The Hunger Games

Joe Brody

Well-known member
Deadlock said:
Watching it tonight, boss. Whadja think of Drive, BTW?

All the retro elements (opening credits, jacket, cars, music) came across as too much/trying too hard -- like margarine -- but I guess that's LA for you. And from a writing perspective I think the strong silent type is a cop-out. It makes for an easy script. For a better kindred film, I'd recommend Miami Blues with Alec Baldwin, a fantastic Jennifer Jason Leigh and Fred Ward who produced and (I think) help write the film.

Sadly, I've still got about five minutes to go to Drive. I lost interest at the elevator scene.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Joe Brody said:
too much/trying too hard -- like margarine -- but I guess that's LA for you.

Hey now, I'd take offense, but I'm chilling on the beach here...bro.

And from a writing perspective I think the strong silent type is a cop-out. It makes for an easy script.

How so? Many strong silent type characters need nuance to be fleshed out in a script. I can name many scripts (Clint's come to mind) that while they many never win for Best Screenplay, they are complicated and detailed beyond many of the block busters we see today.

Sadly, I've still got about five minutes to go to Drive. I lost interest at the elevator scene.

Lemme guess, it went down from there?
 

Marshall2288

New member
I liked the movie alot. I wish I knew more about the world they lived in. Guess it's time to read the books......

They left some things hanging. Like when Katniss threw up that hand signal. Also all the kids did it at the lottery. Did I just miss what that meant?
 

Montana Smith

Active member
The 2 disc The Hunger Games (The Unseen Version) Blu-ray fooled me for a moment this morning at a boot sale.

The box and upper band of the slip case are red.

What is that? Representative of extra blood?

Been wanting to see this, so I'm putting it on the top of the pile.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Well, I don't really know what all the fuss was about.

It was pretty weak. Disney does Battle Royale.

Jennifer Lawrence was the best thing about it. She played a great part, but the story was too contrived, and I don't mean in the sense that it was a reality gameshow.

Contrived so she never had to compromise herself by killing in cold blood. Contrived that two should live.

I was hoping that the announcement that two from the same district could win would turn out to be an hallucination brought on by the Tracker Jacket stings. It almost seemed that way from Peeta's reaction at one point in the cave.

And where was the blood? Why the red Blu-ray case?

I almost want my £2 back. But there is that other disc to watch.
 

kongisking

Active member
Montana Smith said:
Well, I don't really know what all the fuss was about.

It was pretty weak. Disney does Battle Royale.

Jennifer Lawrence was the best thing about it. She played a great part, but the story was too contrived, and I don't mean in the sense that it was a reality gameshow.

Contrived so she never had to compromise herself by killing in cold blood. Contrived that two should live.

I was hoping that the announcement that two from the same district could win would turn out to be an hallucination brought on by the Tracker Jacket stings. It almost seemed that way from Peeta's reaction at one point in the cave.

And where was the blood? Why the red Blu-ray case?

I almost want my £2 back. But there is that other disc to watch.

I thought it was a very effective drama. The contrivances can be forgiven, since the characters are so sympathetic I actively wanted both to live anyway. Some really great acting, especially by Lawrence, Harrelson, and Bently. My only real gripe with it is the horrendously-edited fight scenes. Other than that, an excellent film.

Yet another film we disagree on, Monty. I'm sensing a trend here...:p
 

Montana Smith

Active member
kongisking said:
I thought it was a very effective drama. The contrivances can be forgiven, since the characters are so sympathetic I actively wanted both to live anyway. Some really great acting, especially by Lawrence, Harrelson, and Bently. My only real gripe with it is the horrendously-edited fight scenes. Other than that, an excellent film.

Yet another film we disagree on, Monty. I'm sensing a trend here...:p

I think the main problem with it was that the original story was aimed at a young audience. The violence that transfers more acceptably on the page couldn't be put on film. Therefore, the story loses impact.

I checked the list of cuts and digitally censored scenes and all the blood was present and correct. Blink and you’ll miss it. The theatrical version of this film would have been even harder to swallow. This must be what you refer to as "the horrendously-edited fight scenes".


Primarily I hadn't bought into the world that had descended back into an ancient Roman style civilization which could justify human bloodsport to the death.

Then the bloodsport itself didn't carry enough personal danger. Possibly because this story is one of a series and not a single tale in which a character could be forced out of their comfort zone. That was the main inherent weakness: Katniss is shielded from the horror of killing proactively. Instead, she reacts.


From the documentaries I'm understanding that the virtual reality nature of the arena was a movie construct. The 'hard light' animals had to be accepted in the manner of the 'false flames' on the costumes. It was another obstacle that made this world insubstantial. Then there were the crazy fashions and hairstyles...
 

Joe Brody

Well-known member
Two thumbs up. Good send off for Philip Seymour Hoffman. And a solid adaptation. Now these films look and feel big budget.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Not much happens in Hunger Games 3, it's like all the Matrix trilogy scenes spent underground in meetings. Instead of a sewage plant, there's a deleted scene in a hydroponics farm. The whole film is like a string of making-of features, slowing down the plot to get to know the cast whose names and roles I can't remember.

Of the YA double dippers, Twilight got out at the right time. Hunger Games stumbled but was profitable. Divergent made a terrible mistake. Maze Runner learned from this and will keep it a trilogy.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
So much filler. Somewhere I'm sure there's a worthy 2-hour Mockingjay fan edit. Even if the films were true to the book, they can't make the book a classic. I can't think of a more forced love triangle. The original premise was always shaky, but why turn the final battle into a game? Those were the most watchable parts though. Escapism tried to deliver a slow talky message for the cost of an additional ticket at the expense of the franchise's legacy. Gone, and forgotten.
 
Top