The Hunger Games?

Mr Skeletor wrote: Fucking shit.

Is that like Good Fucking Shit like you're smoking weed or Bad Fucking Shit like you're dropping acid.

jay718 wrote:

Dr. Mabuse wrote: I like that the author essentially took Battle Royale and gave the setting more of a back story as well sets up what happens after the Games.

I've been trying to figure out what makes this different from Battle Royale and everyone I know that's read the books says simply "It just is." Seriously, every one of them says the exact same thing. That and "You have to read them." I'm not sure I'm buying it.

I'm generalizing, the two books are different. In BR the focus is from the POV of the students in the game and ends with the game's conclusion.

HG gets into the whys and hows of the different societal class structures. The game is connected to that. It also becomes an arena (no pun intended) for rebellion.

Kids killing kids for entertainment is what connects the two.

All that being said, I think BR may be more to your liking though.

I thought it was lackluster. My girlfriend, who read the books and was excited to see it, also felt it was a bit of a letdown. The relationships between characters were very weak and glossed over. I get the feeling they were much better developed in the books. And as mentioned before, the constant shaky-cam was irritating.

Because the forgone conclusion that Katniss would win, none of the other characters deaths were surprising or impactful in any way.

jay718 wrote:

Dr. Mabuse wrote: I like that the author essentially took Battle Royale and gave the setting more of a back story as well sets up what happens after the Games.

I've been trying to figure out what makes this different from Battle Royale and everyone I know that's read the books says simply "It just is." Seriously, every one of them says the exact same thing. That and "You have to read them." I'm not sure I'm buying it.

Here's an article that compares the two:

io9.com/5888124/did-the-hunger-games-rea...ip-off-battle-royale

I rarely see movies but this week I saw two. First night was John Carter, last night was Hunger Games.

I liked Hunger Games, but Loter's points are right on. What I find most interesting about it is that it dramatizes tensions I assume are very alive among young people. The first tension is obviously about navigating and negotiating cliquish social spaces. The different teams in the Hunger Games reminded me of different cliques in high school. An arena of conflict beyond the moral contraints of the adult world. Then there is the tension that the combatants are performing for others and feel pressure to adapt to the expectations that others have of them, and here I can't help but think of social media, how younger people do social interaction by documenting and manufacturing images of themselves for others to consume...and those others are not only other young people, but also their parents etc. The duplicity of the lead's love interest in the other dude from her district in the games probably struck a cord about how the force of cirucmstances (whatever that may be) can require going out with the person you don't want to go out with.

The Hunger Games was more interesting sociologically than John Carter, but I preferred JC.

MattLoter wrote: -I've grown really tired of the shaky cam hard-to-follow action scene shooting that's all the rage these days and this is no exception. Tons of hard to follow bullshit fighting with terrible choreography.

Goddamnit. Shakey-cam in the theater gives me headaches these days. Are filmmakers just so lazy that they can't properly frame the action scenes with a set camera anymore?

gvegas wrote: Hey Matt. My oldest daughter keeps talking about these books. Ask your wife if she thinks they're OK for a fifth grader/sixth grader. I keep hearing they're really good book, but I worry they may be too violent/intense for her at her age. Are they that bad, or is it just more PC overreaction?

It's about kids killing other kids. I would think it's too violent for someone in elementary school.

And it's CREEPY killing too. Like, I wasn't expecting the whole high school cliques to be present in a killing field. A bunch of the 'popular' kids stick together and when they happen upon one of the less popular kids, they laugh as they take turns killing them. I found that kind of disturbing. She's just a little girl.

I thought that was the best part, Barney. Yes, its unnerving, but it's also very metaphoric for the current bullying issues in today's society. That seem is actual quite poignant.

Geof, I think the wee one should probably hold off a bit on this. I'm pretty liberal with what I think kids should be exposed to but this one is iffy at best.

Black Barney wrote:

gvegas wrote: Hey Matt. My oldest daughter keeps talking about these books. Ask your wife if she thinks they're OK for a fifth grader/sixth grader. I keep hearing they're really good book, but I worry they may be too violent/intense for her at her age. Are they that bad, or is it just more PC overreaction?

It's about kids killing other kids. I would think it's too violent for someone in elementary school.

And it's CREEPY killing too. Like, I wasn't expecting the whole high school cliques to be present in a killing field. A bunch of the 'popular' kids stick together and when they happen upon one of the less popular kids, they laugh as they take turns killing them. I found that kind of disturbing. She's just a little girl.

Thanks for this. My daughter reports that almost everyone in her fifth grade class has read these books, and many are planning on seeing the movie. After posting this message last night, I did a little more digging and found that I didn't like what I saw for a kid her age. There is a message there, but I don't know that it's one she needs to explore right now in any way. As I told her this morning, as a kid, the world is still a pretty amazing place with only a few dark corners she is aware of. I'd like to try to help make that last as long as I can, without being overly protective. It's a fine line, but one I'm always trying to find. Thanks again for posting the reply. It has helped me feel good about telling her I don't want her to read or see this right now. I hate censorship, but damn, I don't remember this kind of stuff when I was a kid (other than the whole "Faces of Death" video which I'm still gratefull I did not actually watch). And so it goes....

stormseeker75 wrote: I thought that was the best part, Barney. Yes, its unnerving, but it's also very metaphoric for the current bullying issues in today's society. That seem is actual quite poignant.

Geof, I think the wee one should probably hold off a bit on this. I'm pretty liberal with what I think kids should be exposed to but this one is iffy at best.

Thanks Steve, you seem to think along the same lines as I do. I just don't see the value (overall message/metaphor) vs. cost (in terms of psycologcal cost) in this one for a kid her age. Fun raising kids these days baby! The hits just keep on coming!