I want one! :)

Has anyone else had a hard time finding copies of "Catching Fire?" I don't have a Kindle so I am still a paper book gal...can't find a copy anywhere!

It can go either way, for me.

Only after I finished the books could I choose one over the other.

I just finished Hunger Games this morning and was ready to jump to Catching Fire immediately. Then I read a wiki synopsis and lost interest in the rest of the books, but with everyone in this thread raving about it, I'm going to take a short walk to Barnes & Noble (oh how I miss Borders) right now. I'm still on the fence about Mocking Jay though.

I saw a trailer when I went to the movies a couple of weeks ago but paid it no attention as I wasn't familiar with the series. I checked out a couple of the links in this thread and one had a trailer to watch and it kind of fell flat for me. It might be that I'm too close after having recently finished the book. As for casting, I haven't seen Winter's Bone so I can't comment on her acting chops, but I'm very underwhelmed by the choice of Jennifer Lawrence. I just don't see Katniss in her. I think the casting for Rue and Haymitch are spot on, and I can see Lenny as Cinna.

Personally, I think Jennifer Lawrence is PERFECT for Katniss. She seems to be a solid actress and I believe she embodies the spirit of Katniss (yeah, that was kind of cheesy). Looking at the other actresses they were considering for the part, such as Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, and Shailene Woodley, I think Jennifer is the best choice. However, I do agree with you on the casting of Rue, Haymitch and Cinna, the actors all seem to fit the parts very well. Overall, I think the casting was done beautifully and I can't wait to see the movie! Anyone else going to go to a midnight premiere?

Just finished book 2! OMG!

I'm hoping I can! I will actually be visiting my fiance that weekend. Depending on whether or not he can get Friday off determines if we can go to the midnight show. If he can we'll go, if not, we'll see it Friday night.

I just finished reading the first book. Loved it! Now I am ordering the 2nd and 3rd books. Thank goodness for.an Amazon prime membership on my Kindle Fire.

Anybody see the movie at midnight??

I was supposed to go see an advanced screening last night, but I'm out of town visiting the boy (probably for the best anyways, he's the one that introduced me to the series, so I'm excited to see it with him!)

I am going to go see it on Saturday. My sister saw it at midnight and said it did the books justice and a must see. So I am very excited to go out and watch it.

I'm not going until next weekend bc of a family event. But I did just start re-reading the trilogy since it's been awhile. I can not wait!

Book 1 & 2 are literally the definition of page-turners. 3, well whatever.

Hate to be a pessimist, but I doubt the movie is going to be good. From the previews, she doesn't seem like the best actor.

She might not be "the best" but since you and I both know what you're getting at, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress at 20 for her role in Winter's Bone. Many, many people (probably more qualified to judge than you) would disagree with you.

I don't know what you're getting at? From what I saw in the previews, the emotions seemed forced. I'm sure tons of people agree and disagree with me. Honestly just seems like you're trying to get a dig at me, but whatever. I'm the general public, not an expert by any means, but have criticisms regardless.

I don't always judge things by the previews alone. I have seen things cut bad and I go in thinking the movie will be horrible and it turns out to be good. I have also seen the opposite be true.

My sister and I tend to be on the same page when it comes to movies that are based on books. Since she said it was done well I am excited to see it. I was hoping it wouldn't turn out to be another Twilight.

I just got back from seeing it. LOVED IT!!!!!!

I thought Jennifer did a great job as Katniss. Katniss is a very strong and put together character. I personally believe she did the character justice, but this is strictly my opinion. I'm sure there are fans out there who still believe she was the wrong person for the role.

Already looking forward to 2 and 3.

It's an opinion I share -- throughout the whole movie, I kept thinking "exactly how I pictured her."

I thought it was very, very well done -- one of the best adaptations of a book into a movie I've seen in a long time. (Yes, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows and Percy Jackson, I'm talking about you.)

I saw it at midnight and loved it. This is actually the first book-to-movie adaptation I've seen that I haven't disliked. It's really faithful to the book, and I thought the small changes made to accommodate the fact that a lot of the book is Katniss's internal monologue were great (showing more of the gamemakers, etc.).

Jennifer Lawrence is an awesome, awesome actress and I thought she was a perfect Katniss. Stanley Tucci was also amazing. Peeta was the casting I was most skeptical about, and I was pleasantly surprised by him.

I'm going to see it again tonight since my husband wants to see it too.

Okay, I guess I'm going to be giving the first mediocre opinion. I was not blown away by the movie. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but I just think I had extremely high expectations since I heard absolutely nothing but praise about how amazing it was.

