This is Caesar Flickerman, as my title boldly states, played by Stanley Tucci. And I think he is the most perfectly cast character among all others.

Stealing graphics from tumblr because I can’t make my own.

Doesn’t he have great teeth? If you disagree, you have no brain.

There’s also this smile he does in the beginning of his segments. WHICH I CAN’T POST BECAUSE GIFs REFUSE TO MOVE FOR SOME REASON. So I’ll just post a link.

Here’s what I’m talking about.

Oh maaaaaan.

This guy is so versatile. He was the mad pedophilic murderer in Lovely Bones, this dude in Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep’s husband in Julie & Julia, Emma Stone’s dad in Easy A, this gay dude in Burlesque, and some guy in several other movies I have yet to see.

Credits to those who own all the photos.

It’s no surprise that ‘The Hunger Games’ is topping box office internationally and locally too with The Wrap reporting so.

In Australia, the movie opened to US$9.69 million, comparable to “Harry Potter” and “Transformers.” In New Zealand, it took US$1.27 million.

“The Hunger Games” opened to US$7.49 million in the U.K., US$6.5 million in Russia and US$3.7 million in Scandinavia, where markets are combined.

It did $3.9 million in Germany, US$3.75 million in France and, according to early estimates, US$3.59 million in Mexico and US$2.6 million in Brazil.

Moviegoers in Asia turned out in strong numbers, as well.

In the Philippines, where the “Twilight” franchise is especially popular, “The Hunger Games” opened to US$1.71 million. In Singapore, it took US$1.38 million, in Taiwan it took US$1.36 million, in Hong Kong it took US$709,000, in Malaysia it took US$655,000 and in Thailand it took US$649,000.

Lionsgate has released this new TV spot where Liam Hemsworth, who plays Gale Hawthorne in ‘The Hunger Games’, thanked fans for the support and also includes footage from the 74th Hunger Games arena scenes.

With ‘The Hunger Games’ selling well worldwide, we are sure this is a great start for a new franchise. Do you think it will do as well for ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay’? If you have seen ‘The Hunger Games’, will you be watching it again in cinemas and if yes, how many times are you planning to watch it?

‘The Hunger Games’, rated PG13, was released on 22 March 2012 and is now available in all cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

“And may the odds be ever in your favor…” Well, they will be if you’re hungry for The Hunger Games. Brilliantly directed and produced, the first film has successfully met a balance between doing a novel justice and being able to stand alone as a remarkable film. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the books or not, the film is still a suspenseful watch. It’s no Harry Potter where the seriousness is lost in the film and it’s almost impossible to distinguish Zacharias Smith from all of the other wackadoo names that pervade the series. But it’s no Twilight either, where annoyingly mainstream “team Jacobs and Edwards” flock to the theater to watch their favorite stars, rather than a decent film. No, this…is a film. Gary Ross was very smart in casting a fairly independent and well-established cast. Jennifer Lawrence emulated Katniss Everdeen beautifully, a difficult character to portray. Yet, with nailing the heroine’s grit and built-to-survive mindset, it is clear that Lawrence will never become commercialized like Kristen Stewart, or even, dare I say, Emma Watson. No offense to the two aforementioned ladies, but Lawrence can act. When she breaks down crying at one point of the film, you can see why she was nominated for an Academy Award last year. Josh Hutcherson was phenomenal as Peeta too. Peeta is also a difficult character to play because he’s sort of a clash of smart-alac meets sensitivity meets the reality of a fearful kid entering a competition where the odds are not exactly “ever in his favor.” But Hutcherson brings the favorite character from the book to life on the big screen. Of course, it would be a crime not to mention Stanley Tucci’s role as the ingratiating Caesar Flickerman. If anyone can make a blue ponytail feel like a realistic part of a utopian society, that would be Tucci. Without giving away any of the plot, the way this film was captured was so captivating, almost avant-garde in style. It felt as if you weren’t watching the film, but that you were in the film watching the film. The cameras move around very quickly throughout the film, hopping to many unique angles–the side of a face, the ground or through a crack in a wall. During the action scenes, it feels as if you are sneaking around in the forest, trailing Katniss as the shots move, as if you are physically moving, engaged in the film. With this just being the first film, it makes you wonder what they will be able to pull off with two more down the road–victory, let’s hope; it seems this hunger is going to need something to pervade soon.

Succinctly put, the Hunger Games movie was good. Not “good for a teen movie.” Or “good for a hyped-up blockbuster.” Just good. Really, really good.

My biggest worry has always been how movie makers were going to retain the book’s dark tone, especially the kill-or-be-killed mentality the main character, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, is forced to adopt. Katniss’s internal dialog–about who, if anyone, to trust; about her willingness to kill the other “game” participants; about how she is being portrayed to those watching the “game” on their home television–is the driving force behind the books, more so (in my opinion) than the actual action sequences. It would have been so easy for filmmakers to downplay or completely disregard the internal struggle in favor of a high-octane thriller. I am so glad this did not turn out to be the case.

I have to first applaud the camerawork done on this film. Although it started off a bit jumpy (a complaint I’ve heard a lot in reviews), the rough quality really gives the movie a more intimate, homespun feel–more like watching a home movie or indie film instead of a glossy action movie. The roughness backs off considerably after the first few opening scenes, but it sets the tone and does the crucial job of getting us into Katniss’s mind. Which leads me to my next favorite thing about the movie: the Acting.

Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss was superb. I was extremely impressed by the way she was able to emote feeling without appearing to emote anything. Katniss is such an incredibly strong female character, I am pleased beyond belief that Lawrence was able to capture all this strength while still letting us feel the turmoil underneath. My favorite scene: when Katniss meets with her stylist, Cinna (played by Lenny Kravitz), right before entering the tube that will deliver her to the arena. Although she is quivering in fear, her face is set in determination. Her will to live is palpable, even through the screen.

Praise also goes out Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Malark (my favorite book character) and Woody Harrelson, who played a surprisingly good Haymitch. The surprise standout for me, though, was Stanley Tucci as the television host Caesar Flickerman. He was both outrageous and believable.

Of course there were a few missteps in the film. The berry scene at the end (you know the one I mean–if you don’t, go read the books) was not nearly as dramatic as it should have been. The end-interview and return home was also too rushed. But, since the movie was already two and a half hours, I suppose this is forgivable–as long as we get an extended ending with the DVD release.

So, overall, I give the movie four stars. It was a brilliant adaption and worth staying up until three in morning.

And, we can expect more Hunger Games in the future! The movie had an incredible opening weekend box office of $155 million, the strongest opening weekend after Harry Potter 7 (well, yeah..) and The Dark Knight.

The phrase, “The Truman Show Meets Gladiator,” was dubbed by Chicago film critic, Richard Roeper, in his review of the vastly marketed picture The Hunger Games, which opened this past weekend.

I make a regular habit of reading/watching film reviews by my two favorite Chicago film critics, the internationally acclaimed critic, Roger Ebert, and one of the guys Ebert used to rate films with–the above mentioned Richard Roeper. Although I have to hand it to Ebert for staying on top of more film and pop culture than any other critic I’m aware of, I’ve got to hand the torch for The Hunger Games to Roeper in this case, because unlike Ebert, Roeper read The Hunger Games series and was able to better review the film as a viewer, critic, and fan of the books. Do check out Roeper’s review below.

