Movie Review of The Hunger Games

Category Action, Drama

Rating: 4 out of 5

Appropriate age: Older children, teens, adults (There is a lot of violence)

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson

Monday I went to see The Hunger Games, and honestly I did not have my hopes up going in, but coming out I had to admit I underestimated this movie. If you haven't read the book (like me), you will still be able to follow along with the plot. The first 5 to 10 minutes or seemed kind of slow when they explain what the "hunger games" are.

After the movie really takes off, it doesn't slow down until the end, kind of like a plane ride. It's slow down the runway, but within a few minutes your on the take off and you don't slow down until your landed safely at your destination. There is quite a bit of violence of course, kids and teens are killing each other. Parents may want to know there's also accidental suicide and contemplated suicide. There is also a love story to bring more twists to the plot.

Throughout the movie I kept wondering who came up with the wardrobe and hair styles because they are just plain odd. There is an abundance of people with purple, blue, pink and yellow hair and outfits to match. The lady with purple hair from district 12 sort of distracted me as every time I seen her I thought of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in the 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland doing the Futterwacken dance.

There was not much gore in the movie, but was a bunch of violence with swords, throwing knifes, bows, fire and explosions, because of this I have to say this movie is for more mature kids and older.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Hunger Games. The only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 is because the plot it's self was good, but it had a few parts that just didn't work to me (explained in spoilers below). I hear there are several books, so I am hoping to see more Hunger Game movies in the future.

There are 13 districts, each year each district 1 through 12 must choose one boy, and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 for The Hunger Games. They do this through a lottery system, Primorose Everdeen was choose as the female of district 12, Katniss (her older sister) then volunteered to go as tribute in her place.

The main characters Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are sent to capital from district 12 for the hunger games. After boarding the train, they meet with their "mentor" Haymitch (played by Woody Harrelson). He's introduced as a drunk with a bad attitude.

The first thing that threw me off throughout the movie was use of colors, don't get me wrong even though I found the wardrobe strange, I liked how they made outfit and color of each district different. However, they used purple so much I thought I might develop Porphyrophobia (the fear of purple). It's in the hair, cloths, decorations, berries, and even the medicines are purple.

The second thing I didn't care for too much was the way they could have people add or remove things from the arena such as fire balls, creatures, trees, pretty much anything they desired they could do. Personally I did not like that they could do that.

The last thing was the ending could have been a little better, but it wasn't all bad. The last 5-10 minutes was kind of slow (remember the plane ride reference?). I do wonder what the guy did after they locked him in that room... Hmm?

Thanks for reading, and remember... May the odds be forever with you!

• Educational value: No
• · A Positive message: Never give up hope, a little hope can take you a long way.
• · Positive role models: Katniss takes her sisters place to protect her, she also tries to protect the life of a young girl and doesn't leave her friend behind.
• · Violence: Yes, kids and teens fighting, killing each other with the use of weapons and other methods.
• · Nudity: No, though there is a love plot a kiss is as far as it goes.
• · Profanity: No
• · Consumerism: No
• · Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Yes, there is some scenes where Haymitch is seen drinking.

1. Have you read the book?
2. Have you seen The Hunger Games?
3. If you read the book and seen the movie, which did you enjoy better and why?
4. What's your opinion about The Hunger Games?