For me, I think I just missed being able to see things exactly from her point of view. I loved that about the book. For example (putting in white in case it's considered a spoiler) One thing I enjoyed in the book was her relationship with Haymitch and how it becomes a game for her to figure out how to get him to send her gifts from sponsors. I thought that was a really intriguing story line and I enjoyed reading her thoughts as she tried to rationalize everything. I also missed all of her hesitation and confusion about what to think of Peeta.

I just feel like they moved really quickly over a few things. Then again, maybe I'm just being a little too critical. I understand that when you make a book into a movie, you're going to have to make some compromises due to time restrictions and in this case, the fact that the book was written in first person.

Overall, I'd say it's definitely worth seeing and I'm still very excited for the next movies!

I think this is true for just about any book-to-movie adaptation. Much of what the narrator (whether first person or not) tells us abouts thoughts and motivations can be hard to convey without the narration. I remember realizing that when I read Gone With the Wind after having seen the movie the first time. The book tells so much more about why Scarlett is like she is, and how she sees herself.

I should have mentioned how much I loved seeing the beautiful western North Carolina scenery. We got close (not close enough, unfortunately) to where they were filming at the North Fork reservoir -- the big lake you see in one scene -- this past summer, and I have spent many, many hours in the woods outside District 12/inside the arena. My favorite part of the world.

Agreed. I thought the adaptation was faithful and accurate but still a movie not a badly acted out book. It was the best of all worlds and I even liked the one part better than the book (putting it in white because it's a spoiler):

The scene with Seneca Crane and President Snow not only made perfect sense, but explained why they let Peeta and Katniss live when there was no good reason to do so. I also loved how poetically they 'disposed' of Seneca. I thought the violence was realistic but not gory or overdone. You really felt the tragedy of the situation without anyone guiding to that exact conclusion through a voice over. I also appreciated that they toned down the romance, that was the one part of the books that I disliked was how manipulative Katniss was to the two boys. So I'm glad they made it tender but not overdone. Ah but I loved it. Can't wait to see it again.

All the actors I thought were amazing. Stanley Tucci blew me out of the water. He was all charm. The only person I wasn't totally sold on was actually Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, but only during the parts that he looked morose or put out. That looked a little forced to me. He does adorable perfectly though. And Liam Hemsworth as Gale completely exceeded my expectations, during the trailer I was a little worried because Gale is one of my favorite characters.

Overall I can't wait to see it again and I am so thrilled for Catching Fire. Only 608 days to go (I know this from tumblr, I would not count it out myself). I also can't wait to see who they cast for Annie, Finnick, and Johanna. Right now I can't picture anyone exactly for Annie, but I really want Garret Hedlund as Finnick:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ykLBHVUBKj.jpg

And Naya Rivera as Johanna:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...JoGmFAqplg.jpg

I can't picture Mags yet, but I can see James Garner as Beetee:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...hO0UjJu388.jpg

I'm so excited. I'm thrilled with who they cast so far and I think they'll do a great job with this.

I can picture Tilda Swinton as President Coin.

I pictured Maggie Smith, but that might just be my love of Harry Potter coming out, haha.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...JhsIg4nung.jpg

She does do BA pretty well though. And no-nonsense.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...s2_HqlC7EA.jpg

I've also heard Meryl Streep's name thrown around and I think she'd be great too, but I'd personally prefer Maggie Smith.

Going into a movie expecting to be disappointed helps! I really liked it! And I'm so glad I was wrong about Katniss' attire.

I especially liked the way the movie handled the Opening Ceremonies/Presentation of the Tributes. It was perfect: So glitzy, so red-carpet. The visual presentation of the dichotomy between Haves and HaveNots was spot-on.

There were things I wished they had done differently, but at least I wasn't wanting to scream at the screen throughout the whole thing. I wondered how they would get away with a PG-13 rating considering all the killing, and I'm happy with what they chose to do. I do wish, however, that they would've given us more of an opportunity to meet the other Tributes.

I really, really loved the movie and I usually am so disappointed when I see book to movie films. I took my daughter who wouldn't read the book she loved it and now wants to read the book. I still thought the book was better but I was engrossed for 2.5 hours. I did not look at my watch once. In terms of the other tributes, even in the book she glosses over the majority of them. This was much better then twilight in my opinion.

i saw the movie but still have YET to read the books. i've been on my library's waiting list forever. i may just have to break down and purchase the books now that the complete set is out.

I thought it was just ok, maybe I was expecting more. I felt that they did not develop the characters enough. My husband who never read the books didn't know half of the characters names! Like Haymitch, I think they only said his name once or twice through the whole thing.

Spoiler in white:
Did anyone else notice that Peeta didn't loose his leg? I don't know why they would have overlooked that as I think it is very important to the next movie.

Overall I think they did a good adaptation of the book. I just wish it could have been longer so they could have done more of the details. I think I would have preferred had they done a mini-series instead of a movie.

Ah, but mini-series don't make money like movies (other than John Carter) do.

