Skip to main content

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth
Directed by: Gary Ross
Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins
Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins

     If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.
     In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.
     I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.
     If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters look absolutely ridiculous and are way too flashy, but the make-up is very good.  All of the characters except for the main characters are very colorful, wearing flashy clothing and having oddly colored hair.  It is as if they look almost alien.
     I've noticed that in a lot of epic and action movies such as this, the camera is often shaky and can sometimes make one get dizzy at times.  In this film, this is only the case during the action and fight sequences.  There are a few scenes in which the camera is so shaky that it is nearly impossible to see the characters fighting each other.  This is only a problem if you see the movie up close, in ETX (enhanced theater experience), or IMAX.
     I like that the basic storyline is short, but there are a lot of details that make it a longer movie.  This makes it easy to follow while still being entertaining.  The film runs almost two and a half hours long and it doesn't feel like you've been sitting there for that long, even though the film is pretty slowly paced.
     Overall, I expect this to be one of the highest grossing films of 2012.  It is very entertaining, even for someone like me who is yet to read the book.  And yes, I plan to read the book at some point.  Although it may not be the first epic film of the year, it is certainly the most successful, and better than the epic John Carter released back on March 9.  This film truly seems larger than life.
     I give The Hunger Games an A-.

Comments

  1. Great review. I share many of the same thoughts as you do about the movie. You might want to consider redoing the blog's theme though. the flames are a little lame

    ReplyDelete
  2. The film doesn’t really get going until they actually do get to The Hunger Games, but when it does get started up its entertaining, tense, unpredictable, and very well executed from Gary Ross. I also couldn't believe that this was his 3rd film after other flicks such as Seabiscuit and Pleasantville, which are both good but are different from this one. Still though, great jobs from everybody involved and I cannot wait for the sequel. Good review Matthew.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

First Man

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, and Corey Stoll Directed by: Damien Chazelle Screenplay by: Josh Singer Based on the book by James R. Hansen      Yes, this is the same director who did La La Land from a few years ago.  But this is a true story this time, and not necessarily a feel good one.      Many of us know about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.  First Man is not simply the story of the moon landing, but the story about Armstrong and what led him to be the first man in history to walk on the moon.  It's a story about making huge sacrifices for himself, and his family, in order to accomplish such a goal, as well as overcoming a great deal of grief.       The film focuses almost entirely on Neil (Ryan Gosling).  The film opens up on him as one of the premiere pilots in the military, piloting the X-15; a plane that was capable of flying over 100,000 feet altitude.  He is portrayed as

Super 8

Starring: Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler Directed by: J.J. Abrams Written by: J.J. Abrams      It's always fun to watch a movie where the main plot is the main characters making another movie.  A movie within a movie.  Like Inception  but without the dreams.  Kind of cool right?  Especially with Super 8.      Flash back to 1979 in a small town in Ohio known as Lilian.  Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and Charles Kaznyk (Riley Griffiths) are amateur filmmakers that can't be older than thirteen.  They're making a zombie movie with their friends on a Super 8 camera (8 as in 8mm film) when the impossible happens.  A train derailment right in front of them.  But this isn't just any train derailment.  It's a top secret project that has to be covered up by the Air Force, the people who are working on it.      This "project" just so happens to be an extra terrestrial monster that terrorizes the sleepy little town and scares the hell