Katniss vs Kirk -- Thrown together by the need to survive.

Katniss vs Kirk -- Thrown together by the need to survive. Two colossal characters of science fiction must battle it out...

I wonder if the fans of The Hunger Games appreciate Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) as I do. When I was a teenager he was my hero figure who battled oppressive governments day after day in sitcom reruns. It was impossible for me to tire of watching the original Star Trek series. I watched it every afternoon for years.  Tonight I have just finished reading the book, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I borrowed it from a friend via Amazon Kindle's book lending feature. I can't wait to see the movie which opened in theaters this past weekend.

 Opening weekend of The Hunger Games has been a huge success, scoring the third-highest opening weekend ever with $152.5 million. The popular book series for teens and young adults has joined the ranks of The Twilight Saga and Harry Potter on the big screen.  No doubt, the excitable fans of The Hunger Games will make the next two movies a similar success. The movie is expected to make about $420 million dollars.  John Young of Entertainment weekly expects the four top movies of 2012 to be The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, The Hunger Games, and The Avengers. The sequal to The Hunger games, Catching Fire, is expected to debut in November  2013.

The Hunger Games takes place in a nation known as Panem after the destruction of North America by an apocalyptic event. Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve surrounding, poorer districts. As punishment for rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by annual lottery to participate in an event in which the participants must fight to the death until only one remains.

Fans of The Hunger Games may enjoy the book (written by Koushun Takami, 1996) and movie (2000), Battle Royale . A Japanese film takes place in an alternate timeline—Japan is a member region of a totalitarian state known as the Republic of Greater East Asia. Students learn that they have been placed in an event called the Program. Officially a military research project, it is a means of terrorizing the population, of creating such paranoia as to make organized insurgency impossible. According to the rules, fifty third-year high school classes are selected  annually to participate in the Program for research purposes. The students from a single class are isolated and are required to fight the other members of their class to the death. 

Permanent Link