The Children of Panem

"The Hunger Games"

 

I just had one of the best film weekends I have had in aaages. I hadn't been to the cinema for three weekends in a row by this Saturday, so I was very excited about this extra special trip to see "The Hunger Games" which I had been eagerly anticipating, having read and very much enjoyed the books. The film did not disappoint I can tell you!

Far right: Hutcherson, Lawrence, Hemsworth

I reckon many fans of the book, like me, will mostly be concerned about whether the films are going to get the three young leads right, whom we have followed and loved (maybe not all of them, but you will have your favourite two) throughout the three books. Luckily for us, the entire cast was nigh on perfect, with the brilliant  Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is an incredibly endearing, in-no-way-annoying protagonist, who has a lot of character in the book, unlike the protagonist of the book THG is most often compared to, "Twilight", who is completely 2D and incredibly annoying and for who I had not one ounce of sympathy while reading the book. Katniss is a skilled hunter and a beautiful girl, but you don't feel jealous or annoyed by these facts, because she's modest and brave and genuinely merits the admiration she generates and Lawrence was perfect casting for this. She's not just pretty, she has charisma, she is a strong actress, but still shows great modesty and likability. You need all these things for Katniss, as well as a capable actress, considering the range of emotions and horrors the character goes through.

The two male leads were also well chosen. Josh Hutcherson shows all the characteristics we expect from Peeta, though in a far less demanding role than Katniss'. He's sweet, sensitive and strongly moral, but also brave and charming. Hutcherson isn't quite as large or handsome as I imagined Peeta,  the powerful blonde baker's son, but he acts Peeta and so he comes to look like Peeta. As you all know, I have much love for Chris Hemsworth, the wonderful Thor, and his younger brother Liam, who plays Katniss' other male lead Gale, is quickly making his way onto my man list. He's like a slightly smaller, dark version of Chris, almost as handsome, and I believe has the potential to prove almost as charismatic. His part in THG is pretty small, but don't worry Hemsworth fans, it is bigger in book 2 and he becomes incredibly significant by book 3. What he mainly does in this first installment is stand there and look handsome and broody, which he does very well, but Peeta is definitely the male lead at this point. Who knows how things will develop later on though... ;)

As always, Elizabeth Banks is PERFECTly cast as Effie Trinket. The representative of the games in district 12, a native of the capital and as such, ridiculously dressed and incredibly oblivious to the horrific reality of the games.  It's all a fun show as far as she's concerned, though there's definitely a deeper, slightly more intuitive side of Effie that comes out as the books continue. I love love love Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, one of my favourites in the book, and ditto for Woody Harrelson, ever the amazing performer, as Haymitch Abernathy, the lovable drunk. And I did enjoy an appearance from Wes Bentley as Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane, I haven't seen him since "American Beauty"! My only quarrel with casting was Donald Sutherland as President Snow. There's no problem with his performance, but Snow, as president of the capital, is supposed to have had extensive plastic surgery to reduce aging in his face, probably a lot of botox, resulting in fake, puffy, slimy lips and a repulsive facade which Katniss finds hard to approach. Even with an evil sneer, Sutherland has a pretty comforting face!

The effects were, as you'd hope for this film, brilliant! The capitol had to be an interesting task, not just the amazing buildings, the stadium in which they introduce the tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games, but also its inhabitants, with their ridiculous make-up, tattoos, wigs, clothes, all far too colourful and lavish, to the extent of obscenity. The city floats in the middle of a lake, it is incredibly beautiful, but, as well all know, contains an incredibly corrupt society, which is part of what Collins wanted to put across in her book. A society which focuses that much on aesthetics, that doesn't have much bellow the surface, in the way of intelligence or morals.

Team Gale? or Team Peeta?

If you like, or even better love, the books, go see this adaptation! It is incredibly true to the books, to the extent that there were only one or two moments where I thought "That's been slightly altered, but not really," and there are no key excerpts from the book which I noticed missed out. It is very true and a VERY exciting, fun watch!! If you haven't read the book, well, either get reading or get watching! I only condone watching the film without having read the book if you genuinely have no trace of desire to read it. And people, it's time to chose whether you're Team Peeta (which I am in the book) or Team Gale (which I am in the film so far). Is it mega lame to get the t-shirt...?

