Tag Archives: Hunger Games

Review: Mockingjay Part 1

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No one should want to live in Panem and no one should wish they were Katniss Everdeen. The Hunger Games has never been a series to shy away from showing the horrors of war and the oppression of a people and Mockingjay wipes away all the glamor of the Capital to give its viewers an unblinking view. It’s unapologetically grim and bleak in a way that young adult geared films haven’t quite been before but that doesn’t stop Mockingjay Part 1 from succeeding as a thoroughly enjoyable film even if you likely won’t leave the theatre with a broad smile on your face.

After the abrupt end to the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss found herself swept off to District 13. Peeta is left behind and District 12 is no more. The leaders of the rebellion aren’t willing to give her time to grieve because they need her to be their symbol and ignite the people of Panem into action. She agrees to play their game but it has to be on her terms.  If they want their Mockingjay, they’ll have to agree to her conditions.

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Review: Catching Fire

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catching-fire-posterHow do you successfully follow one of the most well-received films of the year?  With a continuation of the series obviously!  Catching Fire, in theatres today, does not disappoint as either an adaptation of a popular novel or as a follow up to the incredibly successful and well-received Hunger Games.

This review contains mild spoilers but likely nothing you wouldn’t have guessed from the trailers and promotional material.

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SDCC Film/Television News Round Up

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In completely and utterly unsurprising news, this year’s Hall H panels at San Diego Comic Con were the hot spot for all the film news.  Plenty of new trailers and clips were shown but here are some of the highlights or at least some of the ones that we thought were awesome and mention-worthy:

  • Zack Snyder will officially be directing a Batman/Superman film with an anticipated release date of Summer 2015.  The Hollywood Reporter also says that Warner Bros. is aiming for a Flash film in 2016 and a Justice League film for 2017 but that wasn’t announced at the panel (or at least as far as we are aware.)
  • Lionsgate treated audiences to a new Catching Fire Theatrical Trailer.  (The staff is still recovering from that one.)  The film will be out this November.
  • We also got to see some of the first footage for the Veronica Mars film.
  • The X-men were out in full force with first some footage from the soon to be released Wolverine and then with a trailer for X-men First Class: Days of Future Past.  Basically every X-men every was on that panel.
  • The anticipated Marvel Studios panel didn’t disappoint especially if you were in Hall H.  The audience was greeted by Loki.  Yes, Tom Hiddleston was in full Loki costume and character as an introduction for extended trailer/footage for Thor: The Dark World.  Then the cast/crew for Captain America: The Winter Soldier got to take the stage.  The cast talked about their characters and Kevin Feige mentioned that the Winter Soldier story will definitely stick pretty close to Ed Brubaker’s run on the book.  Obviously, the audience was treated to some exclusive footage.  Once more, the staff is incredibly jealous.  Marvel continued to overachieve by bringing out the cast and crew of Guardians of the Galaxy who all flew in specifically for the panel.  Even though they just started filming less than two weeks ago, they still brought footage with them.  Unfortunately, no new films were announced.  They did, however, have one last mic drop in the form of Joss Whedon taking the stage for the last few minutes to announce the full title for Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.   For those in the comic book know, Kevin Feige as said that the film is borrowing the title from the recent book and will not be a direct adaptation of it.
  • How I Met Your Mother got its very first SDCC panel for its very final season.  Usually, this wouldn’t make this post but we’ve poked fun at how the show has dragged on in the past and how those kids must be adults by now.  The crew showed they have a good sense of humor by putting together this promo for Season 9 in which the kids are finally done with Ted’s story.
  • And finally, even though the panel was Friday,  the trailer for Season 4 of The Walking Dead was also premiered and wow does it look excellent!  Season 4 will start airing on October 13th on AMC.