like a symbolic motivation. A human Livestrong bracelet. But in the movie, they really made her flesh and blood. They got across so much about the way they live, through her. More than Jennifer Lawrence did.

And mind you, I really liked it when I heard she was casted, good for them, she can act. And then reading the books, I loved the idea of it, because I saw Winter's Bone and this is that same strong, well deserved Oscar nominated, character that she played, so there should be no worries. But seeing this movie...seeing District 12 actually rendered as a real place of hardship...and even seeing District 11, I get it...Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong person for this. And I hear that people are saying she's too fat to play the role. That's not fair, but I get that. And she's not fat, but for once they actually needed an emaciated actress for the role. Prim gets so much across about what it's like to live there in minutes, but Katniss...Katniss looks like she eats good and the fact that this film is allergic to any type of sensible flashback and can't bother to ever pick the right perspective in any moment, says she needed to look that way.

You have a big story to tell...tell it...or make it small and personal and only through her eyes...like the book...sure...but don't pick both. Hell, this movie picked neither. There's a lack of nuance in this film that's just blatant trolling, because the least bit of effort would've given it so much more depth or just clarity on what the hell you're trying to say. I'll explain that in a second.

Before all that, I can't express how well the 3 (kinda 4) real actors did in this movie. Woody Harrelson wasn't what I pictured in the book, but did a great job. I barely even recognized Elizabeth Banks but she killed every scene too. Effie was a pretty flat character in the book, but she breathed life into it. And then Stanley Tucci...perfect. Caesar's interesting in the book, even though Collins does that trick where she kinda sorta describes dialogue without writing it or being descriptive enough.
eyes.gif
Those banners with his faces behind him, though.
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They each brought something special to the role, better than they were written. And then Donald Sutherland was really good in a role that didn't really exist in the first book...and the little twist at the end was a nice touch. All of them worked.

Outside of them, that guy they got for Cato (big baddie) was well casted and I loved Prim, liked Rue, Foxface (the ginger), that blonde chick who got stung made me hate her in short time, the chick with knives...all did good enough. Gale and Peeta were OK and Jennifer Lawrence owned a couple scenes...and that fire was well done...gamemaker central too...

I think those are all the nice things I have left to say about the movie.

Now let's get into the budget, and by extension the studio. Budget shouldn't mean that much, because look at District 9 and even Chronicle (even though the cgi wasn't too great). But I accept that $80 million for a movie like this is about half what they should've spent. Why go there? All Lionsgate makes is crappy horror movies and just bad movies for people who like bad movies. How thirsty studios are to make books with big followings...whatever. Collins could probably care less where or for how much it was made, long as she gets paid. It is what it is...what if Chronicle had double the budget? That shouldn't affect the quality of the movie this much.

Why did they shoot it like The Bourne Supremacy? Not even...that movie had nuance. The DISTANCE of the camera...it feels like every shot is the same distance from the face...there's no nuance or rhythm to it, and that makes the movie feel small, makes the arena feel small, makes the games feel short, dulls all the emotions and acting and action. You shouldn't notice that. In the director's commentary of this movie called George Washington, the guy says you gotta pull tricks sometimes to tell your story...when you're working with non-actors, you give them less to say to hide that. Well when you've got a director who can't direct the movie he's been hired for, he shakes the camera around, sticks it way too close to everyone's face and just lets the actors freestyle it. There's no composition or mastershots that work anywhere. And then I find out the dude hasn't made a movie in a decade...

That explains why this movie, except for the cgi dogs, looks like it was made in 1998.
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But besides how the movie was made technically...just the storytelling is bad. What matters is the flashbacks...two incredibly important ones...one of Katniss' dad blowing up in the coal mine and the other maybe a week after that of a an 11 year old Katniss starving, looking for food in the streets for her sister and mother, ready to die when Peeta throws her bread that he burnt on purpose so he could be allowed to 'throw it away.' These two moments are vital, they open the world up and the characters up in a way that nothing inside of the games could. They're both handled so terribly it's disgusting.

