When I saw the ‘Harry Potter’ films I felt that the Potterverse was a deep and rich one. The Author had done a wonderful job of developing through back stories on all the major characters, and had full histories for the school and it’s surrounding villages. There were rules to magic and potion making, a full beastiary… I could not help but want to read the books, and I never felt that if I dug far enough that I would hit a wall. The Potterverse was a ‘rabbit hole’ of wonder and imagination.
Hunger Games was the exact opposite for me. Everything seemed superficial… No deep back history, no slang or language for us to pick up on or learn. No landmarks for us to recognize and no time-frame or tech level is established. We never enter the heads of any of the main characters to learn their motivations, or whether their actions are for the audience or a noble cause. The further the story went the deeper the writer seemed dig a hole for herself, because everything became even more implausible as things progressed.
If the bad guys can create giant dog creatures out of thin air by just pushing a few buttons, then why not create automatons to do all your dirty work. Why even bother with a ‘worker’ class that could potentially rebel. Just obliterate your enemies and create drones to mine and refine your needed materials, drones will not sabotage machinary or poison you.
I have no desire to read the books.
Oh and my bosses wife had read the books and she could not answer my question either, “why is it called the Hunger Games?” She had no idea…
I haven’t seen the movie yet. The reviews note the sharp subversive edges of the novel have been sanded down. Still 85% / 88% at Rotten Tomatoes is an enormous achievement in the annals of movie adaptation. Omitting historic box office records set over the weekend. The door is that way Spiderman and Twilight. See yourself out.
It seems to be an unwritten rule that less is more for near future American dystopian stories.
The novels are deliberately structured for a trilogy, as will be the case for the movies. How the United States devolved into Panem is never answered - unless the movies decide to toss in a half buried Statue of Liberty or something. Didn’t the movie mention this is the 74th annual Hunger Games? That’s a core plot trigger for events yet to happen. There are many details like that. Your questions are relevant and will be answered in subsequent movies.
I found the main plot device to be stupid and illogical. How is this game supposed to keep order in this society? Wouldn’t watching your children going off to die incite riots? Using young children as gladiators makes no sense to me at all, this goes against all human nature. Trying to use the cruel and vicious death of innocent children as entertainment would create a political coupe and whip up moral outrage.
I’m sorry but children used as tribute or otherwise pressed into slavery happens throughout history, is happening now in parts of the world. I’m thinking West Africa and Bosnia especially.
Suzanne Collins was inspired by King Minos and his reaping of the Athenians (seven best boys and seven best girls once every seven years), the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Interestingly, archaeology is slowly changing the long held cultural model of peaceful Minoans. Turns out they were disproportionately armed and presumably a war-like culture after all, suggesting the myth was based on historical fact.
Much of the rest comes from channel surfing across a certain reality show while watching news from the Iraq war. She did not specify but I am thinking this can be none other the CBS’s Survivor, where scantily clad contestants in inevitably tropical climes voluntarily go hungry while competing for one million dollars. The less television you watch, the more patently ridiculous this appears. We become habituated to whatever bread and circuses pop culture deigns to serve us.
And with the films flaunting of the oppressive government’s obscenely high level of technology; it made the need for this whole spectacle seem unnecessary, and the oppressive society which ran it even more inconceivable.
Didn’t the movie mention District 13? It was Bombed (the reader is encouraged to assume nuclear) 74 years prior. It is Fear of the Bomb, more than any over fear, that suppresses organized resistance.
Even the Capital is limited by resources and those resources, even its military, are all supplied by the districts. At the end of trilogy, you realize the Capital is throwing almost all of its resources into running these games. There is no big plan B to repulse dissent. And it is understood mass production of any kind is still taking a nice long post-apocalypse nap. That’s one attraction of the novels although they are primarily concerned with character. The world building is well conceived in terms of science fiction, especially so for young adult genre fare. Most plot holes are covered in advance but this is not apparent at first. . "Yeah, why don’t they just riot? Oh… that’s why. Oh god. Mother******! This is written for kids???
