34 replies to this topic

[soundfan]

I'm off to see this tonight with the wife, and having not read the book or read too much hype, am hoping we will enjoy it. I finish work at 11pm, my Cinema has it showing at midnight, so great timing and hopefully the cinema will be near empty too.
I did hear some of the soundtrack in my local JB Hi Fi the other day , and enjoyed what I heard.

I assume that many here will see this?

Edited by soundfan, 21 March 2012 - 11:09 AM.

[Juicester]

i dunno... looks almost like Narnia'ish to me... not hugely interested... let us know what you think

[Drizt]

Yeah, wasn't sure if this would be too kiddy.

Let us know what you think.

[Lil Caesar]

I wouldn't call kids killing other kids for the right to live a children's film

[mikizee]

I just read on Twitter that movie critic David Stratton said it is worse than Twilight.

[Drizt]

I just read on Twitter that movie critic David Stratton said it is worse than Twilight.

Twilight is ok. Anything with vampires in it and I'll watch it

[mr-happy-pants]

Twilight is ok. Anything with vampires in it and I'll watch it

I wonder if Twilight & movies of its ilk would have been as popular if they were released in a time that didn't have Facebook & Social Networking eg Twitter etc

I'm guessing not!

Graham

[hired goon]

G'day,

Looks a tween Logan's Run / Running Man / The Long Walk / Battle Royale / ${genericDystopianFutureBookOrFilm} to me.

Lemme know if it's any good.

--Geoff

[Drizt]

I wonder if Twilight & movies of its ilk would have been as popular if they were released in a time that didn't have Facebook & Social Networking eg Twitter etc

I'm guessing not!

Graham

Don't know. I barely use social networking.

[Whatmore]

Apparently it is very similar to Battle Royale

http://en.wikipedia....le_Royale_(film)

[:) al]

reviewed on at the movies tonight, sounds like this one lost in translation...from the book to the movie. 2 stars from margaret and david gave it 1.5 stars *blink*

[mr-happy-pants]

I'm sure the tweenies will love it Al :-)

[valvelover]

Well, I don't think much of Margaret or David as critics, they strike me more as snobs to be entirely honest. Preview reviews from around the globe have been nothing but full of praise for the movie - it has been faithful to the book, other than probably not quite as brutal graphically as the book would have required for some of the deaths of the hunger games opponents. I've just finished reading the book, and if it lives up to the book, it'll be a most excellent movie imho. I enjoyed Suzanne Collin's novel - at times it was very moving and bought a tear to the eye. I hope the actress that they've had to play Rue, and the actor that plays Peeta are up to the job. Gale is barely in the book, so not sure why they are playing up Liam Hemsworth's involvement in this movie. I haven't read the 2nd and 3rd books in the series, so perhaps he features more in those.

I will say the book is brutal in some of the deaths of the kids that are forced to participate in the hunger games. Note: not every kid is forced - a few do volunteer and several from the richer sectors are 'career' entrants, i.e. they train all of their lives in order to get into it, and win, as it's a great honour.

Dave

[mr-happy-pants]

Well, I don't think much of Margaret or David as critics, they strike me more as snobs to be entirely honest.

Interestingly, although I do not always agree (duh) I really enjoy their critique style & substance.

I try to watch them every week.

[soundfan]

I respect them as reviewers (Margaret & David), but in this case I think they are being very harsh.

The film runs near 2 1/2 hours, and I didn't think the film dragged at all. For those with teens wanting to see it, the violence wasn't too graphic, and I'd be happy to let my 13yr old daughter see it.
Good storyline, (how faithful to book I have no idea as I haven't ,and won't read it) good acting generally, and it looks good too.

The soundtrack score wasn't bad... but I'm a little puzzled as the available soundtrack that is now available to buy features vocal tracks from the likes of Arcade Fire, Neko Case, The Decemberists among others, but the only track with vocals was the one played over the closing credits. I was hoping some of the songs would pop up throughout the film, but it wasn't to be.

* * * *

[Juicester]

Interestingly, although I do not always agree (duh) I really enjoy their critique style & substance.

I try to watch them every week.

bang on - my thoughts exactly.


Thanks for the write-up soundfan. Still sounds like a tween movie to me..