There’s a lot I can say about the film, so let me break it up into parts. Keep in mind that there will be SPOILERS. First, let’s get out of the way what I didn’t like.

What Didn’t Work

• Poor Visual Quality for The Capitol - Unfortunately, the special effects did nothing for me in the middle section of the film. Gary Ross’s vision of The Capitol hardly lived up to Collins’s description. From the fake screens passing through the windows of the train, to the far-off screen shot of the tributes riding in on chariots to the ceremony, to Katniss’s Capitol quarters, the film lacked visual prowess, color, and quality overall. I was hoping Ross would have pulled out all the stops for the film, but the setting of The Capitol fell short.
• Madge and Plutarch MIA – Madge- This complaint comes from someone who read the book. The introduction of the Mockingjay pin is given by District 12′s mayor’s daughter, Madge, who befriends Katniss in the series. In the first book, she gives this to Katniss. Instead the film attempts to make up for this poor revision by having Greasy Sae hand Katniss the pin in the Hob. Plutarch- My sister brought up this point to me. Although I wouldn’t regard this as a dealbreaker or major fault on Ross’s end, I have to wonder why Mr. Plutarch wasn’t present within the film given that his role becomes more pertinent to the plot in the following sequels. My conclusion is that they’ll bring him along in the later films, and they didn’t regard him as necessary in the first.
• Low Katniss/Peeta Screen Time – While many fans are overjoyed to not have another one of their beloved series taken over by a tween love triangle, the two leads of The Hunger Games shared fewer scenes together than what I had hoped for. Although film is a rather limited channel for time in telling a story (well, Peter Jackson defied that problem with LOTR. I digress.), Katniss and Peeta’s relationship–or should I say the relationship put on for show–wasn’t built well enough to convince us that the love displayed between Katniss and Peeta wasn’t entirely false. Katniss is confused, and we grasp that a little at the end; but watching the film, we don’t see enough of a relationship or friendship built between Katniss and Peeta to know that Katniss isn’t entirely genuine. Her actions are questionable, and rightfully so, but they’re questionable for the wrong reason. Instead of wondering whether she really has genuine feelings for Peeta or not, we’re questioning how she could be having feelings for him having not shared many scenes with him on screen.
• 50% Finale - Did anyone else take notice that the third part of Suzanne Collins’s novel ate up over half of the film’s running time? Put in perspective – Each of The Hunger Games novels are built like a play, each having three acts. “The Games” acts as the third and final act of the first book. The games took up half the film. Many little moments were lost within the first half of the film, most likely the plan being – let’s really make the “the games” the movie. I hope they don’t botch up the second film like this.

What Did Work

I was more than content with everything else in the film. Clocking in at a little over 140 minutes, The Hunger Games still felt short to me in comparison to reading the book. The adaptation of the story from book to film, however, along with its flaws, was still crafted with sharp attention to detail and articulated in a way not to bring justice to the book, but more so to the story and its characters. Going into The Hunger Games, I expected to experience more low points than high. Happily proven wrong, here are the points I consider high in the film.

• The Entire Supporting Cast - Perhaps one of the strongest supporting casts to graze the screen of a teen series turned major film–Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Willow Shields, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland–these were the people who really made The Hunger Games a hit aside from the incredible Jennifer Lawrence heading them.
• Every Scene with Caesar Flickerman - Every scene with the blue-haired Stanley Tucci on screen was met with laughter. Since The Hunger Games is told entirely from Katniss’s perspective, we miss out on everyone else’s personal thoughts. Not so in the film. Flickerman serves not only as host and questioner of the tributes, but also as something of a news anchor who worked as narrator, offering updates every now and then. This was well-placed in the script, aiding to the pacing of the film and answering questions of those who haven’t read the book.

• Casting - I’ll say it once, I’ll say it a million times. The casting worked really well in The Hunger Games, despite the highly questioned Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. Winter’s Bone is enough to support the widely-ranged actress, and her performance in The Hunger Games speaks only more of her talent to capture the necessary emotions as well as play out the action scenes. Josh Hutcherson has an innocent presence on screen. Perhaps because he’s a little shorter and has the cutest face ever, but he looks the part of Peeta enough. His acting backed the casting choice.
• The Games - The Games section of the film was the focus of the film, and easily the best part. Full of intensity and grit, viewers sense the dire situation Katniss and Peeta are in. It’s life and death, and it’s kids we’re dealing with here. Ross really placed the heart of the film into this section, unmasking the rage of the characters, dotting the film with more attention and detail here than anywhere else.
• Movie Additions - Watching Seneca Crane administrate actions behind the scenes or seeing Haymitch snatch a deal from sponsors on behalf of Katniss and Peeta were treats for those who read the books. We were able to appreciate the element of surprise, too, in the crafty, creative way President Snow killed off Seneca Crane in the end. It’s rare to admit that a movie scene added to the story rather than take away from it.
• Rue’s Death Scene - Perhaps the most heart-wrenching scene in the film, the raw emotion Katniss emitted, the flowers decorating Rue’s body, the signal Katniss gave toward the camera, the uproar in District 11 following the death–a powerful scene in a seemingly depressing story–followed the book pat, refusing to give a PG version of what happened.
• Attention to Detail - While some parts could have been stronger, I must admit there were little details only readers would especially appreciate. Notice how Katniss always tied herself in a tree to sleep so she wouldn’t fall out? Appreciate that Katniss decorated Rue’s body with flowers? See that white rose on President Snow? Katniss’s orange backpack? Cinna’s gold eyelids?

Favorite Moments

• The powerful scene featuring the uproar in District 11
• A rock that turned out to be . . . Peeta?!?! (The name Peter is translated in the Greek, meaning “rock.” Ironic much?)
• The theater erupting in laughter when the camera panned on Gale watching Katniss kiss Peeta.
• Rue in the tree signaling the trackerjacker hive to Katniss.
• “I’m not allowed to bet, but if I could, I’d bet on you.” –Cinna
• “That is mahogany!” –Effie
• Peeta: “You’re our mentor. Don’t you have any advice?” Haymitch: “Yes. Embrace the probability of your imminent death.”

Final Thoughts/Queries

• MPAA Rating - My biggest question and thought following my first viewing of The Hunger Games regards its MPAA rating. Yes, it was rated PG-13, so some parts had to be cut back to take away from the grisly violence of kids ultimately killing each other. I have to wonder what the film would have been like had it been rated R in terms of violence. Roger Ebert mentions in his review how it’s actually silent in the opening part of the games, with kids dropping like flies. While the scene is powerful, I tend to wonder if the sound was taken out in order to keep the PG-13 rating. It only makes sense to keep the rating no higher than PG-13 in order to not cut out the target audience of the film. But if there were an extended or R-rated version of the film, I wonder which scenes would be different. Would Clove actually cut Katniss’s lip when she has her pinned down? Would Peeta actually have a far more severe leg injury? Would we hear the effects of an arrow piercing a child, or a knife cutting flesh?
• The Bar Is Set for Sequels - With the growing success of the film, how will the sequels play out? Will they pale in comparison, or will they rise above? Compared with other series such as Harry Potter, whose finale rated high, will The Hunger Games be able to top itself in its sequels, or go down in popularity?
• Will Gary Ross Continue? - Unless I have misheard (a high possibility in itself), no director is set for Catching Fire, although a release date of November 22, 2013 has already been announced! Should Ross direct the sequels? I certainly think so. Other series have proven that a consistent continuity strengthens–not diminishes–from film series.

