hunger games

i had been eagerly awaiting this movie to come out.  a couple years ago i read this book and found it to be very good- well told and action packed.  so when the film came out i was pretty excited to see it.  i didnt get the chance to see it in theaters, but i finally caught up with it and thought it was ok.  the story follows its main character, katniss, as she becomes a contestant in a bizarre game show where children must fight to the death, leaving only one left alive.  most of the actors do a great job, hitting the pathos and emotion needed in the roles, but a lot of the choices made by the director were baffling, and at times brought down the whole thing.  some of the design work, whether it was in the districts as they watched the games, or the city and its citizens was distracting and unnecessary- really?  all those ridiculous clothes and hairstyles?  too much!  but the real problem for me was the way the movie was shot.  there were very few establishing shots- a huge pet peeve of mine.  often through out the movie it was really difficult to know what was actually going on because either the camera was way too close, it was too shaky, or both.  a crucial moment in the film in understanding the relationship of the characters is shown in a flashback between katniss and her district partner, but its almost impossible to understand what is going on and why its important simply because the camera never shows a proper view of whats going on!  another important element is the emotional weight of the final moments of the game, but it is rushed and unexplained, making it impossible to care about or believe the decisions that katniss makes.  its frustrating because the source material was an automatic home run that, due to sloppy directing, only becomes a double, and thats only through sheer force of storytelling.
it looks like gary ross will not be directing the second one- which means that i'm not the only one who had a problem with this guy, huh?  well, hope they get the second one right at least!