"The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Review

In a world where fans are constantly disappointed by movie adaptations, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is a film that stays very true to its source material.

In the future, what was once the United States of America is now the country Panem, which is run by a dictatorship. It is split into 12 districts, and every year the government chooses two minors from each -- one boy and one girl -- to fight each other to the death in what is known as the Hunger Games. This event is televised throughout the country.

In the first movie, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, “The Silver Linings Playbook”) volunteers to be in the Games so her younger sister does not have to. She is not a particularly charismatic person, but her attitude and actions show a sense of humanity, which inspires citizens in Panem to rebel.

The boy from District 12 chosen to be in the Hunger Games is Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson, “The Bridge to Terabithia). As a means of survival, Katniss pretends to be in love with him so sponsors -- rich people who can give her what she needs -- sympathize with her.

At the end of the first movie, Katniss and Peeta are the final two alive and are forced to kill each other. To avoid this, they threaten to eat lethal, poisonous berries at the same time. Because there has to be a winner, the one who runs the games lets them both live.

In this movie, Katniss is under scrutiny of President Snow (Donald Sutherland, “The Italian Job”), the ruler of Panem. He knows that Katniss is not really in love with Peeta. In fact, she kisses another boy named Gale (Liam Hemsworth, “The Expendables 2”), and Snow caught it on camera.

Snow tells Katniss that her threatening to take the berries was seen as an act of defiance by many people throughout Panem, and it has inspired them to rebel. Because of this, Snow wants the citizens to believe Katniss and Peeta were motivated because they could not bear to live without one another.

The president threatens to cause harm to Katniss and her family unless she convinces the world, including him, that her and Peeta are in love.

For the first part of the movie, Katniss and Peeta visit every district as the new victors. Their very presence stirs people up, and the officers -- known as Peacekeepers -- use force to silence them.

President Snow knows he needs to kill Katniss. However, the man in charge of the Hunger Games, Plutarch Hevensbee (Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “Mission: Impossible III”), convinces him that if she is killed, it has to be the right way at the right time.

Snow wants everyone to hate Katniss so she does not become a martyr. He replaces the Peacekeepers currently in the districts with newer, more ruthless officers who are strict and abusive. If anyone does something out of line, these Peacekeepers will resort to torture.

Snow realizes this is not enough, so he figures out a different way to kill Katniss.

The upcoming Hunger Games is a special event called the Quarter Quell. Every 25 years, the Hunger Games have a specific twist to them. Snow decides to make this year’s Hunger Games a competition between tributes who have won in the past. Katniss and Peeta are now forced to fight in the Hunger Games again

In some ways, this movie is better than the novel it is based on. Author Suzanne Collins wrote the series from Katniss’s point of view. While it is still interesting to see Panem this way, the world is experienced narrowly by readers. We do not get to see anything else besides what is happening around Katniss.

This is where both “The Hunger Games” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” succeeds as films. Rather than being shown through Katniss’s point of view, the audience gets to see reactions from people throughout Panem as well as the decision-making process of President Snow.

Where the movie does not succeed as well is in its explanation of Panem. For people who have read the books, everything in both movies is logical. However, in the movies there are things that are either not explained at all or are talked about in one sentence of easy-to-miss exposition. Those who have not read it may be confused.

An example is the concept of the Quarter Quell. I only understood what this was because I had read the novel previously. Though the name “Quarter Quell” is mentioned, it is never explicitly described.

Those who have never read the books can still understand what is going, but there are various important details that may be confusing.

This film -- based on a young adult novel featuring an angsty girl in the middle of a love triangle -- had the potential to be cheesy and stupid. That is not the case with this movie. The filmmakers seemed to have learned from the “Twilight” series that in order to not be made fun of, they need to get a good cast.

Jennifer Lawrence does a very good job as Katniss. The events of this film place her in some complicated situations. She seems to love Gale more than Peeta, but in order to keep peace, she has to pretend to love the latter on camera. Lawrence does a great job playing a girl who is trying to live a lie.

Donald Sutherland is perfect for the role as President Snow. He plays a politician who will say one thing, but mean something quite different. People who like him do not understand this, but his enemies see his threats when he issues them.

Because this movie is about the tributes who won previous Hunger Games, there are some very interesting characters that are introduced.

In particular, Jena Malone (“Pride & Prejudice”) steals every scene she is in as Johanna Mason. She is a lot like Katniss in her hatred towards the government. However, where Katniss is more reserved, she is outgoing, flirtatious and talkative. She is also hilarious and interesting. I looked forward to every scene she was in.

The first half of the movie is ironically the more interesting and evenly paced section. Once the Hunger Games start, the film actually slows down a little. However, after a few minutes it picks up again. There are some intense scenes that I found to be scarier than many horror movies in the second half.

I give this movie five out of five stars. Though some things are not very well explained, the performances are great, and it stays very true to the source material, often building upon it.

Content: Rated PG-13. There is some blood in a few parts. There are also some stabbings, but they are very brief. Very mild language, and one part features a character saying the F-word twice, but since it is aired on television, it is bleeped out. Scary images may frighten younger viewers.