The coal mine...they decide not to show it like a flashback dream during one of the however many times she goes to sleep in the arena. No, they randomly show it while she's in a trackerjacker hallucination where I guarantee you anyone who didn't read the book just thought it was her going crazy or not that big a deal. I mean they just show him in an elevator, random explosion and now half their house gets blown up? What? It'd only cost a couple minutes and vision or some kind of real (modern) understanding of storytelling, to just try and make this a moment. Nope. But that was fine, that can be what it was, because as long as you stick the other one, you're fine...

How do you +%## that up? They only use two flashbacks in the book...it's not like Game of Thrones with a million callbacks or something. I almost laughed when I saw it. All they manage to show you is Jennifer Lawrence randomly laying down in the rain outside of Peeta's place like a creep..and it literally looks like it happened a week or 2 before the games, because they for damn sure look the same age as now (16) and not 11. Then Peeta comes out to feed the pigs and oh...there's another pig over there...lemme throw her some bread too. The end.

indifferent.gif
How do you +%## that up?

The story is that her dad dying was supposed to be a big deal. Somehow in vague (I don't like thinking things through--I can't write dialogue or talk in pictures--what do you mean I ripped off Battle Royale 'Suzanne Collins') wording Katniss watches her dad blow up in the coal mines and between that and what happens next, that's why she's the cold, kind of unlikeable person that she is. And when it happens her mom practically goes comatose. She's struck with grief and won't do anything...won't go to work, won't talk, won't move, won't take care of her two daughters, and really soon the food runs out and they're literally starving to death. Because in District 12, it's not even that uncommon...just something that happens. And there's no neighbors or friends to ask for handouts, because everyone is just barely surviving. (That's why Katniss, illegally, sneaks out of the electric fences the cop dudes in white forget to turn on and hunts to trade or feed her family...but at 16, now when she was 11) So they reach the point where if she doesn't find something quick, they're gonna find bodies in her home in a day or 2, so she goes out in the rain looking/begging everywhere, finally gives up and gives in to how weak she feels and lays there ready to die, when Peeta sees her...burns bread on purpose (because even the bakers don't have enough food in District 12 and have to live off whatever goes stale) and goes out and throws a burnt loaf to her. And that gave her hope and saved her and her sister's lives, but she never had the nerve to talk to him about it until now that they're in this situation. And suddenly there's this real, strong connection with this person who might be trying to kill her soon.

It would've taken a few short minutes to just try to get that across...but no.
Act like that isn't more important than most of the whatever they showed.

I mean the letdowns were early and often. Woody Harrellson and Elizabeth Banks owned every scene they were in, even though there wasn't enough of them and they completely left Woody in the sticks when it came to sponsors and parachutes. It was so simple to solve too, explain how inflated the price of sending anything into the arena is and that 'sponsors' meant as much as just getting the richer people in the Capitol to love your character on this Big Brother type show and basically vote to help you stay on the show. The book has something (only one thing) well thought out and meaningful to say about reality television and that need to control your persona to appeal to and manipulate the audience...none of that gets across...it literally just sounds like Haymitch passed around a collection plate and instantly got them whatever they needed.

And the parachutes, not at all what I imagined. What if I told you that every time a person dies in the arena, the cannon is supposed to go off instantly. And then a hovercraft (like the one from the beginning of the movie) is supposed to de-cloak or appear outta nowhere and grapple the body up. Even grapple a few times if the body is in pieces. Every time. Apparently that would've cost too much, so they just didn't do it. But even Doctor Who could fake that on a TV budget. That makes the reality of the situation so much more intense and serious and just cinematic. If you kill someone, people will have an idea where you are soon, so run. Instead the parachutes, for some reason have a chime that lets you and anyone in earshot know that it and you are there. Really? And the speed that the parachutes come to Katniss' aid undercuts the tension so badly.

The worst part about this movie is the fact that at no point whatsoever do you ever ever ever fear for Katniss' life. I get it that we know she's gonna make it, but nothing says she's gonna get out in one piece. And what about Peeta? What about all the kids who aren't the Careers. Maybe for the first few minutes you feel any kind of fear, but then what? It just feels like she's hiking around, having an OK time and climbing trees. Are we supposed to worry about her with the fire? Sure. But right after she runs into the Careers, climbs a tree and then say 'welp, let's just go to sleep right here.' Is the girl with the knives supposed to be scary? Cuz 2 seconds later Thresh guts her and says 'hey...I was watching everything that happened back home on my TV, so I'm all caught up...you can go Katniss.' Were the dogs who get made up outta nowhere and just send them to the roof supposed to be scary? Cato who looks half dead when they find him?

