'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' - Movie Review

"Moves and countermoves." 

It's a line that never stops giving. And in the case of Hunger Games: Catching Fire, it's also an idea that never stops paying out. There are moves - an adventure series aimed at the head and heart before the eyes - and then there are counter moves - a concept which we believe to be abhorrent, yet deliciously captivating. 

At the outset of Catching Fire, we find Katniss and Peeta suffering from post-traumatic stress after their victory in The Hunger Games. District 12 still looks like a disillusioned town from the Russian Civil War. And the people, or the "serfs" if you will, are still struggling to find colour in the grey, tyrannical soot of life. Actually, come to think of it, Catching Fire has in many ways an identical plot to its predecessor. It draws empathy and outrage by chucking us head first into the squalor, and then builds on the theme of injustice by showing us what the few have compared to what the many (don't) have (shout out to Bolshevik Russia, again), takes a detour through The Capitol and its special effects laden gyms, and then plops us in a Darwinian wet dream. And the best countermove of all is that it works. Correction, it still works.

What is crucial for the puppet masters behind the Hunger Games franchise to get right is the role of Katniss Everdeen. She is a heroine that must hit the audience for singles, fours and a six. She needs to display toughness and beauty that will attract both young men and young women. Stoicism must meet pure empathy. She'll slay the naysayer and show concern for the departed. Be the President's thorn and the people's hope. And in Jennifer Lawrence, the move has been a success. Last year's Hunger Games reached a global box office figure of three quarters of a billion dollars. Lawrence has the ability to pull this move off. She's got the steely-eyed look, and the moves of a heroine. She even has the two suitors playing the cat and mouse game. Game. Set. Match. 

The supporting cast is delectable. For if a revolution is brewing, you want to make sure that your best are rising to the surface for the showdown. Isn't that right, Vladimir? (Who will be the Hunger Games' Trotsky?) Enter Philip Seymour Hoffman - the only character to shun the costume gimmick. But appearances aren't always what they appear to be, just ask Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Hoffman's Plutarch - another Roman shout out! - may not reach the edge that Hoffman often goes to, but he is a character that gets us flailing our hands in the air while we make a wild dash to the book store... or Wikipedia. Next to Hoffman is Donald Sutherland's scheming victor-of-years-gone-by, President Snow. The President expands in the sequel and begins to take yet another page from the Russian revolution: execution and secret police. (Lenin was notorious for writing that revolutions must enforce change and peace through violence. However, Lenin also spoke against the secret police and executions of the Tsar and the Romanov rulers.) Particularly noteworthy is the scene where the President confronts Katniss in District 12. It really sets the tone for the opening act. 

Also noteworthy are the revised roles of Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). For Effie, the sequel offered more of an opportunity for her to open up her big heart and embrace the loveable underdogs of District 12. There's a warm and fuzzy feeling surrounding her, we'll call her the “Big Mama” of the film.

While Catching Fire fails to bring a new flavour, or storyline, the formula works to make the battle royale scenes (shot in Hawaii) a crash course in suspense and thrill! While some might not appreciate the left turn towards alliances and strategy, many will enjoy this heightened element. And who doesn't like a few dozen ferocious baboons?

Francis Lawrence (Water for Elephants, I Am Legend) replaces Gary Ross - shaky camera dude - as director and immediately attempts to clean things up. The romance, sci-fi, kung-fu training and political scheming are all given a touch up. Yet it appears staying true to the novel was paramount for screenwriters Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3, Brave, Oblivion), as the screenplay is as abrupt in its ending as Suzanne Collins' novel.

Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a quality sequel that leaves us wanting more. You'll never feel that it’s perfect, but you’ll walk away knowing that something bigger is on the horizon. The only question is whether we should have hope in the moves that are coming in the two-part finale? 

7/10

LifeOfTheCam's Top 10 Songs of 2013

Note: These songs aren't necessarily from 2013. Instead, these are the songs that I have appreciated the most this year. 