OK, folks. Lots of questions for you now. First, what did you think of the film? Second, what did you like, and what disappointed you? Have any favorite moments? Consider the final thoughts and add your opinion.

Hunger Games trailer

I had to go check out this movie, I read all three books so yeah it was a no brainer.

I will not describe the movie because if you have read the book there is no need to.  Oh, my wife says I should give a brief over view for those who have not read the book. Yes honey!

This film takes place in a dystopian time where there are 12 districts in a country called  Panem.  It is control by a totalitarian government in The Capital (Denver) and ruled over by President Snow (Donald Sutherland).  Every year the districts must give up a girl and boy to compete in the Hunger Games, a competition to the death with only one winner. There that should be enough.

This film was one of the best book adaptations to film I have seen in a long time.  For those fans of the Hunger Games, the film got it right.  I was thoroughly impressed.  The casting was outstanding, they could not have picked a better actress to play Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence).  She was Katniss and that’s the best compliment I can pay.  All the roles were filled with the perfect actors, kudos to the casting director!

The Capital and its people were just how I imagined they would be; disconnected, clueless, and fashionably gaudy!  They did a brilliant job of trying to get every aspect of the book in a 2 1/2 hour movie and they did.  Some minor details were left out or changed but nothing that took away from the main story line.

This is one of the better movies I have seen in a while, even if you have not read the book it is still a great movie.  My only complaint, there are a few scenes where the camera is jerking around a lot and not steady. Especially when the game starts and they all run for the cornucopia. I understand it added to the chaos of the situation but wish they would have done a couple of slow-mo scenes so you get the whole picture of what was going down in that part better. Oh well that’s my only critique!  The way they adapted the competition, brilliant!  It was almost scene for scene like the book, awesome!

This was a fantastic movie from top to bottom, I would recommend this movie to anyone, it was that good.  Now the only thing that sucks is waiting till next year for Catching Fire!

I give this movie 5 Beers.

You can imagine my surprise when halfway into the film I still hadn’t caught a glimpse of Kobayashi anywhere! For real, for real.

I haven’t read any of The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins, so I had few expectations going into this film other than being somewhat swept up in the whirlwind of hype surrounding the adaptation. As of my writing this review, The Hunger Games still holds a very respectable 86% on film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. I don’t like to judge my movie viewing habits solely on Rotten Tomatoes, but when I’m somewhat on the fence or need something to help me decide, I find it’s a good guide. That being said, I think the 86% positive reviews is a bit generous. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not a horrible movie; I was interested and entertained for the most part. I just don’t think it was a great movie either. I guess it’s another case of 21 Jump Street: watch it, and move on. Nothing particularly compelling or thought provoking here folks.

For those who don’t know the premise of the story, I will provide you with my version. The movie begins in District 12, one of the outlying districts of a dystopian future North America. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is a spunky 16 year old who knows how to handle herself with a bow and arrow. She loves her sister, Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) a lot. She also loves her mom a lot, but not quite as much as her sister. She also seemingly has a thing for one of her peers, Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth). So, right from the get-go, we see a sensitive and vulnerable interior to Katniss’s hard survivalist exterior. She’s a dynamic character.

Even though the events unfold in the future, everyone in the districts dresses like they are from the 1930s, Great Depression era America. This confused me. I know it’s science fiction, but it’s got to be somewhat believable. High speed hover trains and dilapidated wooden hovels don’t jive in my mind. Surely some of the pleasures and excesses of the ruling class would trickle down to the poorest sectors. I like to think these disparities are explained more comprehensively in the novels, and there simply wasn’t enough camera time to do them proper justice. On that note, there was a lot left unexplained, which to me indicates it was a film for the fans. I consider this a bold move on the film’s creators’ part. If the fans didn’t take so kindly to the film, then they might of had a real difficult time pulling in a wider audience. As it stands, because the film met the seal of approval from most fans of the books, people like me are curious to see what the fervor is all about. In the end, the fans are the real winners, and people like me are suckered into a movie that doesn’t go out of its way to bring everyone else up to speed.

One of my biggest questions is how the world came to its present state in the movie. They (characters in the film) speak briefly on a great war and the resulting Hunger Games that were created to give people hope and pride, but there isn’t great detail beyond sparse allusions in conversation and speeches. Luckily, for the entertainment factor of the film, this isn’t the main focus. One gets the sense that this back story is merely there to provide a backdrop and stage for the action of the Hunger Games themselves.

The action picks up when we finally get to the games themselves and are introduced to some awesome supporting characters. However, before I start discussing the supporting cast, I suppose I should give a brief synopsis on the Hunger Games. The way they work is that every year, two adolescents from each of the 12 outlying districts, a boy and a girl, are selected at random to compete in a televised version of a gladiatorial-esque fight to the death. There are 24 contestants to begin with, and they must first complete a set of trials in order to attract the backing of sponsors. The more sponsors a contestant has, the more likely they are to survive because the sponsors are allowed to send them gift baskets. Thus, it is in the contestants’ best interests to make themselves appealing and likable to those watching the games.

Enter Lenny Kravitz. Kravitz plays Cinna, Katniss and Peeta Mellark’s (Josh Hutcherson, the male selected from Katniss’ district 12) wardrobe and personality supervisor. I think Mr. Kravitz deserves applause just for showing up to do the movie. He oozes cool, so obviously he’s in charge of making Katniss and Peeta marketable. Along with Kravitz, Woody Harrelson delivers the goods as Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta’s sensei, and one time winner of the Hunger Games himself. He’s a surly character who hits the booze hard, but knows when to be serious. Lastly, Stanley Tucci holds nothing back as Caesar Flickerman, the Ryan Seacrest of the Hunger Games. One thing I didn’t understand about the people of the capital is that they all dress like Chris Tucker from The Fifth Element. If this is our future, a grim one indeed it is.

As I mentioned earlier, when the games begin is when things really start to pick up and get interesting. The scenario reminded me of so many different books and stories, such as Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell, to name a few. I mean, humans really are the most fascinating and complex creatures to watch compete considering they are always adapting and adjusting their actions to the situation. Human nature. That’s what it seems is being exposed in the games. Faced with life or death, what do people choose? Their human and moral values, or their animalistic instinct to survive? While it was certainly entertaining, I couldn’t help but feel like there was a lot of wasted potential. I know The Hunger Games was written for tweens, so it only makes sense that things don’t get too dark or gritty, but I think it would have made for a better movie if they did. For instance, some of the contestants form an alliance to hunt down all the other competitors. They’re supposed to be menacing and ruthless, but they really just come off as bullies taking joy in tormenting their victims. I wanted to see more of a psychological toll on the competitors. They seemed far too relaxed considering the circumstances. Furthermore, the fact that they seemed like stereotypical bullies made them laughable. In real life, such a competition to the death would yield far more horrific results.

By the end of the movie, its Twilight started to show with a very blatant web of love and deception forming. For some audiences, I’m sure this is very appealing, but for me it’s a bit repelling. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about how Gale is going to react when he gets a moment alone with Katniss. As a general movie-goer with no prior knowledge of The Hunger Games universe, I felt a bit underwhelmed. I give it a C. Let’s see what the next two films have to offer.

Oh, yea, here’s a trailer!

