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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

The Hunger Games: MOCKINGJAY - Part 1

Spike and I caught Episode 3 of The Hunger Games at Limelight Cinemas at the Tuggeranong Hyperdome (and there is an overstatement if ever there was one).

I know I'm not in the 'demographic' but I did enjoy it. It's a good movie.

There have been a few smart arse comments online about there being no games in a Hunger Games movie.  Can't say that bothered me.  Much as I was captivated by the arena scenes in movie two (probably more so than in movie one) I think a third variation on the gladiatorial theme could have been a bit tedious.  I like the shift of tone and the new set of concerns - propaganda, media management, the creation of icons, preservation of your own identity versus surrender to a cause, the duplicity and cynicism of power elites (on both sides - that was a creepy 1984 style leadership style exhibited by Julianne Moore).  It may have been a bit more talky than earlier episodes but the dialogue was well written and the acting was mostly very good (I'm still not persuaded that Peeta - Josh Hutcherson - has been cast properly but I've not read the books so what do I know?  It could be perfect casting).  Jennifer Lawrence is believable throughout; her best Katniss Everdeen so far.  I completely accepted her as a teenager this time.   I suspect her performance is what holds the movie together.  Donald Sutherland seemed more rounded too and Phillip Seymour Hoffman was ... well ... simply the greatest loss to movie acting of the 21st Century.  

I know there are plot holes you could drive a bus through - for instance, why didn't the nasty Capital just keep dropping bombs for days on the rebel stronghold?  But you can forgive them, suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride.

I like the song, one of the most effective scenes in the film.