Will Leave You Hungry For More

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2012)

SouthSide, at first, was quite wary upon hearing there would be a movie adaption of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games since Hollywood has the tenacity for chopping books to add and/or delete material as it sees fit for the audience (see review for the americanized version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for more clarity).
After seeing this movie, this reviewer thoroughly enjoyed how the screenplay was wonderfully crafted so that if you didn't get a chance to read the book (and SouthSide highly recommends that you do read the entire Suzanne Collins' series - way better than Twilight), you won't get lost during the nearly 2hr and 30 minute run time. Yes, some minor characters and/or details were either omitted, meshed together or added for this movie however the main important details still remained to easily follow as if you're reading the book itself on the big screen.
This reviewer liked how the screenwriters Suzanne Collins (who wrote the popular trilogy series) and Garry Ross (who also directed this movie) along with Bill Ray wonderfully capture the tense moments (especially during the scenes before The Reaping when Katniss and Prim are getting ready for it and at the start of the game) without any (or with a few words) of dialogue. This reviewer also liked how they captured the differing reactions from District 12 to The Capitol as well as the twenty-four tributes on the playing field during the countdown. One could easily sense the range of emotions from Katniss' nervousness (especially after being sealed inside the tube to reach the arena) as she stares at Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), her stylist to the celebratory party mood within The Capitol for the 74th running of The Hunger Games.
Special kudos to the set, art and cinematography direction of The Hunger Games for translating the opulent look and splendor of what this reviewer imagined The Capitol would look ...more kudos to costume designer Judianna Makovsky for raiding Lady Gaga's closet and cosplay wigs to flamboyantly dress the 1% of Panem in the most outrageous clothing designs from Effie's powdered face and expensive dress suits to making Cinna's fire costumes (in which Katniss and Peeta wear during the opening ceremonies) come to life.
There's one thing more why SouthSide recommends seeing The Hunger Games. Besides the strong female character portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence, the story's love triangle (between Peeta-Katniss-Gale) doesn't weigh down the movie (and book) so heavily compared to the other popularized teen series - Twilight. To be honest, love is the farthest thing on our heroine's mind. She's only determined to survive and (hopefully) win The Hunger Games ...not for herself or the honor of representing her home district but for her sister.
Overall, The Hunger Games - a very good adaptation of Suzanne Collins' book ...worth the price to see it on the big screen before it hits the DVD / Blu-Ray. SouthSide cannot wait to see the sequel - Catching Fire.