• All Hail Seneca Crane’s Beard! One minute in and already the star of the show has arrived! 
• “I’m not laughing at you.” YEA RIGHT Katniss, we believe you!
• Katniss impersonating Effie.
• You better tuck in your tail little duck.
• Paula Malcomson. Not enough is said about this woman! She was fantastic!
• The faces on Prim, Katniss and Peeta during the Reaping. What these guys can express in one look is testament to their talents.
• District 12 saluting Katniss. Total silence in the cinema, and the first teary eyed moment

• Peeta almost in tears in the car on the way to the train station. I wanted to go hug him so badly!
• Pretty much everything Effie says from start to finish, including, the now famous, “That is mahogany!” line and also gems such as “I just love that!”, “Manners!” or “He’s probably in the bar car!”
• Haymitch is there for the refresments, the hard stuff specifically, and maybe a pastry.
• Do not spill said refreshments, or ruin Haymitch’s brand new pants, his foot will get you!
• Haymitch calling Katniss out on not exactly being very likeable. I know one particular mahogany table who may not like her too much!

• Cato glaring Katniss and Peeta down after the parade. Note to self: Do not steal Cato’s thunder.
• District 12 tributes get The Penthouse AND dessert!
• Katniss looking at the trees in the capitol bedroom’s window
• Rue steals Cato’s knife, Thresh’s smile!!
• Peeta throwing the weight across the training room. HOT DAMN BOY!
• “I have NO chance of winning, NONE”  Heart = Broken

• “Who ordered this pig?!”
• “Thank you for your consideration”
• NICE SHOOTING SWEETHEART! #BigHaymitchThumbsUp
• “Oh loosen your corset and have a drink!”
• “Who are they gonna take it out on? Him? Her?” Sums up perfectly Haymitch’s feelings about the Capitol and how they have already doomed these kids to almost certain death so they may as well go down fighting!
• She shot an arrow at your head. At an apple. That was next to your head.
• Everyone likes an underdog. I don’t. Ass = Handed to you! BOOYAH Seneca Crane!

• Caesar asks Katniss a question. Katniss zones out. WHAT? JUST like Jennifer Lawrence! <3
• Peeta declares his love for Katniss. HEART = MELTED
• Katniss goes all Cato on Peeta’s ass after the interviews! Note to self: Do not make Katniss look weak.
• Katniss trying to hide her laughter when Haymitch disses Effie’s dress!
• I do not want any of them nasty tracking devices injected into my arm thank you! #ShuddersAtTheThought
• Mockingjay pin/future symbol of the rebellion on jacket. Check!
• The sheer terror on Katniss’ face as she is enclosed into the tube ready for the Games to begin!

Well there you have it folks, my favorite parts of the first half of the movie! If any of you have any other awesome parts that you loved please feel free to comment below and share with everyone! Part 2 coming soon!

The Hunger Games is an adaptation from the extremely popular book written by Suzanne Collins, I had the feeling that this would be another franchise like Twilight, filled with diabolical acting and a twisted and unnatural story but again I was wrong. Yes the story of The Hunger Games is a little twisted, set in the distant future where we all live in separate districts, the capitol runs a yearly show called The Hunger Games, they obtain a boy and girl aged between twelve and eighteen to fight to the death in The Hunger Games, there can only be one victor.

I can’t be one to comment on how good of a job they did adapting this from it’s source material as I never read the books, from what I have heard they have done a pretty great job seeing as though they have left out very little from the book which makes the two hour twenty minute run time understandable. That was one problem that I had with the film, the length. I thought it was just ten minutes or so too long, I didn’t get bored one bit in the film but I did think while sat there watching it that it did feel to long.

The length of this film wouldn’t have been bearable without the surprisingly great acting from Jennifer Lawrence. She really did surprise me, I know she has delivered great performances in the past in films such as Winter’s Bone, but you just expect this franchise to be filled with unbearable acting but you know what it wasn’t. Another actor that I thought deserves a worthy mention is Stanley Tucci he outperforms most other people on screen just like usual. The one actor that I was not keen on was Josh Hutcherson, with him in it I felt as though he was their ticket into the young adult audience. His performance was the weakest throughout the movie and I couldn’t help but think that his performance felt incredibly forced. A big disappointment is the chemistry between Lawrence and Hutcherson, or should I say the lack of chemistry between them.

After watching The Hunger Games it left me feeling as though I wished they had rated 15 (UK) with a bit more violence, I did feel as though it was very toned down just so that it would appeal to the same audience as Twilight. 

Probably the biggest failing in The Hunger Games is the characters, I’m not sure if this was a failing in the book or just the film but some characters relationships feel extremely rushed and when their relationships come to an end you don’t feel as emotional as you should do just because the relationships were so rushed so you didn’t have enough time to fully engage with them.

It may seem to many of you that I am bashing The Hunger Games but I’m really not, I liked it a lot but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. But one thing The Hunger Games does right is it’s beauty, it’s amazing how the style of the film goes from a dark and depressed scene in the first act and then into the second which is filled with extravagant colours. The capitol has been astonishingly created out of CGI and on the big screen it really looks breathtaking with many shots that show off its true beauty.

I did really like The Hunger Games even if it was a little long and didn’t have some relationship development I would have liked to have seen. I just hope that the other two films don’t become poor sequels to this very good film. If you are an avid reader of the books I can imagine that you will love this movie and will probably be one of your best of 2012. Jennifer Lawrence really does carry this film acting wise, she shines just as bright as fire. This film may feel a little young adult for many of you but I still highly recommend this to anyone, please go and see it this weekend.

8/10

Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were absolutely spectacular in that scene. There were so many emotions circulating on their faces: fear, bewilderment, a little bit of District pride, anxiety. Caesar was great when he shouted “I love that!” about raising their hands high.

Well, thisasian.tumblr.com has put together a graphic worthy of that scene.

Source: peenisseverlark.tumblr.com

The Wrap reports ‘The Hunger Games’ has smashed even the most optimistic grossing predictions for the experts are now predicting it to rake in US$155 million for its opening weekend in North America.

“The Hunger Games” beat even the most optimistic box-office expectations in its debut weekend, grossing an estimated $155 domestically million and setting several records.

Lionsgate’s movie opened bigger than any movie ever to open in the period between January and April. It is the biggest non-sequel opening ever and the third-biggest movie opening ever.

The movie is about a dystopian future in which the government of the North American nation of Panem punishes its population for a long-ago rebellion by forcing children — a girl and a boy — from each of its dozen districts to fight to the death in an annual, nationally televised spectacle.

The only films to gross more than “The Hunger Games” in their opening weekend are “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″ and “The Dark Knight.”

“Hunger Games” was the only major film to open this weekend. Last week’s No. 1 movie, Sony’s “21 Jump Street,” fell to No. 2 in America, taking a respectable $21.3 million. That’s a 41 percent drop from last week.

Lionsgate did not announce its pre-release expectation, though outside box-office watchers predicted the PG-13 rated movie would exceed $120 million. The movie, based on Suzanne Collins’ bestselling young adult novel, cost about $100 to make — $80 million after tax incentives.

Its midnight showing was the biggest ever for a non-sequel: $19.7 million. In all, it took $68.25 million on Friday and $51 million on Saturday. Lionsgate estimates the movie will gross $36 million on Sunday.

