The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland and Liam Hemsworth
Director: Gary Ross
Written by: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray
Rating: 3.5/5 Unicorns

It has taken me little over a week to analyze my feelings about The Hunger Games. Honestly I did not know what I was feeling when I finished watching the film. All I knew is that I had a lot of feelings about the film. Some were positive and others where a little negative. Now I have come to realize that I was extremely disappointed with the film and that I did not like it at all. It was not a terrible film but in comparison to the books it was lackluster.

What I loved about the film was the casting, the casting and the casting. The casting of this film was fantastic. Jennifer Lawrence is Katniss. Josh Hutcherson is Peeta. Woody Harrelson is Haymitch. The list goes on and  on. I also loved the chemistry the actors had in the film. One of my favorite dynamics in the books is Cinna and Katniss. It was beautiful to see it being played out on the screens.No matter what people may say about Lenny Kravitz being miscast as Cinna he was a wonderful in the film. I found it interesting that in the film they made Haymitch and Katniss relationship develop on a faster scale than in the books. Not until Catching Fire does it appear that Haymitch is quite fond of Katniss. Regardless I enjoyed watching their relationship on the screen. I felt that the acting in this film was top notch, there was no wooden performances like in the Twilight films. The career pact were arrogant and obnoxious, I loved it. I fell in love all over again with Thresh, Foxface and Rue. The costume design was fabulous especially when it came to the look of the Capitol. From the clothes to the makeup it was spellbinding. The folks in the Capitol were exactly the way I imagined it while I was reading. The great thing about The Hunger Games being in film format was the ability to see what was happening in Panem above Katniss narrative. We got to see Haymitch lobbying with people in the Capitol for sponsorship. We got to see the Gamemakers orchestrating the games. We got to see people reactions in different districts  to watching the games . I especially enjoyed the uprising in District 11 which is a perfect precursor to the events the transpire in Catching Fire.

Now the things I had problems with were: the cinematography, special effects and the direction. Considering that Katniss became known as the "Girl on Fire" they could have done at better job with the fire sequences. It was almost laughable which I hate to admit. Since the film is a blockbuster hit, I am sure the studio will have a bigger budget for the next film. I did not like the choice of shaky camera work. It was hard to follow what was going on the screen and it made the film appear amateurish at times

I probably would have enjoyed the film more if I was not a fan of the books. After reading the books I had high expectations about The Huger Games and unfortunately  I was let down. I will still continue to watch the  franchise because I think the next films will be better than this one. Overall it was a good film and I enjoyed it but it just did not make me fangirl.