MOVIE OF THE WEEK (3/23/12): THE HUNGER GAMES
"Guess who just saves a ton of money on car insurance ... Because she's likely going to die!" Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) hoists the ever-unwilling arm of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) after interviewing her as part of the ritual that is author Suzanne Collins best-selling novel THE HUNGER GAMES. Credit: Murray Close © 2012 Lionsgate Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Wes Bentley, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg and Willow Shields
WRITER(S): Suzanne Collins (novel); Gary Ross, Billy Ray and Suzanne Collins (screenplay)
DIRECTOR: Gary Ross
WEB SITE: http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com
THE PLOT: In case you are one of the few people on the planet who either haven't read the best-selling book series or heard about it already, The Hunger Games introduces us to the nation of Panem. You see, North America as we know it has ceased to exist in Katniss' world and instead replaced with a number of districts – each of which, once a year, is forced to select "tributes." Tributes, you see, are boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 18 that – as a remembrance of the violent uprisings that led to the Capitol's creation and control of Panem – fight to the death until there is one person left standing ... And on live television nonetheless.
And as fate would have it, Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) just so happens to select Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) for the 74th annual Hunger Games ... Which prompts her older sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) to volunteer to take her sister's place.
Arriving in the Capitol, Effie soon introduces Katniss and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), her male District 12 counterpart, to their would-be mentor and past Hunger Games winner Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrleson). As will style master Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Haymitch will help prepare Peeta and Katniss as best he can for the games. Sure, there's the pageantry of the pre-show hosted by Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) to enjoy ... But once the clock ticks down, the games are on – and Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) and President Snow (Donald Sutherland) have their eye on all of their contestants' every move.
And if Katniss is to survive, every move she makes will prove itself to be a critical one ...
THE TAKE:Let me take care of the twopressing questions long-standing readers of McCoy On Movies (thank you, by the way!) likely have before moving on:
[1] No, I have not read the series of Hunger Games books by author Suzanne Collins.
[2] Yes, I enjoyed the movie - but not for the story, but for the strong performance of its lead.
You may now stop here if that's all you needed to know. I, however, will continue to carry on. And if you are among the thousands - if not millions - eagerly anticipating the movie, the odds may forever be in your favor.
If you happen to be familiar with the Japanese Battle Royale movie series ... Or Arnold Schwarnenegger's seminal work The Running Man, Rollerball (the original, not that bad remake with Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romain) or any other "society-as-we-know-it-has-fallen-and-now-we're-back-to-gladitator-games-as-entertainment" movie, the concept of The Hunger Games isn't really new at all. The violence in the movie is pretty graphic yet tastefully done to keep the film at a PG-13 rating, but that's not really what you'll be talking about after watching the movie.
What you will be talking about is the strong performance of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, one of the few movie heroes in recent memory you really don't feel like you are forced to like. Despite appearances in some pretty successful movies and TV shows (Don't act like you DIDN'T set your DVR for The Bill Engvall Show from 2007-2009!), before The Hunger Games, you really couldn't have picked her out of a crowd even if someone ran down her entire IMDb history for you. However, in The Hunger Games, Lawrence proves she is more than up to the tasks of both bringing Katniss to life and establishing herself as a leading talent.
Lawrence's depiction of Katniss is exactly what it needs to be: Strong when she needs to exhibit strength and confidence, silent resolve when faced with extremely stressful circumstances, intelligence when rash decision making would likely result in her death as well as compassion and outrage when she is faced with misery beyond her control. She realizes the severity of her situation despite her reluctance to it but refuses to let it consume her at the same time.
Whereas many movies and TV shows have the reluctant hero - you know the type, the "I didn't ask for this but now I'm in it and I will not let myself or those I care about die even though you've forced my hand" (See the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead on AMC for a more recent example of this) - Lawrence's performance as Katniss feels organic and never once forced. Her take on the feminine heroine is a credit to her acting talent moreso than the story and she is to be commended highly for it.
The rest of the cast does their jobs adequately as well in setting the stage for the forthcoming events. Be it Banks channeling her inner Johnny-Depp-in-a-Tim-Burton-movie performance as clueless debutante Effie Trinket, Tucci's Jay-Leno-meets-Tim-Gunn turn as the TV host of for the games and Lenny Kravitz ... well, being Lenny Kravitz, each supporting player adds something to the experience. Fans of American Beauty will also be happy to see Wes Bentley make a return to form with a performance that will hopefully be as memorable as his character's facial hair.
