Film Review: THE HUNGER GAMES (2012)

Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Suzanne Collins (screenplay/novel), Gary Ross (screenplay), Billy Ray (screenplay)
Running time: 142 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Action/Drama/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 23^rd March 2012

Watched at the cinema Saturday 31^st March 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I first have to admit I’ve never read the books and so this franchise is all shiny and new to me. Knowing that it is aimed at a teenage audience, I took a risk and decided to go and see a Saturday afternoon screening. The (young) audience were quite well behaved over all, although the staff did seem to take a very long time in getting something up on the screen (they was getting a bit rebellious). But when they did eventually start the film they soon settled down (after a little coaxing… from me). But back to the film, very well made with some good performances and, despite the level of violence being toned down (a lot), quite entertaining. I will give you full skinny after this brief summary.

In a future North America, now called Panem, (the rest of the world doesn’t exist for some reason) and after a civil war, a way is found to keep the defeated ‘Districts’ in tow. The Hunger Games are invented; a boy and a girl for each of the twelve districts must fight it out, to the death, until there is only one winner. The whole event is televised and broadcast across the nation with host, Caesar Flickerman, giving a blow-by-blow account. The games organiser, Seneca Crane, has the ear of the President Snow and uses his influence to make the games bigger and better each year. Now, the District we’re interested is District 12, and its contestants, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. We see the selection process and their training, with which they are aided by former champion, Haymitch Abernathy and style guru, Cinna, amongst others. See, it’s not just about training to fight, it’s all about winning the hearts and minds of the viewers (sponsors), who might send you some help during the games. And so we come to the games themselves, and this is where I’ll leave you hanging or the Spoiler Police (Futuristic Movies Division) will be entering me for the next event (even though I’m far too old!).

This is a very well made film with some nice CGI in places, although I did feel it was a little over-used in a couple of scenes. I wasn’t very impressed with the quality of the sound, although that might have been down to the equipment at my local cinema (not a multiplex). As far as performances go, well, the stand-out has to be Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. She was ably supported by; Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane (with some extraordinary beard sculpturing), Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Donald Sutherland as President Snow and finally, although he didn’t have a lot to say, Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith.

There are so many similarities (in part) to other films it’s hard to know where to start. I guess ‘Battle Royalle’ is a pretty good start, although I could see influences from; ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Rollerball’ (the original one) and ‘The Running Man’ in there too. I did get the impression that there is a lot more explained in the book than there was time for on the screen because I did feel I had missed out on a few plot points here and there. These particularly surrounded the relationship between Katniss and Peeta; I won’t discuss it here as I don’t want to go putting down spoilers. Over all though, the 142 minute running time seemed to pass quite quickly (always a good sign) and so I’m happy to deem this one… Recommended.

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (based on 56,220 votes when this review was written).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 85/100 (based on 239 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 87/100 (based on 84,278 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hunger_games/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
President Snow: And it was decreed that each year, the 12 districts of Panem should offer up a tribute of one young man and woman between the ages of 12 and 18 to be trained in the art of survival and to be prepared to fight to the death.

Katniss Everdeen: May the odds be ever in your favour.

Katniss Everdeen: So you're here to make me look pretty.
Cinna: I'm here to help you make an impression.

Caesar Flickerman: What did you say to your sister when you volunteered at the reaping?
Katniss Everdeen: I told her that I would try to win for her.
Caesar Flickerman: And try you will.

Rue: You have to win.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehungergamesmovie
Trailer:

Film Review: AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes
Running time: 117 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Drama
UK Release date: 4^th February 2000

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 30^th October 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I saw this film many years ago and I remember it being rather great. As it came to the top of my list again I decided to give it another go and I’m very glad I did! It’s better than great, it’s truly excellent! I can’t say I’ve enjoyed a film more in a very long time! Some extraordinary characters, brilliant performances and an excellent script combine to make up one of the best films to come out of Hollywood in the 1990’s by far! But enough of my praise, here’s a brief summary before I praise it some more.

Lester Burnham has a boring job and lives with his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Jane, in sweet suburbia. Family life is far from happy for any of them; Carolyn is cold to Lester and he finds that hard to take. Jane doesn’t find it easy to fit in and thinks her parents are freaks. She has one friend, Angela Hayes, who becomes an object of affection for Lester, much to Jane’s disapproval. Things take a turn when teenager, Ricky Fitts moves in next door with his repressive father, Col. Frank Fitts, USMC and mother, Barbara. Ricky likes to film everything with his video camera and he eventually introduces himself to the Burnham’s. He and his father are about to have a big impact on their lives, much bigger than any of them could have imagined. I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be sending me away to an asylum (again).

