So I am hearing a lot about the Hunger Games lately

Any one seen the movie yet? Is it any good? How does it compare with the books? Any criticisms?

Tell me what you think.

I've gotten through the first two books, reading a few chapters every night for the past couple of weeks, though if I were reading them alone probably have them done in less than a few hours.

The movie was one of the better adaptations I've seen from novel to screen, the bits they did not include were for the most part not terribly relevant, and the few things they added were more necessary than not considering the time constraints of film.

The acting was good, the pacing was good, the cinematography was good. On its own merits, outside of being compared to the novel it was based on, it is a good film.

Most of the criticism I've read has been rather shallow, little more than haughty "they did this in Battle Royale" or "this is the Running Man writ large", and so this is derivative, even though I haven't read the novels, or watched the film. The other, and slightly more irritating, is that there is a growing effort on part of merchandizers to spin this as another Twilight, which it most certainly is not.

I would highly recommend the film.

I have not read the books. My daughter said it compares VERY well. It is very close to the books. I loved the movie. I mean LOVED it. I don't see any other movies as a comparison.
A lot of people whine, "But it's about kids killing kids"... It is NOT, it's about a society of "Haves" punishing the "Have Nots" for wanting more and actually getting what they WORK for. I can see this happening here, if those that back the current republican candidates had their way THIS is how America would be. I recommend it.

Huh?

I have no problem with the have nots wanting more and actually getting what they work for. None at all. In fact, at 2 separate points in my life, I've been a have not. Worked, and gotten what I've worked for.

It's those that want more, and expect to be handed it that I have a problem with, and the current administration seems to pander to.

Of course this is an entertainment thread, and I haven't seen "The Hunger Games", although I do plan on reading the book.....

all

I don't think the issue is really about have v. have not, or if it is has more to do with more significant societal/political elements. The dominance of a totalitarian city state over outlying regions, whose inhabitants are little more than serfs. This dominance is further engrained by forcing groups of the youth of those outlying regions to annually fight to the death for the entertainment of the city state.

Certainly the issues of the citizens of said city state being privileged to the point of being blind to the plight of the outlying regions is there; but the dystopian political aspect is far more the focus.