Long-winded review short, director Gary Ross (who also worked on the film's screenplay) has delivered a film that accomplishes a near impossible task: Creating a film that should make long-standing fans of the books happy that is also able to interest and entertain those completely unfamiliar with them as well. Men, women, old and young, should they give the film a chance beyond all the hype surrounding it, they might likely discover a film that is unflinching in its storytelling. While it's not perfect, it's very, very good - and that's a very, very hard thing to accomplish given the task Ross faced going in.
PARTING SHOT: A film that is driven more by the performances of its actors than its best-selling base, The Hunger Games offers up an entertaining experience ... Despite taking place in a dystopian world true Katniss fans should hope never exists.
[1] No, I have not read the series of Hunger Games books by author Suzanne Collins.
[2] Yes, I enjoyed the movie - but not for the story, but for the strong performance of its lead.
You may now stop here if that's all you needed to know. I, however, will continue to carry on. And if you are among the thousands - if not millions - eagerly anticipating the movie, the odds may forever be in your favor.
If you happen to be familiar with the Japanese Battle Royale movie series ... Or Arnold Schwarnenegger's seminal work The Running Man, Rollerball (the original, not that bad remake with Chris Klein, LL Cool J and Rebecca Romain) or any other "society-as-we-know-it-has-fallen-and-now-we're-back-to-gladitator-games-as-entertainment" movie, the concept of The Hunger Games isn't really new at all. The violence in the movie is pretty graphic yet tastefully done to keep the film at a PG-13 rating, but that's not really what you'll be talking about after watching the movie.
What you will be talking about is the strong performance of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, one of the few movie heroes in recent memory you really don't feel like you are forced to like. Despite appearances in some pretty successful movies and TV shows (Don't act like you DIDN'T set your DVR for The Bill Engvall Show from 2007-2009!), before The Hunger Games, you really couldn't have picked her out of a crowd even if someone ran down her entire IMDb history for you. However, in The Hunger Games, Lawrence proves she is more than up to the tasks of both bringing Katniss to life and establishing herself as a leading talent.
Lawrence's depiction of Katniss is exactly what it needs to be: Strong when she needs to exhibit strength and confidence, silent resolve when faced with extremely stressful circumstances, intelligence when rash decision making would likely result in her death as well as compassion and outrage when she is faced with misery beyond her control. She realizes the severity of her situation despite her reluctance to it but refuses to let it consume her at the same time.
Whereas many movies and TV shows have the reluctant hero - you know the type, the "I didn't ask for this but now I'm in it and I will not let myself or those I care about die even though you've forced my hand" (See the season 2 finale of The Walking Dead on AMC for a more recent example of this) - Lawrence's performance as Katniss feels organic and never once forced. Her take on the feminine heroine is a credit to her acting talent moreso than the story and she is to be commended highly for it.
The rest of the cast does their jobs adequately as well in setting the stage for the forthcoming events. Be it Banks channeling her inner Johnny-Depp-in-a-Tim-Burton-movie performance as clueless debutante Effie Trinket, Tucci's Jay-Leno-meets-Tim-Gunn turn as the TV host of for the games and Lenny Kravitz ... well, being Lenny Kravitz, each supporting player adds something to the experience. Fans of American Beauty will also be happy to see Wes Bentley make a return to form with a performance that will hopefully be as memorable as his character's facial hair.
Long-winded review short, director Gary Ross (who also worked on the film's screenplay) has delivered a film that accomplishes a near impossible task: Creating a film that should make long-standing fans of the books happy that is also able to interest and entertain those completely unfamiliar with them as well. Men, women, old and young, should they give the film a chance beyond all the hype surrounding it, they might likely discover a film that is unflinching in its storytelling. While it's not perfect, it's very, very good - and that's a very, very hard thing to accomplish given the task Ross faced going in.
PARTING SHOT: A film that is driven more by the performances of its actors than its best-selling base, The Hunger Games offers up an entertaining experience ... Despite taking place in a dystopian world true Katniss fans should hope never exists.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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