In regard to what is in white:

I don't think it really matters, honestly. They can just pretend that he still has a bum leg from the cut Cato gave him and leave it at that. I was however disappointed that they didn't have the scene where Katniss is screaming his name through the glass window, but my hunch is that they downplayed the romance as much as possible so as to make her look less culpable when she switches back and forth between the boys in the next two books.

In terms of a mini-series, I think eventually that might happen. Just as I'm almost sure one will happen for Harry Potter. If there is enough interest and enough money can be made, it will occur.

I think Hollywood is also realizing how much money can be made with trilogies, especially if they're from books at such an accessible reading level. THG came in at the third largest opening weekend and it was first for a non-sequel movie. I think that the books' popularity will only grow in time and by Mockingjay part two it's going to outdo Harry Potter.

I knew this was going to get posted here....I saw this earlier today and I almost pulled out my militant girl chick card....but I didn't....this is the article that brought this issue to my attention, the tumbler site in the article, does some great thought out reasons why all these people are idiots

I wish people would actually pay attention to what they've ....the damn author of the books even made the statement that District 11 and its people are predominately black....its very subtle but if you read the damn books and know your US history....she is hitting you over the head with it...

I said it earlier in this Thread, I always got the feeling that Cinna was Asian, but that is just me and was/am fine with Lenny getting the roll....but I will not get on my soapbox....I don't want to go to bed angry.

Ok, so apparently I was living under a rock, and wasn't aware of "The Hunger Games" until I saw the movie preview!

I have read THG and am about halfway through CF on my kindle, amazing read so far, and has psyched my up to go see it at the cinema :D

WTF is wrong with people? I pictured a gay black man ala Lafayette from True Blood as Cinna. And yes, considering the geographic location of District 11 and the nature of their work, yes the author was hitting people in the face with it. I read it as southern slavery all over again in that district. Some idiots are just too stupid to actually think about it.

When I read the tweets, I was shocked, appalled and disgusted at the idiots making these comments. I sincerely hope they got bitch-slapped, mocked, told off or flat out yelled at by people around them for their stupidity. People like that should NEVER be allowed to breed.

I pictured Cinna like this:

http://i2.listal.com/image/2455286/6...jay-manuel.jpg

I think it was the silver hair that did it for me, just because of the general descriptions of the stylists & people in the Capitol, lol

That article (tweets, tumblr, etc) are just another reminder that racism is still alive and well in this country. I take comfort though in the fact that apparently they either a. can't read or b. are extremely unobservant because Rue is described as having dark skin and hair. I actually imagined her a little darker skinned because she worked outside, but I love the actress that plays her. Honestly, how could you not?

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...T3cg3foBkq.jpg

As for Thresh, I was apparently extremely unobservant when I read that Rue and Thresh shared similar physical characteristics and imagined him as Fulton Reed from the Mighty Ducks:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...E7LWhhNI6v.jpg

I know that makes no sense now, I guys I just saw their personalities as similar since they were both big and were seen as bullies at first but were good guys in the end.

I didn't have a picture in my head for Cinna, not really, just kind of a face and gold eyeliner. They don't really give many physical descriptors of him in the book, which I think is why I couldn't imagine him. Lenny Kravitz was beyond perfect though. He really encapsulated everything that I think Cinna represented. Anyone who doesn't think so solely because of his race is just an ignorant bigot. I do feel sorry though that they have to deal with this nonsense, it can't be easy.

I saw the movie last night, and enjoyed it, but I thought the wolves at the end were ridiculous, though. They really interrupted my suspension of disbelief.

I haven't read the books, and have no intention of doing so, but I may see the next two movies when they come out.

ETA: Also, the movie has been out for more than a week, and the book much longer. I'm unilaterally declaring it past the point where spoiler tags must be used.

I read Hunger Games and Catching Fire and just started Mockingjay. I saw the movie on Saturday and thought it was just ok. I think the book would have had a better adaptation as a miniseries rather than a movie. I felt like there was some important things missed. I also was not crazy about the casting of Peeta. I really liked the Effie Trinket and Ceasar Flickman charecters. They brought them to life really well!

That was one of the weaker parts of the movie, I thought -- it wasn't as clear what they were as it was in the book.

In the book, there are a number of "muttations" (or "mutts") in Panem that have been bred in the Capital. The tracker jackers that stung Katniss (and killed Glimmer) are one example. In the book, the wolf mutts were created with the DNA of the dead tributes, so that each resembled specific tributes (in coloring, eyes and the like). They also had collars that identified them as specific tributes. This meant that Katniss recognized specific wolf mutts as Rue, Glimmer, Thresch, etc.

Just started to read the first book. It is surprisingly good so far, but I'm not that far in yet.

My kids keep singing this.

You're welcome. :D