The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is the first of three books written by Suzanne Collins, the other two being Catching Fire and Mockingjay. With a huge opening weekend predicted there is little doubt that the studios will green light the other two movies to have them made as soon as possible. For those who have not read the book I suggest you do as not only is it a quick read but frankly this movie is made more for fans of the book than it is for someone going in knowing nothing about the series. In fact I went to see the movie with someone who had not read the books (along with two huge fans of the series) and while he loved the film there were some details that were lost on him such as what are sponsors, or why Gale had his name in the drawing so much, or for that matter why Gale was such an important character to the story. Fans of The Hunger Games will no doubt love the movie as it is a very well done and entertaining, but having just finished the book a couple months ago I found myself comparing the source material to the movie throughout the story.

With a need to satisfy fans of the series there is a lot that needs to be put into the movie, but by putting so much in the filmmakers often short change the detail. From the grandiose Capitol to the chariot rides you lose much of the detail the author puts in. This is compounded by the fact that so many of the bigger scenes were created using CGI and looks far too animated from the scenes shot on location. While the detail may have not been in the picture, the main bullet points were all hit, and maybe to a debilitating degree. While the movie wraps up after 142 minutes with many in the audience wanting more there were scenes bogged down especially before we get inside the arena. The pacing was inconsistent throughout the movie. In the beginning there was not enough development involved with major information being lost in the beginning left for the audience to infer or for readers to already know. An early example being the lack of time dedicated to showing Katniss Everdeen as a strong hunter which is what makes her such a strong favorite in the arena. From there we get to the Capitol, it just seems to take too long to get inside the arena. Once inside the arena the movie pace quickens again, but lost is the struggle to survive. I don't know how I could have done it better as it is not all that visually interesting to show dehydration but it just felt like director Gary Ross kept accelerating and then slamming on the brakes throughout the story and any driver can tell you just how frustrating that is to follow.

The most frustrating thing not shown in the movie is the brutal murder of children. Who didn’t want to see kids killing each other, in fact it is what I was looking forward to most. There is no getting around the themes of this first book, it is a post apocalyptic America having their children forced to fight each other to the death, this is dark subject matter and I wanted to see it. Now because this is a young adults book there are many kids out there who are going to want to see this movie, so maybe you don't want your nine-year old to see a child slit another child's throat. And while I knew it wasn’t going to be as gritty as I wanted it to be with a PG-13 rating I still had a small bit of hope to see the massive amounts of violence the book promised me. Instead what we see is a lot of close ups, quick cuts, shaky camera work. This usually helps to show a non violent form of death and chaos but using all three techniques became distracting and really took you out of the action. Most noticeably once they enter the arena and during the climax. With all that said the story from the novel is so strong, fast paced, and filled with so many great characters that it seems impossible for this movie to fail.

Jennifer Lawrence is absolutely perfect as Katniss Everdeen, with just enough charm to still be likable to the audience and with the perfect amount of fuck off written on her face. She can capture an audience by simply doing what she is asked to do. She is such a natural actress that it becomes easy to see her as the strong female lead that the role demands. She does not need to carry this film alone as she is accompanied by a star studded cast. Stanley Tucci plays Caesar Flickerman, the charismatic host of the event; he is more engaging and charming than most hosts currently on reality television right now. Woody Harrelson plays most people's favorite character, Haymitch. A perfectly cast drunk and can mix in the sincere when need be. The only thing lacking is his relationship with Katniss, but that seemed more like a conscious choice by the writers to leave out than anything Harrelson did. Then there is Lenny Kravitz as Cinna who proved to be a fantastic casting choice and took his role and played it with the perfect combination of sympathy and seriousness in order to pull off charming. This is all without mentioning solid performances by Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, and Wes Bentley who did much more with Seneca Crane then was originally intended but it was great to see inside the production of it all and what those on the outside thought about the tributes.

With all this terrific acting the only two people who didn't benefit from this amazing casting were the two male leads, who looked awful in comparison. Josh Hutchinson is wholly unremarkable and unmemorable as Peeta. He delivers his lines either so matter of factually or so overdone many people in the audience actually laughed at scenes I know should have been taken much more seriously. Then there was Liam Hemsworth who is often cut away to during the action to remind us he is there and we should care about him, but visually there is no reason to care unless you want to see a brooding teenager. While one of the great discussions from the book came from all the "romance," neither male lead is strong or compelling enough to maintain an interest in. And without an outright declaration of what Katniss is thinking a lot of the “romance” is left by the wayside.