 
10. Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed

When I was a boy I would hum along to this peculiar song. Of course, I had no idea what was actually being said. I just enjoyed the tune and would tap along to the beat. Years later, I came back to the song and broke out into laughter when I heard what was being said! The story is first-class weird. It left a grin.

You'll be missed, Lou.

"Plucked her eye brows on the way
Shaved her legs and now he was a she
She says, 'Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side'"

9. 1984 - David Bowie

Bowie, Bowie, Bowie. What does one make of David Bowie? Well, it depends on who (and what) Bowie was at the time. My favourite thought of Bowie is him as Ziggy Stardust. Yet 1984, and in particular the influence of Orwell's novel, is never far from mind. Give the song a listen and the book a read. Big Brother is daring you to.

"Beware, the savage jaw of 1984"

8. A Man Needs A Maid - Neil Young

I always wondered what this song meant/was connected to. A year or so ago I was told that it relates to Casablanca. This only made me enjoy the song more, seeing as Casablanca is a timeless classic. I always enjoyed playing this while I (passive aggressively) cleaned other people's dishes in a share house. The house has since dissolved, the song, on the other hand, has not.

"A man needs a maid"

7. Let's See Action - The Who

It's a little too straight forward, but we can all be blunt sometimes. Apart from that, though, this jive-turkey sound really gets me excited. What is it about '70s protest music that injects life into the soul?

"Let's see action, let's see people,
Let's be free, let's see who cares"

6. No Church In The Wild - Jay Z & Kanye West

I don't know anything about a "bass line" in a rap song/piece. What I do know, however, is that I love the bass in this song. It's like nothing I've heard before. And when I hear Frank Ocean's distinct voice, and Jay and Kanye's interesting exploration of religion and wealth, too, I can't help but want to own this song. And the music video is so visually moving and frightening that I had to Google search the creator (Romain Gavras).

"Human beings in a mob
What's a mob to a king?
What's a king to a God?
What's a God to a nonbeliever?
Who don't believe in anything"

5. Grace of God Go I - Flogging Molly

This song was, in a way, my response to Mémé (grandma) passing away earlier this year.

"Looking down through a tide of no return
Is a field where the crops no longer grow
Parched is the land, strangled and be damned
There for the Grace of God go I"

4. Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys

It was originally written by the late, great Woody Guthrie (one of Bob Dylan's idols). Yet, it was performed to perfection by the Celtic group Dropkick Murphys. It's the rough-and-tough song I play before (and after) every Red Sox game. And since the Sox won the World Series this year, the song got a lot of airtime.

"I'm shipping up to Boston"

3. Video Games - Lana Del Rey

I've been called a sexist when it comes to music. The truth is, I just don't appreciate the industry's (apparent) desire to have every female act sound the same. So, when a voice like Del Rey's comes around - and we can say something similar about Adele and Laura Marling - I stop and listen. Her voice is gorgeous and unique, I'll take it any day of the week. And her brutally honest depiction of an ignored lover in this song draws me in.

It's no surprise that Young and Beautiful became the signature song of Baz Lurhmann's Great Gatsby soundtrack this year.

"Go play a video game"

2. Lost In The Flood - Bruce Springsteen

This is a powerful song. On the '75 Live Hammersmith album it is breathtakingly powerful. It shows The Boss doing work. And to think that this song was on Bruce's debut album! There's a depth and maturity to this song that you'd never expect to come from a debut album. Can anyone tell a (three part) story quite like Bruce? (Maybe Dylan...)

"And everyone's drunk on Main Street from drinking unholy blood
Sticker smiles sweet as gunner breathes deep, his ankles caked in mud
And I said, 'Hey, gunner man, that's quicksand, that's quicksand that ain't mud
Have you thrown your senses to the war or did you lose them in the flood?'"

1. The Ghost of Tom Joad - Bruce Springsteen

My dream of seeing Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band live came to fruition this year. It was well worth the wait.