It’s a fact of Hollywood that the MPAA is more subservient to blockbusters when it comes to judging content. Hopefully the post-blockbuster sequels will carry over more of the sharp edges from the novels. The loyalty behind the trilogy is not all due to the romantic triangle. The Hunger Games stories doen’t pull many punches and the average teenager loves them for it.
Although I read a lot of young adult science fiction, I didn’t either until Mockingjay was nominated for a Nebula award. I’m glad I caught up. Since the success of Harry Potter, YA publishers have massively increased marketing for fantasy and science fiction juvenile alike. (It’s all the same to them but SF is now considered more promising just because of Harry Potter, and now with Hunger Games, forgetaboutit!) It’s increasingly hard to pick the good stuff apart from the overhyped, let alone the overhyped good stuff.
[/b]Lots of eye-candy and very little story. Or character development, or acting… Pretty darned good 3D though. For myself the best part was the previews:
Great Avengers trailer. Amazing ‘The Hobbit trailer’!!! And a awesome Prometeus trailer!!
I was still mildly entertained though so I am not complaining, it was not a wasted 2 hours by any means.
Saw John Carter a second time today. I liked it even more the second time. I am looking forward to owning this film so I can pause and fully check out all the detail in it, I just love the armor, architecture and tech. A visually lush film.
Has anyone else seen Hunter Prey? I watched this on Netflix Instant Viewing the other day and really enjoyed it. It first caught my eye because one of the characters on the cover seemed to be dressed in Boba Fett inspired armor, so I gave it a shot. Afterwards I gave it 5 stars.
[SIZE=3]AWE-MAY-ZING!!! [SIZE=2][/SIZE][/b][SIZE=2]I loved this movie, Joss knocked this out of the park. Very different from anything else I have seen in this genre, and full of his humor. Really liked the main protagonist, and I am sure while you watch her on screen you may think she reminds you of a other certain Whedon actress from the past. Nothing follows the standard horror conventions, which is a nice change. I can say little else without ruining things except, I look forward to owning this so I can freeze frame the latter part of the film. Because it is just jam-packed with homages to other films and horror franchises. wink
[SIZE=5]Lockout
I really liked the main character, his dialog and his arc. Good believable action, things do not always go his way. There are some good secondary plots and schemes going on, and I even came to like the woman he was there to rescue. Hey, it is a Luc Besson film; so it was entertaining.
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Totally agreed on Cabin in the Woods…left that movie thinking… “wow, so THAT’S why everyone acts like a moron in horror movies!!” well done movie people
[SIZE=2][/b]Classic Aardman movie, good clean fun. Funny and entertaining. Good for the whole family.
[SIZE=4][b]Safe
[SIZE=2][/b]Far better than I expected. I thought it was just going to be fun action flick, but it went deeper and worked harder than it needed to. And I appreciate and respect what they did. I wish this much effort went into more action films. Good character development, I really liked the way they played with the story’s timeline and creatively peeled the layers back to expose more of what was really going on. This was a good vehicle for Statham, it gave him an opportunity to do more than simply beat people up and flex his muscles for the female viewers; it gave him a chance to try and emote. And I think he gave it a decent try. And I appreciate that the Asian girl got to be more than just a damsel in distress or a means to tug at the audiences heart strings. Some very funny moments help to break up the tension, and there some good surprises too. This is my favorite of the day so far…
But I already purchased my ticket for the 12:01 AM premiere of Avengers. So that will probably change… :p[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
For once the hype may not be hype. This could be the best of the series thus far, it not only had humor and amazing special effects; but it had heart. It delves more into the relationship between K and Jay. When I first heard that this installment was going to deal with time travel and K I thought, hmmmmm maybe they were going back to use one of the comics stories. But no, that was not the case. Still it was a good story. I have no qualms about recommending this film to anyone.
The Chernobyl Dairies
Great location filming, and a great backdrop for a creepy story. A lot of jump scares but not much else. And I cannot give you a really in depth review because, well… I fell asleep during the film (seriously, I did). And I guess that kind of sums up my feelings on this film overall.