Alongside a, now iconic, musical score by Thomas Newman, there is also a great collection of contemporary songs used in the film. Beautifully made with not one wasted scene, a rare thing these days. As far as performances go, well, nobody put a foot wrong. Kevin Spacey was brilliant as Lester Burnham and Annette Bening played his wife Carolyn to a tee! Thora Birch as Jane Burnham, Wes Bentley as Ricky Fitts and Mena Suvari as Angela Hayes were all excellent! I must also give honourable mentions to; Chris Cooper as Col. Frank Fitts, USMC, Peter Gallagher as Buddy Kane, Allison Janney as Barbara Fitts (I had forgotten she was in it), Scott Bakula as Jim Olmeyer, Sam Robards as Jim Berkley and Barry Del Sherman as Bard Dupree.

I think I liked this movie even more this time around. Since I started documenting the films I’ve watched, I’ve come to appreciate the filmmakers’ art more and more. And I think it is because of this I have a greater appreciation when I see something that I can admire not only for how it makes me feel, but also for the skill of the people that put it out there. It’s a film I would recommend to anyone that loves film, it is one of the best films I’ve seen this year and will easily make my top ten… Highly recommended.

My Score: 9.3/10.

IMDb Score: 8.6/10 (based on 358,207 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88/100 (based on 152 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_beauty/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
Jane Burnham: I need a father who's a role model, not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts whenever I bring a girlfriend home from school. What a lame-o. Someone really should just put him out of his misery.
Ricky Fitts: Want me to kill him for you?
Jane Burnham: Yeah. Would you?

Brad Dupree: [reading Lester's job description] "My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell." Well, you have absolutely no interest in saving yourself.
Lester Burnham: Brad, for 14 years I've been a whore for the advertising industry. The only way I could save myself now is if I start firebombing.

Ricky Fitts: It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.

…and there are so many more I wanted to put in…

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.dreamworks.com/ab/
Trailer:

Film Review: DOLAN’S CADILLAC (2009)

Director: Jeff Beesley
Based on a short story by Stephen King
Running time: 89 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Crime/Thriller
USA Release date: 6th April 2010 (DVD premiere)

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 16th July 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I admit to being a bit of a fan of the work of Stephen King, as such I am fully aware that there are many adaptations of his work out there that are less than average. Despite this, I live in hope that someday somebody will make a decent fist of one of his stories again. Unfortunately, this one goes on the ‘below par’ pile… along with too many others I’m afraid. I must say I haven’t read the story on which this one is based, but, knowing Mr. King, I’m sure it works perfectly well on the page. More of my thoughts after this brief summary.

A schoolteacher, Robinson, is devastated when his wife, Elizabeth, is murdered by crime boss Dolan. She had witnessed several murders committed by Dolan whilst out riding one day and ended up paying the ultimate price. With vengeance on his mind, Robinson gets himself a gun and stakes out Dolan for a long time. Thinking the time is right he prepares to kill him but a hit by a rival gang puts paid to his ambitions and demonstrates that Dolan’s car, a tripped out Cadillac is one tough motor vehicle! Eventually a plan forms in Robinson’s mind, one which will involve Dolan’s Cadillac.

There are elements of this film I liked, the fact that Robinson is haunted by visions of his wife after her death was a nice device. Shame they didn’t use it to its full potential. There were a couple of moments of humour in there, but not enough to give this film a boost it needed. Performance-wise, Christian Slater did an excellent job as Dolan, he really knows how to ‘chew the furniture’ when required. Wes Bentley was also pretty good as Robinson and finally, although she didn’t have an awful lot to do, Emmanuelle Vaugier did a decent job as Elizabeth.

I do enjoy a decent revenge thriller but unfortunately this one is a bit of a let-down. The plot loses a lot of steam very quickly and never really recovers. It’s a shame really because this one had some potential, but I can see why it went straight to DVD. Over all, despite a couple of decent performances, this one fails to live up to its potential… NOT recommended.

My Score: 4.7/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0963965/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dolans_cadillac/
Trailer: