Let the Games Begin

The latest 'Hunger Games' movie is not short of exciting fight scenes, especially at the end, but to start from the beginning may be best. Listing the main missing film features seems apt, before naming the better aspects of the movie.

The plot is predictable and the story line is weak to say the least, due to repetition of the main themes in the previous hunger games productions. The books may have kept us on edge with their literary descriptions, each time a new one came out, but the films do not have this luxury of novel wording and prose.

The characters, except for Katniss, are pseudo non existent, even in the culminating final scenes where all is at stake.

The dialogue, especially the important one between Peeta and Katniss, is almost childish and feels forced. It is almost like ideas and feelings are being spelt out to the audience, when we are of course fully capable of understanding complex dialogue and would much prefer subtlety in conversations on screen.

The beginning and middle parts are way too long in my opinion and need some hard core editing, but it seems there is a trend now of going back to elongated visual stories (such as in 'Spectre' I found).

From a more neutral point of view, the atmosphere is generally a dark one, with subdued colours and a low budget feel to the setting.

There is a 'Horror' element to this thriller, specially noted in three scenes: one is the scene with the black 'goo' type thick liquid threatening the protagonists, and almost coming to life as it 'climbs' the stairs after them.

The other is the one with the disintegrating weaponry used by the Capitol, which has a supernatural effect on the remains of the dead, in that we only see them as metallic dust or specs rather than organic bodies after they are shot down.

The third and final horror like scene is the one with the fighting entities that look like a cross between humans and aliens, and that are engineered by the capital, and sent after Katniss and her friends in the shadowy underground. This scene is very likely digital because of the speed of movement and shapes of these creatures.

These parts of the film also have a 'jump off your seat'' feel to them, which usually accompanies horror films.

The build up to the end scenes is good because we get a sense of suspense and justice with themes such as sacrifice, leadership and love, coming through and pulling us higher so to speak.

The essence of this film is the conflict between the notion of political leadership brainwashing the minds of the masses, on one hand, and the notion of trusting one's instincts and emotions to counteract such illusions and destructive forces, on the other. Katniss is an expert in this, as she is an individual; both a warrior as well as a caring sister and friend, who follows her instinct in the end in making a major decision and taking a risk.

This idea of trust and emotional judgement is portrayed also when a small child recognises Katniss and is deciding whether to give her up to the capital forces or not.

The movie is beautifully charged with emotions, ranging from fear to courage, and from hatred and revenge, to love, responsibility, and redemption.

The treachery of the capitol justifies Katniss's decisions and give the ending a good buildup.

The scene with the cat is an especially moving one, because it conveys the idea of how emotions can be transferred and how this projection is at times therapeutic.

Kat is the girl on fire definitely, as is shown in one of the scenes with her jacket aflame.
She is the mother, the warrior and the saviour, the phoenix reborn of it's ashes.



This is ultimately a film which fights oppression and votes for freedom from politics and its gaming with people's precious lives.

Game on.

'Aventure-s'

Simple stories are sometimes refreshing, since they bring us to a world of fewer characters, usually of the endearing kind, who lead simple lives and follow happy pursuits.



Such is the french tale of 'The Sweet Life', where the main character is the lovable husband, who at a certain time in his life decides to take up a hobby; mainly 'kayaking', and to explore parts of the french country side.

This quirky funny story takes him down a tiny filthy river into a world of small incidents and of meetings with a few characters who touch his life lightly along the way, before he returns to his wife who also seems to have been having a little adventure of her own.

They finally reunite in an affectionate, albeit non tactile, slow motion scene at the end, upon his return. This picturesque reunion is accompanied by some well fitting music to enhance the emotion of the ending.

Some of the notable scenes include an outdoor meal area, a camp out and a couple of love scenes, both latter ones filmed in/around his tent, as well as over some drying laundry outside.

There is another dimension to the story; that which depicts the familiar concept of the middle aged man who wants to 'spread his wings' so to speak, and fly the coop for a while, before his old age. It is the tale of the wondering hunter, who leaves his territory for a while in order to ascertain his male ego and have another chance at complete freedom, before coming back home to roost.

The 'Nature' scenes are beautiful and so are the scenes with him on his Kayak; all worth watching on a big screen.

Much of the dialogue, although simple is funny, especially the banter between husband and wife, as well as between the office group at the start of the film.

Definitely a feel good, easy viewing type of production, if you are in that type of mood of sitting back and letting the images wash over you.

 
   

'Ilusion'

The title of a film can be very telling about it's content, and 'Spectre' certainly falls into that category, because of the 'phantom' organisation in the movie, which is crucial to the plot.

The latest Bond production may well bring James into a new story, but it also repeats familiar lines at the same time. The usual 007 challenges exist, but with a new twist to the old formula of Bond capturing villains and saving the day.

In terms of repeated patterns, there is the inevitable mole of course, who is essential to any good spy movie. M and Bond are at odds at times, which adds spice to the film, and Q is the usual intelligent sensitive but resistant assistant. In this sense, the recipe is the same as before and the story unfolds with similar action scenes and death sequences.

In this particular Bond saga, James has to hunt down an illusive multi-branched organisation - thus the title: 'Ilusion' - a 'phantom' group of people headed by one particular villain, who wants to both gain ultimate power of mass surveillance in order to control the masses, as well as bring down the government's control of the secret service and it's strong hold. This in itself isn't a new plot by any means, but the story content and characters within it are obviously different. 

The relationship of the characters in this particular plot vary from previous ones, in that for instance, the villain turns out to be someone closely related to James and who has had an effect on his life for a while without 007's knowledge. More details when you see the film, otherwise it will spoil quite a bit of the story line.

   

The filming itself seems to have been executed through a less 'colourful lens' (European style filming and camera work) in that the images are hazy, rather than being too clear with extreme contrasts or brilliant colour schemes. 

The action scenes, including a helicopter, a car chase, and few other scenes, are quite exhilarating.

The play between close ups, mid-shots and long shots is very effective, especially for instance in the helicopter scene, although the stunt man is easily identifiable. 

The characters of Bond, C and M are well cast, but one can't help thinking that Ralph Fiennes could have perhaps made a better 007 when one sees him playing a 'non-Voldermort' role like this one. 

The rugged, real bond, less suave, more rough around the edges and vulnerable is supposed to be the one we see when we look at Daniel Craig, but there is something a little more dimensional about Ralph Fiennes, which may lend more weight to a complex Bond character, if this particular casting had been reversed for example.

As 007 fights for the good of his country, as always, the women also play their usual supportive distracting roles in the movie, providing eye candy and entertainment, with the exception of the leading ladies, who always figure in the same way, as a little stronger and less malleable with James.

The dialogue is funny at times, but not throughout, especially in the scene where M and C play on calling each others names out with their letter labels. Other funny moments are provided, when James uses his famous sarcastic cool responses. In these instances, even if we did not see his face on screen as he utters such remarks, we could imagine him smiling from one side of his mouth as he reads his lines.

All in all, a movie which could have been a little faster paced, despite the settings being very rich and versatile. The film could have been a little less prolonged. 

'Spectre' may well be an illusive organisation, posing challenges for Bond, but the production itself certainly isn't illusive since it is a series of long scenes emphasizing the plot at every turn.

An apt title for it's release in the UK around Halloween.