Find my cinemachords.com article here!
As you may have heard of – unless you have been living in a
cave for the past 6 months – Catching Fire – the second opus of The Hunger
Games franchise – is to be released in a few weeks. The film will actually hit
London first on the 11th of November. The dystopian sci-fi first movie does
feature kids killing each other on live television. As cruel as it sounds, it
may be the most accurate portrayal of what could become reality-TV if broadcasters
keep going in the direction they’re headed. For the upcoming release of this
disturbing follow-up directed by Francis Lawrence, we came up with the Top 5
Badass Kids in Movies. Who do you think would win in this bloodbath?
5. Simon - Mercury Rising (1998)
Simon Lynch (Miko Hughes) is this
autistic genius who threatened U.S. National Security in Mercury Rising. The
9-year-old solves a puzzle only to discover it was hiding a government secret code.
Bad government guys are obviously on to him and they send a hitman to get rid
of the boy. That’s when Simon teams up with FBI Agent Art Jeffries (Bruce
Willis) to escape from this situation.
Simon might not be big on sword
fights but he could probably pierce your eardrums with his scream and come up
with an ingenious scheme to get rid of the other kids in the Hunger Games
arena. This boy who screwed up U.S. National Security could probably be able to
fight off a few kids with bows and arrows.
4. Hayley - Hard Candy (2005)
Hayley (Ellen Page) is the modern
Little Red Riding Hood. In Hard Candy, she tracks down a pedophile to make him
pay for his crimes. All it takes is a few weeks to seduce the man over the
internet, agree to meet him in a café and Hayley manages to get invited to his
place and makes us forget who the real predator is.
Hayley is the master of
convincing and uses elaborate plans. She isn’t scared of blood and she can
handle a scalpel, a rope, or a gun. Hayley is used to attack adults. Sure
enough, a bunch of kids wouldn’t do her a lot of harm.
3. Rufio - Hook (1991)
Rufio (Dante Basco) is the leader
of the Lost Boys. He took over the gang when Peter Pan left Neverland to become
an adult. He is a kickass skateboarder who knows his way around a golden sword
and has killed several pirates during his adventures.
We all know Rufio’s tragic fate
but if he had another chance and was thrown in the arena, he would certainly
not blow it. He may not be able to fly but nobody can in The Hunger Games. He
could challenge Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) at climbing trees. The guy
lives in them! He’s also very good at cursing.
2. Wednesday Addams - The Addams Family (1991)
Wednesday (Christina Ricci) is a
deadpan kid with a passion for deadly weapons. She spends a lot of time
terrorizing other kids and trying to kill her brother as part of her sick
games.
That little homicidal maniac
isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. Death is her favorite extra-curricular
activity. She feeds on other people’s fear. If no electric chair is available
in the arena, she will probably be able to come up with a lethal use of any
item around her. Wednesday wouldn’t just kill the kids though, she would
torture them until they die. Otherwise, where’s the fun?
1. Mathilda -
Léon : The Professional (1994)
Mathilda (Natalie Portman) is so
adorable that she could seduce any kid in the arena to team up with her and
probably shoot them in the head at the first opportunity. After all, she learned
from the best. Mathilda was trained to be a 12-year-old hitman by Léon (Jean
Réno), the best in his field. Even though he hasn’t trained her to master the
bow and arrow, she’d be good at using anything with a trigger. A crossbow would
do.
So who do you think would challenge Katniss Everdeen the
most ?
Enjoy the trailer of Catching Fire until it hits your
theaters in November !
is Gary Ross' adaptation of Suzanne Collins' homonymous book. I already hear the purists yelling at my rating. I've come to appreciate this movie because I keep in mind that it's a book adaptation. And a screenwriter always has to take things off and alter others to keep his feature film understandable, entertaining and under a 3-hour-long limit. Gary Ross worked on the screenplay with Suzanne Collins so the decisions he made were the result of author-approved team effort. I think he did a great job translating the book universe on the silver screen. I especially enjoy how Ross managed to keep the book's first-person point of view. The astounding sound-editing work is a major piece of it. His movie is obviously not perfect. Every so often, little details that I expected to be different are irritating but the overall result is magic. Those little disappointing details are the chariots scene special effects that seem to come straight from '92, or the relationship between Katniss and Peeta that does not resemble the book's, or the creatures of the show's finale. Other than those, the production design is mind-blowing, the original score couldn't have been better, the cast is an accurate melting-pot (exept for the fact that Josh Hutcherson is really smaller than Jennifer Lawrence. That's something I cannot overlook as I find it ridiculously amusing). James Newton Howard composed 
. The Capitol anthem is especially majestic and powerful. It perfectly matches the look of it. The production designer decided to give the Capitol a cold Third-Reich look to illustrate the power and greatness of this regime. The contrast with the poor districts is very well balanced. It turns what could have been a boring futuristic sci-fi story into a retro-looking and realistic anticipation tale. This makes it far more impactful. The plot is a great analysis of our broadcasting society and the probable future of reality TV. If you want to savor the intensity and the immensity of work behind The Hunger Games, I'd suggest you get your hands on