Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 12 years old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

The film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” has now spent three consecutive weeks at #1 and this past Easter weekend I finally took my daughter to see it. She had wanted to see it immediately on opening weekend (like a lot of her friends did), but the PG-13 rating concerned me and I wanted to read a few reviews first and see how the graphic violence was being portrayed before exposing her to it. As I told her, reading the book is one thing, seeing those things “for real” on the big screen is another. As it turned out, though, my fears were mostly unfounded and she really enjoyed the movie.

Like any movie adaptation of a book, some things were changed, some were left out, and others were added, but for the most part it follows the book faithfully. I could have done without some of the jittery handy-cam cinematography (thank goodness we didn’t see it in IMAX) but understand how it contributed to the feel of the film. I’m not sure how confused I would have been if I hadn’t read it first, but the increased presence of TV commentators and the behind-the-scenes Gamesmakers filled in the details from Katniss’ first-person narrative in the book. I did feel, though, that the whole arena wasn’t brutal enough (no one seemed to be starving, everyone found water, and almost seemed to be having a good time except for the fact that they were hunting each other). The casting was pretty good (Stanley Tucci was great as Claudius Templesmith, as was Donald Sutherland as President Snow) although I didn’t think Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch was cranky, crusty, or bumbling enough (not his fault, but the script’s).

Overall, my daughter loved the movie, which I guess is good since she’s the target audience, not me. 😀 “Catching Fire” is scheduled to start shooting in the fall, possibly without director Gary Ross.