May the odds be ever in your favour! [Hunger Games Movie]

Liiya

After a couple of people mentioned the Hunger Games novels which are being turned into a move franchise, I thought we could do with a thread for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S9a5V9ODuY&list=FLjBfqV0iyqoam7_JeYfqQ0A&index=3&feature=plpp_video



Based on the 2008 novel by Suzanne Collins and to be released on March 23rd this year. It has a pretty good cast of

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss:


Josh Hutcherson as Peeta:


Liam Hemsworth as Gale:


Woody Harrelson as Haymitch:


and Lenny Kravitz as Cinna,


as well as many more.

The Hunger Games takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol, every year, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the Hunger Games, a televised event in which the participants, or "tributes," must fight to the death in a dangerous, outdoor arena, controlled by the Capitol, until only 1 remains. The story follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12, who volunteers for the 74th Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose.

So what do we think? Go!

Sweeney Tom

Yessssssssssss

Looking forward to this so muchhhh

BlankZoe

I really should read these sometime

Quoth

The first one was okay, not really sure what's up with the sequels because it seemed pretty self-contained

miscellaneousinsanity

I read the first book in about one sitting and the second in two days. I need to read the last one sometime.

I'm not sold on any of the cast except for Woody Harrelson and maybe Hutcherson, but I'm hoping it'll be good.

Edcrab

Quoth wrote:

The first one was okay, not really sure what's up with the sequels because it seemed pretty self-contained

I've, um, not actually read any of the sequels

But yeah I have to say the concept struck me as Matrix-esque. That is, best as a standalone

Shen

That trailer looks pretty good, though not too sure about the casting so far. It reminded me that I actually quite liked the first book, shame about the sequels :P

Sara Lynn

team peeta

fyi

gale is a diiiiiiiiiiiickasssssssss

Liiya

"Katniss, you're so pretty... lets talk about bread!"

Agreeing with pretty much most people that the first was the best, and the other two weren't as good.

Antimatter

they got worse in descending order

the first book was alright

Munkus Beaver

Decent first book.

Shit series.

Adus

So it's The Running Man with teenagers?

Munkus Beaver

There's a point in the second book where you just realize "This author has no fucking clue what to do with this story."

Liiya

They did lose a lot of structure, I thought.

see317

Quoth wrote:

The first one was okay, not really sure what's up with the sequels because it seemed pretty self-contained

Spoilers for book 2 and 3

Really big spoilers ahead

The second book picks up shortly after the end of the first, with Katniss and Peeta being paraded around the other districts and noticing that the acts of defiance Katniss committed during the games have started a dangerous undercurrent of revolutionary feelings with the population of several districts. We are introduced to the concept of the quarterly games. Basically, every 25 years the Hunger Games take on a new rule set to remind all the districts that it's a bad idea to fuck with the Capitol.
The upcoming Hunger Games are 75, and the added twist is that only winners of past hunger games will be competing in this go around, so Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch have their names tossed into the bowls. Stuff happens during the games and it becomes apparent that there are outside forces actively at work against the game and a plan among several of the fighters in the arena. It ends with Katniss being lifted out of the arena by elements of District 13.

The third book picks up pretty much immediately. District 12 has been reduced to rubble by Capitol bombers. Katniss and her family are living in District 13, which turns out to have not been as destroyed as it was believed to be but instead gone underground. 13's leadership wants to use Katniss to make propaganda films to incite the other 12 districts to rebel against the Capitol. These pieces work (after a few failures where Katniss' actions were too scripted) and full out rebellion rolls across PanEm.

GaryO

Adus wrote:

So it's The Running Man with teenagers?

American Battle Royale.

Munkus Beaver

And then it goes into this ultra hackneyed and extremely forced way of ending chapters on 'cliffhangers.'

And then by the third book you just hope everyone gets firebombed.

pooka

it is decent modern YA science fiction, which is not as common as you might hope.

Skeith

Munkus Beaver wrote:

And then it goes into this ultra hackneyed and extremely forced way of ending chapters on 'cliffhangers.'

And then by the third book you just hope everyone gets firebombed.

Yeah but it happens for like... 8/10 people, so even *that* gets a bit tiresome.

Edcrab

My forum intuition is tingling. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think Munkus liked the sequels very much.

YaYa

Munkus Beaver wrote:

And then it goes into this ultra hackneyed and extremely forced way of ending chapters on 'cliffhangers.'

And then by the third book you just hope everyone gets firebombed.

then most of them do anyway!

