Watched it last night -- awesome! And very very faithful to the books, which is not always the case!

Does anyone remember "Battle Royale?"

That's good to hear, Daniella! DD and I are going tomorrow morning. She used to be really into the Percy Jackson books, and what a disappointment in the movie! We're hoping Hunger Games is of better quality.

I'm planning to see it, as I've read the books. But I'll probably go on a Tuesday, or something like that, to avoid the crowds. Glad to hear they've stayed close to the original plot. I can understand when things in a book have to be left out of a film, for time constraints, but I hate it when changes are made for no good reason.

I've read some comments on IMDB that some people didn't like how they left out some important bits at the end (I won't say which) in order to make it less violent. For me, this was not so important. The whole film was very close to the books.

Originally posted by k2p2 Does anyone remember "Battle Royale?"

Haven't seen it, but I' ve read it's a lot like Hunger Games. Is that so? Have you guys seen it?

Originally posted by Daniella T

Originally posted by k2p2 Does anyone remember "Battle Royale?"

Haven't seen it, but I' ve read it's a lot like Hunger Games. Is that so? Have you guys seen it?

I haven't read it either, but you might find this article interesting. http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/20120324which_dystopian_property_does_the_hunger_games_most_resemble/srvc=home&position=also

Originally posted by Daniella T I've read some comments on IMDB that some people didn't like how they left out some important bits at the end (I won't say which) in order to make it less violent. For me, this was not so important. The whole film was very close to the books.

My DD (who is only 11 and still figuring this 'transfer to movie' stuff out) was complaining about how they changed some things, but I was trying to point out to her that many of these things were done for time constraints. For example, in the book, at the very beginning, no one goes to work on Reaping Day. But in the movie, everyone is out and about and going to the coal mines, etc. I was trying to explain to DD that the filmakers did this so they could show a bunch of 'snapshoots' of life around the district to explain a lot of background in about 30-60 seconds, and that the reality of having people working on Reaping Day didn't affect the main plot at all. As for the ending (the VERY ending) it wasn't as drawn out as in the book, but IMHO that was for the better. They did a great job of minimizing the blood and gore, and if they had extended the ending scene they would probably have had to go over that line. I won't say the movie was fantastic, but they did an excellent job of staying true to the novels (much in the way the Harry Potter movies stayed reasonably true to the books) and I really enjoyed it. And yeah, I was teary-eyed in 2 places, even though I knew exactly what was coming and thought I was steeling myself for it... The local theatre I went to was packed, and full of all kinds of people: teens, people in their 20s, people in their 40s and 50s... and about 50/50 men and women, which was surprising to me. In the middle, during that big teary scene (if you've read the books, you know what I'm taking about during the games) the place was absolutely silent. Incredibly silent. Hundreds of people just sitting and watching in silence. Very powerful moment there.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun

Originally posted by Daniella T

Originally posted by k2p2 Does anyone remember "Battle Royale?"

Haven't seen it, but I' ve read it's a lot like Hunger Games. Is that so? Have you guys seen it?

I haven't read it either, but you might find this article interesting. http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/general/view/20120324which_dystopian_property_does_the_hunger_games_most_resemble/srvc=home&position=also

Thanks TJ!

I haven't read the books, but I really enjoyed the depth and complexity of the movie and the world in which it happened. And our little local theatre was packed too. Everyone was pretty shocked!

Shocked by the movie or shocked because of the content of the movie?

I finally saw it last night -a late showing on a Tuesday night, and there were a total of three people in the theater. I agree -it stuck quite close to the plot of the book, and in the time available, included all the most important things from the book.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun Shocked by the movie or shocked because of the content of the movie?

Shocked that the theatre was so packed. I live in a small town.

Originally posted by lborgia88 and in the time available, included all the most important things from the book.

I'm not surprised by that, since they're already contracted to do 3 more films (the last book in 2 movies, as is apparently becoming common).

I did notice some of the omissions -certain characters who cannot speak, and a certain amputation- but those aren't so key to the central plot, so I'm okay with it.

After hearing all the hype about this movie, and now that I am working with a couple of older grades in my school, I decided I should investigate what this was all about. After a lot of conversations with people, mostly whether I should read the book first of go to the movie first, I finally was given a copy of the book and have just finished reading it this weekend. Now I guess I can decide if I pop out to watch the movie sometime this week, or on the weekend.

I found this online and thought it was pretty good...

Great find, TJ!

LOL ! That combines two movies/books I have enjoyed. Great find.