The band was sixteen deep, went for over two hours and gave us everything they had. One of the blokes on stage was Tom Morello, who was replacing Steve Van Zandt. And when Morello and Bruce transitioned into The Ghost of Tom Joad, I knew I was witnessing musical perfection. The song was already hauntingly beautiful before I had heard it live, but after hearing Morello's take on the song, I felt the explosive power of Tom Joad. The next day I started re-reading Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

"He pulls prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a bud and takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city's aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
But where it's headed everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waiting on the ghost of Tom Joad"

 

'About Time' - Movie Review

If there are only two things that writer-director Richard Curtis does exceptionally, it's laugh-out-loud British comedy and heart-felt romance. About Time brings the Curtis magic, just give Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill, or my favourites - Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked, a try. He's got a recipe and it works. Yet, what might interest you about this newest rom-com-with-style-and-class is that the story doesn't centre around the time travel gimmick, or the 'Rachel McAdams meets a lanky ginger' gimmick, which we are hilariously introduced to in the trailer. About Time goes deeper. To quote Shrek, it's got "layers". The time travel element is primarily used to bring about the depth of family relationships... and the importance of living life as it's meant to be lived.

So it turns out that time travel is a genetic thing. No one tell Dr Emmet Brown, I'm not sure he'd be able to stomach the news. We are given wind of this groundbreaking truth at the beginning of the film, when the loveable, "I want him to be my Dad", Dad (Bill Nighy) tells his son, Tim (Domnhall Gleeson), that the men of the family are able to travel back in time. What follows is a particularly enjoyable philosophic and moralistic discussion between father and (disbelieving) son on what this ability has meant for the men in the Lake family. Of course, Tim thinks his Dad has gone batty; that is until he creeps into a closet and attempts to travel back in time to an unfortunate New Year's Eve party. Henceforth, our introduction to the time-travel rom-com is hilariously understandable.

What makes About Time all the more funny, though, is the fact that Tim and his family are quirky yet unimportant. Unimportant in the sense that you and I can relate to them. This established connection is an old Curtis trick, and it goes a long way to make About Time personable and memorable. What Curtis also does, which he does in all his films, is introduce a plethora of interesting supporting characters. From Tim's eccentric and tragic sister Kit-Kat (a believable and perfectly cast Lydia Wilson), to the family's aloof and darling "Uncle D" (Richard Cordery), who has one of the more precious moments towards the end of the film. The cast and characters outside of the family are just as colourful, hilarious and well developed.

Tom Hollander is pure British gold as the tortured playwright who just can't get his head out of his own arse (not the be confused with an 'ass'). But, as British as Tom Hollander's Harry is, the devastatingly wet - and piss your pants funny - wedding scene is even more so. It's been some time since I've heard such laughter in a cinema! I'd have to go all the way back to 2007, when Death At A Funeral (UK version) made its rounds. The wedding from hell? Not at all. I recall my engagement party taking place on a wet and windy day. If only I had this couple's disposition! It is a joyous scene to behold.

It's a pleasure to have gone from Thor: The Dark World, where characters are as undercooked as a vegetarian's salad, to About Time, where we actually experience the growth and progression we often yearn for in ourselves. With that said, what is it with Curtis and American leading ladies? Think about it... Julia Roberts come to mind? You have to give it to Curtis, though, he's nabbed the most delightful Yank going round in Rachel McAdams. She's become the quirky yet loveable girl of rom-coms. And while she has the same fringe in 'The Vow', she is considerably more interesting wearing it here.

Domnhall Gleeson succeeds as the awkward and lanky British version of Woody Allen, doesn't he? Although, one wonders, if Curtis was able to make Hugh Grant appear physically younger, would the director have gone with the typecast Brit? The role has Hugh written all over it, with Gleeson drawing similarities throughout. Regardless, Gleeson ups his game and makes this his own, going from the pimple-pup to a father who has to make tough decisions. There is one lingering question, isn't Tim's relationship with the unsuspecting Rachel McAdams (who knows all about being a Time Traveller's Wife) built on lies and deception? And while we are posing questions, aren't the Butterfly Effect-esque laws behind this time travel completely baffling by the end? Perhaps it is best that we take the advice given in the film and not dwell on misgivings?