To see my analysis of "The Hunger Games" books and for a slightly more detailed overview of the plot check out my post "The Hunger Games: A Briefing".

The Hunger Games was awesome, it really put me in a good mood. As I have said a million times, I love it when a book I am particularly fond of is transformed into a great film which really does it justice and I believe this is such a case. What was especially nice about this weekend trip to the cinema is that I left the Odeon to find the sun shining brightly and a warm breeze all around, allowing me to tear off my jumper and enjoy the sun on my arms for the first time in a while. Jim (with whom I watch and share all these movie experiences) and I then went down to Bristol docks, which is just lovely this time of year for an ice cream. But that's not all! No, the weekend delights reached an even greater high on Sunday when we returned to town to watch another film, "21 Jump Street", which turned out to be equally as exhilarating and noteworthy as "The Hunger Games"...

"21 Jump Street"

Jenko and Schmidt were high school enemies, now they're
BFFs,  hunting down some bad guys!

If I ever didn't love Channing Tatum (OK, I didn't, the fact that he was in "Step Up" and just appeared to be generic American hunk with a boring face put me off) I do now! He is seriously funny in this film. His comic timing is perfect, he's totally lovable and endearing as Jenko, while doing what we all know he does best: Play the high school jock with lots of brawn and no brains. Jonah Hill is equally well-suited to his part, the nerdy, awkward, never-successfully-asked out a girl Schmidt. So there we have our two leads and what is the premise? Two useless cops who have only managed to get by by combining their efforts - Schmidt brings the smarts while Jacob aces the obstacle courses and physical training - are caught out when an attempt to arrest their first perp goes horribly wrong. They are subsequently sent to 21 Jump Street, an old Korean church in which undercover cops are trained and sent off on their various missions. Tatum and Hill must go back to high school - at which, naturally, Schmidt was a total loser with no friends and Jenko was the dishy track runner and football player with consistent F grades - and uncover the dealers and brewers of a new drug, which is circulating the school and has killed one student already.

This is one of the funniest films I have discovered in years. The advert really made me laugh, but as is so often the case with comedies, I was expecting the film to not quite live up to it, to have given away its best bits in the trailer. Not so! Not so at all! This film was even more amusing than its brilliant trailer. The laughs are large and consistent and the film is very fast paced. The two leads both shine in their roles, neither one letting the other down or outshining the other, they balance each other perfectly. There are enough action sequences to keep cop-movie-fans satisfied I believe, and an incredibly cool looking party is held at the boys' home (actually it is Schmidt's home, with whose parents the boys are staying to keep up the facade of being teenage brothers). You also have a bit of a love story between Hill's character and Molly, the coolest girl in school, as well as a hilarious (though not a dominant story) romance between Tatum's clearly not teenage hunk and his chemistry teacher, who can't decide whether her morals outweigh her libido. It ticks all the boxes! I would recommend this to everyone, though I'm sure in reality there are those who will never enjoy this type of film.

Film News:
A new film on my "Oh my God, I must see that!" list is "The Cabin in the Woods". Why am I adding a horror film to this list? Especially one whose concept resembles "Cabin Fever" which was crap AND scary? Two reasons: 1) It is being directed by Joss Whedon, creator of "Buffy", "Angel", "Firefly", "Dollhouse" and the soon to be released "Avengers Assemble", and 2) It stars Chris Hemsowrth, now getting a second mention in this week's blog, and currently heading my man-list. Plus, really, this is no ordinary horror film in which five horny teens or tweens (not exactly sure how old they're supposed to be) end up being attacked by slack-jawed yokels or killing each other instead of sleeping with each other, this film has a much more interesting, unique take on the genre. Check out the trailer to see what I mean (unless you want to go in knowing almost nothing, allowing for more surprises,  which can also be fun):

The Hunger Games - A briefing

Jennifer, Josh and Liam

For my birthday this year a friend of mine bought me the first in the series of books, "The Hunger Games", of which I had never previously heard, but which I quickly took to reading and soon I was buying books two and three, "Catching Fire" and "Mockingjay". These books, a teenage trilogy, starring a brave, resilient young heroine, Katniss, facing constant life-threatening situations, while being simultaneously wooed by two handsome young men, Peeta and Gale, has, unsurprisingly, often been labeled the next "Twilight", but it's so much more.

