The Hunger Games – 8
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. the idea of teenagers killing each other
b. extreme makeup
c. reality television
As usual, I hadn’t read the book. Seeing the previews reminded me of Logan’s Run, the mediocre movie of the 70’s starring Michael York (of Cabaret fame) and the never-seen-again Jenny Agutter. In that movie, the people have to run through the futuristic setting to live.
This movie portrays a much different future. Here’s what I can ascertain about our future. Donald Sutherland is a dictator who keeps the people subservient through a once-a-year event called the Hunger Games. The masses, easily entertained as always, wear an extreme amount of makeup and cheer wildly over the games, where teenagers, two each from the 12 districts that now make up the United States, try to kill each other off until there is one winner. For some reason, this all keeps Donald on top of things. Oh, and out in the districts, they don’t dress up, nor have the innovative hair colors of the capital dwellers.
While the premise is off-putting, it’s done with about as much taste as possible. It’s like the eventual evolution of Survivor and American Idol. I call it idolatry. We used to be a nation of hard work to an eventual success. Now, fame is much more important, and if there’s any glimmer of singing (or other talent) we’ve just got to get on a reality show and skip along quickly to the fortune part. Every contestant says the same thing. “This means everything to me.” So the natural evolution is this. It’s no longer voluntary, and it really will mean everything.
On a political note, our government had to bail out our biggest industry, automotive. Let’s hope they don’t have to bail out what is surely our second biggest – cosmetics. Have you ever noticed that the prime footage in a department store, and so much of it, is make-up counters? It’s almost as if make-up is important! What would ever happen if this industry collapsed? It would be devastating to our economy! No worries (as this generation likes to say). Apparently our future is full of hideous pound cake applied to the citizenry at industrial strength levels. It’s actually quite funny, and made me want to buy stock in Revlon.
New star Jennifer Lawrence is Katness Everdean (the names have evolved too, but I can’t explain that one) who volunteers for the games to save her drafted sister. She’s the heroine, and it closely follows her at a rather erratic pace through her gaming process and then the games. The contestants must be appealing so that they can gain sponsors for the games (cosmetic I assume), but I was never really sure what impact that all had, other than to show off the makeup, costumes, and accommodations of the future.
The movie is fairly entertaining with a leisurely paced buildup to the games. They hide the more gross killings behind “blurry” action where you can’t really tell what’s going on and it’s all sequel-worthy, which you know going in because there were three books.
I knew I wasn’t the target audience for this movie. Apparently the “twilight” demographic is the most profitable one, and so far the movie is a blockbuster, so I guess they know what they’re doing.
It’s all pretty well done if not riveting. You probably already know if you want to see it, and I provided little guidance, much like Randy Jackson.
Game Change (HBO) – 7
You’ll like this movie if you
a. like Sarah Palin
b. dislike Sarah Palin
c. like the behind the scene political maneuverings
Although it’s another well done made for TV HBO movie, and it will surely win an Emmy for Julianne Moore’s portray of Palin, this movie just never caught fire for me. It’s a methodical accounting of John McCain’s desperate pick of a virtual unknown for his Vice Presidential candidate in 2008.
They all actually come off pretty good to me. It quickly becomes apparent to everyone on McCain’s staff that Palin is overmatched on the issues, but she perseveres pretty much the way anyone would, taking the blows and swinging back the best she can. She is exasperated by the constraints but also won’t put in the effort to be conversant on the issues. Moore does a great job displaying Palin’s ups and downs, particularly the hurt of having her family dragged through the mud.
The lesson here is that everything in politics is so carefully scripted by the campaign staff that going off script (as we’ve already seen many times this year) is just slightly more perilous than staying on script.
The movie is well done, but certainly not great. It didn’t blow me away. The Sunday morning talk shows, where they interviewed the staffers who were portrayed in the movie, were way more interesting.
21 Jump Street - 8
You’ll like this move if you
a. are between 15 and 30
b. like today’s raunchy comedy
c. liked the old TV show
Never high on original ideas, Hollywood cleverly took an old drama series (as I recall) and turned it into a high school comedy using adult actors so they could be as raunchy as they want to be.
Once again, I wasn’t in the target demographic. I was fortunate enough to sit in a packed theater between two beautiful women. One was my wife who chuckled a few times and was mildly amused. The other was a 20 something who laughed hysterically throughout and acted like she was in a Marx brothers movie, although I doubt she’d know them.
I was indeed in between, appreciating the appeal they’d injected, mainly through the casting of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum and a snappy script, but also knowing that it wasn’t exactly a classic.
After graduating from high school, a nerd and a jock go to the police academy, become friends, go back to their high school undercover, and have their roles reversed. It’s actually pretty clever. Things move along quickly through the requisite attractions, chases and gun battles, and there are few surprises. Why are there few surprises, you ask? Because the idiot marketers include almost every important scene in their coming attraction trailers, which I’d seen so many times, I almost didn’t want to go.
Fortunately, they somehow saved one surprise. Nice try. I’d say go see it if you’re in the target market, although I don’t know anyone who reads this who’s that young.
Safe House – 7
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Denzel
b. Ryan Reynolds
c. CIA Intrigue
Here the trailers were better than the movie. This is a standard issue Jason Bourne-style shoot em up with all the twists and turns you know are coming.
Denzel plays a rogue agent who wanders into a Capetown CIA safe house and disturbs the single bored resident, Ryan Reynolds. Denzel is as good as he always is, but it turns our Ryan Reynolds is close to Matt Damon, but no cigar.
It’s predictable in it’s unpredictability and you’ll have the amount of fun you expected going in.
Catfish (2010)– 8
Caught this movie on the satellite and it’s definitely worth seeing. One of those “Blair Witch” style supposedly self shot student films, it focuses on a facebook relationship that isn’t what it seems. So, no matter how cool you think your new facebook friend is, don’t drive 1000 miles to meet them. You might be disappointed. You might be shocked. You might be mystified. You might end up in a movie telling the story.
Let’s be careful out there.