The Hunger Games are supposed to be this constant state of paranoia and thirst and loneliness and fear, but the director has no idea what nuance is at all. He just stuck them out there and said yea ok, just walk over there...look around...ok just sit in that tree real quick...ok run run, let's go. That Mike D'antoni school of direction. It's so disappointing.

I mean let's take the plan at the Cornucopia for instance. She joins up with Rue (...and who doesn't love Rue?) says hey let's trick them into going over there and mess with their stuff, cuz that sounds like a plan. But we're supposed to understand how ridiculously hungry and thirsty you can get in the arena by now. It's supposed to be ingrained in every scene that dying of thirst or starving is a reality, and the careers don't know how to hunt or find food, they've just been training on how to kill. We were supposed to know by now that the Cornucopia was stacked with food and that they've been eating good. So this masterplan is a big one...you get rid of the food and suddenly you don't need to be bigger or stronger or roll deep like them. You just need to hide and get food for yourself. That levels the playing field. But nope...none of that. And then, they don't even manage to make the place look like anything special at all. The Cornucopia sucks...that's it? That looks like a Raiders tailgate...How do you make an open field look so ugly and worthless? The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has better production value. Lost's forest>> And the landmines...it just looks like some stupid @*! gopher holes. And they don't bother to have a 60 second show-me that explains that the kid left guarding the food, was the one who moved the landmines and that's the only reason they kept him alive...because of that AMC budget we get no info, so who knows where the bombs even came from.

Then the apples dropping looks straight out of Walker, Texas Ranger.

And how shoddy the direction was, it looked to me like Katniss was plain as day standing right in front of the Careers and no one noticed her.
But I'll admit, they did really well with the Rue scene, but that scene writes, acts and directs itself.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Thresh though. The did dude so dirty. Just bad blocking, directing, editing, storytelling, everything. The way we saw it, the girl with knives attacks her, almost kills her, Thresh kills knives girl, then tells Katniss she can dip...in the book most of that's the same, except while he's got knives girl she's screaming for Cato, because we were supposed to understand that she and him are from the same District, so that whole 2 people can win thing, only applied to those two beasts and the District 12 kids. And Cato is screaming her name from the woods getting closer, and after Thresh kills her Katniss tells him what she did for Rue, all the while Cato is running towards them. Thresh says you get 1 pass and we're even half because he cared about Rue (everyone now would care more about the other person from their District since they could've both went home) and half because he knows Katniss is a small fish, the big game is coming. So in the background of her running is this Battle Royale of the 2 strongest guys in the game. That's why Cato looks half dead when they find him on the roof. But of course, the director %%+** that completely.

Just the Careers in general. they shortchanged the training so bad. and not even in length...they didn't much explain anyone. How do you shrink 22 people trying to kill you into, 1 guy, a couple **+$!$% and a bunch of redshirts? The Districts...at least make an effort to try and keep track of who's still alive...at least, no? couldn't change anything? we didn't bother introducing them so why bring it up now? cool cool cool ...The Training...
laugh.gif
+%## outta here. You know when someone lets you mess with a piano or drums or w/e and you realize just how badly you're never gonna be worth anything at it. That's all the training montage was. Uncreative storytelling, simple scenes that only have one dumb thing to say. The cgi at the chariot scene
laugh.gif
That's Spartacus first episode ever bad. The fire dresses were important because blah blah they didn't have time, whatever. I almost forgot the trackerjackers...whatever, I just looked at how much I typed...I don't even care anymore. They shoulda been bigger and had more of an effect? Sure, why not. And that girl who got killed by Katniss, the campfire girl...If i'm not mistaken, she was only half dead and Peeta went back and killed her...that would've at least gave you a shot at thinking OK, he's with them. But nope...then they change the perspective to basically have him wink at her like, hey it's cool. like cmon man...you're not even trying. [insert other random stuff I didn't enjoy]

