Jennifer
Lawrence is one of those actresses, that has recently gotten more
work into the mainstream. We all know her portrayl as Mystique from
"X-Men: First Class," and some of us VAGUELY remember
"Winter's Bone," but aside from that, she's shown to be a
pretty interesting actress. Today, we look at the recent film she's
done, "The Hunger Games".
"The Hunger Games," based on the popular book series, tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who volunteers in place of her sister in the Hunger Games, which is a reality tv sporting event, that was created as a replacement for wars to happen. Katniss is part of one of twelve districts, where a man and woman are selected from each district to participate in the event. For Katniss, she's part of District 12. As she's there, her friend Peeta is called up to be in the games too, as they are sent to this Utopia, to train for the day to fight. As it goes on, Katniss knows the works that the people give to the game, and uses her survival instincts to get stay alive. Survival films are what really intrigue me the most in films, mostly in terms of pacing, style, and build-up. It really took its time with this film, and being how it's about two and a half hours long, it definietly felt well done. The story structures of the film are well presented, and being how the games are established like reality tv, and does in a way that reality tv SHOULD be! The film was also compared to "Battle Royal", one of the greatest films of the past twenty years. For me, these films are different, in their own way. It does feel like the same film, but there are certain elements to it, that really do stand out from it.
Jennifer Lawrence does a great job as Katniss, and really did make me care about the character she was playing. Her bravery of taking over her sister's part in the Hunger Games, while rushed, was put together well. When she feels certain things happen to her, we feel the same thing with her. In one scene during the third act, when a commrade of hers dies, we feel the pain she's going through, as she sings a tune from the beginning of the film, and it can be heart breaking. Now, it was said that the casting for Katniss went up to about thirty other young actresses, including Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Chloe Moretz, Shailene Woodley, and Emma Roberts. Honestly, I would have prefered Abigail Breslin, but Jennifer Lawrence was still pretty damn good. Josh Hutcherson, who played Sean Anderson, in "Journey to the Center of the Earth," plays Peeta, Katniss' companion. He really did a great job in this film, showing his act of desperation to help her survive as much as he did. Now, one thing that critics hated about this movie, was that they felt the romance between Katniss and Peeta was force. But what they didn't know was that it was supposed to be forced. They're on reality tv, and one of the aspects that they need to survive, was to put on a show, and get certain items to assist them. It's a blatant attack on reality tv, and when I started to realize that, I started to love this movie even more. Woody Harrelson plays Haymitch, a surviving victor from District 12 and mentor to Katniss and Peeta. He did a great job in this movie, but to me, he'll always be Tallahassee from "Zombieland".
There wasn't much that I hated about the movie, other than it being an American version of Battle Royal. Though, it's not that bad of a remake. The film was commercialed to be 'The best book series since Twilight,' and I couldn't help but feel both lied and cheated at the same time. It's basically insulting this movie, saying it's like "Twilight," when it's anything but, since it has things that "Twilight" doesn't have. STORY AND CHARACTERS. The film was directed and co-written by Gary Ross, who also directed and co-written "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit". He was also a writer for films like "Dave", "Lassie", "The Tale of Despereaux", and "Big". It really is interesting for him to do such a great survival film such as this.
Overall, "The Hunger Games" does manage to be an enjoyable movie, and could serve as another book series that is worth adapting.
Rating: 8/10
"The Hunger Games," based on the popular book series, tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a young woman who volunteers in place of her sister in the Hunger Games, which is a reality tv sporting event, that was created as a replacement for wars to happen. Katniss is part of one of twelve districts, where a man and woman are selected from each district to participate in the event. For Katniss, she's part of District 12. As she's there, her friend Peeta is called up to be in the games too, as they are sent to this Utopia, to train for the day to fight. As it goes on, Katniss knows the works that the people give to the game, and uses her survival instincts to get stay alive. Survival films are what really intrigue me the most in films, mostly in terms of pacing, style, and build-up. It really took its time with this film, and being how it's about two and a half hours long, it definietly felt well done. The story structures of the film are well presented, and being how the games are established like reality tv, and does in a way that reality tv SHOULD be! The film was also compared to "Battle Royal", one of the greatest films of the past twenty years. For me, these films are different, in their own way. It does feel like the same film, but there are certain elements to it, that really do stand out from it.
Jennifer Lawrence does a great job as Katniss, and really did make me care about the character she was playing. Her bravery of taking over her sister's part in the Hunger Games, while rushed, was put together well. When she feels certain things happen to her, we feel the same thing with her. In one scene during the third act, when a commrade of hers dies, we feel the pain she's going through, as she sings a tune from the beginning of the film, and it can be heart breaking. Now, it was said that the casting for Katniss went up to about thirty other young actresses, including Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Chloe Moretz, Shailene Woodley, and Emma Roberts. Honestly, I would have prefered Abigail Breslin, but Jennifer Lawrence was still pretty damn good. Josh Hutcherson, who played Sean Anderson, in "Journey to the Center of the Earth," plays Peeta, Katniss' companion. He really did a great job in this film, showing his act of desperation to help her survive as much as he did. Now, one thing that critics hated about this movie, was that they felt the romance between Katniss and Peeta was force. But what they didn't know was that it was supposed to be forced. They're on reality tv, and one of the aspects that they need to survive, was to put on a show, and get certain items to assist them. It's a blatant attack on reality tv, and when I started to realize that, I started to love this movie even more. Woody Harrelson plays Haymitch, a surviving victor from District 12 and mentor to Katniss and Peeta. He did a great job in this movie, but to me, he'll always be Tallahassee from "Zombieland".
There wasn't much that I hated about the movie, other than it being an American version of Battle Royal. Though, it's not that bad of a remake. The film was commercialed to be 'The best book series since Twilight,' and I couldn't help but feel both lied and cheated at the same time. It's basically insulting this movie, saying it's like "Twilight," when it's anything but, since it has things that "Twilight" doesn't have. STORY AND CHARACTERS. The film was directed and co-written by Gary Ross, who also directed and co-written "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit". He was also a writer for films like "Dave", "Lassie", "The Tale of Despereaux", and "Big". It really is interesting for him to do such a great survival film such as this.
Overall, "The Hunger Games" does manage to be an enjoyable movie, and could serve as another book series that is worth adapting.
Rating: 8/10
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