The Hunger Games

Movie Title---  The  Hunger Games

Release Year--  2012

Running Time--  2 Hours and 22 Minutes

Director--  Gary Ross

Cast--  Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Woody Herrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, Willow Shields, Paula Malcomson, Amandla Stenberg

Every year in the Capitol forces two children, one girl and one boy, from each of it's twelve districts to fight to the death in a battle arena as a way to keep the districts in fear and under control.

The nation of Panem a very wealthy Capitol city rules over twelve poorer districts.  74 years earlier the districts rose up in rebellion.  As a punishment for this, each district must provide two "tributes"; one boy and one girl between the ages of 12-18.  These Tributes are selected from each district by a lottery, known as the reaping to fight in the "Hunger Games"; a winner take all fight to the death.  The winner sole of the "Hunger Games" is then showered with fame and fortune.  

In District 12, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is in the woods hunting when she comes across a deer.  She lines up her shot only to have the deer scared away by her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth).  The reaping is that day and the two of them are nervous about their chances of being chosen.  Katniss soon makes her way back home to see her younger sister Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) dressed but extremely worried.  Katniss tells Prim not to worry that this is her first year and she is very unlikely to be reaped.  

They make their way to where the reaping will be held and are checked in my giving a blood sample and having it scanned to confirm their identities.  The children are lined up in lines, girls on one side and boys on the other, then Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), the proctor pulls the first name and announces that the first Tribute is Primrose Everdeen.  Fearing for her sister, Katniss steps up and volunteers in her sister's place, something that no one in that district has done before.  Once Katniss is on the stage, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is chosen as Tribute for the boys.  Katniss is given a moment alone with Prim and their mother (Paula Malcomson) where Prim gives Katniss a mockingjay pin that Katniss had given her, then tells Katniss it will protect her and makes her promise she will win.  Katniss then tells their mother that she could not shut down now that she was leaving and that Prim needed someone to look after her.  After her mother and sister leave, Gale bursts into the room and Katniss makes him promise that he will help take care of her family.  She is then led away and put on a train with Peeta.

Once on the train, Effie is trying to talk to them but Peeta is only interested in talking to their mentor, the only Tribute that has ever won from District 12, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson).  Because of what Haymitch witnessed, he has become a drunk that spends his day drowning himself in any liquor he can get his hands on.  Haymitch and Katniss get off to a bad start.  Katniss is hanging on to a bad attitude and Haymitch warns her that she is not going to make any friends and making friends is the only way to win.

Once in Capital city, Katniss is given a makeover to prepare her for her and Peeta's introduction during the parade of Tributes.  Their stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), puts them into suits that will make it look like they are on fire but they wouldn't actually feel the fire.  The people of Capital city are overcome by Katniss and take a liking to her.  She is told that she needs to be more friendly to start earning sponsors that provide her with gifts that she will need to help her win the games.  

The Tributes then have to train to prepare themselves for what they are getting ready to face.  Haymitch tells them not to show off their skills too early because they will get the chance to do that later on during the training process.  Soon, the time comes for each Tribute is given a chance to show their skills to Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) the controller of the game and a room full of people.  District 12 goes last and when it is Katniss' turn to show her skills, she picks up a bow but misses the target, causing the wealthy spectators to laugh at her.  She then takes another shot and hits the center of the target but she finds that no one has paid attention to her second shot.  Angry that she has been ignored, she takes aim at an apple that is resting inside the mouth of a roasted pig and hits it, purposely missing Seneca by inches.  She earns a score of 11, the highest score of all the Tributes.  Haymitch is delighted by this and becomes more willing to help Katniss but Peeta, who only got a score of 8, decides that he no longer wants to train as a group and tells Haymitch that he is going to train alone.

On a show hosted by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) where each of the Tributes shares a little about themselves or their feelings toward the games.  Caesar calls Katniss "the girl on fire" because of her dress in the parade and she tells him that she has brought the fire with her and spins, the bottom of her dress makes the same flames as she spins, only helping to captivate the host and audience that much more.  When it is Peeta's turn, Caesar asks if there is anyone special waiting at home for him and he says no but when further pressed, he reveals that he has feelings for Katniss.  This enrages Katniss who attacks Peeta when he comes off the stage believing that he is using her to help gain himself sponsors but soon realizes that he is being sincere about his feelings.

Haymitch tells Katniss that there is going to be supplies laid out for them but not to go for them right away, then tells her that is a the best way to get herself killed right away.  Katniss is then escorted to her transport tube by Cinna, who tells her that if were allowed to bet, he would bet on her and then tells her to survive as he pins her gold mockingjay pin underneath her jacket.  She is then sent up the tube to face the fate that awaited her on the surface.

I loved this film.  The concept of it is a little sad, the fact that these children are basically set up as sacrifices to keep the general population under control and fearful of what could possibly happen to them but this concept is played out beautifully as Katniss starts to unknowingly step up  as a symbol of hope for the beaten masses.  The action is this film is just great and the fashion is out of the world.  More than once I found myself thinking that the costumes were strange but that only helped to add to the extravagance of the wealthy Captial.

I think that Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson were both just great in this film.  They played so well together on the screen and did just as well separately.  Jennifer did a good job of portraying a bitter, frightened girl that slowly transforms into a confident young woman.  Jennifer portrays Katniss as not only a girl that other girls from all over the 12 Districts could look up to but she is a girl that any young woman, fictitious or real, can stand behind.  

There are not too many people that haven't seen this film but I say if you haven't seen this film, you need to see it.  If you have already seen it, it is one of those films that is just as good the second time.  Sit down with this film again and refresh yourself with this film before tomorrow's selection "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" and Don't Forget the Popcorn!