[SIZE=3][/b][/u][SIZE=2]An interesting variation on an old story, and a fun mixing of mythologies and tropes. Charlize was a blast to watch, she could have just phoned this in and who would have blamed her… But she took a role that could have been very 2 dimensional and breathed life into it, I very much appreciate the effort she put into Raveena. I also appreciated the fact that there are no clear heroes or heroines in this, everyone is damaged goods; and for many their motivations are often suspect. I would have liked it a little darker and to have had a stronger horror element to it, but I guess they did not want to scare away a younger audience. Maybe the DVD will have a more intense version…
Visually I found the film inspired, some truly beautiful shots and images. The land of the Fae was gorgeous and had me reflecting back to Princess Mononoke, and the music rarely intruded; it generally enhanced the experience and did not take center stage. The action was good, great costumes and armor, and I never felt the effects dominated the film, they were a storytelling tool and not a way to make up for a weak script. There are no great quotes or lines in this film, at least none that I can remember. It has a decent cast, no real stand out performances other than Charlize, but each member was utilized well and contributed something useful. There is some emotional context, nothing overly mushy but just enough to add a little heart to the story and to explain why a few characters act the way they do. The world in which this takes place is not really explored, nor do we ever find out just how far reaching the Queen’s influence goes or how many lives will be effected should our heroes fail; which makes the story feel smaller than it ought to.
Over all I found it enjoyable and a nice escape from work and the heat. Will I see it again in the theater? No, but I would not mind owning it and adding it to my library. I think this will have a short shelf life in theaters with so many strong summer films coming on its heels. If you do not have a large HD TV in your home I would suggest seeing this on the big screen, it has some great imagery in it; otherwise wait for the DVD or NetFlix. [/SIZE][/SIZE]
So anyone else run out to see Abe Lincoln hunt some vampires?
I did tonight…I liked it…I was expecting something goofier…but I didn’t get that and I liked it…and I liked how they tied the decisions he made historically into the story as WHY he did what he did as President, the cast was solid…not much character development but the story was STRONG and I liked it for what it was, I won’t buy the movie on DVD, but I did enjoy my time in the theater
[/b][/u][SIZE=3][/SIZE]It all comes together magically, the music, the animation, story, character arcs, it is a beautiful film. And while promoted as an adventure/comedy, like all PIXAR films it has A LOT OF HEART. I welled up quite a bit watching this, but then maybe I am just a big softy. Loved it. Did not see this in 3D so I cannot comment on that aspect of the movie. but it was a fun experience in plain old fashioned 2D. I would say without reservation that there is something here for all ages, slapstick and cool visuals for the kids, layered with more mature comedy and cultural references for the adults, as well as a wonderful Mother-Daughter story that should touch any heart.
Hope to see ALVH tomorrow, so I post a review on that then.
[/b][/u][SIZE=2]Like the books, the screenplay takes a ridiculous premise and handles it in a serious and believable way. The director is very good at shooting action, and I liked the cast. The film focuses on character more than I expected, which is good; because if you do not empathize and care about the characters you do not care what happens to them. I would have liked a little more horror and less action, but overall I enjoyed the film. I did my best to put aside what I really knew about Lincoln and his tragic and unhappy life, and went along for the ride. I really liked the Henry character… And the ending…
The costuming and art direction was superb, a nice period piece… The CG exterior shots were very nice, and often had a very artistic (shading and)color palette; which gave them a scenic-painting quality which I enjoyed. And cleverly removed my normally critical eye for detail, and replaced it with aesthetic appeal…
Kind of a Urban Horror meets Historical Fiction film. Not for everyone I imagine, but if in a silly mood or after a few drinks I bet you would find this mindless fun.[/SIZE]
[/b][SIZE=2]The 3D adds a lot to some pretty amazing scenes, but the 2D version is quite fun as well (yeah I saw it both ways…); and (the 2D)does not suffer from certain shots appearing too dark as is often the problem with 3D versions. Loved the cast, in fact I believe I prefer it to the cast from the prior three films (except for the guy that played J Jonah Jameson, he was awesome!). Loved the fact that the majority of the cast were virtual unknowns, so they did not bring any baggage with them. The acting was good and the script was well paced and the dialog felt real, not clunky or out of place. Dennis was solid in his role, Sally was wonderful and Martin was lovable and quirky. No MJ in this film, but after enduring Kirsten Dunst’s terrible acting and even worst singing I did not miss her at all… The return of Gwen Stacy was a welcome relief. And the interactions between Gwen and Peter are sooo cute, awkward and believable.
