1967 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Came to this late.  I haven’t read the books, and I only just caught the first film in the series on Netflix - but I dig it.  The world feels a bit heavy handed at times, but it’s sci-fi with a message.  I like that it teased the idea of the first one while ripping open the concept here.  The set-up felt a little long winded - but this story is also the hallway that bridges the first chapter and whatever’s to come next.  I was sad to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman here and felt he was underused quite a bit - hopefully he gets to step it up a notch in the final films.  Jennifer Laurence continues to be a delight to watch on the screen, and I love that she’s using her popularity from this to pick some really awesome and interesting roles otherwise.  As always, Woody Harrelson is a much welcome addition.  I’m excited for the next chapter!

1798 - The Hunger Games

Okay.  So clearly I'm way late to the party on this one, and I haven't read the books.  I was going into this expecting something a lot more polished and glitzy and I was pleasantly surprised.  The filming style lent itself well to the story and characters.  I found myself engaged - I knew Katniss would make it out just fine given that this is part of a trilogy, but I was still pretty damn invested in seeing how she would do.
So I'm probably not going to say anything that hasn't already been said, but if you were skeptical of all the hype, so was I, and I absolutely enjoyed it and look forward to the next in the series.  I doubt I'll run to the theatre on the first weekend, but I'll probably try to check it out during it's opening run.  For those who haven't seen it, it's on netflix now.