Hunger Games Movie: the Good, the Bad, or the AMAZIN???

The Hunger Games movie, which premiered on March 23rd at midnight in, I'm sure, theaters near you, starred Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, and Liam Hemsworth as Gale. For those of you who haven't read the books, the movie played with your emotions, surprised and saddened you, and might have made you cry. You really can't predict that kind of thing, can you? Those of us who read the books before seeing the movie agree that the movie was fairly spot on, especially considering the cost, length, and special effects utilized in the movie. As far as accuracy, they were perfect. Yes, the movie left out several parts, lines, and scenes, but did you really want to sit through a five hour movie? I don't know about you, but my bladder was about to burst by the time the movie ended. Note: don't drink a lot of soda if you don't want to have to leave the theater to go to the bathroom. As far as the effects, they did the best they could with the technology we have. Was I the only one who noticed the muttations all looked the same? Yes, they could have at least gotten personalized District collars for them, but then Katniss would have to have noticed and mentioned it, and it would have added at least five more minutes, plus confusion for those in the audience who have not read the book. Something they had that I didn't expect, though, were the hovercrafts. Personally, I didn't think their budget would allow it. Now, on to the more serious matter. Racism. People are saying Rue should have been white with blonde hair. They claim Katniss portrays her as a "white angel" when she dies. Some say they were disappointed when they saw Rue was black. All I can say is,"Bunk!" I mean, were they hit over the head with a stick or something? Because it clearly states in Chapter 3, page 45 if you have the Scholastic Press version, and I quote," And most hauntingly, a twelve-year-old girl from District 11. She has dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she's very like Prim in size and demeanor." Um, how could you have missed that? You know, the "dark brown skin and eyes" part? And another thing: there is no mention of a white angel anywhere. So, Rue is black. Get over it. The movie was great, and they did a wonderful job portraying Katniss' thoughts. For a book written in 1st person, they did great converting all the lines and thoughts to a script. I have to give the director, Gary Ross, props. The cast was great, except for, Buttercup? Yeah, he was supposed to be yellow. Seriously, how hard would it have been to hire a yellow cat for one scene? Speaking of creatures, the tracker-jacker scene? I loved how they incorporated the history of tracker-jackers into a scene for Claudius Templesmith and Caesar Flickerman. Genius. As well as the Gamemaker room. Those 3-D creatures were so cool! If you haven't seen the movie yet, don't worry, I left plenty of surprises for you. All in all, this movie deserves a 4 out of 5. There could have been improvements, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you did, too. That's about it for this review of the Hunger Games. Just remember, Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds.....be EVER in your favor.