That Is Mahogany!
In the post-apocalyptic ruins of North-America, a totalitarian regime controls 12 districts. Each year, the government chooses 2 kids from each district to fight to the death in a game show. It's all fun and games until Katniss Everdeen - our arrow-shooting heroine - becomes the face of a nationwide rebellion.
The Hunger Games
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 brilliant original score
. 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 the special edition
to watch the impressive making of. From pre-prod to the release, you can witness every step taken to get this movie done. The cast is a clever mix of actors from all horizons: experienced or not, young or older. Donald Sutherland is a convincing sadistic and controlling President Snow. Jennifer Lawrence embodies our favorite braided heroine with such power. Not to mention that she can actually shoot the bow and arrow (that's coming from someone who does archery so I can tell). Lenny Kravitz scores an important role for his acting debut. He is the rebel Capitol stylist. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are obviously superb in their interpretation of the alcoholic Games victor and the colorful Effie Trinket. The kids are memorable too (especially Amandla Stenberg who plays the little Rue). Let's not forget The Hunger Games is a story about kids killing kids for the perverse pleasure of wealthy adults. It could have had a questionable taste but it is beautifully directed and ends up being an instant classic. The following book adaptation (Catching Fire) will be released next November. Francis Lawrence took over the direction and I can only hope he stayed true to what Ross had established in terms of universe and camera techniques.
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 brilliant original score. 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 the special edition
to watch the impressive making of. From pre-prod to the release, you can witness every step taken to get this movie done. The cast is a clever mix of actors from all horizons: experienced or not, young or older. Donald Sutherland is a convincing sadistic and controlling President Snow. Jennifer Lawrence embodies our favorite braided heroine with such power. Not to mention that she can actually shoot the bow and arrow (that's coming from someone who does archery so I can tell). Lenny Kravitz scores an important role for his acting debut. He is the rebel Capitol stylist. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks are obviously superb in their interpretation of the alcoholic Games victor and the colorful Effie Trinket. The kids are memorable too (especially Amandla Stenberg who plays the little Rue). Let's not forget The Hunger Games is a story about kids killing kids for the perverse pleasure of wealthy adults. It could have had a questionable taste but it is beautifully directed and ends up being an instant classic. The following book adaptation (Catching Fire) will be released next November. Francis Lawrence took over the direction and I can only hope he stayed true to what Ross had established in terms of universe and camera techniques.
has never seemed more relevant than today. Director/Screenwriter Richard Linklater adapts here 
and his original reflexion on government with this non-typical sci-fi piece. It deals with social issues, surveillance and drug-caused paranoia while abandoning the usual features of sci-fi spectacular like spaceships and other aliens. I am truly impressed by the vision of Linklater who literally made 2 movies. The first one was shot like a normal feature-film and the second movie was made by animators and drawers who painted over each and every frame of the first movie. The animation crew worked for 18 months: that's more than 350 man-hour per minute of film you will watch. You should watch A Scanner Darkly even only out of respect for the creation process and the originality of the project. Linklater turns the psychotic fate of an undercover cop into a dark comedy. Behind the drug addiction, the governmental surveillance, and the paranoia of its characters, A Scanner Darkly is definitely funny. Keanu Reeves who plays (once again) the misfit hero is actually not the best character of the story. Woody Harrelson, on the other hand, is a total blast. But in my opinion, Robert Downey Jr. totally steals the screen with his interpretation of the eloquent and sciency junkie. Winona Ryder is mysterious and Rory Cochrane is the psychotic druggie of the crew that loses it the most (he is exceptional too). I admire the artwork of the movie that makes me think of a complex underground graphic novel minus the geeky superheros. I feel that the characters are as normal as they can be considering they've been brain-damaged by the highly addictive 'substance D': yes, they are paranoid and have no future but they are also relatable which is the key to a good sci-fi movie. I believe good sci-fi is credible sci-fi. A Scanner Darkly is incredibly credible and can be adapted to any era: it worked back in the 70s and it works now more than ever.