The Hunger Games is a horrible turd of a film.

[basilchef]

Battle royal anyone?! Japan made that movie in 2000. Then a sequel. Still read all three books. Movie not as good. But liked however, that is wasn't another #!&*ing remake in theaters. (comparatively)

 

[DerCribben]

Here's THE HUNGER GAMES I Wanted to See

Like a lot of directors vying for the job of bringing The Hunger Games to the screen, Kevin Tancharoen (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) put together a pitch reel to showcase the tone and look of the movie that he wanted to make. Ultimately Lionsgate went with Gary Ross, but this is The Hunger Games I wanted to see - a film that fully committed to its violent dystopian world.

While concept art and treatments used to fit the bill, edited reels like this one below are commonly put together for pitch meetings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcXf90kB1cI&feature=player_embedded

Ok, so I definitely HAVE to admit that this would've been a million times better film.

I think the problem is they can put out a thousand movies a year now, and they still make a sh*tton of money off of em. So nobody needs to take 5 years to make a movie anymore and 90 (98.5?) percent of them have the quality of an afterschool special. But this just goes along with my mindset that you should only expect what a film is shooting for, in this case its a watered down film for the "young adults" the novels were initially intended for. Not the gritty post apocalypse films most of that reel mas made from.

Man...that would've been a badass film though lol, well, they ARE remaking movies that were just made a few years ago now so MAYBE...well..one can hope huh?

 

[Revvy]

Battle royal anyone?! Japan made that movie in 2000. Then a sequel. Still read all three books. Movie not as good. But liked however, that is wasn't another #!&*ing remake in theaters. (comparatively)

I take it you actually haven't read much of this thread. Several of us have referenced Battle Royale in here.

 

[Revvy]

... 90 (98.5?) percent of them have the quality of an afterschool special.

You just dated yourself.

Man...that would've been a badass film though lol, well, they ARE remaking movies that were just made a few years ago now so MAYBE...well..one can hope huh?

Just wait to the days where the re-launch a franchise even before they wrap up the other one.

 

[DerCribben]

You just dated yourself.

HA! I remember seeing one where Helen Hunt was a teenager that got hit by a car and got a brain injury and had to learn to live with it. Wait, did I just do it again?

Just wait to the days where the re-launch a franchise even before they wrap up the other one.

I can definitely see things heading in that direction...they just released two snow white films basically on top of one another...I'd say its only a matter of time but it seems that comment would be better suited to a year ago

 

[bigbeergeek]

I think the problem is they can put out a thousand movies a year now, and they still make a sh*tton of money off of em. So nobody needs to take 5 years to make a movie anymore and 90 (98.5?) percent of them have the quality of an afterschool special.

Cop-out. A turd is a turd, and that movie was a turd.

 

[DerCribben]

Cop-out. A turd is a turd, and that movie was a turd.

Ok well here's a response from a friend when I posted that director reel on her Facebook and asked her for her take on the actual film vs the proposed film on that reel:

Well, what I LOVED about the movie that was made, is that it took you through the emotions that you felt throughout the book. I think the actors they picked are really good. Hmmm.... i am going to have to let that video sit and digest for a minute.... ugh! I really wanna reread the book right now!!!!

 

[JebCkr]

Not a fan of movies or books with an in your face, don't bother thinking about it because there is nothing to think about, type message. But, as stated, target audience here is young adults...despite being only a few years removed from this label, I'm still going to be cranky about it.

 

[user 30639]

The biggest problem with the movie is that they toned it down to get the PG-13 rating, thus defeating the whole point of the book. The whole point if the book is that we as a country view war as a spectator sport. When you get rid of the brutality of the book, you lose the message.

 

[KayaBrew]

Why are adults reading "young adult" novels anyway???

Americans are *******. Yeah, I know...not PC. Sorry about that. But seriously, Americans are *******.

 

[passedpawn]

Americans are *******. Yeah, I know...not PC. Sorry about that. But seriously, Americans are *******.

That is very negative. Your ignorance of the great things Americans have done isn't surprising, and goes to show that your statement isn't entirely false.

 

[GoldMiner]

Just wait to the days where the re-launch a franchise even before they wrap up the other one.

Rumor is that a TwiLight re-boot may already be in the works.

 

[krenshaw]

The biggest problem with the movie is that they toned it down to get the PG-13 rating, thus defeating the whole point of the book. The whole point if the book is that we as a country view war as a spectator sport. When you get rid of the brutality of the book, you lose the message.

yeah.. movie wasn't great the way it was, in that aspect.. they were quite graphic in some parts of the books and the movie just grazed over a lot of that stuff.. should have been more residentevil-like in some of the fight scenes

 

[bigbeergeek]

It's not that there wasn't enough blood on the screen. The story is silly from the ground up. It's a tween action movie for god's sake -- a melodrama about a world where parents let their tweens march off to be sacrificed because nobody really understands them anyway!!! Ugh. There are so many great movies out there in this world -- this kids flick ain't one of 'em.

