“I don’t want to forget.”

From Hunger Games.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is like almost every other teenager in Panem’s District 12.  Years ago, she lost her father to an explosion in the mines, she can’t connect with her mother (Paula Malcomson), and worries about her younger sister, Primrose (Willow Shields).  In order to feed her family, Katniss often spends time with her best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) illegally hunting outside the District fence, and purchasing small amounts of food by placing more entries for herself in the running to be District 12’s female tribute at the Hunger Games.  The Hunger Games is a elaborate annual event put on by Panem’s Capital that pits children from each district against each other in a fight to the death to remind the districts the cost of their rebellion 74 years ago.  Even with the extra entries, Katniss manages to not get picked, but her young sister is not so fortunate and is selected to fight at only 12 years old.  Without thinking, Katniss volunteers to take Prim’s place alongside the male tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).  Partnered with drunk mentor named Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), Peeta whom she doesn’t know, and a Capital chaperone named Effie (Elizabeth Banks), Katniss prepares for the Games as best as she can, but as she meets the other contestants (including Jacqueline Emerson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Alexander Ludwig, Dayo Okeniyi,  Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin, Amandla Stenberg) and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), she begins to realize how slim her chance of survival really is.  While Katniss experienced a terrible world in the Capital, nothing could have prepared her for the horror she finds in the Games. With no other options, Katniss uses her hatred for the evil Games and her love for her sister to fight against the Capital in unexpected ways.

The first movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ young adult dystopian thriller trilogy, the movie manages to adequately develop the tone and seriousness of the book.  Lawrence and Hutcherson take the lead roles and bring the well-loved characters to life in both the slow and life-threatening scenes.  Just as with the book, The Hunger Games manages to show how far one girl is willing to go to protect her sister and stand up against the evil around her.

| Rated: PG-13 | Running Time: 143 minutes |Genre: action/dystopian/sci-fi |

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 1 of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 4 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|