The Hunger Games

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2012)

The movie version was well done. Elizabeth Banks was excellent. Jennifer Lawrence was too tall and well-fed for the book's smallish Katniss. I thought the young actors, except for the tall, tough-looking blond actress, Leven Rambin, who played Glimmer, looked too small and soft, especially the actors who played Cato and Clove. Cato and Clove were huge in size and ferocious-looking in the book. Cato was especially a major presence in the book, but much less so in the movie. I thought the tough-looking Mr. Hemsworth should have played Cato, and the tall, tough-looking Ms. Rambin should have played Clove. Too many times pretty boys and girls in Hollywood don't look and talk tough enough, and that's why they can't transition to adult action roles. I was disappointed in the book and movie that religion was left out completely, especially Christianity. Latinos were non-existent, yet they are the fastest-growing minority in the U.S. right now. Maybe they were wiped out in District 13?