 

[Tex]

It's not that there wasn't enough blood on the screen. The story is silly from the ground up. It's a tween action movie for god's sake -- a melodrama about a world where parents let their tweens march off to be sacrificed because nobody really understands them anyway!!! Ugh. There are so many great movies out there in this world -- this kids flick ain't one of 'em.

Their "tweens" are marched off to be sacrificed as a show of power by the central government. It's a means by which the ruling order retains absolute power and the citizens are broken down into castes and their spirits are suppressed. That is why the president tells the game-maker that some hope is good but too much hope is detrimental to their cause. That's the central theme of the book, a brave girl and boy who choose to step out of the bounds of absolute control and defy their rulers.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Their "tweens" are marched off to be sacrificed as a show of power by the central government. It's a means by which the ruling order retains absolute power and the citizens are broken down into castes and their spirits are suppressed. That is why the president tells the game-maker that some hope is good but too much hope is detrimental to their cause. That's the central theme of the book, a brave girl and boy who choose to step out of the bounds of absolute control and defy their rulers.

Sure, but where's the intimidation in the film? Where's the patriotic identity of the district? If you and your family could escape through a hole in the fence, why stay and watch your children get slaughtered? Why not strangle the red-dressed matriarch of district 12 in the baggage car? I just couldn't "suspend my disbelief" of the plot as presented in the film -- the group's actions didn't seem justified.

 

[bigbeergeek]

That's the central theme of the book, a brave girl and boy who choose to step out of the bounds of absolute control and defy their rulers.

Sounds like the whimpering scribbles from a mopey teenager's diary to me...
seriously. It's a tween epic.

 

[passedpawn]

Sounds like the whimpering scribbles from a mopey teenager's diary to me...
seriously. It's a tween epic.

So, you liked it?

 

[Tex]

Sounds like the whimpering scribbles from a mopey teenager's diary to me...
seriously. It's a tween epic.

All Im saying is the film had more substance than being a melodrama about slaughtering teens whose parents cannot relate to them. It wasn't a great film by any stretch and I definitely wouldn't call it an epic. I read the first book and have no desire to read the sequels. I don't think I would've been entertained even in my tweens. Just saying its had an actual central theme. As someone stated earlier in the thread, I wish they'd start making movies based on Heinlein books, they would appeal to a much broader audience. And they're awesome

 

[wildwest450]

I got about 45 minutes in. Had to quit it. So awful.

My tablet balanced on your moms head as I rhythmically pounded her, we both found it thourghly enjoyable. To each his own...

 

[bigbeergeek]

My tablet balanced on your moms head as I rhythmically pounded her, we both found it thourghly enjoyable. To each his own...

Yikes. I though mother preferred men who read books written for grown-ups. Standards... are... slipping...

 

[wildwest450]

Yikes. I though mother preferred men who read books written for grown-ups. Standards... are... slipping...

That's what she said when you bounced off of the floor.

-

 

[bigbeergeek]

That's what she said when you bounced off of the floor.

-

Hahaha. You have a way with words that just screams "fan of young adult literature".

Edit: You literally used the phrase "that's what she said." Ha!

 

[Homercidal]

Can we please move past the personal insults and continue the discussion about the movie?

 

[passedpawn]

Can we please move past the personal insults and continue the discussion about the movie?

I liked the movie and the book. I thought the first chapter of the book was as good of a beginning as I've read in a long time. Haters gonna hate.

 

[Subsailor]

Both of my twenty something daughters loved the books and talked me into watching the movie. It was OK but not something I would watch again. I believe the recently released Battleship to be one of the worst modern science fiction movies.

 

[jhall4]

If you and your family could escape through a hole in the fence, why stay and watch your children get slaughtered?

Because when you escape air ships come to track you down, then they cut out your tongue and turn you into a slave/servant.

 

[bigbeergeek]

Because when you escape air ships come to track you down, then they cut out your tongue and turn you into a slave/servant.

I don't fee the immediate threat of tongue-cutting or the omnipresence of the state in the film. In fact, the film opens with the main character going for a casual hunt, passing through the dilapidated electric fence in broad daylight and being joined by another escapee shortly thereafter. Sure, their "escape" is brief, but it completely undercuts the notion of the impossibility of escape or the absolute necessity of participation in the games.

 

[jhall4]

I don't fee the immediate threat of tongue-cutting or the omnipresence of the state in the film. In fact, the film opens with the main character going for a casual hunt, passing through the dilapidated electric fence in broad daylight and being joined by another escapee shortly thereafter. Sure, their "escape" is brief, but it completely undercuts the notion of the impossibility of escape or the absolute necessity of participation in the games.

You're right, the movie handles this poorly but I'm pretty sure the movie covered Katniss recognizing her servant, who is mute because she has no tongue, as an escapee she saw in the woods once.

Basically, yes it might be possible to sneak out but once the capital finds out they have basically infinite resources that they can use to track escapees down.