The Hunger Games

The movie.

Based on one of the most twisted principles I've ever read about (and part of me is just a little bit jealous that Suzanne Collins thought of it before I did) the Hunger Games is one disturbing story. It's dark, it's tragic, it's barbaric...and in the end it's about people. And war. And what war does to people.

I went in expecting a lot from the movie, and I have to say that I wasn't at all disappointed It's been a few years since I read the first book, so I didn't have it fresh in my mind to compare the film to—which is good. Great, actually. I remember the basic premise, and a few specific bits and pieces, and that's it.

In my opinion the movie delivered. The fact that even though I knew pretty much exactly what was going to happen, my hands were clenched in tight fists the entire time tells me that the film makers did their job. They did a great job showing the disgusting differences between the spoiled Capital and the outlying, oppressed districts.

I noticed that Suzanne Collins, author of the book, worked on the screenplay. As the film progressed, I had a few, “Hey, it didn't happen like that in the book” moments, but after every single one I thought, “Oh, that's a great idea. Take this out, put that in, and it moves the story faster and you don't really lose too much.” Great job to whoever did the hacking and slashing. I thought it followed the story and did it's own thing a few times. They even tossed in a few bits from the second book, which I thought was cool.

Donald Sutherland is exactly how I pictured the creepy, horrible President Snow, and I'm excited to see him in the other films. I wanted to punch him every time he came on screen.

The other actors did a good job. Katniss wasn't nearly as unlikable in the movie, but that's probably because you can't hear her cold, calculating voice all the time. By the end Peeta had grown on me. Loved Haymitch.

My only real complaint was the filming. I noticed that they would pan over to a shot, land on the point of it for less than a heartbeat before jumping off to either a different perspective or a new shot. I felt like I had whiplash after three minutes.

Even though I did not like the conclusion of the books, I did love this movie!