A version of this review was published in The Utah Statesman, a student run newspaper at Utah State University on November 26, 2013.

“Thor: The Dark World” Review

“Thor: The Dark World” is another great Marvel movie that furthers the characters and sends the audience through a twisty roller coaster ride.

There are nine realms in the universe including Asgard and Midgard--which is what the Asgardians call our world. Every once in a while, they all line up in a phenomenon known as “the Convergence.”

The last time this happened, an evil Dark Elf named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston, “Doctor Who”) wanted to use a fluid substance known as the Aether to plunge the universe into darkness. Before he could do this, Bor, the father of King Odin (Anthony Hopkins, "The Silence of the Lambs"), got in the way, and Malekith failed. He decided to hide the Aether until the next convergence occurs, so he can try to plunge the world into darkness once again.

It is now two years since the events of the first film, and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor’s love interest from the first film, is in London. She is trying to move on because Thor (Chris Hemsworth) did not come back for her when he said he would. What she does not know is when he went back to Asgard, the bridge to Earth was destroyed making it impossible to return. He is constantly thinking about her and looking after her with the help of Heimdall (Idris Elba, “Pacific Rim”), the gatekeeper who has the ability to see everything in the universe.

The convergence is about to happen again, and there are portals to other realms appearing on Earth. Jane enters one and accidentally finds the Aether, which consumes her body. The place she finds it is hidden from Heimdall’s sight, which worries Thor. He returns to Earth to see if she is okay.

The Aether gives her unstable, destructive power that goes off whenever she feels threatened. When Thor sees this, he takes her to Asgard to get help for her.

Meanwhile, Malekith sees that the Aether was taken by her. Since the Convergence is about to happen, he goes to Asgard in an attempt to retrieve it, and some big events happen as the Dark Elves lay siege there. However, they come out empty handed.

Thor knows the elves are going to come back for the Aether. In order to keep them away from Asgard, he plots to escape to the

Svartalfheim--where the elves are from--with Jane in an attempt to destroy the Aether.

This is against King Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins, “The Silence of the Lambs”) orders. He thinks the mission is too risky. Thor sees it as necessary to protect the people of Asgard. He does not have access to the rainbow bridge to get there, so he needs to find an alternate way.

The only person there who knows any other way out is Loki (Tom Hiddleston). He is locked up in an Asgardian prison for the war crimes he committed in “The Avengers.” During the course of that film, he led an army of aliens, known as the Chitauri, to attack Manhattan in an attempt to rule the world. Thor breaks him out, and Loki leads him to Svartalfheim.

The end of “The Avengers” leaves the audience wondering what will happen to Loki. “Thor: The Dark World” answers this question and takes the character to new places. His relationship with Thor--including its many complexities--is further exposed.

Loki is one of the most complex characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has so many different motives for doing the things he does. He is not simply a villain who wants to rule the world. He is the younger brother who has always lived in Thor’s shadow. Furthermore, he finds out as an adult that not only is he adopted, but his biological parents are enemies to Asgard. This film takes it even further and portrays him as having an Oedipus complex: he has a deep love for his mother, but he seems to resent King Odin.

This character could not have been pulled off without the amazing performance of Tom Hiddleston. Before I saw “Thor,” I had read a graphic novel in which Loki is one of the key villains. Hiddleston’s portrayal is exactly how I imagined him. He brings a sense of subtlety to the character that makes him unpredictable. In this movie, he uses his powers of deception several times, not only to trick other characters, but to trick the audience.

Chris Hemsworth does a great job as the title character. Thor has come a long way from the first film. In that one, he is over-confident and reckless. In this one, while he is still reckless at times, it is clear his actions are solely motivated by his will to do good.

This movie has the same mood as the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is comical at many points, but there is plenty of drama to balance it out and make the characters believable. There is also a decent amount of action without going overboard.

The main villain is the weak point in the movie. It is not because he is not threatening. He is. It is not because Christopher Eccleston gives a horrible performance. It is quite good. Malekith is a weak villain because he was not developed properly by the filmmakers. The only scenes he is in are made for the purpose of showing him further his plan. However, it is unclear exactly what motivates him to achieve it. There is no depth to him like there is to Loki. He is just another villain who wants to destroy the universe.

Instead of developing the villain, the film focuses its attention on helping the audience understand what the Convergence is. There are several scenes that recap what it is. The filmmakers have good reason for doing this. It is a fairly complicated piece of lore, and it is important to the story. However, the film would have benefitted by developing Malekith further and focusing less on explaining the Convergence.

With that being said, Christopher Eccleston is great for the role. I know him as the Doctor from the first season of the new version of “Doctor Who.” If I had not known that he was going to be in the movie, I would never have guessed it was him. Furthermore, he brings a sense of menace to the character, and had it not been for that, Malekith would have left no impression at all.

