The Hunger Games 2012

     This film is based on a book by Suzanne Collins.  There are three books in the series and there are four films from these books.  The setting is the ruins of what was once North America.  Panem's land mass has been reduced by rising sea levels.  The location is possibly in the Rocky Mountains.  The Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games every year.  This will be the 74^th year of the games.  The names are randomly drawn from those who have submitted their names in order to get food for their families.  Katniss Everdeen is 16 years old and she volunteers to take the place of her younger sister, Prim.  Peeta Mellark is selected as the boy tribute.  They live in District 12 somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, possibly in Kentucky or West Virginian.

     It’s obvious to the viewer that the Capitol is the haves and the Districts are the have nots.  The movie doesn’t address this class distinction but the Capitol is definitely shown as making the rules and forcing the districts to abide by them.  They can also change the rules as they go along.  The games are supposed to remind the twelve districts that an uprising against the Capitol would be futile.  But, instead they grind down the districts further and make them think more about how they could gather together for an uprising.  This is directed at the teen audience but I thought the film was good and I also read the novels.  They have 4.6* out of 5* with 73,723 reviews. 

142 min, Sci-Fi & Fantasy directed by Gary Ross with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woodie Harrilson, Stanley Tucci, Wes Bentley, Willow Shields, Elizabeth Banks, Sandra Ellis Lafferty, Paula Malcomson, Rhoda Griffis.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 84% critic 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 49 critics 7 out of 10 with 1,855 reviews, Empire Online 4* out of 5*, Rolling Stone Peter Travers 3 1/2* out of 4*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 13,359 reviews.
Special Note:  Filmed in Shelby, Pisgah National Forest, Asheville, Concord, Charlotte, Hildebran, North Fork Reservoir, Black Mountain, DuPont State Forest, Barnardsville, Cedar Mountain, North Carolina.  On the set there was a swear jar.  Co-Writer and Director Gary Ross said that  half of the penalty money was added to the jar by Jennifer Lawrence.  She was paid $500,000 for her role.  It took her three days to agree because she was unsure how this film would affect hercareer.  Her background had been largely films from the indie circuit.  For Catching Fire of 2013 she was paid ten million dollars.  Twenty times more than her other paycheck.  The Hunger Games film titles are The Hunger Games 2012, Catching Fire 2013, Mockingjay Part 1 2014 and Mockingjay Part 2 2015.