Let’s play a game: I’m going to describe the basic plot of a film, and you guess what it is. Ready? Ok: In the near future, there have been troublesome uprisings which have been quelled and are now punished with a yearly game: various youth are selected to be taken to an isolated island and battle to the death, given only limited supplies.

If you said “Battle Royale,” then you are probably not a teenager, and are familiar with classic cult films – and I greatly respect that. (You also apparently didn’t read the title of this article and presumably blindly click around our site reading whatever pops up - and that’s ok!) But the real answer is: “The Hunger Games,” which opens tonight with midnight (and beyond) screenings at all major local movie theaters.

“The Hunger Games” probably needs no introduction, but for those who are somehow unaware, this is the latest in young-adult-fiction-film-adaptation crazes (now that “Harry Potter” is long over and “Twilight” is in its… twilight). Based on the book series by Suzette Collins, the film is about a girl chosen to represent her district in this year’s Hunger Games, in which a boy and a girl randomly selected from each of the 12 districts of the nation of Panem battle until there is only one survivor.

(It sounds to me – and everyone I’ve talked to – like a teenage-friendly “Battle Royale” with more back-story, but I’ve not read the book, so perhaps I’m wrong.)

The most exciting part? The film stars Louisvillian Jennifer Lawrence, (whose cleavage has recently gone viral in relation to the film) who came to national acclaim with her Oscar-nominated performance in “Winter’s Bone” (which, by the way, you should definitely check out). She plays Katniss Everdeen, the girl who volunteers to participate in the games in order to spare her sister.

The film trailer can be viewed here.

I would normally suggest Baxter Avenue Theater for viewing, but unfortunately, their midnight screening is sold out. Luckily, there are plenty of open screenings at both Tinseltown and Rave Stonybrook. Click on the links for online ticket sales and theater information – and be sure to check back next week for my review.

(Oh: and go ahead and watch “Battle Royale” while you're at it.)

Image: Internet Movie Database