Oscars 2014: 10 Movies The Academy Should Consider (But Won't)

6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Best Adapted Screenplay

The Hunger Games struck gold once again this year at the box office and was met with positive reviews from critics. The film managed to up the ante for the series in every way possible and managed to exceed fans' expectations. The first film was good, but suffered from some melodramatic teen romance tropes (though it's nowhere near the abysmal mess that the Twilight films became); and in Catching Fire those things were smoothed over and presented in a visceral, exciting way. Most screenwriters would have been keen on jumping right into the arena, because that's what moviegoers want, right? Kids killing each other again! Action action action! Instead, the screenwriters managed to focus most of the film on the characters, really showing us how the Games have affected not only Katniss, but the world at large. We don't even get into the arena until past the halfway point, and then once there things take some interesting turns. Of course, much of the credit belongs to Hunger Games series author Suzanne Collins, but in the wrong hands this film could have easily turned into a complicated and hollow mess. Instead we were given a well rounded character story that really deals with consequences and raises the stake in such a way that we actually care about what Katniss and the other victors are forced to go through. Again.