Escape to the Movies: The Hunger Games

[Taunta]

Eh. I feel like if there was ever a movie that reading the book beforehand is required, this is that movie. I think the movie probably would have benefited more from a higher rating.

And just because I feel like it's necessary to point out:

1. Yes, the game makers do control the weather and can conjure natural disasters, weird animal mutations, etc.

2. According to the books, the only kids who actively train to be killing machines are the Careers, aka the kids from Districts 1 and 2, but those districts are the Capitol's favorites, so they buy in to the "fight for fame and fortune" propaganda, and they have the luxury of actually being able to train. Everyone else is just worked to death and is too busy surviving to worry about training for the upcoming Hunger Games. Katniss is an exception, she and Gale are the only ones with the balls to leave the District borders.

3. I've read both the Twilight series and the HG series, and would say that HG is a million times better. At least HG tries to handle serious themes (although they may come off anvilicious) whereas Twilight is pretty mindless.

 

[Tanis]

PG-13 for a Battle Royal rip-off?

Bwhahahahahahhahah...ha...ha?
Nah, I'm skip this.

 

[Realitycrash]

All I was thinking the entire review was "Wait, didn't Battle Royale do this exact thing ten years ago?"

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

After watching the entire video, all that emphasis on the flame shields in the beginning comes across more like you were just giving yourself a pass to amp up the nitpicking to be as contrary as possible with every other review I've seen so far.

Really, when a review of a single movie essentially reads like an overall discrediting of the entire franchise rather than just the movie, it makes you look like you're just reaching for a reason to break out the soapbox again, Bob.

 

[synobal]

ha Catfish Jellybean that made me laugh.

 

[McMarbles]

On behalf of everyone sick of the way Entertainment Weekly has been shoving this movie down our collective throats almost every week for a year... thank you.

And to think I was almost on the verge of breaking down and going to see this movie. Oh, well.. I suppose I can do without Catnip Mr.Clean.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

So Hollywood turned a mediocre book into a mediocre movie?


Colour me surprised.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

Glad I watched this because I feel that's about all I need to see of this film. I was actually starting to get bored of the clips shown in the background.

Looks like one I need to avoid.

 

[XDravond]

Bob you had me at "Catfish Jellybean".... I do really not like most names they make up "catfish jellybean" is one of the worse offenders...

Never heard about Hunger games until like 2 months ago.
And it really sounds like the classic "kill game" but unusually enough a female lead, that got me ok interested, the 13+ and female audience targeted, gave me an o crap this could have been good...

And people are outraged about this movie around here because it's even 11 here that means 8y could see it with parents (15 is the next age rating here). That sounds hilarious in theory but sitting in the cinema with the targeted audience does not seem like a fun day...
Thanks for the laugh again MovieBob!

Considering that a straight up Battle Royale movie would never fly in the west, this is probably the best we're going to get.

If I remember it right BR went really well here due to the controversy of it... And small kids that wanted to brag about seeing it probably fueled the popularity...

 

[FeralDynasty]

The PG-13 rating killed it for me

 

[Barry93]

I read the series a year ago, loved them. I never believed the movie would come close to being as good as the first book, but I'll go see it anyways.

 

[McMarbles]

I have actually seen Battle Royale called, by a respected publication, "The Japanese Hunger Games."

Please join me in rage.

 

[rayen020]

Okay, so here's what's going to go down May 4th, 2012. Chipman is either going to
A. Scream and ***** so intensely that it'd make his Transformers 2/Green Lantern reviews look civil and professional

OR

B. Go into denial and somehow praise it despite its glaring and undeniable flaws in a delusional fit like he did with Other M

OR

C. Be so pleased with the movie that his his spunk will be flowing out of the computer screen the instant I hit the "Play" button.

please elaborate on what the f*** this has to do with The Hunger Games and a review of it's movie adaptation...
Yes one of these is probably going to be true, BUT it deserves to be in another topic all to itself. And more to the point, why are you even posting in this forum thre... oooohhh *smacks head* duh, you're a troll. Sorry please, disregard earlier queries.

OT; i'm gonna go see this with my gf this weekend. I kinda wanna read the books first but what the hoo-ha. i kinda felt the movie was gonna be bland, it's hard to put gladiatorial deathsport into a PG-13 rating, so my hopes were never that high. Although I will say there is a silver lining here and that's the possibility that this movie will make a ton of money off the fans and ride a larger budget into the sequel, and it might make for a better movie. After all i'm told the second book is better before the story falls apart in the third.

 

[Jegsimmons]

If its ok to be a movie that's derivative but makes up for it in other departments....why did you use Avatar as an example over something like...Last Samurai? You said a movie that excels, not pisses me off to the point i want to cause physical pain.

But i digress. Great review.

And really, i never even heard of hunger games till i saw the trailer and....i thought sci-fi...er excuse me sy-fy got rights to an old short story and somehow got a theatrical release.

it looked like shit, it looked boring as shit, it couldn't make me give a shit, ill assume it shit.


And really, can we stop doing this cliche of the working class hero?
you know who else were working class heros? Marxist and National socialist, the two types of people responsible for movements that have killed more people in the past 110 years than almost every major war in the past 2000. its an old gimmick that is watering down movies and stories to the point of just being contrived, stupid, lazy, and one dimensional.

 

[FinalHeart95]

"Aimed at teenage girls."
Is a teenage boy that enjoyed the books.
Okay.jpg

In all seriousness though, I haven't seen the movie yet, so I can't comment on it. However, the books were really good... albeit Mockingjay being less so due to the focus on the romance for the first two thirds of the novel. At least in the first two I could ignore it to an extent, I feel like it's more in your face in the third. And the whole "tragedy to the point of comedy" thing that someone else mentioned is in there too. It's pretty ridiculous how many people die during one of the scenes, really.

Still though, the books were a fun read. Along the lines of Harry Potter really. Not every book has to offer a deep, meaningful experience; sometimes an interesting story alone is good enough.

 

[Markunator]

PG-13 for a Battle Royal rip-off?

Bwhahahahahahhahah...ha...ha?
Nah, I'm skip this.

All I was thinking the entire review was "Wait, didn't Battle Royale do this exact thing ten years ago?"

Just because something is similar doesn't mean it's the same. I just got back from seeing it, and I thought it was pretty damn great. Then again, I have read the books. Also, despite the PG-13, it actually is pretty violent.

 

[Gilhelmi]

Here lies the MovieBob.

One day he told the fan-people the truth about a movie.

His memory lives on.

OT: I am sad too hear that the movie did not live up to the books. I honestly think that the books are going to be the next great 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

At least the books are getting some more attention.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I knew it was gonna suck. The very idea sucks. The books suck. What in god's name are kids reading these days? When I was a teenager I was reading classic Russian literature.

I am sad too hear that the movie did not live up to the books. I honestly think that the books are going to be the next great 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

At least the books are getting some more attention.

For now. It will not last. They may be interesting to read, but there is nothing of real value in those books.

 

[Zen Toombs]

"Aimed at teenage girls."
Is a teenage boy that enjoyed the books.
Okay.jpg

And My Little Pony is aimed at pre-teen girls.
Massive fanbase in adult males.
Okay.jpg