The Hunger Games trilogy

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

For me, I think I just missed being able to see things exactly from her point of view. . . . 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.

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.

[psusue]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

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.)

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.

Originally Posted by ADqtPiMel

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.

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:



And Naya Rivera as Johanna:



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



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