Schools

'The Hunger Games' As Seen Through Middle School Eyes

Martinez Patch has exclusive reviews of the popular film from Martinez Jr. High students. You can't get this insight anywhere else.

It was all the rage for a while – the movie The Hunger Games commanded headlines and prophecies of screen immortality, a sure-fire hit after the best-selling series of young adult books from Suzanne Collins.

And a hit it has been, certainly, drawing full houses on opening weekend, but by the second week, the noise had died down and the Hollywood PR machine began oiling up for the summer blockbuster season.

A lot of adults got to weigh in on their opinion of the film. Critics, talk show hosts and bloggers all had a say in how they liked the movie, how faithful it was or wasn’t to the book, and what the actors did or didn’t do to the role to make things come alive.

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But what about the kids? After all, these are young adult books, aimed at, well, young adults. And so it stands to reason that the film is, too.

In that spirit, English teacher Angela Spurlock got the brilliant idea to combine reading a popular work of fiction in class, and then go see the movie. On Friday, March 30, she marched a group of students from the campus, up Pine Street to the . She was kind enough to invite Martinez Patch along as well.

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Afterward, we captured the reactions of some of the students. Most felt that the movie left out a lot, and everyone liked the book better.

As for Martinez Patch, who has not yet read the book, it was a good movie with some stunning performances and great effects. I wasn’t riveted to my seat the entire time, but I didn’t find myself napping, either. But I’m definitely looking forward to curling up with this volume on my Kindle Fire.

Did you see read The Hunger Games? Did you see the movie? What did you think? 


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