It did $10.6 million on IMAX screens alone. That averages $40,000 per IMAX screen — a record for an IMAX digital release. The previous high was $6.4 million for “Thor” in 2011.

Even before the film opened on Friday, it was a phenomenon. Days before it was released, it had sold out nearly 2,000 screens, according to the online ticketing company Fandango. MovieTickets.com reported the same: nearly 2,500 screenings that company offered had sold out going into the weekend, and more than 450 screenings for Sunday through Thursday are sold out.

Once audiences saw “Hunger Games,” they liked it: The survey firm Cinemascore gave the movie an “A,” and viewers younger than 25 gave it an “A+.”

The opening weekend audience made up mostly of  females — 61 percent of audience members were female, and 56 percent were 25 and older.

At IMAX locations, males outnumbered females, though the company did not have precise numbers Sunday morning.

We have also previously reported about ‘The Hunger Games’ grossing record breaking US$68.25M on Friday in North American box office.

Deadline is also reporting ‘The Hunger Games’ having scored US$58.7M from global box office sales and breaks down why ‘The Hunger Games’ is breaking records even though it’s a non-sequel movie. These numbers are expected to increase as the days go by.

What made Lionsgate’s promotional campaign for The Hunger Games so unusual and probably effective was that the studio stuck to the rare strategy of not showing any footage of the games themselves in any marketing materials. So all that staggering amount of interest in this film was incited with no one having actually seen even a hint of over half the movie. Marketing kicked off last summer with 2 Entertainment Weekly covers during production to announce the cast, as well as the launch of the motion poster of the iconic flaming mocking jay. (Since EW has long been the semi-official mag of the Twilight Saga, Lionsgate took a page from Summit — which it now owns.) ABC’s Good Morning America debuted the entire trailer on air in November. Between the release of the first Hunger Games trailer in November 2011 and January 2012, the number of Collins’ books sold nearly doubled. By the time of the film’s opening, Hunger Games was on over 50 magazine covers.

The studio estimates its TV on-air promotions and sponsorships reached over 102 million people in America. They included a 3-night “studio lot sponsorship” on FX movies, Fangasm spots on MTV featuring the Real World Challenges cast, a Comedy Central ‘Action Countdown’ weekend, and an ABC Family ‘Premiere Party’ during the Season 2 finale of Pretty Little Liars where teen female viewers helped break social media records while twittering about a clip featuring fan favorite Peeta. According to SocialGuide, this generated the most social media buzz for any one-hour TV episode on record. The digital campaign was massive and started with the launch of the cast on The Hunger Games‘ Facebook page, then exploded over the past year with its own blogs. Lionsgate also worked exclusively with Microsoft to create games and apps. Publicity-wise, the film had an 8-city mall tour with thousands of fans at each stop around the country, as well as promotional screenings in 26 markets. The film had 5 premieres globally, starting in LA at the Nokia, and then London, Paris, Berlin and NYC.

Stay tune as we wait for actual figures to come in.

‘The Hunger Games’ was released on 22 March 2012 in all major cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

The Hunger Games Broadway Musical Dreamcast 

I love that they’ve entertained the idea of this, and truthfully it’s a good dreamcast, but I don’t think that a THG musical would end up being good…

• Jennifer Damiano as Katniss Everdeen
• Jonathan Groff as Peeta Mellark
• Jeremy Jordan as Gale Hawthorne
• Kristin Chenoweth as Effie Trinket
• Marc Kudisch as Haymitch Abernathy 
• Gavin Creel as Cinna (though they could just use Lenny…)
• Alan Cumming as Caesar Flickerman 
• Frank Langella as President Snow

The Good

Let me start by saying that book adaptations are so hard to get right. Keeping what made the books so popular and changing things, dropping things, etc. to make it work better on the screen is a very delicate balance. “The Hunger Games” is not only my favorite movie of the year so far, it’s also one of my favorite adaptations bar none.

Director Gary Ross “Seabiscut” proves that he is more than capable to handle the series. He handles the emotional scenes with great care and they have huge impacts on the audience. He captures the mood, the tension and the dread perfectly. He also walks the line perfectly so the movie has enough explanation for those uninitiated with the series can jump right into it while not bogging the movie down with overly boring explanation (I’m talking about you “The Golden Compass”).

The real strength of the film is the cast. Jennifer Lawrence is a star in the making as Katniss. Josh Hutcherson is very effective as Peeta and Liam Hemsworth, in the little time he has, also does a strong job. But, the supporting characters are just as strong. Woody Harrelson shines as Haymitch, Stanley Tucci as the TV personality Caesar Flickerman and Wes Bentley Seneca Crane all make this film excellent. But, perhaps the real surprise for me was Donald Sutherland as President Snow. His performance was fantastic, his quiet, reserved yet threatening portrayal was pitch perfect.

The other Tribues also give strong performances, especially Rue.

But, it’s more than acting. “The Hunger Games” is as much about society and its sick obsessions it has today. And it captures that feeling perfectly. It captures the disconnect between the haves and the have nots. Tucci’s character would seem right at home hosting shows like “American Idol” or the like. While Elizabeth Banks, who is unrecognizable in the film, shows just how out of touch some people in the Capitol are.

It never glorifies the fact that children are killing other children. Thankfully, the shaky cam spares us from seeing some of the more brutal deaths clearly. And, though being the first part in a trilogy means there’s no definite ending, Ross doesn’t shove a sequel tease down your throat. In fact, it’s subtle, hinting at themes you’ll see in the sequel while giving the first film enough closure.

The Bad

I was initially surprised that Lionsgate picked up such a huge series, considering it hasn’t had much experience handling big franchises. And it shows most notably in some of the effects sequences. Luckily, this is a film that’s not heavily reliant on CGI, but the scenes that had it left a lot to be desired.

I’m not a fan of the shaky cam. Like I said, there were parts that I was thankful I couldn’t tell what was going on exactly, but it’s still annoying to me in other parts. I also wasn’t crazy about Lenny Kravitz’s performance as Cinna. It wasn’t that he was terrible, but I just felt it lacked the same heart or…enthusiasm as the other actors had.

For some reason, I don’t know why this bothered me, but I also felt like the tributes should have been more afraid. Everyone just seemed, really calm, even at first, and something about that seemed…off to me.

The Final Word

“The Hunger Games” is one heck of a film. It’s an emotional, tense epic that proves that Hollywood can get adaptations right. Regardless of whether you’ve read the books, “The Hunger Games” is a great film period.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Flickerman is a deeply veiled, hard-to-understand character. He’s clearly a showman who knows the ways of the Capitol, but does he actually care about the tributes? Tucci leaves you guessing, which is what we believe Collins intended. There are a lot of silent heroes sometimes, and maybe in his own boisterous way, Flickerman is doing what he can to give each cursed teenager a little more of a chance.

Which is why we like this well-crafted image from allofthisiswrong.tumblr.com:

‘The Hunger Games’ is certainly doing well internationally with Deadline reporting it opening to around US$1.8M (S$2,269,980) in Australia and raking in US$19.75M with only North American Friday midnight shows and groundbreaking US$68.25M for Friday, which is the opening day, North American box office sales. This marks the 5th highest Friday sales ever in North America. Experts are predicting US$140M opening weekend sales and possibly higher.

As for the actual numbers, we will know soon. Read more below.

