Tag Archives: The Hunger Games

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

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When a book series gets big, we all know it’s only a matter of time before the author gets their sweet movie deal. The film has the chance of being a complete bomb, much like The Golden Compass and A Series of Unfortunate Events, both amazing novels that made not so amazing movies.  However, I must give credit to the great movie adapted books such as The Lord of the Rings, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harry Potter and many more that has left its writer swimming in money.

I recently went to the theatre last week to see the new film craze The Hunger Games that hit theaters March 23. I had read all three novels before watching this movie, and I really did enjoy them, so naturally I was excited for the movie to come out. To my surprise, the Hunger Games didn’t disappoint me. In fact, I really enjoyed the movie, and from the looks of things on Facebook, Twitter, and reviews, so has everyone else.

For those who don’t know, The Hunger Games follows main heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who volunteers in her sister’s place as a tribute in the Hunger Games. This post-apocalyptic world has the Capitol at its core, a dictatorship that controls the 12 districts around it. The Capitol lives in luxury, with eccentric fashions and futuristic technologies, while the districts remain poor and mostly starved.  Every year, each district must give both a man and a woman between ages 12 and 18 to fight with 24 other children in the Hunger Games, due to a rebellion made by the districts more than 70 years back.  The Hunger Games is treated like reality T.V. to the Capitol and forces the rest of the districts to watch the games.

Author Suzanne Collins actually worked with Director Gary Ross on the movie, and probably is the reason the first movie follows in nicely with the novel. Of course like all adaptions there are some points that are different or left out. Now, as someone who read the novels, a lot of Katniss’s observations were done in thoughts. Therein lies a challenge for a director who has to convey important plot points to his viewers by scenes. So, yes if you’re a hard core “everything must be the same” I will say right now that it isn’t. But it still worked well, just like it did in all seven of the blockbuster Harry Potter movies.

The movie wasn’t corny, and trust me, it could have been. But the only thing that really bugged me was the unfortunate PG-13 rating. Sorry to disappoint the gore lovers, but the violence is very lacking in this movie, and their ways of getting around it is quite frankly, silly. You’ll see a lot of bloody knives flying around and blood trails but never the act itself. The film’s attempt at keeping itself PG-13 was obvious and left a bad taste in my mouth along the way. Some of the more graphic deaths in the book were also changed to fit the rating, though the death of character Rue was kept the same. Personally, I think the violence was a part of the story and should have been included.

Though I wasn’t too hot on Josh Hutcherson playing Peeta, the cast chosen for this movie was spot on. There are a couple of big names in this movie that include Donald Sutherland as President Snow,  Woody Harrelson as Haymitch and rising star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. I loved the cast chosen for each character, and I think they each suited the character well, especially Donald Sutherland who will have a bigger role in the next movie ‘Catching Fire’. I’m really glad a quality acting team was put together for this film, and is probably part of the reason I enjoyed it.

Overall, go see it, or at least on DVD. It’s not amazing by any means but it’s definitely a good watch and I plan on seeing the next two in theatres as well.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

12 year old ‘Battle Royale’ first-time release in North America

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By Lime Blake

Director Quentin Tarantino’s all-time favourite film is now available for sale in North America. Cult classic Japanese horror movie Battle Royale was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 23 by Anchor Bay Entertainment in two versions: a single-disc format and a special four-disc collector’s pack.

The single disc version features the film’s director’s cut and both Japanese and English language tracks, but no special features. The collector’s box set features both theatrical and director’s cuts. Also included are the sequel, Battle Royale II: Requiem, and additional bonus content.

Battle Royale, based on a popular 1999 novel of the same name, is a tale set in a dystopian future, where society has collapsed and crime-rates among young offenders has increased. In order to re-establish patriotic fear and respect, the government has passed a law called the “BR Act”, a “survival program” that annually pits a lottery-selected class of ninth graders against each other in a death match spanning three days. Only one survivor emerges victorious, and if no one dies within 24 hours, everyone dies. If there is more than one survivor at the end of the three days, all those left alive die.

The film follows a boy who refuses to take part in the killing games, and instead vows to protect a fellow classmate and love interest. The duo meets up with a mysterious transfer student – who is the sole survivor of a previous “survival program” tournament. The three join forces to devise a way to get off of the island alive.

Deadly antagonist Mitsuko Souma (played by Kou Shibasaki) goes in for the kill.

Initially released in 2000 by Toei Company, Battle Royale became popular in Japan among teenagers. Despite government chagrin to the film’s graphic violence, director Kinji Fukasaku encouraged teens to sneak into theatres to see the movie.

No official North American release was available until now due to distribution issues with Toei Company. However, circulating bootleg copies of the film’s theatrical and director’s cuts became cult classics among horror fans.

Tarantino has reportedly said that Battle Royale is his favourite movie since becoming a director in 1992.

The film’s March 23 home video release has sparked some debate between Battle Royale fans, and fans of The Hunger Games. Online, “BR” fans said The Hunger Games is a blatant rip-off of Battle Royale. Both movies share a similar plot about kids pitted against each other in a tournament of death. Both movies are also based off of popular young adult novels.

Author Suzanne Collins said she had never heard of Battle Royale or its author, Koushun Takami, until she handed in her own manuscript to her publisher. Collins said she was advised by her editor to ignore the aforementioned material.

The cover for the single-disc DVD and Blu-Ray

However, the heated debate among fans of both franchises has played a part in the marketing and sales of Battle Royale’s home video release, said Anchor Bay executive Kevin Kasha.

“There’s a core fan base that has been looking for this movie, and that’s who we’re targeting with the boxed set … but with The Hunger Games coming out, there’s also a whole new market full of people who probably didn’t know Battle Royale existed,” Kasha said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.