The Hunger Games

So, who has read the books and who's excited to see the film this weekend?

 

Holly loves the series, but she has some problem with the ending of the last book which she won't talk about until I get there.  I've just finished the first book in anticipation of seeing the movie on Saturday.  I liked the book a lot...a thoughtful, first-person account in the "let's send a bunch of kids to a secure location and make them fight to the death" genre (see Battle Royale).  There is just one bit near the end of the first book that almost took me out of the whole thing...but it wasn't unforgiveable and I look forward to reading the other two books.  The movie has been getting amazing reviews already and the cast is amazing.

 

As I've said elsewhere...with this, Hawkeye in the Avengers, Pixar's Brave, the new Green Arrow CW series, Game of Thrones, and The Hobbit...2012 is the year that archery became very cool again.

 

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  •  ... the "let's send a bunch of kids to a secure location and make them fight to the death" genre ...

    I know that, in principle, a good story can be crafted from pretty much any premise.  And probably has.  And I have no opinion at all about this particular series of books (which I have never read), though understand that many thoughful and critical types have enjoyed them.

    But even the thought that a "genre" of this sort exists makes me sad.

  • It's part of the whole violence inflicted upon others as entertainment for the masses storyline that reminds us of how far we can fall if not vigilant.  How easy it is to make another human being an "other" and not care what happens to them or, worse, wish evil upon them.  There was an article in the NY Times today about the film makers working very hard to NOT make the games seem glamorous or cool, especially in the marketing of the film.  The story is more about Katniss Everdeen and her work to change her society from the one she lives in at the beginning...one that sees these games as a nobel or at least inevitable annual event.

  • Ooh, that's right , the deluxe edition of Battle Royale is coming out tomorrow.

  • I don't think that was an accident.  ;)

  • ...From what I've heard about BATTLE ROYALE , I've imagined a Western-/Americanized remake of it - Do you think that such a project , artistically or financially , could swing ?

    • Well, from a book standpoint, yes. We'll how the movie is received this weekend.

      Emerkeith Davyjack said:

      ...From what I've heard about BATTLE ROYALE , I've imagined a Western-/Americanized remake of it - Do you think that such a project , artistically or financially , could swing ?

  • One of the main things that permanently soured me on "reality TV" was when I realized that Survivor wasn't going to be like Battle Royale.

  • I read the first book and thought it was a pretty enjoyable straight-forward story. It didn't make me want to read the other books, though, she wasn't so likable I wanted to keep being with her. Maybe I'm not the right audience.

    It wasn't very complex, so it shouldn't be hard to translate to a movie. I'm not sure how they get around all the kid-killing, but it's hard to avoid. I haven't seen any actual reviews, but I know kids are really revved up to go see it, so I hope it's good. If it gets good reviews, I might go out to see it once the hysteria dies down (if it dies down).

    That's the picture I've been seeing for the past few days, which makes me wonder: Does she have that arrow sitting on her knuckle? That's gonna sting when she lets fly. Shouldn't it be above her index finger, not behind it? That's how I was taught to shoot, many, many (many) years ago.

    -- MSA

  • I thought she was very likable given her background and society.  I've heard a few comic fans call the books "very Jack Kirby" in that you have an evil overarching government, districts with different ways to dress and function, a giant colosseum full of traps and monsters, and a plucky, almost Steve Rogers-type girl in the middle of it all trying to take it all down.  There is a Captain America annual with Steve fighting aliens using robots and fireballs in a forest that seems to be echoed in the first book.  You can almost see the Kirby art while reading the scene.

  • I would think Lord of the Flies would be a precursor to this uh "genre". Just with less death.

    Doctor Hmmm? said:

     ... the "let's send a bunch of kids to a secure location and make them fight to the death" genre ...

    I know that, in principle, a good story can be crafted from pretty much any premise.  And probably has.  And I have no opinion at all about this particular series of books (which I have never read), though understand that many thoughful and critical types have enjoyed them.

    But even the thought that a "genre" of this sort exists makes me sad.

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