SATURDAY 7:30 AM, 7TH UPDATE…EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate’s record-shattering The Hunger Games opened with $68.25M grosses for Friday’s North American box office, including $19.75M in record-setting midnights. That should make for a first weekend of $140M with upside. This is the highest non-sequel opening weekend ever, and the highest debut single day for a non-sequel ever, and the highest March opening ever, and the 5th highest opening day ever. Adding to the great reviews around the globe, domestic audiences gave The Hunger Games an ‘A’ Cinemascore with under-age 18 teens/tweens rating it ‘A+’, an indication of their extreme satisfaction with the movie beyond all the marketing and media hype. Rival studios say The Hunger Games, unlike theTwilight Saga, has expanded from attracting both younger and older females initially now to younger makes as a 3-quadrant movie. And the heat from the anticipation by teens and tweens is making more adults start to get interested to make it a 4-quadrant film. Huge lines snaked around those U.S. and Canada movie theaters able to schedule Friday midnight screenings. Some locations even arranged to play The Hunger Games continuously during this opening 3-day weekend. This is the largest domestic release in the history of Lionsgate — with a theater count of 4,137 locations for 10,000+ prints — and the biggest movie start ever for Lionsgate, which now can count on a blockbuster bonanza for its franchise trilogy based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. “I’ve never lived up at this level. Very few people have,” one ecstatic Lionsgate exec gushed to me Friday night. “I did see some champagne glasses flowing down the hall.”

Here’s the Top Ten (based on Friday grosses):

1. The Hunger Games (Lionsgate) NEW [4,137 Theaters] PG13-rated
Est Friday $68.2M, Est Weekend $140.0M

2. 21 Jump Street (Sony) Week 2 [3,121 Theaters] R-rated
Est Friday $6.4M, Est Weekend $20.0M (-52%), Est Cume $70.0M

3. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Universal) Week 4 [3,677 Theaters] PG-rated
Est Friday $3.2M, Est Weekend $13.0M, Est Cume $175.0M

4. John Carter (Disney) Week 3 [3,212 Theaters) PG13-rated
Est Friday $1.5M, Est Weekend $5.5M, Est Cume $63.0M

5. Project X (Warner Bros) Week 4 [2,065 Theaters] R-rated
Est Friday $700K, Est Weekend $1.8M, Est Cume $51.6M

6. October Baby (IDP/SGF) NEW [398 Theaters] PG13-rated
Est Friday $600K, Est Weekend $1.8M

7. Act Of Valor (Relativity) Week 5 [2,219 Theaters] R-rated
Est Friday $550K, Est Weekend $1.9M, Est Cume $65.8M

8. A Thousand Words (DWorks/Par) Week 3 [1,787 Theaters] PG13-rated
Est Friday $500K, Est Weekend $1.7M, Est Cume $14.8M

9. Safe House (Universal) Week 7 [1,330 Theaters] R-rated
Est Friday $475K, Est Weekend $1.5M, Est Cume $122.8M

10. Journey 2 (Warner Bros) Week 7 [1,340 Theaters] PG-rated
Est Friday $400K, Est Weekend $1.3M, Est Cume $97.0M

FRIDAY 11 PM, 6TH UPDATE… EXCLUSIVE: My sources tonight say TheHunger Games is looking to open humongous with $66 million for Friday box office from 4,137 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, including the record $19.75M in midnight shows. An insider tells me that ”$70M is still a possibility for Friday with a little swing here or there”. And one rival studio exec explains to me, “The West Coast and late shows still need to come in, so this number could bounce around a bit. But, nevertheless it’s everything we thought it to be.” That puts its 3-day North American weekend gross at a gigantic $138M with a lot of upside. Adding to the great reviews around the globe, domestic audiences gave The Hunger Games an ‘A’ Cinemascore with under-age 18 teens/tweens rating it ‘A+’. This is the biggest movie start ever for Lionsgate, which now can count on a blockbuster bonanza for its franchise trilogy. “I’ve never lived up at this level. Very few people have,” one ecstatic Lionsgate exec gushed to me Friday night. “I did see some champagne glasses flowing down the hall.” This is not the biggest opening day gross ever, but it is for a non-sequel and/or non-reboot film (unadjusted for inflation) – and certainly an amazing start. It’s within the Top 5 all-time Friday openings which include 1) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two ($91.1M), 2) Twilight Saga: New Moon ($72.7M); 3) Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One ($71.6M), 4) The Dark Knight ($67.2M); 4) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One ($61.7M).

Except for #2 Sony Pictures’ holdover 21 Jump Street and #3 Universal’s Dr. Suess The Lorax, other movies couldn’t get traction Friday. Overall, the weekend is looking up +60% from last year.

FRIDAY 8:00 PM, 5TH UPDATE… EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games now has a hefty opening location average right around $12,000. Keep in mind that in many ways there are no ideal comps because the big-grossing films are all holiday and/or sequels and/or summer releases. Whereas Hunger Games, based on the bestselling trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins, is a March debut of a first in a franchise. Comps include Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two - $13,028, which made for a $91.1M opening day and $169.2M weekend; The Dark Knight - $12,219/$67.2M/$158.4M; Twilight Saga: New Moon– $14,504/$72.7M/$142.8M; Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One- $11,185/$71.6M/$138.1M.

FRIDAY 4:10 PM, 4TH UPDATE… EXCLUSIVE: My movie studio sources are telling me that the Friday gargantuan opening box office for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games is ranging from a low of $60M to a high of $75M today from 4,137 North American theaters. That number includes the record-setting $19.75M midnight grosses. For the 3-day weekend overall domestic blockbuster number, my insiders are predicting a low of $135M to a high near $150M. This is a huge bonanza for the studio and not much less than its motion picture revenue for recent quarters. Meanwhile Lionsgate sources are telling me that the hotly anticipated pic did a matinee per-screen average of $7,800. Now that number is rising past $9,900 at this hour. That’s better than The Dark Knight ($9,806) andTwilight Saga’s Breaking Down Part One ($9,310) but not Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part Two ($11,300) and Twilight Saga’s New Moon ($12,600).

FRIDAY 10:30 AM, 2ND UPDATE… EXCLUSIVE: Rival movie studios looking at early matinee grosses (which are dominated by pre-sales) tell me that Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games may beat the most recent Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part One opening weekend gross of $138 million. That would be an extraordinary result since this is only the first in The Hunger Games franchise trilogy. “Early matinees are in the world where The Hunger Games will giveTwilight a run for their money,” one mogul tells me. “It’s doing spectacularly. Unlike Twilight, it’s attracting both boys and girls as a 3-quadrant movie. And the heat of it from the teens and tweens is making adults start to get interested as well. Older audiences are turning up to make it a 4-quadrant film.”

FRIDAY 8:30 AM UPDATE… EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games is already shattering records. Its opening $19.75 million box office result from 2,565 midnight locations set the record for all-time highest-grossing non-sequel midnights ever. It’s also the 7th highest midnight gross of all time. To understand how gigantic this result is, Batman reboot The Dark Knight did $18.5M in midnights on a summer opening in 2008. It’s also the highest IMAX non-summer non-holiday 2D opening of all time, earning $1.3M from 269 IMAX locations. That’s the highest midnights behind Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part One ($1.4M) and Part Two ($2.0M) and more than Transformers 3($1.3M). Huge lines snaked around those North American movie theaters able to schedule midnight screenings. Some locations even arranged to play The Hunger Games continuously during this opening 3-day weekend. Right now theater owners are adding screens every minute for the largest release in the history of Lionsgate with an opening weekend count in excess of 4,127 locations in the U.S. and Canada for 10,000+ prints. (Right now, that only puts The Hunger Games at #12 on the all-time list of widest openings at the box office. No. 1 is June 2010′sThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse which released into 4,468 theaters.) Also look for a humongous overseas opening worldwide day-and-date on an estimated 7,700 prints everywhere except for handful of markets (which include Spain, Italy, South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Venezuela.

