Excellent, excellent work.

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2012)

I loved these books, and I positively love the film version as well. Everything was almost just as I had pictured it, and the acting was superb across the board--JL especially. The violence was depicted tastefully but still indicated the brutality of the Games and the sadistic nature of the Capitol. Donald Sutherland and Wes Bentley were also great in their roles as Snow and Seneca Crane. Some highlights for me:
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
-JL portrayed Katniss flawlessly. Now I can never picture anyone else but her playing Katniss- -her emotion, body language, voice, everything is spot-on. They couldn't have picked a better actress.
-Josh Hutcherson was actually quite great as Peeta. I liked how they made him less lover- boy-esque in the film, and I liked his portrayal of the character better than I liked reading about Peeta in the book.
-Harrelson as Haymitch: hilarious. Also spot-on. Same goes for Banks as Effie.
-Tributes: The ones who stand out are Cato (Ludwig) and Clove (Fuhrman). Ludwig nailed the brutality of Cato's character, while still managing to somehow make the audience feel sympathetic toward him before he meets his end. Fuhrman's Clove comes across as a psychotic and malicious killing machine, which really comes to a head at the Feast scene (my favorite part of the film). All of Clove's raw hatred for Katniss was really perfectly portrayed, and her pleasure in killing was illustrated at numerous points throughout the film.
-Too bad Glimmer (Leven Rambin) didn't get more screen time--her death scene was very well-acted on her part. Tracker Jackers looked great.
-Rue (Stenberg) was gorgeous and perfect. Her big scene was extremely emotional and portrayed with spot-on accuracy as to what I felt while reading the book. Also wished for more screen time from her, but what little screen time she does get she absolutely nails.
-Foxface (Emerson) was so intriguing. Just like the book, I wish we could have known more about her, but it definitely portrayed the fact that she was a genius and very light on her feet.
-Thresh (Okeniyi) made a bigger impact on me than expected. His scene at the Feast was very intense and I loved the passion he put into the character, especially when it came to avenging Rue.
-Pre-Arena stuff was so exciting; you could feel the anticipation leading up to the Games. It was kind of fun to watch (like all the interviews and the chariot rides), but an unavoidable sense of dread filled the entire sequence. It felt like watching a roller coaster that could go off its tracks at any second.
-Arena stuff was great. Shaky-cam effects blunted some of the violence, but added to the feeling of desperation throughout. Opening bloodbath was spectacular, but unusual in its execution (not a bad thing). Feast was amazing, and Muttations were surprisingly thrilling to watch.
-Music was phenomenal; not much to be said there. JNH at his best.
I'm no film critic (obviously) so these are just my personal observations. I did notice some areas where the moral of the story could have been made even clearer, but these were few and far-between.
My only disappointment is that feeling you get when you've been looking forward to something for a very long time, and then it happens and it's over--and you feel kind of empty. It's not a disappointment with the film itself--I just loved the pre-film excitement, waiting process, cast interviews, etc., and I feel like I now have nothing to check for updates consistently! But I suppose a feeling like this just stands as a testament to what an excellent job the company has done in preparing, advertising, and promoting the film. I will truly miss the excitement I had building up for this movie--it was well-deserved, and I cannot wait to get onto the pre-movie-hype bandwagon for Catching Fire.
As a fan of the books and as a fan of thought-provoking films, though, I would highly recommend this movie to anybody. It really makes you think, and though the message could have been made even more explicit, it's clear what the film is trying to say about society and morality. Gary Ross has done an excellent job and I'm sure the sequels won't disappoint.
9/10