Movie Review: The Hunger Games

Finally! I was able to watch Hunger Games with my bf this Monday at one of the Trinoma theater. Firstly, I'm just happy to watch it together with my bf coz it's very rare for us to watch a teen flick together hehe...He doesn't like movies or books meant for young adult girls. I convinced him that since we both haven't read the book, we wouldn't have any kind of expectations so it would just be a like watching any other movie..and luckily, he agreed ^_^

I haven't read the book yet since I wanted to see if I would like the story or not...I hate sad stories and I've read the synopsis and reviews about the book having a lot of deaths so I'm on the fence if I would read it or not. I also know that it is traditional to read the book first before watching the movie version but I think it makes you very critical on the movie since movie versions are almost always cannot come at par with the book (just like what happened to the Twilight saga) so I decided to take the movie as a different identity from the book saga and I'm glad I did!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE MOVIE:

- The actors (every cast member... both major and minor) are great! They were able to deliver their scenes smoothly and very believable. I can't remember thinking that "this actor cannot act" during the whole showing.

- I love their choice on the main characters. I think Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect choice for Katniss Everdeen. She is so pretty and a great actress. She already have an Academy nominee under her belt and I was blown away with her acting skills because it is very natural. I really cried when Rue died because Jen was able to portray grief and I felt it.

- The two leading men..Peeta and Gale (my katukayo haha) are both handsome too. I think they also fit the roles and were able to show the proper emotions every time. Love the jealousy of Gale during the "lovey dovey scenes" between Katniss and Peeta. Very effective. I smile whenever they focus the camera on Gale's face haha ^_^

- Super love the Capitol! Very bright and futuristic. Love the outfits and makeup and also the setting. I think they really spent a lot of their budget on that city alone.

- The special effects are great. It seems so realistic that I really believed its happening.

- The background music for all the scenes are perfect because it helped evoke the emotions.

- My bf liked it and we would probably watch the next two or three ( I believe they will cut Mockingkay into 2 parts) movies in this saga together ^_^

- You will enjoy the movie even if you haven't read the book so that's a plus.

WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:

- I hoped that it has a different style of camera. They used a "first person" style in which as a viewer it would seem like you are in that place. I know it's a great concept and it is very effective BUT I am really sensitive and do get motion sickness very easily so I got a little nauseous while watching the movie because it was shaky...especially on the first scenes.

- My bf commented that it would also be better if they did not diluted the fighting/death scenes just because they want it to have a PG 13 rating.. They are all assuming...one moment they are fighting then you'll just see them down and bloody the next. And I agree that it would be better if they can show how they died and this way it would give these characters an identity on the story...not just an extra.

OVER-ALL RATING: 4/5 - I enjoyed watching it and I have decided to read the books because if the movie is good, the book would be better..Looking forward to the next installment :)

P.S.: The acting in this movie is way, way better than Twilight. Now, I can't help myself but be a little depressed whenever I think Twilight could be a great movie if only the actors could act like Jennifer Lawrence...I really hate Kristen and Rob's acting skills coz there's none LOL...no offense to their fans but that's just my opinion and you can't change it hehe ^_^