Oh...ok yeah...Cinna. Lenny Kravitz. Lenny did fine, but that's not good enough. *puts on Hogwart's hat* In the book he's sooooo much better. Yeah, whatever...why did I get suckered into writing all this? But yeah, Cinna's on Haymitch's level in the book. These...surrogate fathers Katniss is collecting. He's supposed to be the window that bridges the Capitol people with the District people and explains their %$%+%+ up lifestyles, perspectives and priorities. He explains how such decadent, dignified people could enjoy something so ugly and terrible. I thought they were gonna do some really profound things with him in the next books, but nah, they don't do much...except for a really really strong scene in the next movie. Unless they mess that up too. Lenny was fine, but he didn't make that lasting impression he needed to. And wasn't given much of anything to say or do.

Like Gale...and Peeta. I laughed my @*! off when I saw him by the river...just as stupid looking as it read it in the book.
laugh.gif
30t6p3b.gif



I'm done. I'm tired of typing...it's just not a well done film. There's no nuance and so many oppurtunities lost. The action isn't well directed, the tone isn't consistent, the writing isn't much good, the acting feels like the director didn't give them any real direction and just thought, let's get this over with, and the first 15 minutes promised a movie that never showed up.
Click to expand...
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   oh HELLLLLLL no!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
sir, why in the %$#* would you think we would read all of that isssh over a damn movie based on a tween book.....

film was AIGHT btw, main chick was semi
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got carried away

Cliffs: they went too cheap on the movie, the director sucked and just didn't do anything interesting to try and tell the story, explain the history or get across the fear and paranoia and hunger inside of the arena. He just stuck some kids in front of the camera and said ok...do some of that stuff from the book.

And Tucci, Banks, Harrellson and Sutherland all killed it.
 
I didn't realize until now that Elizabeth Banks was playing Effie.
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I was wondering why I was like 'damn I think I might do effie' in my head.
 
Was pessimistic going in because it looked like a child's movie, but I was wrong.

Very entertaining and homegirl grew on me exponentially during the movie. I recommend this movie.
 
Originally Posted by MrONegative

Now for me...the first 15 minutes of the Hunger Games were almost perfect. A part of it was me not realizing how hyped I was for the movie until it started and just sort of being amazed at this rural There Will Be Blood town being painted in front of me. Because mind you...Suzanne Collins, the writer, kinda sucks. Kinda didn't put too much thought into a lot of things and hid it by just not talking about them or brushing over the details or just having Katniss go to sleep, or eat a meal and obsess over every bite. But that's the book...lemme try and keep this on the movie.

And as I say that...in the book, Prim wasn't really a character. More like a symbolic motivation. A human Livestrong bracelet. But in the movie, they really made her flesh and blood. They got across so much about the way they live, through her. More than Jennifer Lawrence did.

And mind you, I really liked it when I heard she was casted, good for them, she can act. And then reading the books, I loved the idea of it, because I saw Winter's Bone and this is that same strong, well deserved Oscar nominated, character that she played, so there should be no worries. But seeing this movie...seeing District 12 actually rendered as a real place of hardship...and even seeing District 11, I get it...Jennifer Lawrence was the wrong person for this. And I hear that people are saying she's too fat to play the role. That's not fair, but I get that. And she's not fat, but for once they actually needed an emaciated actress for the role. Prim gets so much across about what it's like to live there in minutes, but Katniss...Katniss looks like she eats good and the fact that this film is allergic to any type of sensible flashback and can't bother to ever pick the right perspective in any moment, says she needed to look that way.

You have a big story to tell...tell it...or make it small and personal and only through her eyes...like the book...sure...but don't pick both. Hell, this movie picked neither. There's a lack of nuance in this film that's just blatant trolling, because the least bit of effort would've given it so much more depth or just clarity on what the hell you're trying to say. I'll explain that in a second.

