I recently read The Hunger Games trilogy

The story is about a post-apocalyptic world (i.e. North America) where there are no countries anymore. There are only 12 Districts and the Capitol. There used to be a 13th District but it was completely destroyed during the last rebellion of the Districts against the Capitol.

Now the Capitol rules with an iron fist and to prove their supremacy, each year the districts have to “provide” two children between the ages 12 and 16 – one girl and one boy. Then these 24 are sent to a fighting area which only one winner will leave alive.

The protagonist of the books is Katniss Aberdeen and she fights in the 74th Hunger Games for her very survival.

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Categories: Book, Short Review
Tags: Harry Potter · The Hunger Games
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Melissa & Joey: Season 1: Part 1 (2010)

04 Dec – €0.00 ($12.78) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12243 – 12244

Melissa & Joey: Season 1: Part 2 (2011)

04 Dec – €0.00 ($12.78) @ Amazon.com (paid via gift certificate)

Collection no. 12245 – 12246

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

05 Dec – €12.90 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1007

The Intouchables (2011)
(Intouchables)

05 Dec – €8.97 @ Amazon.de

Collection no. 1008

The Punch Bowl (1944)
(Die Feuerzangenbowle)

08 Dec – €7.99 @ Media Markt

Collection no. 1009

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, Purchase Diary 2012
Tags: Batman · E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial · Friends with Kids · Glee · I Am Number Four · Melissa & Joey · Raising Hope · Smallville · The Hunger Games · The Intouchables · The Punch Bowl
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Synopsis: The United States of America have long been gone. In its place, between the Appalachians and the Rockies, is now the country of Panem, consisting of 12 districts and the Capitol.

Many years ago the 13 districts rose against the Capitol and paid a high price for it. The riot-leading district was completely annihilated. And the 12 other districts have to endure a humiliation every year which proves the total superiority of the Capitol.
Every year each district has to send a girl and a boy between the ages 12 and 18 to the Capitol – where these 24 kids will fight each other until only one survives: The Hunger Games.

My Opinion: Originally I had planned to read the book completely before I watch the movie. Didn’t turn out that way. I just made it to the point where Katniss has her fiery ride into the Arena.
My problem with the movie was that there was no real suspense building up. Sure I didn’t know if Peeta was going to survive, but still. The book on the other hand was very interesting to the point where I read it.
And even the end left me hanging because there was no scene that hinted at what was coming next. Let me make the comparison to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring here: At the end of the movie it was clear that Frodo and Samwise would be travelling towards Mordor and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli would try to rescue Merry and Pippin from the Orcs. The question “What now?” didn’t come up. The Hunger Games on the other hand simply ended. Some viewers who are not aware that this is a trilogy will probably scratch their heads even more.
I don’t want to assume anything yet since it’s well known that movie sometimes interpret their original material rather freely but I wasn’t pleased with the actual ending of the movie either.
Spoiler (mark to read):
I would have wished that – when there were only three left and were standing on the transporter – they simply had refused to continue this farce. Now it’s more of a cliché ending where everyone from District 1 is simply a mindless killer. Also the closing interview would have been a good place to stir things up a little. Instead she played nice and did what her mentor told her to do. I hope her motivation is better explained in the book.

Categories: Cinema, Short Review
Tags: The Hunger Games · The Lord of the Rings
Comments: 2 Comments