New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Trailer

"It's the things we love most that destroy us." Poor Katniss Everdeen! All she ever wanted to was keep her sister safe and keep Peeta alive in the Hunger Games. Instead, she's involved in an all-out war against the Capital and President Snow (Donald Sutherland).  In the newest trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is the Rebels' Mockingjay as the stakes have been escalated and no one is safe this time around.  While the Rebels have Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Plutarch Heavensbee (the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman), we get a first look at President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Cressida (Natalie Dormer).  Old and familiar characters are much changed as well.  Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) looks absolutely unrecognizable without her customary colorful flair and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) seems quite unlike himself too.  But with the Mockingjay at the helm, we all have faith that it's all going to turn out okay.  Eventually.  With the Catching Fire director Francis Lawrence back for another installment and a screenplay by Danny Strong (Lee Daniels' The Butler) and Peter Craig, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 will release in theaters around the world on November 21, 2014.  

Movie Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The sequel to last year's wildly successful The Hunger Games, Catching Fire builds on its momentum and delivers a solid middle film that sets up the action for the final two-parter, Mockingjay.  Book adaptations are usually so difficult and people have a love or hate relationship with them especially with a book series that's as successful as The Hunger Games have been.

Catching Fire is a near faithful adaptation of the book that keeps in the best parts of the story and elaborates nicely on its central themes. Jennifer Lawrence steps back into the shoes of Katniss Everdeen who has to adjust to life as one of the winners of The Hunger Games along with Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson).  What both of them don't realize the spark of hope the two of them, especially Katniss, have ignited by challenging the system and President Snow (Donald Sutherland).  Snow wants this new found hope squashed by making sure Katniss knows her place.

While Katniss and Snow are watching each other's moves on the mandatory victory, neither are appeased by their actions and President Snow has to move forward with Plan B.  What exactly does Plan B entail? The plan is much grander, invoking an ages old rule that allows all the contestants to compete in the  Quarter Quell,  the 75th anniversary of The Hunger Games and of Panem's victory and dominion over the rest of the districts.

This time around, it's not just Katniss and Peeta but all former winners of previous Hunger Games.  Team Katniss and Peeta (including Haymitch, Effie and Cinna) have to be that much more on edge and alert to survive.  Katniss has allies in the arena like Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Wiress (Amanda Plummer) but others like Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) are harder to read. Are they out to help or will they kill her to survive?

This film puts much more emphasis (and rightly so) on the sense of survivor's guilt and trauma these winners feel and how much they and their families are at risk under President Snow and the Capitol's arbitrary laws.  But the film is also laying down the blocks which will make up the arc of the final films where Katniss must choose what and who is worthing fighting for.  In the final scenes, it is made evidently clear that the lines are now clearly drawn in the sand, the fight is now on.

Overall, the film was hugely enjoyable, with great new additions to the cast.  This is the American Harry Potter series, in that as the British series drew the creme de la creme of actors from the island nation, so does this franchise, adding Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman as Head Gamekeeper Plutarch Heavensbee.  The screenplay too features two Oscar winners in the category with Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine).

I always thought Catching Fire would be the most difficult one to film and get across to the audience because it contains so much information and has so much takes place in difficult island, but it ended up surprising me with how neatly all of it was laid out without losing the core of the book.  It suddenly made me wish that had happened with some of the Harry Potter films.

Director Francis Lawrence has carried over the mantle started by Gary Ross in the first film and hopefully will continue to do so over the next two.  And of course, Jennifer Lawrence IS Katniss completely as she brings out her inner vulnerabilities and strengths.  The movie is all her.  And it's worth nothing that this franchise brings in not only the youngsters (the girls and the boys) but also the adults based on her name alone.  That is quite the achievement for a 23-year-old to have.

If you are a fan of the books or simply curious about the movies, I'd suggest you check out The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  This heroine is worth following.

Directed by Francis Lawrence; Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Bruyn aka Michael Arndt; Based on the book by Suzanne Collins; Cinematography by Jo Willems; Editing by Alan Edward Bell; Music by James Newton Howard

Additional cast: Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields,

Rating: 

Catching Fire First Trailer

As expected, after releasing the Quarter Quell posters earlier this week, the first trailer of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire premiered after the film's panel at Comic-Con. As we can see, we dive right back into the action as we last left Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) as winners of The Hunger Game. But their relief as winning is short-lived as they roped back in the arena for the 75th Hunger Games against previous tributes. The pressure is again on Katniss as she fights a mental game of wills with President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and Katniss' younger sister Prim (Willow Shields) rightly points out, something is different since Katniss won. People have begun to hope.

I've always thought the second book would be difficult to bring to the screen. The arena for the Quarter Quell is complicated and intensely visual and I hope the filmmakers give us the heightened emotions and paranoia that's present in every page of the book. I'm already liking this second film a lot more than the first The Hunger Games.  The franchise seems to have settled in nicely for the long run.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire releases November 22, 2013.