Liiya

YaYa wrote:

Munkus Beaver wrote:

And then it goes into this ultra hackneyed and extremely forced way of ending chapters on 'cliffhangers.'

And then by the third book you just hope everyone gets firebombed.

then most of them do anyway!

I was thinking that too!

You may be right there, Ed

Munkus Beaver

Basically

The hunger games finished in book one, the hunger games that Katniss and Peeta won. In book two they are suddenly whisked backed to the Capital to compete in the anniversary Hunger Games that uses the unprecedented contrivance of using old champions. Some people die, rather than let the key characters die they are rescued by the hidden district 13.

So then book 3 makes you regret the entire series. Katniess sacrifices the lives of her entire squad for a pointless attack on the Capital. Literally makes no difference in the outcome of district 13 taking over the Capital. None. Oh, and her sister somehow was captured by President Snow despte being inside district 13 the entire time?

Then the book ends with Katniss murdering the president of district 13 and being immediately pardoned because she was under a lot of stress. Or something.

Nobody mentions that her incredibly bitchy quest to be the one to kill Snow (which she passed the opportunity to do when she murdered the president of district 13) she sacrificed the lives of about 12 or 15 people, give or take.

Hate hate hate.

facetious

I'm about to leave for work so quickly: I recently read the first book after hearing about it from friends*. I liked it but wasn't super enthused about it. Still, I'll probably catch the film and I intend to finish the trilogy soon.



*also wizard rock performers started doing songs about it. I'll post a couple when I get home tonight.

Munkus Beaver

YaYa wrote:

Munkus Beaver wrote:

And then it goes into this ultra hackneyed and extremely forced way of ending chapters on 'cliffhangers.'

And then by the third book you just hope everyone gets firebombed.

then most of them do anyway!

Except

The one bitch who deserved it the most! And the only guy I felt sympathy for was waxed off and didn't even get his own bullshit cliffhanger.

Munkus Beaver

Edcrab wrote:

My forum intuition is tingling. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think Munkus liked the sequels very much.

Looks, let's be accurate here.

They are fan fiction.

Liiya

Well thats okay Munkus, I think those are valid reasons to dislike it. Don't worry, I won't force you to watch it

Munkus Beaver

I liked the first book.

Which is why my hate seethes.

George Fornby Grill

Good story, mediocre writing, super excited for the movie (note singular, will probably not watch the sequels).

Liiya

Munkus Beaver wrote:

I liked the first book.

Which is why my hate seethes.

Ahh I see. I'm sorry?

DJ Eebs

Munkus Beaver wrote:

Basically

The hunger games finished in book one, the hunger games that Katniss and Peeta won. In book two they are suddenly whisked backed to the Capital to compete in the anniversary Hunger Games that uses the unprecedented contrivance of using old champions. Some people die, rather than let the key characters die they are rescued by the hidden district 13.

So then book 3 makes you regret the entire series. Katniess sacrifices the lives of her entire squad for a pointless attack on the Capital. Literally makes no difference in the outcome of district 13 taking over the Capital. None. Oh, and her sister somehow was captured by President Snow despte being inside district 13 the entire time?

Then the book ends with Katniss murdering the president of district 13 and being immediately pardoned because she was under a lot of stress. Or something.

Nobody mentions that her incredibly bitchy quest to be the one to kill Snow (which she passed the opportunity to do when she murdered the president of district 13) she sacrificed the lives of about 12 or 15 people, give or take.

Hate hate hate.

well, regarding her sister, that's not really what happened

she was a medic who, though underaged, managed to be placed into a combat scenario and was killed by the double exploding bomb thing that gale came up with

it's a pretty big part of why she decided to kill the president of 13 in the end

miscellaneousinsanity

pooka wrote:

it is decent modern YA science fiction, which is not as common as you might hope.

Yes this. The series isn't anything outstanding, but they're good pageturners.

DJ Eebs

I don't think the second and third books are that bad, honestly. They never really become super great, because the writing is always kind of stilted, but I don't really think the big thing in the second one is really that contrived, given the power of the people she's up against. And I don't think the first one was all that self-contained. It left some pretty big clues to where they wanted the story to go.

Munkus Beaver

The Geebs That Is A Pony wrote:

Munkus Beaver wrote:

Basically

The hunger games finished in book one, the hunger games that Katniss and Peeta won. In book two they are suddenly whisked backed to the Capital to compete in the anniversary Hunger Games that uses the unprecedented contrivance of using old champions. Some people die, rather than let the key characters die they are rescued by the hidden district 13.

