Ok, here it comes…<\/p>\n
The Hunger Games <\/em>is a stupid movie.<\/p>\n There I said it.<\/p>\n This isn’t to necessarily take a crap on Susanne Collins’s novel.\u00a0 I kind of like the combination of Shirley Jackson’s classic The Lottery<\/em> with a Thesius type story.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let me take a step back, the story is set in a future where North America (I think) is one giant nation controlled wholesale by a technoligically advanced capitol.\u00a0 The entire rest of the nation is divided into specific districts who are 2nd and 3rd class citizens, and due to a rebellion in the past they are required to offer up one boy and one girl to participate in a Survivor\/Royal Rumble extravaganza each year.\u00a0 The selection process is borrowed from The Lottery<\/em> and the tribute from Thesius.\u00a0 (note: I mean no disparagement, good writing is knowing from whom to steal)\u00a0 The whole thing has a reality show package, combining elements of Dancing with the Stars and Survivor in a technoligically enhanced gladitoral free for all.<\/p>\n Anyway, why is the movie stupid?<\/p>\n 1)\u00a0 They pussify the combat.\u00a0 The book was written for young adults and all the authorial laziness that entails (nod to Steve King).\u00a0 But it was visceral.\u00a0 If you make a movie about how a sick culture makes children beat each other to death on live telivision, you can’t pull punches.\u00a0 It’s supposed to horrify people.\u00a0 Other than the knife throwing girl, the actual combat was boring as shit.\u00a0 And what’s up with my boy Thresh having an American accent and dying off screen?\u00a0 (note: don’t write me and say they were going for a PG-13 rating to make more money.\u00a0 What the fuck do I give a shit, I’m in the thing for the story and glossing over the horrible deaths of children does a diservice to the story.\u00a0 I’m unconcerned about the financial viability of\u00a0anything, I just want the best film possible.\u00a0 Take a lesson in film making from Mel Gibson and don’t be a pussy)<\/p>\n 2)\u00a0 You have to do some world building.\u00a0 The film doesn’t have the benifit of Katniss’s interior monologue and the film itself does not do a great job about explaining its environment.\u00a0 I don’t need voice over but the telling of the story should shape the environment.\u00a0 I don’t need an explanation of the 3 fingered sign (that was kind of cool) but they needed to work in some explanation of the various cultures at play here.\u00a0 And do a better job of reflecting the differences in culture.\u00a0 Other than having some people pink and rich and everyone else Winter’s Bone.\u00a0 Also everyone had the same accent, though some people inexplicably faked a British one.\u00a0 The novel has several scenes (hairdressers for one) that flesh out some of the culture.\u00a0 You can’t assume viewers have read the novel.\u00a0 The film has to stand on its own merits or it’s stupid.<\/p>\n 3)\u00a0 Peeta’s supposed to be kind of a chunk.\u00a0 He’s a fattish baker’s kid so nobody can tell there’s actually some twisted steel under the soft.\u00a0 Because Peeta’s actually pretty strong.\u00a0 The kid who played Peeta cannot portray strong.\u00a0 He’d lose a fight to a 10 year old girl.\u00a0 Bad casting.<\/p>\n 4)\u00a0 The nuances of Katniss’s strategy regarding Peeta are one of the more interesting parts of the story and the film leaves you to guess at them.\u00a0 Her strategy was explicit, and in this case it harms the story (and is lazy) not to include her premeditation.<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0 Boring.\u00a0 The training was boring, the interviews were boring, the clothes on fire was boring, and for the most part the fucking fighting was boring.\u00a0 This is a movie about glorified death.\u00a0 There were a million opportunites to disturb the audience.\u00a0 Instead I got the impression of plastic things vaguely complaining for most of the movie and no battle payoff once we finally get to the arena.\u00a0 Somebody do something interesting for fuck’s sake.<\/p>\n Here’s what worked: the reaping (selection).\u00a0 I believed that scene.\u00a0 Stanley Tucci is always awesome (he’s the play by play guy).\u00a0 And the riot in District 11.\u00a0 I believed that as well.\u00a0 The rest of the film was softer than Nickolodeon.\u00a0<\/p>\n And once again, don’t give me that shit about it being a kid’s movie.\u00a0 That’s the same lame excuse George Lucas uses.\u00a0 Lazy is still lazy.\u00a0 Fine, you don’t want to show a bunch of violence.\u00a0 You have to replace the violence with something else interesting otherwise it’s just fucking boring.\u00a0 Now the movie has made a mint already and nobody listens to me anyway, but this movie is stupid.\u00a0 Lazy and stupid.<\/p>\n If you haven’t seen it, don’t waste the money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ok, here it comes… The Hunger Games is a stupid movie. There I said it. This isn’t to necessarily take a crap on Susanne Collins’s novel.\u00a0 I kind of like the combination of Shirley Jackson’s classic The Lottery with a … Continue reading