New Quarter Quell Posters from Catching Fire

Just in time for the upcoming Comic-Con 2013 along with a possible trailer debut, we have our first official Quarter Quell poster showing off the key characters who will return back to The Hunger Games ring. Let's have a look. Warning: Serious poses ahead!

Photos: Yahoo! Movies

 

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson) reigning winners of the recent Hunger Games from District 12 and the overwhelming favorites going into the Quarter Quell.

From District 2, brutal and fearless tributes Enobaria (Meta Golding) and Brutus (Bruno Gunn). They kinda give me the heebie jeebies.  Watch your backs, Katniss and Peeta!

Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) the lone tribute from District 7. Is she an ally or a foe? We'll soon find out.

The District 4 tributes. First up is the dashing Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) along with his mentor Mags (Lynn Cohen). There's more to them than meets the eye.

Cashmere (Stephanie Leigh Schlund) and Gloss (Alan Ritchson), sibling tributes from District 1 more popularly known as Careers.

And finally from District 3, we have Wiress (Amanda Plummer) and Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) nicknamed 'Nuts' and 'Volts' by Johanna.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games was probably my second most anticipated film of the year after The Dark Knight Rises and I'm so pleased that they've both lived up to expectations.  As fun as the Harry Potter films were, the inner fan in me was always disappointed in the scenes they did leave out in the films.  No such problems here.  The Hunger Games delivers on all levels especially in the screenplay that touches on all the main points from the books and visually brings to life the spectacle of the gruesome games.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a name we all now know as well as Harry Potter or Bella Swan, is a determined young woman who lives with her mother and sister Primrose (Willow Shields) in District 12 in Panem, a dystopian future where the Capitol rules over Districts just like the one Katniss lives in.  In this future, two tributes (i.e. children) from each district must be sent to the Capitol to participate in The Hunger Games to remind people of the uprising against Panem and serve as a reminder never to be occurred again.  The Hunger Games has echoes of the Greek tales of Theseus and the Minotaur as well but it borrows most of its themes from reality television we have grow so accustomed to.

Author Suzanne Collins takes the competition to another level with children fighting to the death to survive and bring stability and food to their Districts for a whole year.  And yes, with a title like The Hunger Games, there's a whole lot of focus on food.  When Primrose's name is picked the first year she's eligible for the games, big sister Katniss volunteers herself and sets up events that will change the history of Panem.

The other tribute and her competitor essentially is Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson) with whom she has a complicated moment when she was younger and feels at her lowest.  The movie dwells on it and it's extremely important as it sets up how Katniss treats him.  Within no time, the pair is whisked off to the Capitol to participate in the games.  On the train, they meet Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), their mentor and previous winner from District 12 along with their perky guide Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks).

The games are grueling, mentally and physically and the film does a good job of showing how you have to compete not just in the arena but to be savvy for the sponsors that will aide along the way and be liked by the public that supports you as well.  Isn't that the case with any reality show participant? It's not how good you are, it's how well you play the game.  Peeta has a better handle on this as he knows it's his best chance to survive while Katniss is focused on her survival skills for the arena.

Both of them are up against formidable foes like Glimmer (Leven Rambin) and Cato (Alexander Ludwig) who won't think twice before killing and possible allies like Thresh and Rue (Amandla Stenberg) who are just like them trying to stay alive. Like in any reality show, alliances are made and then cruelly broken when it becomes clear, it's all about you in the end.

Haymitch, who tries to procure sponsors so that his tributes stay alive, tries to spin "the star-crossed lovers" angle for Katniss and Peeta.  They have to rely on each other to make it through the ordeal.  Besides the clueless public and the sponsors, overseeing the games is Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) who throws in fire and wild animals to prod the contestants when he thinks the action onscreen isn't interesting enough.  However, the man running them is all, President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), is a shrewd leader who's sees beyond Katniss' minor rebellions on the show and the effect it has on the people in the outer districts.

The movie deals with all these characters well, introducing them and setting up their character arcs, only Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' best friend and Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), her stylist and designer aren't given enough time to develop fully.  But as is the case with any big Hollywood film, it'll all be dealt with in the sequel.  Katniss' story is told through three books that make up The Hunger Games trilogy and the second film is due out next year.

The differences between the Capitol and the outer districts is staggering.  The Capitol is a bustling city of tomorrow whose citizens are obsessed with plastic surgery, color and fashion while in the outer districts, every day is a struggle to survive for basic needs like food and shelter. The bleakness vs. the vividness of the Capitol is seen right away and I'm guessing we'll see more of it in the movies to follow as well.

