Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel ‘The Hunger Games’, burst into theaters March 23, 2012 to thunderous success. It reaped over $152 million dollars its opening weekend, making it the highest-grossing film of the year thus far. However, unlike the film trailing its numbers, ‘The Lorax’ (2012), ‘The Hunger Games’ has a rich story, lush characters, and gut-wrenching emotional moments woven into the action and drama.

The plot revolves around the recently war-torn nation of Panem, where society is split between a capital full of rich, carefree socialites and twelve districts where the impoverished losers of a war live. Each year, the capitol holds the Hunger Games—a competition where a boy and girl, ages 12 to 18, are chosen from each district to fight in a survival tournament, until only one of them remains.

The main character, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), has a younger sister named Primrose, who is worried about getting picked for the Hunger Games, as everyone’s name is drawn at random. Coincidentally, Primrose’s name is picked at the Reaping, the ceremony where the competitors are chosen, and Katniss volunteers herself to take her sister’s place. Alongside Katniss is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a boy she had seen around her home before.

They are taken into the capitol to be trained and prepare for the games. They meet Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), a former winner of the Hunger Games and their mentor, and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), who mentally prepares them for the vigor of the Game. Haymitch and Cinna emphasize the importance of Katniss and Peeta becoming memorable players in the Game in order to get sponsors, who will drop off food, medicine, and weapons for them if they grow to like them.

This leads to Peeta revealing that he has a crush on Katniss, thus creating an underdog couple for the citizens to root for. Katniss is angered by this revelation at first, but she eventually learns that there is more to Peeta than she thought. Then, the Game begins and everything in both their worlds becomes chaos.

‘The Hunger Games’ is directed by Gary Ross, who some will know for his work directing ‘Pleasantville’ (1998) and ‘Seabiscuit’ (2003). Ross’ direction is excellent, as every moment during the game feels tense and brutal. However, there will be a problem from viewers who suffer from motion sickness, because of the jittery camera movements at certain intense sequences of violence during the film. Otherwise, the camera work of the film is nothing short of brilliant.

The true appeal of this film is its characters. Katniss is a strong girl with enough flaws to keep the audience interested, and a will that just won’t quit. The most interesting emotional aspect of the film is her reaction to Peeta’s feelings for her. She begins feeling uninterested in him romantically, but the vicious deaths in the Game eventually bring them closer together.

However, the audience is left pondering if her feelings are genuine or if she is only obligated to stay with him due to them being the “star-crossed lovers” of District 12. Further complications come from a friend of hers back home named Gale (Liam Hemsworth), who may have been interested in her before she volunteered to take her sister’s place. The script leaves these relationships open to interpretation and thus all the more intriguing for the next film, ‘Catching Fire.’

There are only two detractors I noted in the film. First, the aforementioned character Gale does not receive adequate time to have a real emotional impact. He spends about five or six minutes with Katniss, and while their friendship is established efficiently, the lack of focus on him for the remainder of the movie leaves things too ambiguous.

Katniss’ relationship with Peeta would have better impact if the film had spent more time with her and Gale interacting because it would show the awkwardness Katniss feels when returning home, knowing that Gale saw them together. Granted, I have not yet read the novels and so this may be intentional, but strictly from a moviegoer’s perspective, it could have been done a little better.

Second, the violence of the film needs to be brought to the potential audience’s attention. These are children forced to murder each other, and some of them enjoy killing one another, so the PG-13 rating should be noted at all costs. Any unwitting parent bringing a child into the film would be horrified by the first sequence and everything after it.

I worry that the trailers do not do the brutality of the deaths enough justice, and thus warn anyone with a weak constitution to consider staying away.

Overall, ‘The Hunger Games’ deserves every cent it has taken in since the premiere. It proves that a great story about young adults can break box office records, without the help of sparkling vampires or teenage wizards. Whether it’s the novels or the film, ‘The Hunger Games’ will leave you wanting more.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com

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Lenny Kravitz – GRAMMY award-winning singer-songwriter, record producer and actor—is using his voice and talent to do more than dazzle the stage and screen. He is throwing his support behind the global push by UNICEF and its partners to help save and improve the lives of millions of children and their families around the world by providing them with access to clean water and adequate sanitation.

“I was born in New York City and have always taken access to clean water as a given,” said Kravitz.  “No child should die of diarrhea from drinking dirty water. That thousands of children under the age of five continue to die every day because they lack clean water and basic sanitation is simply unacceptable.”

On March 6, UNICEF announced that the world has met the Millennium Development Goal for drinking water, with 89 percent of the global population now with access. However, that still leaves more than 780 million people, mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, without access.  In addition, around 2.5 billion people—almost half the developing world’s population—lack access to improved sanitation. This all adds up to bad news for the children who are being left behind.

Kravitz will be appearing in Public Service Announcements and take to Twitter and Facebook with a message that all children can—and must—have access to clean water and adequate sanitation. Kravitz, who recently released the album ‘Black and White America’, and who will be starring in ‘The Hunger Games’ later this month, is joining forces with UNICEF to help mark World Water Day (March 22) and will send a global message of the importance of investing in children and providing them with clean water and sanitation.

In the United States, Kravitz will be lending his support for the UNICEF Tap Project by encouraging his fans and dining patrons across the country to pay $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free during World Water Week, March 19 – 25. With $1, UNICEF can provide a child with access to clean, safe water for 40 days, or 40 children with access to safe water for one day. Funds raised through the 2012 UNICEF Tap Project will provide children and families with clean drinking water in Viet Nam,Togo, Mauritania and Cameroon.

Poor sanitation, water and hygiene have serious repercussions on a child’s health, often causing diarrhea and other easily preventable diseases.  Children, particularly girls, often miss school, because they are responsible for gathering water for their families, which can require many hours of their time. In addition, many schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities for girls, causing them to drop out of school. Without safe water, sanitation, and good hygiene, sustainable development is difficult to achieve.

Since 1990, UNICEF, governments and partners, have helped more than 2 billion people gain access to improved water sources and 1.8 billion people gain access to improved sanitation facilities. The efforts include drilling wells and installing water pumps, helping communities build latrines and teaching lifesaving hygiene to schoolchildren and mothers, and providing safe water and sanitation to communities during emergencies.

Image Courtesy of   vilena makarica / Shutterstock.com

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