[Lil Caesar]

Sorry, Couldn't stop laughing when I saw this

 tumblr_m186pvxNyb1r46py4o1_500.jpg   16.87K   25 downloads

[soundfan]

bang on - my thoughts exactly.


Thanks for the write-up soundfan. Still sounds like a tween movie to me..

Dunno. A lot of the contestants characters aren't really expanded on in the flick, whereas other adult characters get more exposure, so I never really felt it was aimed at tweens. YMMV.
Go and see it, make your own mind up.

[valvelover]

Ok, I saw the movie tonight and it is brilliantly done IMHO. It is very faithful to the book. I was really impressed with the actor that played Peeta. Rue is my fave character and she was great too. I'll go see it again. It's definitely not a tween movie.

Soundfan - the song at the end is Taylor Swift's beautiful song "safe and sound" with the civil wars - I expect it to win best song at the Oscars in 2013.

If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favour and do so.

Dave

[soundfan]

Ok, I saw the movie tonight and it is brilliantly done IMHO. It is very faithful to the book. I was really impressed with the actor that played Peeta. Rue is my fave character and she was great too. I'll go see it again. It's definitely not a tween movie.

Soundfan - the song at the end is Taylor Swift's beautiful song "safe and sound" with the civil wars - I expect it to win best song at the Oscars in 2013.

If you haven't read the book, do yourself a favour and do so.

Dave

G'day Dave,

Glad you enjoyed it. I didn't hang around for the closing song, not a Taylor Swift fan. Nice voice, and easy on the eye, but her music does nothing for me I'm afraid.

Edited by soundfan, 23 March 2012 - 12:07 AM.

[Mr_Gadget]

I am going to watch this movie today because I have some tickets that I have already paid for and to be honest there is a lack of good movies on at the moment. The problem is that I have also just purchased the e-book of The Hunger Games so I will be watching the movie first and then reading the book. Normally I would be doing it the other way around, hopefully I'll still enjoy the book. Do u guys think this would ruin the enjoyment of reading it?

[valvelover]

Not at all. The movie is quite faithful to the book, it deviates in only a few non important places and only semi disappoints in 2 places of minor omissions (departing from the book) which I won't mention in thread as I don't want to spoil the movie. Both minor omissions aren't critical to the story, I'd just have liked to have seen them, or more of them in the movie itself.

Dave

[b.d]

Saw it last night, didnt have any difficulty holding my attention for its full running time. Credit to the lead actess mainly. And the cool hairstyles.

[surfpurple]

My daughter (14) saw it the other night and loved it. She said she would like to see it again. But she is into the macabre, vampire, anything scary type movies, not the usual girly stuff.

...well I hope she watched it!! (and I hope she wants to see it again because she actually enjoyed it...and not missed it the first time!)....14 years old?

Edited by surfpurple, 25 March 2012 - 03:22 PM.

[MultiplexMan]

I finished the first volume and it was a decent read. My brother has loaned me the next two volumes.

I reckon I'll venture off to the cinema to watch it on tight@rse Tuesday

[joz]

We went the other night to see it at the local Classic Independant.

It was a very very good movie IMO.

Actually felt for the kids, winning a lottery to their death.
Ofcourse certain elements of it were some what questionable but overall worth the price of entry.

G'day,

Looks a tween Logan's Run / Running Man / The Long Walk / Battle Royale / ${genericDystopianFutureBookOrFilm} to me.

Lemme know if it's any good.

--Geoff

You forgot to mention Fifth Element.

[MultiplexMan]

I was disappointed by the movie. If I had not read the books, the movie would have appeared incomplete as a story telling.

There were a couple scenes that exceeded the book. The scenes with Rue and Foxface were very faithful to the book and well played. They missed Rue's best quote from the book though! The final scene with the games master being my favorite - very poignant.

My main complaint is a complete lack of drama. There were a couple scenes during the games where there was "action" that forced the plot to advance. The pace finally picked up but the momentum was not maintained.

The build up to the story climax at the games end was half baked (pun intended). The "climax" was in fact without any drama. Both actors could have made a better go of it. Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) did a better job in Bridge to Terabithia.

There was no sense of desperation, in the Districts or in the tributes. The gaunt images of an Appalachian community did not portray borderline existence or starvation.