Before all that, I can't express how well the 3 (kinda 4) real actors did in this movie. Woody Harrelson wasn't what I pictured in the book, but did a great job. I barely even recognized Elizabeth Banks but she killed every scene too. Effie was a pretty flat character in the book, but she breathed life into it. And then Stanley Tucci...perfect. Caesar's interesting in the book, even though Collins does that trick where she kinda sorta describes dialogue without writing it or being descriptive enough.
eyes.gif
Those banners with his faces behind him, though.
roll.gif
They each brought something special to the role, better than they were written. And then Donald Sutherland was really good in a role that didn't really exist in the first book...and the little twist at the end was a nice touch. All of them worked.

Outside of them, that guy they got for Cato (big baddie) was well casted and I loved Prim, liked Rue, Foxface (the ginger), that blonde chick who got stung made me hate her in short time, the chick with knives...all did good enough. Gale and Peeta were OK and Jennifer Lawrence owned a couple scenes...and that fire was well done...gamemaker central too...

I think those are all the nice things I have left to say about the movie.

Now let's get into the budget, and by extension the studio. Budget shouldn't mean that much, because look at District 9 and even Chronicle (even though the cgi wasn't too great). But I accept that $80 million for a movie like this is about half what they should've spent. Why go there? All Lionsgate makes is crappy horror movies and just bad movies for people who like bad movies. How thirsty studios are to make books with big followings...whatever. Collins could probably care less where or for how much it was made, long as she gets paid. It is what it is...what if Chronicle had double the budget? That shouldn't affect the quality of the movie this much.

Why did they shoot it like The Bourne Supremacy? Not even...that movie had nuance. The DISTANCE of the camera...it feels like every shot is the same distance from the face...there's no nuance or rhythm to it, and that makes the movie feel small, makes the arena feel small, makes the games feel short, dulls all the emotions and acting and action. You shouldn't notice that. In the director's commentary of this movie called George Washington, the guy says you gotta pull tricks sometimes to tell your story...when you're working with non-actors, you give them less to say to hide that. Well when you've got a director who can't direct the movie he's been hired for, he shakes the camera around, sticks it way too close to everyone's face and just lets the actors freestyle it. There's no composition or mastershots that work anywhere. And then I find out the dude hasn't made a movie in a decade...

That explains why this movie, except for the cgi dogs, looks like it was made in 1998.
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But besides how the movie was made technically...just the storytelling is bad. What matters is the flashbacks...two incredibly important ones...one of Katniss' dad blowing up in the coal mine and the other maybe a week after that of a an 11 year old Katniss starving, looking for food in the streets for her sister and mother, ready to die when Peeta throws her bread that he burnt on purpose so he could be allowed to 'throw it away.' These two moments are vital, they open the world up and the characters up in a way that nothing inside of the games could. They're both handled so terribly it's disgusting.

The coal mine...they decide not to show it like a flashback dream during one of the however many times she goes to sleep in the arena. No, they randomly show it while she's in a trackerjacker hallucination where I guarantee you anyone who didn't read the book just thought it was her going crazy or not that big a deal. I mean they just show him in an elevator, random explosion and now half their house gets blown up? What? It'd only cost a couple minutes and vision or some kind of real (modern) understanding of storytelling, to just try and make this a moment. Nope. But that was fine, that can be what it was, because as long as you stick the other one, you're fine...

How do you +%## that up? They only use two flashbacks in the book...it's not like Game of Thrones with a million callbacks or something. I almost laughed when I saw it. All they manage to show you is Jennifer Lawrence randomly laying down in the rain outside of Peeta's place like a creep..and it literally looks like it happened a week or 2 before the games, because they for damn sure look the same age as now (16) and not 11. Then Peeta comes out to feed the pigs and oh...there's another pig over there...lemme throw her some bread too. The end.

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How do you +%## that up?

The story is that her dad dying was supposed to be a big deal. Somehow in vague (I don't like thinking things through--I can't write dialogue or talk in pictures--what do you mean I ripped off Battle Royale 'Suzanne Collins') wording Katniss watches her dad blow up in the coal mines and between that and what happens next, that's why she's the cold, kind of unlikeable person that she is. And when it happens her mom practically goes comatose. She's struck with grief and won't do anything...won't go to work, won't talk, won't move, won't take care of her two daughters, and really soon the food runs out and they're literally starving to death. Because in District 12, it's not even that uncommon...just something that happens. And there's no neighbors or friends to ask for handouts, because everyone is just barely surviving. (That's why Katniss, illegally, sneaks out of the electric fences the cop dudes in white forget to turn on and hunts to trade or feed her family...but at 16, now when she was 11) So they reach the point where if she doesn't find something quick, they're gonna find bodies in her home in a day or 2, so she goes out in the rain looking/begging everywhere, finally gives up and gives in to how weak she feels and lays there ready to die, when Peeta sees her...burns bread on purpose (because even the bakers don't have enough food in District 12 and have to live off whatever goes stale) and goes out and throws a burnt loaf to her. And that gave her hope and saved her and her sister's lives, but she never had the nerve to talk to him about it until now that they're in this situation. And suddenly there's this real, strong connection with this person who might be trying to kill her soon.

It would've taken a few short minutes to just try to get that across...but no.
Act like that isn't more important than most of the whatever they showed.

I mean the letdowns were early and often. Woody Harrellson and Elizabeth Banks owned every scene they were in, even though there wasn't enough of them and they completely left Woody in the sticks when it came to sponsors and parachutes. It was so simple to solve too, explain how inflated the price of sending anything into the arena is and that 'sponsors' meant as much as just getting the richer people in the Capitol to love your character on this Big Brother type show and basically vote to help you stay on the show. The book has something (only one thing) well thought out and meaningful to say about reality television and that need to control your persona to appeal to and manipulate the audience...none of that gets across...it literally just sounds like Haymitch passed around a collection plate and instantly got them whatever they needed.

And the parachutes, not at all what I imagined. What if I told you that every time a person dies in the arena, the cannon is supposed to go off instantly. And then a hovercraft (like the one from the beginning of the movie) is supposed to de-cloak or appear outta nowhere and grapple the body up. Even grapple a few times if the body is in pieces. Every time. Apparently that would've cost too much, so they just didn't do it. But even Doctor Who could fake that on a TV budget. That makes the reality of the situation so much more intense and serious and just cinematic. If you kill someone, people will have an idea where you are soon, so run. Instead the parachutes, for some reason have a chime that lets you and anyone in earshot know that it and you are there. Really? And the speed that the parachutes come to Katniss' aid undercuts the tension so badly.

The worst part about this movie is the fact that at no point whatsoever do you ever ever ever fear for Katniss' life. I get it that we know she's gonna make it, but nothing says she's gonna get out in one piece. And what about Peeta? What about all the kids who aren't the Careers. Maybe for the first few minutes you feel any kind of fear, but then what? It just feels like she's hiking around, having an OK time and climbing trees. Are we supposed to worry about her with the fire? Sure. But right after she runs into the Careers, climbs a tree and then say 'welp, let's just go to sleep right here.' Is the girl with the knives supposed to be scary? Cuz 2 seconds later Thresh guts her and says 'hey...I was watching everything that happened back home on my TV, so I'm all caught up...you can go Katniss.' Were the dogs who get made up outta nowhere and just send them to the roof supposed to be scary? Cato who looks half dead when they find him?

The Hunger Games are supposed to be this constant state of paranoia and thirst and loneliness and fear, but the director has no idea what nuance is at all. He just stuck them out there and said yea ok, just walk over there...look around...ok just sit in that tree real quick...ok run run, let's go. That Mike D'antoni school of direction. It's so disappointing.

I mean let's take the plan at the Cornucopia for instance. She joins up with Rue (...and who doesn't love Rue?) says hey let's trick them into going over there and mess with their stuff, cuz that sounds like a plan. But we're supposed to understand how ridiculously hungry and thirsty you can get in the arena by now. It's supposed to be ingrained in every scene that dying of thirst or starving is a reality, and the careers don't know how to hunt or find food, they've just been training on how to kill. We were supposed to know by now that the Cornucopia was stacked with food and that they've been eating good. So this masterplan is a big one...you get rid of the food and suddenly you don't need to be bigger or stronger or roll deep like them. You just need to hide and get food for yourself. That levels the playing field. But nope...none of that. And then, they don't even manage to make the place look like anything special at all. The Cornucopia sucks...that's it? That looks like a Raiders tailgate...How do you make an open field look so ugly and worthless? The Real World/Road Rules Challenge has better production value. Lost's forest>> And the landmines...it just looks like some stupid @*! gopher holes. And they don't bother to have a 60 second show-me that explains that the kid left guarding the food, was the one who moved the landmines and that's the only reason they kept him alive...because of that AMC budget we get no info, so who knows where the bombs even came from.

