On The Hunger Games

A combination of Big Brother (2000 -), Battle Royale (2000) and The Running Man (1987), but for a teenager audience: The Hunger Games is winning the worst lottery you never bought a ticket for. Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games is set in a dystopian future where the capitol (empire) control the districts (rebel alliance) through violence. The violence, or as the capitol sell it, a reminder of the uprising, comes in the form of 24 children (12 boys and 12 girls) fighting until only one remains alive.

Heavy stuff for a teenage audience and the 12a rating is ensured through an absence of any real violence, with most being implied. Good and evil are also very vividly drawn, without any real ambiguous characters. However, none of this detracts from the visceral pull The Hunger Games has. The film is emotional, exciting and relevant and achieves all three without losing its breakneck pace. Along with a solid script, the film is held together by a great central performance by Jennifer Lawrence and creative directing through Gary Ross. There are many relevant messages that underline this story; they aren’t hidden, but are handled with aplomb. It is difficult to look away from The Hunger Games and hard, regardless of your age, not to become attached to its young characters.

On Not Quite there with Headhunters

Headhunters (Hodejegerne in its original Norwegian) tells the story of a recruitment expert who steals famous works of art to supplement his extravagant lifestyle and wife with many hobbies. When an ex soldier/potential recruitment coup arrives on the scene, the protagonists life goes from bad, to worse to crazy to unbelievable.

The main issue that Headhunters seems to have is that it cannot decide whether it should be a slick, violent, heist thriller or a slick, comedic heist thriller. Unfortunately it is unable to achieve both. Soderbergh makes it look easy. It isn't. Headhunters has some genuine surprises in its narrative and some moments of violence not dissimilar to Drive (2011). But it also tries to marry this violence and shock with comedy; two overweight twin policemen cushioning the protagonist in a serious car crash so that he is the only survivor is the clearest example of the two not working together.

There are moments that are genuinely entertaining and surprising, but the overall effect is that Headhunters is just a little bit silly.

On Learning from Past Mistakes with Wrath of the Titans

In 2010 Clash of the Titans directed by Louis Leterrier did absolutely nothing to entice audiences with a desire for a sequel. The script was poor and made the good actors look poor. The direction was messy and the 3D was one of the worst uses of the technology to date.

Hopes for the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, were therefore limited. However, directed Jonathan Liebesman has learnt from past mistakes and by bringing his dirty mise-en-scene that made Battle: Los Angeles (2011) better than it should have been, has given us a much improved Titans film. The set design is the most appealing aspect of Wrath. The mythical landscape seems permanently drenched in ash and dirt rendering the special effects more believable. The shaky hand held camera from Battle: Los Angeles adds further to the realism that makes the look of Wrath so attractive.

On top of this, the script, while not great, is improved from the first film and keeps the story kicking along at a good pace. Most importantly it allows the actors some more room to develop their characters, especially Sam Worthington’s Perseus. The 3D, while a little unclear at the edges, is good and Liebesman makes good use of it; a scene where Perseus flies in on Pegasus to defeat Kronos is fantastic. The best part of Wrath, is that you don’t need to have suffered though Crash to enjoy it.