Believable!

Rating: 10/10 (25 March 2012)

I would classify myself as a major fan of the books. So of course I noticed all the subtle differences between the movie and the book. However, I'm smart enough to understand that books and movies are in two different mediums, and thus cannot be compared to one another. I'm allowed to say the movie was a great adaptation on the book, which it was, but you have to judge the book with one review and the movie with another review. That is the end of my little rant, now it's time to review the movie.
I thought Gary Ross did an incredible job taking a difficult storyline and piecing it together without losing all the brutal and cruel elements of the story.
What I liked:
+ The tone throughout the movie matched the tone of the characters. Too many times we see dramatic action movies try to add comedic elements to lighten the mood and add some comic relief, which I believe takes away from the "mood" out of movie. The Hunger Games kept a consistent dark tone from beginning to end.
+ All the actors were terrific and more importantly "believable" special shout out to Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, and Woody Harrelson. I have never seen a movie where I felt so connected with the characters and beating to the pulse of Katniss and Peeta.
+ The camera-work! I know some people may not like the hand-held camera shooting, but I think it gives the viewer a first-person view and I'm going to throw out the word again "believable"
+ The underlying Score! Music isn't featured as much in the Hunger Games as it is in most movies, but when it appeared, it added to that dark tone that I loved so much. Kudos to James Newton Howard.
What I didn't like - There weren't too many things I didn't like about the movie. Actually there is only one thing, I wish they showed more of the districts and capitol citizens reactions to the Hunger Games. It wasn't a huge deal for me but it's something that could have added to how cruel the sport is and what the citizens are thinking when there loved ones die.
Overall, I give this movie an A+. I don't give many movies A+ but this movie is well- deserving of an A+