HUNGER GAMES Movie Review

So...What did you think of the HUNGER GAMES movie? I thought it was great! The casting was superb. The acting was wonderful by all. Jennifer Lawrence was incredible. The moment I saw her, she felt like Katniss to me through and through. Peeta was exactly as a I imagined in the book, as was Gale. Elizabeth Banks was a hoot as Effie Trinket. I didn't recognize her at all underneath all of that outrageous makeup. Speaking of the fashion of the capitol - wow. I remember reading about the bright colored clothing and hair, but seeing it on the screen was quite shocking. Could fashion really evolve into that? Let's hope not.

Woody Harrelson was perfectly cast as Haymitch. Lenny Kravitz was a brilliant casting move. I loved him as Cinna. I look forward to seeing him more in the future installments. I'm assuming they will definitely be filming book 2 & 3. How could they not?

The only disappointment for me was the camera techniques. I'm not sure if this comes under the purview of cinematographer or director, but there were some "tricks" that distracted from the enjoyment of the movie. At some points the screen would go blurry and then back to clear. It made sense once or twice in the context of the scene. But then it became over used and just annoying. Also, the screen would go grainy. I'm not sure what that was supposed to depict, but it was completely unnecessary. Also, there would be a hand-held camera look where the action would go herky-jerky. I can understand some of that when people are running through the woods, but together with the other two aspects, I felt it was overkill. With such great acting and an excellent story, these "tricks" simply distracted me from the movie. But those were minor details that didn't take away from the movie overall.

I loved it! Now I'm anxious to see the other two books on the big screen!

Please share your thoughts of the movie. Did it live up to the book?