The white uniformed Peacekeepers looked ridiculous.

It was interesting to observe the other cinema patrons. A broad mixture of ages with a substantial group of tweens & teens. There was dead silence for most of the movie and I did note a couple nodding off.


4/10

Edited by MultiplexMan, 18 April 2012 - 09:11 AM.

[Paul Spencer]

Twilight is ok. Anything with vampires in it and I'll watch it

True Blood fan?

i dunno... looks almost like Narnia'ish to me... not hugely interested... let us know what you think

What makes you say that? I don't get the connection. Except kids in leading roles ...

I wonder if Twilight & movies of its ilk would have been as popular if they were released in a time that didn't have Facebook & Social Networking eg Twitter etc

Just different ways of spreading the hype. I never did get the hype surrounding the series, I didn't mind the series but thought all the hype wasn't justified.

MM,
You're a harsh critic! I saw it at the cinema and while I thought there are things that could have been added, overall I felt it was very well done. I came into it knowing nothing but the blurb, and thought the juxtaposition of elements was interesting. A futuristic world which initially looks more like the depression and at the same time it made me think of gladiator games.

To me it stands out as a movie that you want to see, but I did feel that there is that certain something extra hard to pin down that it could have used. Something hard to define that draws you in more, something that has you connect more with the characters. A big part of the story was the main girl trying to engage sponsors who would ensure her survival. She had a certain "no frills" quality about her - she came across as a "survivor" who might have trouble with the audience being on her side and wanting her to win. She did manage to win support from the sponsors but in terms of the movie audience I don't think her character was the most engaging. In terms of story telling, it was done indirectly and I felt it created some intrigue. They didn't try to explain everything so the audience was left to infer. So if you know nothing of the book, questions like "when is this set?" come to mind. You see impoverished people in old clothes, then suddenly a space ship flies over. Then you start to see a very wealthy dictatorship and a futuristic world with a gigantic gap between the oppresssed poor and the very wealthy powerful elite. As the story unfolds the nature of this world is implied. I like this approach better than more obvious story telling, because it gets you thinking and wondering. For those who have read the book, I suppose it probably doesn't have that intrigue and it's very hard for a movie to live up to it, because in a book you join the author in creating the story in your imagination. Hard to compete with that.

[Drizt]

True Blood fan?

Of course

[:) al]

out on blu-ray yesterday, and yeah watched yesterday afternoon into the evening. wife wasnt interested, not her kind of thing. I kept an open mind watching it. well made movie excellent PQ. the SQ was tops too. surround effects. the bass was really well done for effect and the canons for instance going off. some stunning scenes with the colours and lighting etc well photographed.

over the story I found it a bit sad and children side I dont understand the writers choosing, could easily have been a young adult or turning of age etc. but I guess pulls at heart strings... but a movie that flowed well. and something would watch again I reckon.

[valvelover]

I bought it on Blu ray last week and re-watched it again on the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it again. Must be time for a re-read of the books when I'm doing reading the Silmarillion. I'm looking forward to the 2nd and 3rd movies (Catching Fire & Mockingjay) as well. The documentary that accompanies the blu ray was well done too and gives a good insight into the director's vision (I think Gary Ross did a superb job imho).

Dave

[wainy]

Just finished watching, highly recommended.

[Todd]

Watched last week on iTunes and enjoyed it immensely. Great casting and acting.

Motivated me to start reading the books. Am now halfway through book three and while my interest is waning they have been enjoyable enough. With the same actors I will go and see the follow up movies.

[Peter the Greek]

Haven't read the book, dvd arrived the other day and I'm watching it to and from work so about half way through it.

I have to say, I am rather impressed. I didn't have high expectations but I'm enjoying it A LOT more than Twilight. No idea how its going to end (well I have some ideas about how they could do it in a sopy tween romanticised manner) but all in all not bad. As far as teen trash goes this is sitting pretty well with me.

[Peter the Greek]

Finished it last night, I'd like it - 3.5 stars from me.

I pretty much knew the end would be a romeo and juliet ripoff.......still, good nevertheless.

One thing I didn't like is how quickly the big dude was overcome, they hyped that up heaps at the beginning and then he pretty much gives in