Effie Trinket with lead, Katniss Everdeen

The story is set in an alternative version of our world, in a post-apocalyptic America, now named Panem. It is divided into 12 districts and a Capitol which rules them all. To ensure fear and complete subservience of the other districts and to repress the urge to rebel, the capital holds annual "Hunger Games". These games involve a lottery in which one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from every district is chosen to enter an arena and fight to the death. Last man standing wins. Sound familiar? Yes, it is to an extent a western, 12A version of "Battle Royale". I haven't read the novel of "Battle Royale", though I've read much of the manga, but I'd say it is the better story of that and "The Huger Games". That said, the latter is a consistently fun, often gripping, frequently moving - in some cases to tears - novel, full of lovable characters. I was so thrilled to find out that Lenny Kravitz would be playing Cinna and Woody Harrelson would be playing Haymitch - two of my favourites. 

Though still notably aimed at a teenage audience, these books are significantly better written than the Twilight saga, with more in depth characters and a more well-rounded and action-packed plot. Many of the kinks (the many, many kinks) in "Twilight"'s armour have been ironed out in these novels - though I am by no means arguing that Suzanne Collins thought for a minute about "Twilight" when she wrote them. The protagonist, Katniss, is actually likeable and sympathetic. She has personality, and does not merely feel like she is narrating the events as the author would. She has ups and downs, moments of joy and of sadness, instead of hurtling out moans and complaints at her reader. The two male leads courting her are the ONLY men doing so, unlike in Bella Swan's case where I believe her two male school friends, Mike and Eric, also tried to catch her attention when she first arrived in Forks. There is actual death and violence in this saga about a game show where "kill or be killed" is the mantra, in complete contrast to the vampire novels in which, despite 90% of its population being vampires or werewolves, both creatures designed for strength and the ability to destroy, and despite the age old rivalry between these two races and despite the high tensions between the Cullen clan and the vampire Vatican, not one main character dies in 4 books. Not one! Well, when reading or watching "The Hunger Games", prepare to lose those you love and thought you'd never lose! The individual events of this story are by no means predictable, though you can have a general guess at how it will end, but important questions - such as who will survive?, who will Katniss end up with? - Peeta? Gale? No one? - are not supplied with quick and easy answers. 

The film is going to be a quadrilogy, which I believe will involve splitting the final novel in two - as was done with "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" and "Harry Potter Part 7". The first part is coming out 23 March and, judging from the trailer, looks to be one of this years must-see fantasy films:

Film News:
I am about to reveal to you, the most exciting, inviting, inciting film news you'll hear for ages: It's official, they're making a sequel to "X-Men: First Class" and director Matthew Vaughn is back on board: http://blastr.com/2012/01/that-x-men-first-class-se.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Another intriguing new project I have heard of is "Only Loves Left Alive", a film about two vampire lovers, starring Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Tom Hiddleston and Mia Wasikowska and directed by Jim Jarmusch.

More soon to be released is "A Dangerous Method", out on 10th May, the next in the Michael Fassbender series. This is the story of psychoanalysis, of the friendship of Karl Jung and Sigmund Freud and the tests they carry out on a sexually disturbed Russian girl, Sabina, who ends up driving a wedge between the two. I am very excited about this film, though it appears to be receiving only mediocre praise: 3 stars from Total Film. I love Fassbender, Viggo Mortenson and Keira Knightley and David Cronenberg (director) has made some interesting films. He directed "Crash", which won the Oscar for Best Film. I personally didn't enjoy "Crash", I found it very bleak and there aren't many characters you can really empathise with, but it does address important and interesting issues and he got some brilliant performances out of his cast. Cronenberg also made "A History of Violence", displaying some raw talent from Mortenson and, again, heavy and serious material.  It seems to me it is worth watching his films to look at the issues he raises and the performances of his actors.