The Hunger Games film discussion/updates

[Talon StarDrifter]

A compiled version of my responses to the movie:

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Hunger Games Review: Yes. Just yes. Sure, they had to cut some things out from the book, but considering the time constraints and the audience, the movie did the book extreme justice. The minor changes and cuts were completely justified and the movie worked around them well. The actors captured the characters perfectly and the emotion was as palpable as in the book. A+ all the way, and I can't wait till the movie comes out on DVD.

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I thought the movie was extremely well-executed.

First: Madge. Big whoop. She really isn't a major part in the books, and I think the movie did well to have the mockingjay pin hold special meaning for Prim and Katniss - that way, they didn't have to go through the whole "Madge is a sort of friend, blah blah blah," and made it much cleaner and shorter.

Second: I think that, considering the time constraints and audience, the movie was extremely faithful to the book, moreso than most adaptations. Of course, I'm not surprised they didn't include the Avox girl, because that would have taken too much time to delve into. Plus, the actors played their parts fantastically, and the choice to place Kravitz in the role of Cinna was brilliant.

There weren't that many changes, mostly cuts, and the cuts were, while missed, logical. You can't fit everything in a movie, else you'd have something like a 4 - 5 hour long movie, and not only would that be a b***h to produce and budget, but no one's gonna sit down that long to watch that movie.

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The whole movie was derailed because they forgot that one detail? Please. Considering most adaptations, the movie was extremely true to the book. Of course not everyone's gonna be happy because some detail was tweaked or something was taken out altogether, but seriously, if they had to include EVERY BIT of the book, the movie would be 4 - 5 hours long. Not many will sit through that - only diehard fans. Producers can't just select one audience; they have to make movies open to as many people as possible, or there isn't any profit. And despite what people believe, that's what the movie was about: profit. I'm sure there was some wanting to give the original fans a reward for their love, but movies are about profit.

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The scenes were probably jumpy to add to the feeling of apprehension and chaos. I mean, the camerawork in movies is like diction in a book - your word choice affects how a book will be written in tone and setting, so the method with which the cameras are used does the same. The audience doesn't have the luxury of having Katniss relate the story and impart her own anxiety and fright, so they have to do that with the camera along with Jennifer Lawrence's awesome acting skills.

I don't think the three-fingered salute needed explaining. A salute is a salute is a salute. It's a sign of honor and respect in our culture, and the one featured in HG is similar to the military's here and now. I think people can connect the dots there. Explaining would have taken time that was better spent on other spots in the movie.

Madge? Avox girl? Regrettable losses, yes, but necessary. The makers of the movie didn't know the movie would be such a humongous hit, so they're not gonna add EVERYTHING that connects to potential sequels. Too much time, and it's less confusing for audience members who haven't read the books. Obviously people have had trouble accepting the concept of a futuristic place where kids are forced to fight each other to the death - what about a sort-of friend and a mysterious girl is exactly important to this first movie? Suzanne Collins knew she was gonna be able to connect those two characters to the other books. The movie directors and producers didn't. And if you ask me, having the pin mean something special for Katniss and Prim makes the audience more sympathetic to Katniss and they realize the importance of the pin early on.

And, as people have said, you can't include every little detail into the movie. There just isn't enough time. It's sad, yes, but everyone knows what to expect of book-to-movie adaptations, so this really oughtn't be a surprise anymore.

And that's my opinion.

[Roxy_Shadow_85]

Movies based on books always leave the die-hard fans dissapointed in one way or another. The simple truth is...you just can't fit and capture everything in a book on the silver screen. Time limits, budget, and simple plain "it can't be done in real life" always get in the way. You also have to remember that everyone has their own seperate images of what the characters look like. Very rarely does that match up to what the author had in mind, for instance I pictured Peeta being slightly more built and broader through the shoulders. Also minor characters have always, always been left out of book films. For instance who knows who Tom Bombadil was in "The Lord of the Rings"? Probably not many people since he was in the books but never once mentioned in the films.

People have been unsatisified with book movies since they started making them. I know a lot of people were very upset and hated the last Harry Potter movie (which I understand there was A LOT wrong with that one) but film makers have to have these movies fit everyone in the audiance, including those that have never read the books or even heard of them. My friend (who hates reading) is always telling me to wait and see the movie first and then read the book so I will enjoy the movie more lol. Unfortunately I just can't wait that long because I enjoy reading more than I enjoy seeing movies.

[Mage Luna]

D i a

Mage Luna

.(My Chemical Pancakes).

I saw the movie last night with my dad, and I was really impressed by it.

I was surprised that there wasnt much blood and gore in this film. I was expecting quite a lot when I saw it. But aside from that, I was satisfied by how they captured the brutality in the arena.

Jennifer was flawless in this movie. Ive only seen her in first class, so clearly her acting in this film is much different than what I have seen her so far. The intensity and raw emotion in her acting is OUTSTANDING. Amazing job by Jennifer Lawrence.

Josh managed to prove me me wrong and pulled off Peeta. His acting wasnt perfect, but it was good nonetheless.

A few things that bothered me about the film is how they skim over the scene where a boy and a girl is running off and gets hunted down and taken by the Capitol. They basically just showed the hovercraft appearing over where Katniss and gale was near, leaving unanswered questions about what the hell was going on there. Another problem, is the mutts in the final moments in the games. Theyre described as a mutation between
the dead tributes and wolves in the book, in the movie, theyre dogs. Obvious CGI dogs. Yeah.

Aside from that, it was a great movie that stayed very closely to the books. Im hoping that the next two
movies will be just as great as the first. Good job, Gary Ross. smile

The brutality was lessened for the rating.

I forgot about that. That bugged me so much. I knew before hand they were cutting down on the role of Avox's to save time, but showing the hovercraft without context was annoying (unless they wanted to show off the Capitol's power or something).

I think the hovercraft was there because in the next scene they show the capitol setting up the stage at Justice Hall. I think they were just showing that Effie had arrived, nothing to do with the Avox stuff.

Ah, good point.