On Wall Street, Lionsgate shares bounced around in trading but ended at par. Some of that likely is due to profit-taking and high expectations games. The film/TV studio’s stock price is up 134.3% over the last 12 months. “There is an old market saw ‘Buy on the rumor, sell on the news’ that is likely unfolding,” Piper Jaffray analyst James Marsh tells Deadline’s David Lieberman. Bulls may not want to count on The Hunger Games topping The Twilight Saga: New Moon which generated $142.8M in its opening weekend. Some traders were concerned aboutThe Hunger Games’ $20M midnight opening which didn’t match the TwilightSaga’s. But the pros likely will sit on the sidelines until they see how the frontloaded film does its second weekend, a far better barometer for a film’s ultimate performance.

Fandango is currently selling 12 tickets per second for The Hunger Games which represents an overwhelming 97% of online ticket sales today. More than 3,500 showtimes sold out on fandango in advance of the release. The Hunger Gamesnow leads the list of Fandango’s top franchise-openers, and has eclipsed The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and surpassed The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1to become Fandango’s #3 advance ticket seller of all-time. According to a recent Fandango survey of several thousand Hunger Games ticket-buyers, 89% said they plan to see the movie on opening weekend, 62% of ticket-buyers planned on seeing the film more than once on the big screen, 54% were going with a group of 3 or more friends.To date, nearly 2,500 screenings offered nationwide by the online ticketing provider for the film’s release have sold out, of which over 1,400 were for last night’s midnight screenings. On MovieTickets.com, The Hunger Games is the #1 non-sequel preseller of all-time, beating out Twilight. Over 10% of all tickets sold for the first weekend release are for IMAX theaters.

Visit Deadline for the full article.

‘The Hunger Games’ was released on 22 March 2012 in all major cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Yes, I admit it. My name is Curtis and I am a fan of The Hunger Games, a trilogy for young adult readers. (Sounds like I’m at a 12-step meeting.) But with a biting commentary on society’s voyeuristic obsession with reality television, a criticism of government and corporate oppression, and some brutal child on child violence that’s a shadow of our culture’s school shootings and gang killings, this is a story adults should pay attention to.

In this fan’s opinion, The Hunger Games movie is a winner. Everything I remember loving about the book has been included, and what was cut were things I didn’t miss.

So, what didn’t work?

• By far, my biggest criticism has to do with the director’s excessive use of shaky cam. At times, I thought I was watching Cloverfield 2. I worry that for some viewers it may render the movie unwatchable.
• The climax/ending. The climax wasn’t bad, but it did feel somewhat rushed. I’ll get more into this point later.
• Some sub-par CGI. During the opening ceremonies, for example, I thought I was watching a Star Wars prequel movie.
• That’s it!

What worked really well:

• Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. Like she did in Winter’s Bone, Jennifer Lawrence serves as this story’s emotional center. She grounds the movie with a character that feels true, all the more important here because of the fantastical sci-fi elements of the story. The two roles are surprisingly similar, even down to her family relationships—the absent father, the ineffectual mother, and the younger sibling(s) she’ll risk her life for. She brings some real acting chops to this series, and it’s a good thing given who they surrounded her with…
• The supporting cast, especially Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, and Donald Sutherland. I had some reservations about Woody Harrelson being cast as Haymitch. In my mind, someone like John Hurt or even Robert Downey, Jr. would have been a better choice, but Woody Harrelson hit it out of the park. And Stanley Tucci was brilliant. It would have been so easy for an actor to go over the top with the Caesar Flickerman character, but Tucci brings a skillful subtlety to the role. There’s one moment where his character makes a joke on live television and then congratulates himself under his breath, “That’s funny,” delivered so subtly that the casual viewer would have missed it. For the acting alone, I would watch this movie a second time.
• The mise en scene (minus the shaky cam that I’ve already mentioned). Stories set in the future are challenged by the dual need to feel different enough that we believe it’s the future, yet familiar enough that we can relate to the characters and events. The world of The Hunger Games was ugly when it needed to be and beautiful when it needed to be, often a combination of both. Katniss’s District 12 was gray and bleak, the Capitol was colorful and gaudy, and the forest was green and lush with life, an aesthetic irony when the bodies start falling in the arena.
• The story. In fairness, there really wasn’t much for the filmmakers to do here except not screw up the wonderful story created by Suzanne Collins.
• The visceral emotion of the story. This is where the movie could have gone horribly wrong. But the filmmakers resisted any temptation for melodrama. I can imagine the director pitching this as Winter’s Bone in the future. The scoring was pretty sparse too, especially by Hollywood standards. The events themselves are emotional enough that they don’t need much adornment, and they were played out very effectively. My eyes were tearing up within the first five minutes during the reaping scene, the scene that sets the whole story in motion. When they nailed that, I knew the story was in good hands.

Having only read the book once and having seen the movie just once, what I’m about to say may be a bit premature, but I think The Hunger Games makes a better movie than a book. By not having the luxury of getting into Katniss’s head and hearing her thoughts, the movie positions her as an “Everyman,” representative of anyone in the audience. We don’t have to hear her teenage whining that filled so much of the book. Yes, that was her character, but it limits how relatable the character is. It’s not a surprise that the theater was filled with teenage girls; they were the book’s target demographic. But I think the movie widens the audience because of the natural show-don’t-tell limitations of film.

What’s impossible for me to comment on (and has yet to be seen) is how well the movie works for people who haven’t read the book. There’s a lot to this story, a lot of information and plot thrown at the viewer at a healthy pace. Even at 142 minutes, the movie felt like it flew by. I wonder how well the movie as a whole can offset any distance the quick pacing may put between itself and the uninitiated viewer.

If you don’t want to risk spoilers, stop reading now. Otherwise…

What I also thought worked better in the movie than the book was the violence in the arena. For some reason, I could feel the hand of the “young adult” censor at work in the book much more than in the movie. It’s obvious going in that Katniss is not going to kill anyone in cold blood. Bodies would drop around her, and she would kill only in self-defense or only when another character “deserved it.” But her choices felt more authentic as I watched the movie. I have no interest in doing a kill by kill comparison between the movie and the book to see if things were changed, but my guess is that the difference was primarily one of pacing. In the book you get a real feel for just how much time she spent in the arena, so there’s a much greater build up to each kill, a lot more time to see it coming, to see the hand of the author at work. In the movie, time is condensed by necessity through skillful editing. It feels like the game is happening to her, that she’s reacting to the oppression and the violence inherent in the system (as Monty Python would say).

What I did feel worked better in the book was the climax, the moment when Katniss and Peeta are confronted with the ultimate reality of the Games—only one of them can leave the arena alive. Again, I don’t recall exactly what was different, except that it felt more satisfying in the book, more earned. In the movie it felt rushed, probably the least authentic moment. I found myself craving some line of dialogue, a call back to their conversation on the rooftop. All it would have taken was Katniss reminding Peeta (and the audience) of his declaration, “If I’m gonna die, I want to still be me.” She couldn’t say this explicitly, of course, but just something like, “Remember what you said to me on the roof?” Instead we get a generic “Trust me.”