About Time is hilarious, touching and also frightening. (The fright comes in the eating-in-complete-darkness-with-strangers dinner scene... wasn't that done in one of the Saw movies?) It's refreshing to see a Curtis film that centres heavily on a father-and-son relationship, rather than losing itself in a cliché romance. The cast delivers and the British charm, humour and wit are on show for all us "smug bastards".

7.5/10

'Thor: The Dark World' - Movie Review

You don't go the full humility. It's character development 101. Don't do it. Don't write it. Don't even entertain the thought of making Thor Asgard's Captain America. Heck, Loki makes fun of the overly righteous Captain in this new installment from the Marvel franchise.

   

So, in case you haven't heard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is back. And as the trailer frustratingly told us, so is Loki (Tom Hiddleston). In the first film - and in The Avengers - I had reservations about the character of Loki. Annoying. Tantrum prone. Elitist. It was like he was torn straight from Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto. 

However, come this second act Loki is delightful. His character has emerged, he no longer has to display fake virtue and now it is his brother-from-another-mother (Thor) who needs a face lift. A little bit of Hemsworth's recent portrayal of James Hunt is needed in the character of Thor. 

At the outset, the golden eye patch wearing Asgard king, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), gives us a history lesson. The king walks us through Norse mythology, telling us how the nine realms were created, and how the Asgardians stopped the Dark Elves from bringing eternal darkness. This is when I remind you of that famous Churchill quote: "History is written by the victors". 

The Dark Elves are out of hibernation and back for vengeance, hence "The Dark World". And now they are in search of the all-powerful "aether", a dark substance which is destructively powerful. There's always something in a Marvel movie that has the potential to destroy everything. This makes the plot predictable, generic and we have that "I swear I've seen this before" itch throughout. 

Yet, while the plot and character development is clearly Marvel material (sound the Comedic Relief alarm for Kate Dennings and Chris O'Dowd!), visually we have a stunning film. Setting a lot of the action in 'realms' other than earth works a treat, as director Alan Taylor (Game Of Thrones guru) shows off his skill in the Asgard scenes. There are ships that look to one up those from Star Trek and Star Wars, Odin's glorious palace that reminds us of the stunning mountain palaces in Tolkien's series, and a touching mass funeral scene which brings class and beauty to the film. Apart from that, though, there's just your usual world defying fights and explosions. Although, the writers (Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely) tried to throw a few intergalactic, time and space jumping curveballs into the mix at the end. It was clunky in parts, but it also fit the ferocious pace of the film. 

Hemsworth puts on the charisma he is so well known for as Thor. And the fact that the writers waited an hour to bring Thor and Loki together was genius. During the first hour we are waiting for this to come to fruition, and all the while entertained by the exploits that lead up to the brothers teaming up. And whose choice was it to give Loki all the best lines? Fantastic. However, Loki's version of Mission Impossible's latex face masking gets just a little tiring. 

The Dark Elves are quite a letdown. The leader Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) is never developed, or even interesting. We know his purpose and get the feeling that the writers got lazy early on. We shouldn’t be that surprised, though, seeing as Marvel baddies very rarely make the Hall-of-Fame. For example, Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull, Mickey Rourke’s clichéd throwback in Iron-Man 2 (Ivan Vanko), and who can forget Tim Roth’s aggro-freak Emil Blonsky? 

 

One goes to Thor to see out of this world action (it's the Marvel element) and enough charisma and fish-out-of-water jokes to be able to fill two hours of footage. The women are usually ordinary, Natalie Portman plays a love sick scientist, and while she gets more on-screen time in this one, she doesn’t look like she really wants to be there. However, Rene Russo, on the other hand, has a flurry of action and intrigue. But one of the stand outs has to be Idris Elba, who plays the unemotional Asgardian guard, Heimdall, terrifically. For a bloke who is meant to be practically invisible, he's got a memorable presence. 

Thor: The Dark World will entertain those who like Marvel films. It ticks all the Marvel boxes, but does little more. There's no Chris Nolan to deepen matters, and there's certainly no thought provoking script. Watch it for what it is, enjoy the fish-out-of-water jokes and you'll be right at home with the hunky hammer.

5/10