The costumes are pretty much what I imagined except I thought the flames on Katniss' Girl on Fire dress would be higher.  The movie makes them more realistic.  The mutations were also less scary than they are described in the books; they have the eyes of the fallen tributes and they taunt Katniss, Peeta and Cato.  I guess that would have made it into a stronger rating for the film maybe that's why the idea was dropped.

And lastly the reason why the film was so enjoyable was due to Jennifer Lawrence.  She almost has the same journey as Katniss.  Even though she's an Oscar nominee last year, many people didn't know who she was.  Now, with the promotion and the kind of money the film has made, everyone knows who Lawrence is.  She portrays Katniss' survival instincts and her fear of losing her sister like second skin.  She really is a fine young actress and you identify instantly.  The rest of the actors are all well cast and this becomes the rare case in the film where the actor is cast for the acting and not because he/she looks the part as can be argued for Josh Hutcherson for Peeta Mallark.

The movie will bring in new fans who obviously haven't the books and while the film is very thrilling and exciting, the books have this urgency and fear that can't be translated onscreen.  The Hunger Games has given us a new heroine to root for in Katniss Everdeen and I can't wait to see the rest of her journey as she leads an uprising against Panem.  Trust me, you'll be hooked too.

Directed by Gary Ross; Screenplay by Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins and Billy Ray; Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins; Cinematography by Tom Stern; Edited by Stephen Mirrione and Juliette Welfing; Music by James Newton Howard

Rating: 

Notable Trailers: To Rome with Love, Delicacy, Intouchables and 7 Days in Havana

Today's trailers are all set in foreign locales.  Let's take a look!

Well, that was fast.  Just days ago, we got introduced to the new Italian poster of To Rome with Love and soon enough a new trailer debuts this week.  In it, we get introduced to a few different storylines.  We have an American couple (Judy Davis, Woody Allen) who go to Rome to meet their daughter's boyfriend, a young couple (Greta Gerwig, Jesse Eisenberg) whose relationship gets tested when the girlfriend's best friend (Ellen Page) moves in with them, an Italian man (Roberto Benigni) who gets his every move reported by the paparazzi and finally there's Penelope Cruz playing a prostitute.  Coming after Midnight in Paris, I hope this one does not disappoint.

From Italy we move to France where Intouchables tells the story of a quadriplegic man who hires a young man from the projects to look after him.  The film is about their unique friendship.  Omar Sy who play Driss, the caretaker of Philippe (Francois Cluzet), won the Cesar for Best Actor over The Artist's Jean Dujardin and the film has become the second most-watched movie in French cinema.  One to look out for.

Also from France comes Delicacy (La delicatesse) starring Audrey Tautou and Francois Damiens (Heartbreaker).  Tautou plays Nathalie, a young widow who finds love again with her Swedish co-worker.  I think this one will be mostly for Tautou fans.




And finally, in the tradition of Paris, Je t'aime and New York, I Love You comes 7 Nights in Havana, an anthology film featuring stories directed by Laurent Cantet, Juan Carlos Tabio, Gaspar Noe, Elia Suleiman, Julio Medem, Pablo Trapero and Benicio Del Toro.  The film stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games), Daniel Bruhl, Emir Kusturica, Melissa Rivera and Elia Suleiman.

Which of these trailers is going to send you to the cinema?

The Hunger Games: The Next Big Thing!

The Hunger Games releases next Friday worldwide and I've got a pretty good feeling that the movie will do well.  After Harry Potter and Twilight, it's pegged to be the next big series to follow, but this will actually appeal to adults as well and not just teenage girls.  Suzanne Collins has written a fantastic gripping trilogy about a dystopian future in which children are randomly chosen to fight to their death while the rest of society watches on like a reality show.  It's disturbing but incredibly well-written that you can't help but root for the main characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark as they struggle to maintain their true self and stay alive.

Elizabeth Banks, Josh Hutcherson, author Suzanne Collins and director Gary Ross

Josh Hutcherson, Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

The world premiere were held in L.A. and London and judging by the cast and fan reactions, I'd say we have a new fan franchise on hand.  The sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire is already being adapted for the screen by Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and will be directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) too.  I can't wait to see how it all unfolds on the big screen next week.  I've tried to limit myself not to spoil too much of the actual clips and TV spots that are being released but I couldn't help but peek at the clip below where Peeta (a character I have a soft spot) gets his TV interview time with Caesar Flickman (Stanley Tucci).  Take a look! 

New Photo: The Hunger Games

(Photo: Entertainment Weekly)

Another photo from The Hunger Games of Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) right before they go into the arena and I do believe Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) is about light their outfit to transform Katniss into 'The Girl on Fire'.  I shouldn't spoil myself with the images from the movie but I can't help it, I feel like right before the first Harry Potter came out.  It's hard to resist.  What do you think of the new image?