Who saw the Hunger Games movie?

[DogLover]

I'm one of those people who likes to come back from a movie and talk about it for hours. Sooooo:

What did you like? What did you hate? How did it compare to the book? What did you think of the casting? Didn't Effie look totally ridiculous and wasn't Seneca Crane's beard cool? Why are all the cute actors like 19 instead of my age? (Oh, wait, that wasn't related was it)

[flower]

I'm going on Sunday, I'll get back to you....

[HappyDays]

what I liked was they didn't make it a total knock off of the book (as Hollywood tends to do). I was kind of sad they took Madge off but she's not that important I guess, but what I hated was they played Safe and Sound at the ending credits, I did not get one bit if you're gonna get Taylor Swift to write a song for you then you might as well put it in the movie. No Effy looked.....Effy! She's supposed to look rediciously It was not cool it was awesome (just saying). I have no idea............ lol good movie any way.

[LeapYearKisses]

There are spoilers in this post.

I liked the movie, but I think it was only a decent adaptation. I'm not sure why. Probably because I read the series about two days before I saw it today, and so the whole time I was comparing the two in my head. The costumes didn't wow me as much as I was hoping they would, but I suppose they were never going to be as good as my imaginiation, anyway.

My two biggest complaints were that the mockingjays didn't sing at Rue's 'funeral' and that the mutts at the end were not modeled after the other tributes. While reading, I was really looking forward to Katniss singing with the mockingjays because it's such a touching scene and to hear it would have been much more powerful than simply reading the lyrics of her song. That the mutts were generic dog-beasts was also annoying. I realize that it's easy to see the Capitol is screwed up and evil, but that was one detail that really made you see how far they were willing to go. Plus, it's the first hint of the psychological warfare that the Capitol applies. So that was disappointing. I feel like both of these things could have been easily included but weren't.

Other than that, it was pretty good. I loved Caesar Flickerman and Seneca Crane. And the Capitol fashion was all I wanted and more. The visualising of the Game Room was really cool, too.

President Snow doesn't look schmoozy enough, though! ^^; To me, he was very oily, and I didn't really get that from the movie.

[PaperThings]

Agree with mostly all that's been said. I've been fighting too much with my friends over this to go into detail, but yeah. I'm so crazy about the books, there was just no way the movie could have made me happy. It was by no means bad, at least in my opinion, but I have quite a lot of complaints and I'm not hurrying to see it again.

I did go at midnight though, and cosplayed .

[DogLover]

Hey, I made this topic and then promptly forgot all about it! *is a spaz*

My two biggest complaints were that the mockingjays didn't sing at Rue's 'funeral' and that the mutts at the end were not modeled after the other tributes.

Yes, I was really annoyed about both of those things.

Jennifer Lawrence didn't look at all the way I imagined Katniss. Same goes for the guy who played Gale. I loved the guy playing Peeta, though.

I think the adaptation is okay. My major complaint is that while all the action scenes were there and really good, a lot of the emotional and mental content of the book didn't come across in the movie. Then again, maybe that's just a natural side-effect of switching mediums...

I really liked the way they used Seneca Crane's conversations with President Snow to talk about the significance of the Hunger Games and the whole political aspect. And the way he was executed at the end was just so cruel...and fitting. It should have been in the book.

Last major complaint is that they just lopped the confrontation between Katniss and Peeta off the end. WTF? That's an integral part of the story arc, guys!

So all in all, despite my griping, I really did like the movie. A lot. I think the book was infinitely better, but the movie was awesome too.

[LeapYearKisses]

Yeah, I think they missed out on the intricacies of the character interaction in the movie, which is probably a symptom both of switching from a book and switching from Katniss's first person narrative... The fact that the relationship between Peeta and Katniss was a ploy was not heavily enforced enough, I think. I mean, you get the general idea, but in the book she is SO resistant, so it's a big deal when she agrees to play along. Plus, you're absolutely right; the confrontation at the end is super important!

[flower]

The movie is never as good as the book, in my opinion. But, I think they did a pretty good job of adapting the book in this case (though it had been quite some time since I read the book so I admit it wasn't fresh in my mind). I think someone watching the movie without reading the book would probably be confused though.

[Kiwifruit]

Spoilers for, like, the whole series in this post

I liked it. I liked the books better, but then again, I almost always do xD

Jennifer Lawrence acted well I suppose, but she looked wrong for the part...Katniss is supposed to be really small. Not taller than half the adult cast xD And I agree with critics saying she looks far too well fed xP As does Gale. But oh well.

I agree with pretty much everything everyone said - the Capital's fashion was fantastic (Crane's beard was AWESOME xD) and Crane's death was awesome too, though now they can't use Katniss hanging the dummy in her presentation for the next Hunger Games.

But they left out so much The Mutts being like the tributes, the confrontation (seriously, wth...suppose they wanted the movie to end on a good note xD), the dandelion (which I thought was a lovely tie in to the ending of the trilogy when she realises Peeta gives her hope etc...I dunno, it's minor, but I thought it was important), just about everything about Gale (seriously, every time we see him, he's just looking sad about seeing her kissing Peeta He was an empty character in the movie). We barely get to see anything in District Twelve...you get much less of a picture of how harsh life is for them.

I did like the parts that were outside of Kat's POV, like the control room and Crane's death and so on. That was well done. The riot in District 11 was a nice touch as well, will be a nice tie in to the next two movies.

