Wow. You totally misunderstood all the concept and message behind the movie. I don't have time to write a paragraph now, I will later... but how can a movie that starts with the quote "War is a Drug" be a propaganda of war? For me, the movie it's exactly the opposite and you should rewatch because you didn't read between the lines.

I really want to see The Hurt Locker fully. What Martin described appeared to me to be the side effects of being addicted to war, not pro-war propaganda

My recent thoughts on The Hunger Games movie:

The Hunger Games is better than I remembered, but it's far from great. There are numerous problems, however, and they stem with attempting to make the audience care about children killing one another. I hate to say it, but that just doesn't happen for me. Before I watched it a second time, I figured there would be enough development for me to at least be appalled at what's happening. There isn't. Why am I not caring that these kids are being killed in a manner to please the privileged? The answer is simple: a combination character development, world building, and what it wants to be. There is no meaningful development to be had here. When there is development, like in the case of Rue, it's to have a fleeting glimpse of audience attachment only to off the character soon after. Peeta is perhaps the most well-developed, but even then I'm not caring because I am not convinced that these games must take place to placate those in the upper class. The most egregious scene happens at the end of the games. Why am I supposed to care that this one of many one-dimensional antagonists is upset that he has been bred to fight in this tournament? This begets complaints about the world building.

The missed opportunities with the world building are appalling. We have some glimpses of the poor districts, but they are just glimpses. The opening does not really tell us anything about District 12 other than that its inhabitants are poor and that Katniss has a family that she needs to take care of. We see a glimpse the district Rue belonged to and what happened after she died. But why are they this way? The exposition about how war took place and how people rebelled is not enough for me to care about these people and this world. This leads into what we are watching on screen. Are we seeing a film about how the rich don't want the underdogs to rise up against them and destroy what they've built? Are we seeing scathing commentary on how we as a society like to watch things die? Both? The former's opportunities are missed as a result of a poorly-built world. The latter also consists of missed opportunities. The ability to expand on Katniss' disgust for the bloodlust in the capitol is forgotton. The connection to how we as a society like to clamor and discuss deathly details in the wake of tragedies may be there, but it's as thin as uncooked fettuccine. We see the attempts to make this connection when katniss rides in with Peeta while the contestants are introduced. Just like the introductions to the world, these are brief.

The film isn't all bad. I like the directorial decisions and the performances. I like the shaky cam and how it puts us in the action. The clever editing to mask the violence is cool as well. Lawrence does a fine job emoting when various tragedies befall her, but once again, I do not care that these things happen to her. I'd rather watch Battle Royale instead and that's exactly what I'm going to do.