Then the apples dropping looks straight out of Walker, Texas Ranger.

And how shoddy the direction was, it looked to me like Katniss was plain as day standing right in front of the Careers and no one noticed her.
But I'll admit, they did really well with the Rue scene, but that scene writes, acts and directs itself.

I can't tell you how disappointed I was with Thresh though. The did dude so dirty. Just bad blocking, directing, editing, storytelling, everything. The way we saw it, the girl with knives attacks her, almost kills her, Thresh kills knives girl, then tells Katniss she can dip...in the book most of that's the same, except while he's got knives girl she's screaming for Cato, because we were supposed to understand that she and him are from the same District, so that whole 2 people can win thing, only applied to those two beasts and the District 12 kids. And Cato is screaming her name from the woods getting closer, and after Thresh kills her Katniss tells him what she did for Rue, all the while Cato is running towards them. Thresh says you get 1 pass and we're even half because he cared about Rue (everyone now would care more about the other person from their District since they could've both went home) and half because he knows Katniss is a small fish, the big game is coming. So in the background of her running is this Battle Royale of the 2 strongest guys in the game. That's why Cato looks half dead when they find him on the roof. But of course, the director %%+** that completely.

Just the Careers in general. they shortchanged the training so bad. and not even in length...they didn't much explain anyone. How do you shrink 22 people trying to kill you into, 1 guy, a couple **+$!$% and a bunch of redshirts? The Districts...at least make an effort to try and keep track of who's still alive...at least, no? couldn't change anything? we didn't bother introducing them so why bring it up now? cool cool cool ...The Training...
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+%## outta here. You know when someone lets you mess with a piano or drums or w/e and you realize just how badly you're never gonna be worth anything at it. That's all the training montage was. Uncreative storytelling, simple scenes that only have one dumb thing to say. The cgi at the chariot scene
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That's Spartacus first episode ever bad. The fire dresses were important because blah blah they didn't have time, whatever. I almost forgot the trackerjackers...whatever, I just looked at how much I typed...I don't even care anymore. They shoulda been bigger and had more of an effect? Sure, why not. And that girl who got killed by Katniss, the campfire girl...If i'm not mistaken, she was only half dead and Peeta went back and killed her...that would've at least gave you a shot at thinking OK, he's with them. But nope...then they change the perspective to basically have him wink at her like, hey it's cool. like cmon man...you're not even trying. [insert other random stuff I didn't enjoy]

Oh...ok yeah...Cinna. Lenny Kravitz. Lenny did fine, but that's not good enough. *puts on Hogwart's hat* In the book he's sooooo much better. Yeah, whatever...why did I get suckered into writing all this? But yeah, Cinna's on Haymitch's level in the book. These...surrogate fathers Katniss is collecting. He's supposed to be the window that bridges the Capitol people with the District people and explains their %$%+%+ up lifestyles, perspectives and priorities. He explains how such decadent, dignified people could enjoy something so ugly and terrible. I thought they were gonna do some really profound things with him in the next books, but nah, they don't do much...except for a really really strong scene in the next movie. Unless they mess that up too. Lenny was fine, but he didn't make that lasting impression he needed to. And wasn't given much of anything to say or do.

Like Gale...and Peeta. I laughed my @*! off when I saw him by the river...just as stupid looking as it read it in the book.
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I'm done. I'm tired of typing...it's just not a well done film. There's no nuance and so many oppurtunities lost. The action isn't well directed, the tone isn't consistent, the writing isn't much good, the acting feels like the director didn't give them any real direction and just thought, let's get this over with, and the first 15 minutes promised a movie that never showed up.
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