{"id":2624,"date":"2012-03-25T10:14:11","date_gmt":"2012-03-25T17:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=2624"},"modified":"2012-03-25T10:14:11","modified_gmt":"2012-03-25T17:14:11","slug":"the-hunger-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=2624","title":{"rendered":"The Hunger Games will not disappoint"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nWith DVRs across the country loaded with fresh episodes of \u201cJersey Shore\u201d and \u201cSurvivor\u201d and people pacing living rooms, screaming at their televisions as they take in the latest UFC spectacle it is easy to imagine a world where \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d could be a \u201creality\u201d.<\/p>\n

Set in the distant future (or an alternative reality, it is never specified), Panem is a country that has risen from the ashes of almost total destruction. There was a rebellion many generations ago where each of the Thirteen Districts took up arms against the oppressive Capitol and lost.<\/p>\n

Now the Totalitarian government mandates that each District hand over two Tributes each year, one boy-one girl aged between 12 and 18, to participate in \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d. The games are a battle (royale) to the death where there is only one victor. In other words, to make sure the citizen of Panem remember that revolting against the Capitol was a terrible idea they must sacrifice their children on an annual basis. Forever. And it\u2019s televised, of course, and gets higher ratings than the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

Our heroine is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a strong-willed young lady from District 12. There is a natural defiance in Katniss and as she takes center stage in the Games, she quickly becomes a living symbol of the spark of rebellion that lives in the heart the people of Panem. She becomes the Girl on Fire and must survive the Games to keep hope alive.
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\nBased on the hugely popular Young Adult trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, there are the inevitable \u201cTwilight\u201d comparisons that need to be discussed and dismissed. The major connection between the two series is that Lionsgate Studios produced both and \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d is meant to fill in the fiscal void that will be left after \u201cTwilight\u201d concludes with \u201cBreaking Dawn Part 2\u201d. The company has handled \u201cGames\u201d with some incredible expertise as they just went through this with the \u201cTwi-hards\u201d and made this a must-see movie with wonderful buzz.<\/p>\n

As for the comparison of the quality of the two stories, \u201cGames\u201d benefits from being much more accessible and attracts a much broader audience than \u201cTwilight\u201d. In other words, middle-aged men want to watch and read \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d not just pubescent female teens.<\/p>\n

And of course there is the love triangle and Katniss is torn between two handsome young boys much like our Bella. There is Gale (Liam Hemsworth- Chris\u2019 little brother) back at home and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) who goes into the arena with her for the Games. While in \u201cTwilight,\u201d the Team Jacob\/Edward thing is all that Stephanie Meyers ever focuses on; this is a minor element for \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d. Collins deals with abusive government, the human spirit and sacrifice while Meyers only gives us emotionally stunted vampires impregnating teen girls.
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\nDirector Gary Ross brings the book to life and presents the world of \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d almost flawlessly. The writer\/director worked on the script with Collins and is able to present much of what is in the book. This is what happens when you make a long movie (2 hour 20 minute running time) out of a short book (384 pages) and doesn\u2019t have the rushed feel of the Harry Potter films. Everything is lush and vivid. Ross gives us a desolate District 12 with the citizens wearing clothes right out of the Great Depression and Steinbeck\u2019s \u201cThe Grapes of Wrath\u201d paralleled with the horrid denizens of The Capitol that look like zombie clowns.<\/p>\n

Woody Harrelson is perfect as Hammitch, the reluctant, drunk mentor for Katniss and Peeta who is District 12’s only victor in the previous 73 Hunger Games. Many of the kids running around the arena do fine but the only real standouts are Amandla Stenberg as little Rue and Alexander Ludwig has a stunning moment towards the end that reminded me of Rutger Hauer waxing poetic in the rain for “Blade Runner”. Lenny Kravitz, who seemed like such an odd choice as Katniss’ stylist Cinna, turns out to be an odd choice after all. He breathes no life in a pivotal character and is incredibly stiff in the part. Mr. Kravitz is “The Hunger Games” greatest flaw.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Lawrence gives a star turn and is fantastic at flashing the steely gaze of Katniss while easily switching to a venerable, scared girl when it is time to cry. \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d is thrilling and exciting but doesn\u2019t gloss over the fact that this is about a bunch of kids killing each other. It\u2019s a fragile line the movie walks on and it is expertly dealt with. Who wants to get in line for \u201cCatching Fire\u201d?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With DVRs across the country loaded with fresh episodes of \u201cJersey Shore\u201d and \u201cSurvivor\u201d and people pacing living rooms, screaming at their televisions as they take in the latest UFC spectacle it is easy to imagine a world where \u201cThe Hunger Games\u201d could be a \u201creality\u201d. Set in the distant future (or an alternative reality, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10578,11056,12328,19430,21047,23400],"class_list":["post-2624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-jennifer-lawrence","tag-josh-hutcherson","tag-liam-hemsworth","tag-suzanne-collins","tag-the-hunger-games-review","tag-twilight"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}