The "Hunger Games" Hits the Mark

"The Hunger Games" film has hit $250 million in two weekends, putting it in the top five highest grossing opening weekends of a film ever, according to boxofficemojo.com. How does Jamesville-DeWitt High Schools students feel about that?

There were some people who read the book and thought that it fell short: sophomore Jimmy Sinopoli thinks that the movie was kind of rushed. “They left some important parts out. The book was much better, but the movie as a whole was good. It was fun to watch,” said Sinopoli. Sophomore Erin Lumia thought that the book was way better. “I had really high expectations that just went down the drain. The beginning and the end were both different. Certain parts were not in the movie and that made me sad,” said Lumia. Senior Tara Neugabauer thought that it was okay. “The book had more detail so it was obviously better than the movie. The relationship between Peeta, Katniss, and Gale wasn’t developed enough like the book, it needed more work,” said Neugabauer.

However, junior Jenna Hayward, who has read the novel, liked the movie overall. “You get more out of the movie if you read (the book). They left out a few things that I wish were in it. I wish there was more dialogue with Katniss and Rue and more plot leading up to the arena because they just skipped through to it. (But) I liked the movie. The characters and cast were good,” said Hayward.

Some people just didn’t like the movie like sophomore Jason Alweis. “It was weird and racist. They put all the black people in District 11, the only people that revolted were black, and no black people survive,” said Alweis.

There were some people who read the book and thought that the movie was really good and were not disapointed. Senior Emily Bazydlo loved it. “I wasn’t going to go, I was just going to see it on DVD, but I went on the field-trip and I was blown away. I laughed, cried, and I felt throughout the movie. It was sensational. The book and the movie completed each other, it was like they were meant for each other,” said Bazydlo. “I thought it was fantastic. It was almost exactly how I imagined it, except they left out a few things,” said Lenehan. They should have spent a little longer on some parts, but it lived up to my expectations. I would go see it again,” said Lenehan.

Juniors Daniel Ortega and Sarah Bear, both thought the movie was amazing. “Just the way they portrayed the story. It was really well put together, and the actors were amazing” said Ortega. “After reading the book, the scenes in the movie seemed to be the most important parts of the book. For a two to three hour movie, you weren’t bored,” said Bear, and Ortega agrees. “All the actors were amazing,” said Ortega. “And I loved Liam Hemsworth,” said Bear.

Sophomores Ben Katsarsky and Nick Street both liked the movie. Katsarsky who hadn’t read the book didn’t like the ending. “The ending was rushed and Peeta looked like a school boy and Katniss looked like a 25-year-old rather than a 16-year-old,” said Katsarsky who Street agrees with. “It didn’t set the stage for the second movie,” said Street, who has read the book. “I didn’t get some of the events that were happening in the movie, so some people that read the book had to explain it to me,” said Katsarsky.

There were others who hadn’t read the book and thought that it was really good: senior Alec Thompson thought it was fantastic. “I personally liked it a lot. I saw it three times already. The idea of the hunger games in the future just gives a different perspective on the outcome of our future,” said Thompson. “It was amazing and I loved Liam Hemsworth,” said sophomore Erin Mulvey. “It was really good because it had good actors and a really interesting story line. Everyone was talking about it so I wanted to see if it was actually that good,” said sophomore Kea Glazier.

Sophomore Samantha Williams thought it was pretty good, but “It felt like it was rushed because they were forcing a whole book into a two to three hour movie. It was nice to get out of school though,” said Williams. “I thought it was unique, creative, and it was a good idea for a movie,” said sophomore Victoria Roney. “But, the main actress wasn’t acting very good. She was trying way too hard to be emotional and sad,” said Roney.