The villain was a sympathetic and tragic character, a worthy opponent and handled well. The action was a delightful blend of physical stunts and CGI, and Spiderman mouths off like he does in the comics we all know and love. The webslingers return to being gadgets, and are shown in a believable fashion. The retelling worked for me, and his arc from nerdy outcast to hero is a good one, and full of emotion and tragedy. Becoming a hero has its caveats, as Aunt May says in the film, “Secrets have a cost.”
There is a scene inserted in the end credits which implies that there is more to the Parkers past than what we have been told so far… This film is clearly building up Norman Osborn for one of the upcoming sequels, and the seeds have been planted for Parkers using the ‘Daily Bugle’ as a source of income. Beautifully shot film, sometimes it is downright artistic (love the overhead shot of Gwen and the mourners in the rain). The music works, good sound, and the sets are nice.
A good summer flick, and you do not even need to be a comics fan to enjoy it. [/SIZE]
[/b][/u][SIZE=2]Was pleased to see no over reaction to the Colorado incident here in AZ. No TSA-like check points to clear, no banning of costumes… And even though I showed up a half hour early for the screening, an early morning one at that; the theater was already half full. This pleased me greatly, I was afraid that the incident in CO might scare people off, but I guess fans are fans; and we will not be deterred from what we love.
The film was impeccable. Visually, audio-wise, and the performances were top notch. Nolan once again took characters and story lines comic fans will be familiar with and gave them his own unique twist, and it works; in fact I dare say it works quite well. I had my doubts about Hathaway, but she did well. I will see this again in a week no doubt about it…
[SIZE=4][u][b]Safety not Guaranteed
[/b][/u][SIZE=2]A sweet little film I stumbled upon when perusing the theater listings, I was hooked right away by the little synopsis of it and had to go see it. And I am ever so glad I did! All I will say about it without giving too much away is; it deals with time travel and regret. It is very minimalist in its execution, it moves well and has likable characters, the writing and pacing is very tight. It keeps you wondering about the key characters and what is really going on, it has laughs, it has tragedy, and it is very heartwarming.[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
[/u][/b][SIZE=2]Great action, amazing special effects and an interesting spin on the original. Atmospherically it was quite intriguing and engaging, the world you are introduced to is well populated and full of interesting gimmicks and gadgets. Synthetic police-bots are used to keep the body count from getting too high, and to keep the gore down. While it is highly kinetic and visually interesting, the story has holes and the film lacks the charm and intense performances of the original. I did smile at some of the ‘nods’ to the original. In all, not a bad film. But it is not strong enough to stand out from all of the other films coming out this summer, and I believe it will quickly drown in the torrent of oncoming feature films. Sure I will probably buy it when it comes out on DVD, but I will not revisit this at the theater like I did Spiderman and The Dark Knight Rises. Because the characters are not engaging enough to fully pull me into their world, or to make me really care what happens to them. They seem to only exist so that they have an excuse for chase scenes and fights. Where as with the previously mentioned films I really cared about the main characters and what happens to them.
Was treated to a nice long trailer for the new Judge Dredd film, it looks like a SF spin on “The Raid: Redemption”; which may not be an entirely bad thing…
Edit: Oh, and talk about irony. The company which produced this remake, is named ‘Original Film’; I found that rather amusing… :)[/SIZE]
This is probably my favorite of the sequels. It delves much further into the backgrounds of the various programs, the politics and agendas of those behind the scenes and those innocent and perhaps not-so innocent bystanders that pay the price when things go wrong. It was also nice to see someone else as the protagonist for a change. And the female that accompanies him in the film is not just cheesecake, she plays an important part in the story and develops a backbone; which is a nice change. A smart and competent woman who fights back… We need more of these in movies.
Good action, decent music, some strong performances. Good clean editing that does not disorient you, but enhances the frenzied action. Good location filming, and there is even a nod of sorts to ‘The Grey’ which made me smile. This was far better than I expected. Lots of new films that interest me coming out Friday, I am going to be busy next week…
