The Hunger Games.

Yesterday I went to see The Hunger Games, a movie I was very skeptical about. It has received a lot of hype and excitement, but for the most part I've heard people cheering about how original the story was, and what a great story Suzanne Collins has created.

The movie is about a society where the government is forcing civilians, one boy and one girl picked from every of the twelve so-called "division" (making a total of 24), to fight each other until only one remains. This is done as a reminder and a general scare tactic to keep the country in check as to avoid a repetition of a great rebellion.

After seeing the trailer, it made me think of another movie I have seen. This may require some introduction to illustrate my personal attachment to this film.
When I was in my first year of high school I had a classmate with a passion for manga. One day he brought one of his many books to school, this one was called "Battle Royale" he explained it was a series of books describing the tale of a group of high school students who got abducted and placed on an island. They were told that they would have to kill each other until only one person would remain, that student would be allowed to go home.
This "Battle Royale" was held as a punishment and a government intimidation tactic because of the ongoing rebellion they were experiencing in their country. Hm... this sounds familiar.
So I read some of my friend's books and I was excited because the books were incredibly brutal, which makes them a lot more fun to secretly read during high school classes.

This manga series has been made into a movie unsurprisingly called Battle Royale.


Having seen and read Battle Royale, the story Suzanne Collins has created and which Gary Ross and visualized did not seem as original to me as it seemed to a lot of people I've talked to about it.
This made the Hunger Games feel like a bad rip-off to me, a lot of what attracted me to Battle Royale was missing from the Hunger Games, probably in order to make it more appropriate for the western cinema.
I feel like the natural reaction to being told by your government that you are being sent out to fight for your life in an arena should be falling to the ground and shaking and trembling in the fetal position for hours, perhaps days. This expression of utter fear was incredibly lacking in the Hunger Games, sure they were scared and they were nervous. But the kids crying for days at end shaking and trembling, fearing for their lives, were absent. This bothered me heavily.
There are several other points I could ramble on about, which I have to my accompanying friend yesterday evening. But I shouldn't turn this into a giant rant.

I think what I'm trying to say is: The Hunger Games has been made into a movie appropriate for western cinema, which I feel is a giant mistake, since it's a subject that should be incredibly disturbing. If you want an entertaining movie, with action, emotion and pretty girls, go see The Hunger Games.
If you want a movie that shows you what happens when high school kids are forced to fight for survival, go see Battle Royale. I personally highly recommend the latter.

Live long and prosper,
Teun

Hello,

My name is Teun de Boer. I'm a 20 year old guy living in Amsterdam with a drive for painting, a struggle with the piano and a passion for movies. (For those of you who are interested in my paintings, feel free to browse www.teundeboer.com.)

A couple of friends and I have recently purchased a so called "Pathe Unlimited" card, which basically allows me to go to any movie showing in Amsterdam's cinemas free of charge. Which has resulted in me sitting in the theaters about 4-5 times a week.
Over the years I've watched what must've been several thousands of movies, hopefully this qualifies me to some degree to make basic judgements on movies, or at least share my thoughts and leave it up to others to what extend they will value those thoughts.
I figured since I very much enjoy discussing movies, or as Alabama puts it in "True Romance": "After I see a movie I like to get a piece of pie and talk about it." I might as well try to write about it and see if I can get the ball rolling that way.

Some general information about my taste in movies:
- I love Quentin Tarantino with all my heart and soul, certain scenes in Death Proof give me endless joy.
- Christopher Nolan is one of my heroes for taking superheroes movies from a place where they were considered to be for geeks and 12 year old boys to a level where they are works of art.
- I have a weakness for Kevin Smith and any superhero movie, for some reason superpowers excite and entertain me to no end. (Except for Captain America, I have no idea how that guy got popular.)
- Some movies I always have available on my laptop for moments when I'm bored, hung over, need to entertain guests or just feel like it's been too long since I last saw one of them are:
A Beautiful Mind (2001)-I love the way it allows me to imagine the horror of his uncertainty.
City of God (2002)-A great look into a world I didn't know much about.
Crash (2004)-Watching and analyzing people interact just interests me to no extend.
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)-Just watch it.
Donnie Darko (2001)-I have spent hours trying to figure this movie out, I still don't think I have.
Drive (2011)-This is a great example of a story told a million times before but now done a million times better.
Fargo (1996)-Steve Buscemi. Very underrrated actor, he shines in Boardwalk Empire.
Fight Club (1999)-Gets better every time I rewatch it.
Grindhouse-Death Proof (2007)-One of my absolute favorites, Tarantino has a gift for writing dialogue.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)-Nazi's getting their skulls crushed.
Into the Wild (2007)-Interesting story with an amazing soundtrack done by Eddie Vedder.
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (2001)-Just love the way this story is told.
Memento (2000)-Christopher Nolan.
No Country For Old Men (2007)-I could watch this movie 5 times a day.
Pulp Fiction (1994)-A cinematic piece of greatness.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)-I love the tip scene.
La meglio gioventù (2003)-This is probably my all-time favorite, a 6 hour Italian epic following the life of two brothers. A general must-see for everybody in my opinion.




Anyways, I plan to update this page with posts containing my opinion on movies I've seen, both recently and in the past.


Live long and prosper,
Teun