The Hunger Games

This adventure movie directed by Gary Ross and based on the book by Suzanne Collins was released in April 2012 and tells the story of Katniss Everdeen who volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the anual Hunger Games, a competition in which a boy and a girl from each of the twelve districts in which the United States have been divided have to fight to death until only one survivor is left. 

It stars Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen a tribute of district twelve and Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark the other tribute of district twelve. 

As always I'll start with the worst of this movie, which isn't much, but it's incredibly bad done. 

I don't really know much about music, but what little I know is that it can be half the movie. The music gives depth and tension and it can show the grandness of a set with more eficiency than any shot. The music in this movie is so thin, so incredibly thin and weak that it even throws you back in some scenes. Don't get me wrong, it can be beautiful. Katniss' song is really nice and there are very well set silences, but at some places it really doesn't cover half of the grandness it should show. James Newton Howard did a great job with Pretty Woman or Dinosaur, but here he failed. 

A point of controversy is the treatment of violence in this movie.If you're looking for something like Battle Royale (which has a similar plot), then you really shouldn't watch this. Even though the books are pretty bloody, the movie has been thined in this aspect. In comparison there's nearly no violence. Most of the killings aren't shown, but there are some pretty nice shots of the girl killed by wasps and the death of the little girl. 

Other than that the adaptation is pretty good. It cuts very little - most of which is Katniss running around alone  through the forest  and asking herself if Peeta is trying to kill her or not. Among the writers were not only the director, Gary Ross, but also the writer of the books, Suzanne Collins, which is allways good if you're adapting from a book. The point of view changes between the book and the movie. In the books the whole story is told from Katniss' point of view alone, here you have an omniscient point of view, which allows for multiple plotlines that are only hinted in the books. There's a better presentation of President Snow (the president of the United States  played by Donald Sutherland) than in the first book, there's also a better presentation of Seneca Crane (played by Wes Bentley). It also shows  how the population sees the Hunger Games and how it is prepared and ploted.

The setting and dresses are pretty cool, and pretty close to the book. Some of the scenes seem taked directly out of a Tim Burton movie, specially the character of Effie Trinket (played by Elisabeth Banks). It's very rich and the special effects are just too cool. 

I have to talk also of Jennifer Lawrence interpretation, which I loved. She impersonates an 16 year old girl and, even though she seems a little bit too old, she gives a really good interpretation, specially in those shots in which she's scared. 

THE HUNGER GAMES TRAILER

Well, I know it's not the best movie, but it's pretty neat, nicely done with interesting and round characters, cool special effects and interesting disign. The main actors are beautiful and do a decent job. It's a chick-flick with some aspirations and critic - which will propably be more developed in the next movies. I liked it - if I forget about the disastrous music - and that's why I recommend it. It's entertaining  and that's about it.