While it seems like I bitched a lot about what The Hunger Games were missing, it was when it seemed like they were doing nothing at all that they got everything right. Most of my frustration, as any reader will tell you, is the inability to separate what the movie lacked. The book itself reads like a film and it is easy to visualize how the scenes should play out. So rather than sit back and enjoy this terrific story, which it really was, I got bogged down in the minutia. Lesson from it all, stop reading and assume the Hollywood is so far gone out of ideas that the adaptations from popular novels will come out within a couple of years. B

Captain America: The First Avenger

The movie has a lot to do and very little time to do it. Captain America: The First Avenger needs to tell its origin story, explain how he got from fighting Hitler to today, and needs to set up for next summer's blockbuster The Avengers all while entertaining the audience. It has only two hours to do it in and must be done this summer to get as much revenue as possible while allowing the whole cast to be available to film the epic team up. That is a lot to ask one movie to do, and to its credit, it does just that. Much like the comic hero Captain America achieves its goals in a no nonsense manner

So how do we get there? Well for starters you need the right director, and the studio went with Joe Johnston. He has done a lot of work for kids movies but he was picked for his work on period pieces and the attention to detail he used for The Rocketeer and October Sky. He didn't fluff up the background, props, and costumes with too many effects or gimmicks (read X-men: First Class) and it looks like everyone belongs.

The only effect that may have made a difference to the viewers’ eyes is how to make Chris Evans smaller. Steve Rodgers starts as an asthmatic 90 lbs nothing and becomes a super soldier. It would be one thing to ask him to pull a Bale and either bulk up or lose weight but the visual that needed to happen here required a body double or some CGI. They went with the computer as Johnston didn't believe a body double would be able to capture some of Evans more subtle body movements. The only downside is that some of the darker backgrounds look hokier as a green screen was needed to fill the empty space. It is noticeable but luckily not too discerning as it could have easily been the 3D cameras demanding sharper focus. Once he bulks up and becomes what would probably be a poster boy for the Aryan race the 1940 visuals become clearer.

What doesn't charge is the charm and modesty of Steve Rodgers played by Chris Evans. Evans is an interesting choice as his past roles have had him playing characters with some pizzazz and wit. He is no stranger to the spandex as he was one of the very few bright spots in The Fantastic Four, and was great in Scott Pilgrim. Here he is asked to play a role that is much more noble and modest. Rodgers as a character has about the same amount of flare as DC's Clark Kent, so why cast someone known for their playfulness when you can't use any of it on screen. For whatever the reason the casting decision works out great and you believe what his character does. Evans is able to play himself down and be the man that is required for the guy behind the shield; he lets the people around him handle the flare.

The cast around Evans is fantastic. I never get tired of seeing Tommy Lee Jones and he brings the same dry wit delivery you are used to seeing him however few and far between that is. Stanley Tucci is also fantastic and appears to be having fun sporting what appears to be a “Hogan's Heroes” rendering of a German accent. Hugo Weaving is a great selection as a go to bad guy, the unfortunate part is when he actually becomes the Red Skull, we lose the facial tics that go with the baritone voice. And our 1940 beau looks like she got plucked right from the era, Hayley Atwell looks the part and stands just as tall as the Hollywood notables that surround her.

This is what you expect from your summer blockbuster. There is plenty of action and star power and the movie is fun, just not exceptional. Of all the super hero movies that came out this summer this is the best one. I don't know how much that says considering the competition it had. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the charisma of Robert Downey and is nowhere near as good as the bat but it is a good option if you need some action based fun. Plus I'm still really excited to see what all that talent can do next year (make sure you stick around after the credits). Until then Captain America just about hits the spot. B

Easy A

In the same vain of Clueless and 10 Things I Hate About You comes the retelling of the classic tale The Scarlet Letter.

Emma Stone stars as Olive, the high school girl who feels unrecognizable in the high school world. One lie begets another and soon she is the center of high school gossip. The morally upright condemn the girl to hell so as an act of rebellion she marks herself with the letter A. Seriously they don't even try and hide the inspiration; I would hope that the lack of subtlety would anger the English teacher whose current assignment is the same book. The movie also draws inspiration from John Hughes' movies. The nods to the movie include Stone looking in the camera and telling the audience I want to live in a John Hughes movie and then a short montage of his films.

The story is told over her web cam and leads to some awful narration which indicates that all the effort was put into the conversation rather than the execution. So many movies today are trying to put their movies through the today’s lens. The narration adds some laughs but what it really brings to the table is a way to bring the whole story together and to add some time to the movie as the whole story runs a brief 90 minutes.

What the movie lacks in subtlety it makes up in writing. The movie is full of sharp wit and snappy remarks. Emma Stone makes it appear effortless in almost all of her scenes. The only time she is ever outshined is by her parents played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. Their humor and veteran comedy chops steal every scene they are in and rang out the most laughter in the theater.

The movie is made for the tween demographic and is probably why the original script called for much more fowl language, probably directed at the film's martyr who bears an enormous amount of weight which I'm sure any high schooler can indentify with. And that who is going to identify with the movie, but worry not parents, there are plenty of laughs to go around. B-