So then book 3 makes you regret the entire series. Katniess sacrifices the lives of her entire squad for a pointless attack on the Capital. Literally makes no difference in the outcome of district 13 taking over the Capital. None. Oh, and her sister somehow was captured by President Snow despte being inside district 13 the entire time?

Then the book ends with Katniss murdering the president of district 13 and being immediately pardoned because she was under a lot of stress. Or something.

Nobody mentions that her incredibly bitchy quest to be the one to kill Snow (which she passed the opportunity to do when she murdered the president of district 13) she sacrificed the lives of about 12 or 15 people, give or take.

Hate hate hate.

well, regarding her sister, that's not really what happened

she was a medic who, though underaged, managed to be placed into a combat scenario and was killed by the double exploding bomb thing that gale came up with

it's a pretty big part of why she decided to kill the president of 13 in the end

The kids used as shields around the mansion were said to have been children stolen from district 13. I thought they made a big deal about how Prim wasn't going to be in combat at all.

Liiya

Me too, Geebs. I rather enjoyed them!

Munkus Beaver

The Geebs That Is A Pony wrote:

I don't think the second and third books are that bad, honestly. They never really become super great, because the writing is always kind of stilted, but I don't really think the big thing in the second one is really that contrived, given the power of the people she's up against. And I don't think the first one was all that self-contained. It left some pretty big clues to where they wanted the story to go.

I expected the series to go into an assault on the Capital. I did not expect for it to somehow rehash the actual Hunger Games in each successive book.

HeavyVillain

i always thought the names were kind of weird for characters

like even considering the kind of shit you usually get in sf

DJ Eebs

Munkus Beaver wrote:

The Geebs That Is A Pony wrote:

Munkus Beaver wrote:

Basically

The hunger games finished in book one, the hunger games that Katniss and Peeta won. In book two they are suddenly whisked backed to the Capital to compete in the anniversary Hunger Games that uses the unprecedented contrivance of using old champions. Some people die, rather than let the key characters die they are rescued by the hidden district 13.

So then book 3 makes you regret the entire series. Katniess sacrifices the lives of her entire squad for a pointless attack on the Capital. Literally makes no difference in the outcome of district 13 taking over the Capital. None. Oh, and her sister somehow was captured by President Snow despte being inside district 13 the entire time?

Then the book ends with Katniss murdering the president of district 13 and being immediately pardoned because she was under a lot of stress. Or something.

Nobody mentions that her incredibly bitchy quest to be the one to kill Snow (which she passed the opportunity to do when she murdered the president of district 13) she sacrificed the lives of about 12 or 15 people, give or take.

Hate hate hate.

well, regarding her sister, that's not really what happened

she was a medic who, though underaged, managed to be placed into a combat scenario and was killed by the double exploding bomb thing that gale came up with

it's a pretty big part of why she decided to kill the president of 13 in the end

The kids used as shields around the mansion were said to have been children stolen from district 13. I thought they made a big deal about how Prim wasn't going to be in combat at all.

The kids used as shields around the mansion were capital children. Refugees. They also made that point fairly clear. The medics were from District 13, part of the assaulting rebel army. It's strongly implied that Prim was put on that team so she'd be killed by the bombs, leaving Katniss to be so enraged at Snow and all that that she's unequivocally support Coin.

DJ Eebs

Munkus Beaver wrote:

The Geebs That Is A Pony wrote:

I don't think the second and third books are that bad, honestly. They never really become super great, because the writing is always kind of stilted, but I don't really think the big thing in the second one is really that contrived, given the power of the people she's up against. And I don't think the first one was all that self-contained. It left some pretty big clues to where they wanted the story to go.

I expected the series to go into an assault on the Capital. I did not expect for it to somehow rehash the actual Hunger Games in each successive book.

Well, you have to build to that. And I thought the games section of the second book was completely different from the games section of the first one, and was also way shorter. I think the rest of that book did a really good job showing why a straight up rebellion wouldn't work right away.

And the third one did a fairly solid job explaining the cost of that rebellion, and I think did a pretty good job establishing why the President of 13 was probably a bigger threat than anyone else.

It does have that Game of Thrones problem where too many fucking people die at random, seemingly just to show that SHIT IS GETTING REAL YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT

Aneurhythmia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEI5ccR6JtA

Munkus Beaver

One thing I will give the sequels is the hilarious fact that

if Katniss didn't learn your name, you gonna die.