[ratso]

gale, the boy she hunts for food with before the games. he becomes a bigger part of the story in books 2 and 3.

[goldlizsts]

It did so well because the 16 year olds that love the books went to see it.

Yeap, teen infatuation (or should use a milder word, fantasies)!  They're the dreamy generation, as "did" we!?  Likewise, why Stewart got popular with her wolf flicks.

[JoshK]

The comparison between Twilight and Hunger Games is way off, IMO.   I couldn't sit through either of those stupid Twilight flicks.   The love interest in Hunger Games is far from being the main story, its a sub-story at best.   I recently finished Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged, a political fiction intended to popularize a political philosophy and yet there is plenty of love interests in this.  I am currently on George Orwell's 1984, a dystopian novel surrounding political idealogy and yet there is pervasive love interest in it.   If anything I'd say in Hunger Games its of less importance to the story than the two above. 

I don't get why folks here are so negative.  It might not be the most ground-breaking film out, but its a much smarter story than 99% of films coming out of Hollywood these days. 

[geezer]

I don't get why folks here are so negative.  It might not be the most ground-breaking film out, but its a much smarter story than 99% of films coming out of Hollywood these days.

Which isn't much of an argument.

[pslate]

As a librarian, albeit a corporate one now, I think much of the joy for the reader is the ability to continue the book experience on screen. The world created in the book is more realistic for many readers, with the movie being a thrilling accessory, and I enjoy the fact the book based movies have a direct correlation to increased book loans and sales. I also think that violence depicted in print and visually are very different animals. I could read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I could not stomach the Swedish film version. Anyhow I view the movie as a pretty poster for the book fan, and way to keep the magic alive, and I like anything in this day and age that makes reading a rich experience for people.

[kip_]

I was dragged to the first Twilight movie on a date, and it's nowhere near as good as Hunger Games. There's no deep story in Twilight, just cliched teen romance, and for me Hunger Games has a lot more depth.

[ctviggen]

gale, the boy she hunts for food with before the games. he becomes a bigger part of the story in books 2 and 3.

As someone who is reading the first book, I'd appreciate a spoiler alert.

[ctviggen]

As a librarian, albeit a corporate one now, I think much of the joy for the reader is the ability to continue the book experience on screen. The world created in the book is more realistic for many readers, with the movie being a thrilling accessory, and I enjoy the fact the book based movies have a direct correlation to increased book loans and sales. I also think that violence depicted in print and visually are very different animals. I could read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I could not stomach the Swedish film version. Anyhow I view the movie as a pretty poster for the book fan, and way to keep the magic alive, and I like anything in this day and age that makes reading a rich experience for people.

Are there any movies as good as the books?  I can't think of any that I've seen (and read). 

[Diamond Dog]

Are there any movies as good as the books?  I can't think of any that I've seen (and read).

The Maltese Falcon springs to mind - it stays very true to the novel's feel and slavishly faithful to Hammett's terrific dialogue.
More recently, the movie version of Cormac McCarthy's The Road came across quite well too, I thought.

Apparently I have a taste for the bleak and corrupted.

D.D.

[Tyson]

Are there any movies as good as the books?  I can't think of any that I've seen (and read). 

No.  Because your imagination doesn't have to deal with a budget or any time constraints.

[ltr317]

No.  Because your imagination doesn't have to deal with a budget or any time constraints.

That's an excellent point.

[goldlizsts]

.................I don't get why folks here are so negative.  It might not be the most ground-breaking film out, but its a much smarter story than 99% of films coming out of Hollywood these days.

Negative, or "critical"?  Fine line.  I agree, there's been toooo much junk coming out of Hollywood lately.  Seems to be the trend.  They're relying more and more on cooking up flicks behind doors, in front of a monitor.  But... regardless, they keep churning out films that have little value IMO other than much "action", electronic wizardry.  Perhaps it's just because the general film-going population goes for that kind of things, regardless if the story makes sense or not.  Or, it's because of my jealousy of those lousy script writers making the big bucks, ON US!   I rest, Mr. Josh!

[sts9fan]

Compared to Ayn Rand these children's books read like Crime and Punishment.

[Diamond Dog]

Compared to Ayn Rand these children's books read like Crime and Punishment.

Atlas Shrugged is another example of where a movie was as good as the book. Except that by good, I mean truly awful...

D.D.

[ratso]

As someone who is reading the first book, I'd appreciate a spoiler alert.

sorry, but in my defense: that's a spoiler???

[JDUBS]

sorry, but in my defense: that's a spoiler???

Yes.

[Rob Babcock]

Finally caught The Hunger Games tonight and loved it.  It wasn't perfect but it was well acted and very engrossing.  The casting was spot-on and some veteran actors that I'd long considered to be one-note hacks (looking at you, Woody!) turned in landmark performances.  True, a few points strained credulity but on balance I thought it was a superb film.

[ctviggen]

sorry, but in my defense: that's a spoiler???

Well, I had no idea how the first book was going to end, so knowing that Gale was prominent in the next book(s) means that at least he's alive and shows up again.

I just finished all three books.  There are way more twists and turns in these books than I anticipated.  Personally, I liked the second book the best, but they all were good I thought.

It's hard to compare books.  I think the storyline in these books are good, but certainly the writing isn't up to the writing of other authors.  Then again, it's a story told primarily from the view of 16 year old girl with less than idea schooling.  Much like Flowers for Algernon, perhaps the language was meant to be a part of the story. 

[ajzepp]

I want to preface this by saying that I find the content of both of these films quite disturbing...that being said...

I saw Hunger Games this weekend and was sort of luke warm to it. I thought it was a tad slow in the first half, but the second half was better. I had seen Battle Royale a few months ago and I have to say I felt that was a stronger film than this one. There are a lot of similarities between the two, so I can understand why the Battle Royale folks accuse the Hunger Games folks of copying their ideas.

Anyway, I'd give Battle Royale about a 6.5/10 and Hunger Games about a 5.5/10 in terms of my entertainment level. I know others liked it much more than I did.

[jimdgoulding]

Saw it on DVD.  Well, they had a ready made audience cause of the success of the book.  Patently absurd and not very entertaining to me.