The actor who played Peeta was fantastic I thought. It's a pity they didn't show more of his smarts though - he seems quite soft through the movie. He's quite cunning as well, which the book showed FAR better than the movie. Oh well, time constraints I suppose...xD

[DogLover]

I agree with pretty much everything Kiwifruit said, except:

now they can't use Katniss hanging the dummy in her presentation for the next Hunger Games.

They can! After all, Katniss has no idea what happened to him and neither do the other Gamemakers. Just saying...

Why is it that you guys make much more intelligent and thoughtful comments on this than any of my friends? And they're all huge nerds, too...

[Salamander]

Yeah, I think they missed out on the intricacies of the character interaction in the movie, which is probably a symptom both of switching from a book and switching from Katniss's first person narrative... The fact that the relationship between Peeta and Katniss was a ploy was not heavily enforced enough, I think. I mean, you get the general idea, but in the book she is SO resistant, so it's a big deal when she agrees to play along. Plus, you're absolutely right; the confrontation at the end is super important!

My thoughts exactly- I didn't think it was clear at all. They made a reasonable go at presenting Katniss at reluctant, and not interested in him but I found it conflicted with the flashback scenes to Peeta throwing her the bread, just because although in real life just having a sudden, visceral memory of something does not mean you are in love with them, lots of movies use that kind of flashback to show somebody realising they are in love, or to suggest intense attraction. In the books there was far more ambiguity about whether Peeta really loved Katniss, especially to the extent that he professes to. I read the books as Peeta genuinely liking Katniss, but really amping it up for the cameras, or not even knowing himself how he felt. I don't know how those who had only seen the movie were supposed to guess that his affections might not be genuine!

In the book Peeta didn't do a thing for me. For one, I found all the characters were well-written as teens so I wasn't attracted to them. Also I found book!Peeta to be way more sly, devious and unbalanced than movie!Peeta who was really all sweetness and light. It's kind of the Ron Weasley effect (I found him more sympathetic in the later films than the books, too!)

And, well.... I am fever fetishist, perhaps more so than a sneezing fetishist, so that scene in the cave where Peeta is hurt... really did it for me.

I felt kind of dirty, actually, because he's so young and they're in danger and there's so much more to worry about! But wounded, stoic, hurt, crying, feverish men? I was keeping it together, then Katniss checked his skin and said "You're warm" and I just melted into kinky glee. *Sigh* What am I going to do with myself?

Why are all the cute actors like 19 instead of my age?

My reaction is- thank God! Now I feel slightly less bad about having a moment of hurt/comfort inspired lust in the cinema! But only just.

Like I way that scene wasn't hot for me in the books, mostly because I wasn't into book!Peeta. But his character in the movie is so much more appealing, and the actor is not my cup of tea but pretty nice looking, and old enough not be complete jailbait. *swoon*

Please tell me someone else felt this way?

[Anonymouse]

My two biggest complaints were that the mockingjays didn't sing at Rue's 'funeral' and that the mutts at the end were not modeled after the other tributes.

I forgot all about the part with the mockingjays singing (but of course I was too busy bawling my eyes out to notice), but I was upset about the muttations. I was looking forward to that part! It would have been so cool to actually see it, but I guess the filmmakers didn't think it was necessary to portray them as the tributes. Plus it might have gone over the heads of some people who didn't read the books.

I was very impressed by this movie. My boyfriend, who didn't read the books, also really liked it, and I wasn't expecting him too. I wish it could have been a little gorier, but it did the best it could with a PG-13 rating. Like someone else said, Gale wasn't how I expected him to look (I pictured him kind of the same as the actor, but with longer hair), but Peeta, Katniss, and Rue were spot on for me.

I wish they had done more with the woman who had her tongue cut out. I haven't finished the second book (someone borrowed it and never returned it, and I'm too cheap to buy another copy), so I don't know how significant she is to the overall story.

Besides that I thought the actors were wonderful. I felt like it was real. I loved how the emphasized the "reality show" aspect, it was spot-on. Caeser reminded me of Ryan Seacrest or another modern host, so corny, but the audience eats up whatever he says. The Capitol people looked bizarre. I loved Cinna's gold eyeliner. I also liked how young they made some of the tributes look (Rue, that boy that died in the beginning). It made it even more emotional to watch because it made you remember that these were just kids being forced to fight and kill each other. Not that it would be any better if they were adults, but as far as the age range goes (12-18), they were unevenly matched. That one kid that looked eight was picked off right at the Cornocopia.

One of my favorite parts is that scene at the end, where Seneca is locked in a room with a bowl of berries. LOVED it.

[lina]

I really loved the movie the first time and even more the second time. I watched the movie before I read the books so I think I enjoyed it very much. I did feel that the part where they were actually in the Hunger Games was too short :> I wanted to see more..

[JenJen]

I went to the movie not really expecting to like it all that much, but I really loved it. Haven't read the books, don't plan to. I just want to see the movies.

I thought it was very emotional, very powerful. Definitely cried a lot.

That the mutts were generic dog-beasts was also annoying. I realize that it's easy to see the Capitol is screwed up and evil, but that was one detail that really made you see how far they were willing to go.

I can see why they left it out in the film, though. The action was so fast and dark during that scene that I doubt I would have noticed they were meant to model the other kids. Plus, by that point I had already forgotten what most of the other kids looked like. They would've had to have Katniss say in the moment that the mutts looked like them, or have someone in the control room mention it, and that would've come across a little clunky.

[LeapYearKisses]

Hmmm... Or they could have flashed to the faces of the other tributes when Katniss looked at the mutts? I mean, I'm not going to deny that it might have been clunky to directly point it out, but even if they didn't come out and say it, I still would have liked to see the variety in the mutts' coats that would have implied that hey were based on the tributes.