But these criticisms are few among many more comments I could make about how much I enjoyed this adaptation. I would love to hear what you thought of The Hunger Games? Comment below to share your opinion. Did you read the book, and did you like the movie?

More info at IMDb, RottenTomatoes, and Amazon.com.

A two-and-a-half-hour midnight screening sounds tough on paper to get through, but The Hunger Games, the film adaptation of the wildly popular Suzanne Collins book, is so lightning fast that even the least interested audience member will find themselves engaged. It will be unfairly compared to Twilight, due to the sci-fi twist on the love triangle between a female protagonist and two interested hunks, but Twilight has very little narrative, whereas The Hunger Games has too much if anything. Massive events unfold in the span of mere minutes, and few precious minute are spent dwelling on things like complex emotion or social commentary. While it’s destined to be a massive hit (and its leading lady destined to be a huge star), The Hunger Games proves immensely watchable but unfortunately moderately disposable.

In a world with a past so complicated that its multiple title cards and many explanatory speeches never really helped me fully understand it, two young people from each “district” are chosen by the government to participate in the wildly popular “Hunger Games,” an Olympic-like ceremony in which you represent your people by attempting to survive and be the last teen standing in a 24-way fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) comes from the poorest region, District 12, and when her little sister Primrose is chosen, she decides to volunteer to take her place. Along with a local boy Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), they enter the Capitol and prepare for the games during the media frenzy. Elites played by Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, and Lenny Kravitz give Katniss and Peeta advice for how to win the hearts of the viewing audience, and thus, the games. When the games begin and the body count stacks, you wonder– will Katniss or Peeta be the last one standing?

There is very little social commentary, outside of a poor district rioting when their representative is killed at one point. One would think with such incendiary topics such as overpopulation, oppression of the lower class, and our sick obsession with reality television in play, it’d be ripe for satire. Unfortunately, there’s really none to be found in the film, save for the depiction of the TV hosts of the Hunger Games, played by Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci. With outlandish hair and the best capped teeth this side of Matt Dillon in There’s Something About Mary, Tucci in particular waltzes away with every scene he’s in, balancing darkness with hilarity– the role of the host expressing false sympathy even as he sends children to their doom plays beautifully in suggesting how our world’s future Ryan Seacrests will make a living. Though we don’t see as much of the interesting behind-the-scenes work as I would have liked, Donald Sutherland as the president in this dystopian future and Wes Bentley as the director of these games have fun chewing the scenery.

Jennifer Lawrence is terrific in the lead, showing glimpses of her Oscar-nominated Winter’s Bone performance– it’s easy to tie the two roles together. She has to be tough yet likable, a feat most young actresses really struggle with. Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are given little to do other than boast strong jawlines and swoon over Katniss, but neither are as wooden as their Twilight counterparts. While many of the events in the Hunger Games left me scratching my head, largely due to an abundance of incomprehensibly framed shots sprinkled liberally throughout the film, it was never boring, and it was earnest and likable enough in its proceedings to engage me. While it’s obvious the movie would be far better served as an R-rated picture, and nearly none of the violence has any sort of impact since the gruesome reality is nearly all kept off-camera, it does its best with its PG-13 restrictions, I suppose. One wonders how a movie that is about children getting murdered gets a PG-13, yet a couple of swear words in an upcoming documentary about teen bullies gets the film an R. I digress.

Wide awake leaving the theater, the story was churning through my brain, yet I didn’t *feel* anything. In an ideal world, I have an emotional response to Katniss’s plight, I root for either Peeta or Gale, I cheer at moments and cry at others. In the film, when Katniss is whisked away after volunteering, she sits on the train stone-faced: she hasn’t had time to process the fact that odds are strong she will die, because the world around her has swept her into this fast-paced chain of events. I understood how Katniss felt. The Hunger Games does a grand job introducing the basic premise and characters, and the tempo of the film makes it a perfectly pleasant diversion. However, with no emotional attachment, no satire, and so much narrative to cram in that there’s no time to absorb all of the information thrown at you, it could never elevate past the plane of diversion. Individual scenes, such as Tucci’s TV program and the poor district riot, resonate, but the whole will likely only really wow fans of the book. Hopefully Gary Ross can bring some of the satire he brought to Pleasantville and Dave to the next Hunger Games installment… but I somehow doubt the odds are in our favor.

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This issue of 8 Days can be found in all newsstands islandwide at $2 per copy.

‘The Hunger Games’ was released on 22 March 2012 in all major cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

As The Straits Times coverage on ‘The Hunger Games’ was huge, we were unable to scan it. However, pictures were taken and these are relatively clear enough for you to read as long as you right click and open the images in a new tab to maximize it.

We would like to thank The Straits Times reporter, Yip Wai Yee, for the interview. We are truly honoured to be able to speak to you about our love and passion for ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise.

‘The Hunger Games’ was released on 22 March 2012 in all major cinemas islandwide.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter (@HungerGamesSG) as well as ‘Like’ us on Facebook for the latest updates!

Source: Lionsgate

I was worried about seeing The Hunger Games movie since the books were so enjoyable and were surrounded by so much hype.  It makes it hard for a reader to be satisfied by a movie when the bar is set high.  I was not disappointed.  Unlike the Harry Potter movies, the screenwriters for The Hunger Games were able to include almost every event from the book and incorporate it into the big screen.  There were few changes which did not make much of a difference.  I think that hiring the author, Suzanne Collins, as a producer and scriptwriter made a big difference.

The most exciting thing was seeing my visions come to life.  While reading the book, I had my own idea of how things should look and watching the film let me see Hollywood’s vision.  The casting director did a great job.  Jennifer Lawrence is beautiful as Katniss.  She brings the hard, uncharming, yet admirable qualities to life.  Gale doesn’t have much of a role in the first film/book, but boy was he good to look at.  Liam Hemsworth, why are you dating Miley Cyrus?  You could do so much better! Pick me!  Sorry, Ian.  In this case, live guy beats undead guy.  I was especially impressed with Lenny Kravitz’s portrayal of Cinna.  I think he did a fine job as the compassionate stylist.  Hands down my favorite character was Caesar Flickerman.  Stanley Tucci always impresses in his roles. He brought a lot of charisma and charm to the warped world of the Capitol.  His laughs and facial expressions were priceless!

The costumes were very exciting to see in the film.  All of the crazy Capitol fashions were brought to life using every color in the rainbow.  Pink hair, blue eyebrows, crazy face paint, it is all there!  I loved waiting to see what Effie would be wearing in each scene.  Each outfit was more over-the-top than the last.  And all in glorious Technicolor.  Not really, but it was very colorful.

The movie is on the long side (2 hours and 20 mins) but whether you are a fan of the books or not, you are in for a treat.  The satirical narrative brings great special effects, suspense, and more that will still leave you pondering this type of world once you leave the theater.  Somehow, the director was able to make all the killings in the movie not too graphic and allow the viewer to move on.  I guess it was necessary when the fan base starts at the age of 10!

Get ready to stand in line; the box office will be insane this weekend with crazed fans who bought their tickets months ago.

xoxo,

georgia girl

Preview This! with Mike’s view of the movie