I give this film four-and-a-half out of five stars. It is an entertaining movie that furthers the characters in a satisfying way. If you are a fan of Marvel, you will want to see this movie. In fact, you might want to see it several times. Next to “The Avengers,” it is probably my favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Content: Rated PG-13. There is very mild language. There are intense, violent scenes throughout. For the most part it is not gory, but a body part is cut off in one scene. The Dark Elves might be frightening to younger viewers. There is no sexual content, but one character is shown streaking in a censored news clip.

"Ender's Game" Review

Having never read the book, I came into “Ender’s Game” without any expectations, and I came out wanting more.

The film starts out with some important exposition: fifty-years ago a race of aliens threatened the existence of humans. This was until a man named Mazer Rackham sacrificed his life to destroy the mother ship.

Now, the government is doing what it can to ensure these aliens do not make as much of an impact has they had previously. In order to do this, teenagers are trained to be war strategists. Their skill is monitored by how well they do in video games.

Fifteen-year-old Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield, “Hugo”) is extremely intelligent when it comes to the games. Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford*) sees this and recruits him to combat school--located in a space station just above Earth--to learn to become a great warrior.

There Ender and some other youth learn basic combat strategies through classes and a futuristic sport in an anti-gravity room. In the game, they are given specialized guns that react to the material in their suits, rendering them immovable. The team wins by either getting the most points by shooting each other or crossing the other team’s gate. If even one person accomplishes the latter, the entire team wins.

Graff knows of Ender’s full potential, and he singles him out as a leader. This is partly a test to see how he is going to react to animosity. Some of the other children are jealous of him at first. However, his understanding of strategy helps him in his social life. Eventually, he becomes popular, and a lot of the youth like him.

Ender gets promoted several times throughout the film. In one of the promotions he has to play on a team led by a vicious, prideful boy named Bonzo (Moises Arias, “Hannah Montana”). Bonzo is jealous of Ender’s intelligence and does not want him to progress. He forbids him from doing certain things, which includes learning basic strategies from a girl named Petra (Hailee Steinfeld, “True Grit”).

Ender eventually gets promoted a few more times. He ends up in command school, where he learns to lead an entire fleet. What Commander Graff has not been telling Ender is that there is an imminent threat: the alien race that was defeated previously is regrouping to attack earth. Ender needs to be trained quickly. In the end, something about the way the military is run is revealed.

One of the things that works in this movie is the performances. I heard a rumor that Ender is eleven years old in the novel. In the film, he is fifteen. This is actually a good choice on the part of the filmmakers. There is a vast difference in experience between an eleven-year-old and a fifteen-year-old that affects performance.

It is interesting to note that the quality in performances among the child actors differs across scenes. The beginning has a lot of exposition that we as an audience need to understand. During this time, the acting seems slightly stiff as they try to tell us about the state of our world in the future.

However, what works is the chemistry between them. Steinfeld and Butterfield as Petra and Ender have great scenes together. There is definite sexual tension between them. What is nice is they never have an actual romance. They do not kiss or become boyfriend and girlfriend. They never say “I love you,” or confess any kind of liking. The only reason we know they might be interested in each other is because of the way they act around one another. The film does a good job at showing, not telling.

There are also some excellent scenes between Arias and Butterfield. Arias does a great job at playing the cocky Bonzo. He and Ender are rivals, and this is never explicitly said. It is shown through some well-crafted scenes. I look forward to every time they are on-screen together. There is so much tension between them that keeps the audience involved. Something eventually happens with this relationship that is both shocking and satisfying.

Harrison Ford, as usual, nails it! In terms of acting ability, he has aged like fine wine. He has gotten better as the years have gone by. He does a great job playing a high-ranked military official who is intimidating, yet warm and sometimes humorous.

The visual effects are very well done. Like Harry Potter, this movie introduces an audience into a different world. In this one, teenagers are trained to be leaders in space combat. The filmmakers take advantage of this by giving us interesting shots of the space station, the planets, and space wars. This gives the audience yet another reason to keep watching.

The main problem this movie has is that some of some of the supporting characters are not given full exposure. As it was adapted from a novel, I could tell several of them are supposed to be more involved than they actually are. One example is Ender’s sister, Valentine (Abigail Breslin, “Zombieland”). My roommate, who had read the book, said she is supposed to have a much bigger role. While she is still important in the movie, she is in only two scenes, and we do not understand the entire significance of the relationship between her and Ender.

Another example is Ender’s brother, Peter (Jimmy “Jax” Pinchak, “The Polar Express”). He is in only one scene, yet he is mentioned throughout the movie. We know about his nature through exposition, and he is obviously important. However, like Valentine, he is not exposed to where we fully understand his and Ender’s relationship.

Despite these few flaws, I give this film 4.5 out of 5 stars. It is a very well-done, engaging film. Though some of the acting is stiff at times, the chemistry between some of the characters is excellent. There are also some surprises that left me in shock and wanting more.

Content: Rated PG-13. While there is no blood, there are some brutal fights where teenagers hit each other. There are air-combat scenes where planes and spacecraft are shot down. Very mild language.

*If you haven’t seen anything with him yet, stop what you are doing right now and watch “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and/or “Star Wars!”