It’s movie review day here at Glitter, Bliss, and Perfect Chaos. Today we’re seeing the movie, The Hunger Games.
Here’s the trailer:
The Verdict: This movie was really long and really intense. It’s easy to see why it’s a best-selling book. If you’ve read the books, you will enjoy the movie. They stayed pretty true to the story, while creating excitement on-screen. I knew how the movie ended and was still sitting on the edge of my seat and shoving popcorn into my mouth. That being said, there are always parts of a book that don’t make it to the screen. The killing was minimized, probably to keep a PG-13 rating. Let’s face it, the Capitol and these games are pretty evil. While the movie visually showed the difference between the Capitol and the Districts, it was sort of glossed over. And they didn’t explain the differences between the Districts at all. The mocking jay pin was much more important in the book. I need to reread, but I’m pretty sure the Mayor’s wife was who gave it to her for luck. You saw the rioting in District 11, but missed the part where they sent her bread. Also you didn’t get to know any of the other kids chosen, so it was really no big deal when they died. I felt a little distanced from the characters other than Katniss and Peeta.
Being a sucker for romance, I felt like the Gale/Katniss relationship wasn’t shown enough, so it wasn’t that big of a deal when she left him. Her and Peeta’s romance in the cave was sweet but seemed really rushed.
Overall, I thought the movie was good, but like Harry Potter and Twilight before it, the book is always better. You’re able to get into the character’s head with a book and that’s hard to do in a movie.
Really, I thought he was a jerk. I have a guy at home that I’m crushing on, but we were thrown into a crazy situation that left us fighting for our lives. And that sort of stuff brings all your emotions to the surface. First, he told me he’d always crushed on me. I didn’t really believe him, thought it was just for show. But then he got hurt, and I knew I had to help him. He was sweet, and I couldn’t help it. I fell for him a little and kissed him. Honestly, I thought he was gonna die, and I wanted him to go happy because all I could think about was getting back home to my sister and him……and well, his brother too. And if I make it back in one piece. We’re totally gonna hookup. Then I will probably stalk them both.
Just a reminder of how we rank movies here at Glitter, Bliss, and Perfect Chaos:
One Star = Walk of shame. I was in last night’s dress, carrying my shoes as I rushed off. I can’t believe I wasted my time on him and pray no one I know sees me.
Two Stars = Bad date. He didn’t really do anything wrong, we just didn’t have any chemistry. Maybe he just wasn’t my type. I probably won’t answer if he calls.
Three Stars =Hookup. We had a great night together. Don’t know if it will be more than that, but it was sure fun while it lasted.
Four Stars = Stalking him. What a night! We danced, we kissed. Now if I could just get him to call me.
Five Stars = Happily ever after. I love him! I want to marry him, have his babies, and live happily ever after.
If you like stories about hot guys and happily ever after, check out my books, That Boy and the newly released, That Wedding.
And be sure to check out I LOVE YA Fiction’s review of That Wedding!
Leanne Shirtliffe says
March 25, 2012 at 11:16I haven’t seen it yet, but will be soon. Part of me is glad they didn’t play up the romance (Twilight-i-fy it) because it really is a book about Katniss and adventure and strength of spirit. (Am I just being a curmudgeon?) 🙂
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:24The romance was an important part of the book, but it was more adventure. And revolution and all that!!
Angela Wallace says
March 24, 2012 at 10:32Jillian, how did the movie handle the graphic side of the arena? Most of the deaths that occur are horrific and disturbing. I can’t see the film cutting out those images, but it’s still got the PG-13 rating (though that rating doesn’t seem to mean as much these days).
Tameri Etherton says
March 25, 2012 at 09:08Angela,
They did a jerky, cut scene kind of filming where you would see a person, jerk away, see some blood splatter, cut back to them dead. It was almost more disturbing the way they did it, but it wasn’t over the top violent. Definitely not for younger kids, though.
