The Hunger Games: 10 Opinions

Although there's an unending dispute between critics saying, "Not the movie, just 'the movie,'" and "Finest sci-fi movie since The Matrix!" the Hunger Games film adaptation has exceeded my expectations. No, scratch that. It's exceeded everyone's expectations.

The theatrical poster. (c) Lionsgate

1. On Katniss. Jennifer Lawrence is undoubtedly the film's most important key piece, aside from being the main actress. (Honestly, who else can climb trees and do parkour stunts while maintaining a cynical persona?) I'll say this: she is the reason why most film critics haven't completely lost all faith in the movie franchise.

2. Peeta. His character has been overlooked a bit in general. Josh Hutcherson nailed his charisma but the movie itself made Peeta seem like just another prop.

3. Cinna. Lenny Kravitz looks nothing like how I pictured Cinna out but he has this soft, heartwarming connection with Jennifer Lawrence. Bravo.

4. Effie Trinket. I love Elizabeth Banks! Her accent is definitely Capitol-esque. The line "That is mahogany!" won me over.

5. The parade costumes. "But really, they call that a freakin' cape?!" was all I could say.

6. The CG's. I don't know; the Capitol graphics were off in more ways than one.

7.  The tributes. They are all rehashes of the usual alpha kid bullies but, hey (don't you hate it when I say that?), the movie is rated PG-13.

8. The violence. There is no gore in the movie. (I repeat: PG-13!) Mothers can fully entrust their kids into Gary Ross' child-friendly arms (but movie junkies will hate him fo sho.) They probably ignored Suzanne Collins' ideas in this aspect.

9. The cave scene. Thank you so much, Gary Ross, for toning down the romance. Thank you, Jennifer Lawrence, for being such a good actress; but no, there is absolutely no chemistry between you and Josh. (Or am I the only one who thinks that way?)

10. The ending. I won't spoil anything at this point. I'm happy enough to say that the scriptwriters stayed very faithful to the book (except for the apparent fact that Madge is M.I.A.) until one very, very well-thought-of scene near the end of the movie. Absolute genius! (To find out, you have to stop being a pirate and, consequently, have to increase the sales of the movie this instant.) The ending isn't "ugh, I hate it. It's so bitin" as people usually say when you ask them how the movie went. (Seriously, what the hell? Do they even know how important it is to cut the movie at a crucial part to keep the audience interested?)

Available in theaters near you. I stress, near you-- so what are you still doing here?