Angela Wallace says
March 25, 2012 at 09:50Thanks, Tameri. I don’t have the steady nerves I used to, so probably won’t want to see this in the theater.
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:23I think they didn’t want to show the kids getting killed on screen. And the dog part in the book was SOOOO horrible, but it was not that big of a deal in the movie. If they would have followed the book, it would have been rated R. It still shocks me a little that this is a YA book. Makes me not feel so bad for writing about sex. LOL
Marcy Kennedy says
March 24, 2012 at 08:14I saw it last night, and I think the problem was fitting so much into one movie. I know 2.5 hours seems long, but they just didn’t have time for it all. It almost would have been better to make it two. That said, I loved it. I’m such a big fan of the book, how could I not?
P.S. You were close. It was the mayor’s daughter who gave her the pin 🙂
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:21I thought it was something like that! I really liked it too!!
mjfredrick says
March 23, 2012 at 22:52It was SO GOOD! I did have to explain some stuff afterwards to my husband afterward, like the mocking jay pin (it was the daughter, wasn’t it? The director said he didn’t have time to add another character) and the districts and such. Still, edge-of-the-seat stuff.
Jennifer says
March 23, 2012 at 21:45Yeah, I agree with ya on the characters – most of them were underdeveloped, which is really odd given the films 2.5 hrs long. My biggest issue dealt with the relationship between Katniss and Peeta (I won’t spoil it here for your readers who haven’t seen it, but if you’re interested in what my take is check out my review on my blog)
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:21I saw and I agree. I thought it wasn’t quite right, but it worked on screen.
StoriesAndSweetPotatoes says
March 23, 2012 at 21:26I’m so excited. As long as it’s not horrible because the previews do not leave me with the best of expectations…even though most people disagree with that. I suppose I’ll find out soon enough! Probably next weekend, I don’t want to be in these crowds.
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:17I go see most new releases on Fridays at around 10 or 11. It’s usually not very busy, but this one was packed!! It was fun. People seemed to enjoy it and for as long as it was, it went really fast!!
Tameri Etherton says
March 23, 2012 at 19:5311:30am tomorrow. Tickets bought, candy stashed, the Kid and I are ready. I didn’t read the book, so this is all new to me, but he’s read it a dozen times (he was too lazy to bring a new book to school for silent reading time…). Funny thing is, I might be just as excited as him!
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:16Did you like it??
Tameri Etherton says
March 26, 2012 at 17:24Okay, tough answer.
If you asked me Saturday at 3pm, I would’ve said a resounding yes! But then I started thinking about the premise and the storyline and I got sad. It’s a terrible thing when a dystopian society is so screwed up they have to pit children against each other and glory in their brutality. Then I started thinking that it could’ve been my kid out there. That’s when the nightmares started. It was crazy.
As a movie – loved the visuals, the Capitol, the colors and costuming, etc. The story was okay, the action shots in the arena were kind of cool and gave me some ideas for future books.
I haven’t read any of the HG books, so I didn’t know what happened and my son wouldn’t tell me. I kept asking if the President gets killed in a really nasty way and he’d just say I need to read the books. Darn him!
lanceschaubert says
March 23, 2012 at 18:06Yeah, I enjoyed the experience too, but I’m dog tired today.
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:16I didn’t go to the midnight showing. I’ve always taken a group of my daughter’s friends to Harry Potter and Twilight ones, but they weren’t as excited for this movie. It was good though and it’s fun to do once in a while!!!
lanceschaubert says
March 28, 2012 at 13:41I get a kick out of all the crazies that dress up. Best crowds too.
David N. Walker says
March 23, 2012 at 16:51Aren’t you afraid your mother will get lazy if you do too much of her blogging for her?
Jillian Dodd - Glitter, Bliss and Perfect Chaos says
March 26, 2012 at 17:14She does a lot of the prep work for my blogs. Finds the pics for the MANdays. Adds the trailers for the movie reviews. I just realized it looks like they are all written by her since she gets them started!!! She’s slowly taking over. World domination will be next.