The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

I am a huge fan of The Hunger Games series: both the outstanding books and the fairly good first movie. The second is my favourite when it comes to the novels, so I was nervous to see it translated onto the big screen.

But it really surprised me, as it not only managed to exceed the first film , but it was actually on par with the book, which is my aforementioned favourite, as to me the wider scope of the story-lines means it is by far the most interesting.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the highly anticipated sequel to the astonishingly popular, Suzanne Collins penned, Young Adult series. It features Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, the champions from the previous film, as they, amongst other events witness a rising rebellion, still have to fake a romance whilst possibly genuinely falling in love and eventually , being forced back into the Hunger Games for the annual Quarter Quell.

The cinematography was absolutely outstanding, with the sets looking fantastic and the editing being absolutely brilliant- the story also ran smoothly and there was plenty of tension, especially in the Arena scenes.Interestingly, I thought that there was more tension having read the books and knowing what was coming, as you will anticipate the violent moments to a greater extent.

The acting was also spot-on, with  especially outstanding performances from Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, who portrays the increasingly tortured protagonist fantastically well, Donald Sutherland, who is a fantastically chilling President Snow and Jena Malone, who managed to make make me adore Johanna Mason, who I had previously felt neutral about whilst reading the book.

 However, this does not mean that the movie was flawless, as it still suffers from the same problems as its predecessor. The omissions from the book have resulted in less of a depth of characters and certain plot elements not making sense- certain things seem to come out of nowhere due to a lack of explanation and to a certain extent the characters also suffer from this , as their actions are not explained.

However, overall it is an outstanding film that is well worth a watch!

Frozen

This is one of those films that you could watch over 100 times and still not become bored. It is almost flawless- the animation is beautiful, the characters are brilliant, the story is interesting- with several shocking twists , the songs are all catchy and memorable- overall, this is yet another triumph for the Walt Disney Animation Studio.

The story centres around two sisters- Anna and Elsa. Both are Princesses and one was born with a incredible power- the ability to create ice and snow at her fingertips. When Elsa accidentally injures Anna whilst they are playing as children, their parents decide that the safest course of action is to seperate the pair. As they grow up, Elsa's powers slowly grow stronger and are finally revealed at her Corination. Fearing for the saftey of the citizens of her Kingdom, she flees, inadvertently creating an eternal winter as she goes. It is now up to Anna- and the friends she meets on her journey, including Ice harvester Kristoff, his pet Reindeer Sven and the hilarious Snowman Olaf- to save the Kingdom from it's icy fate by finding her sister.

What I mostly love about this film is the way that so many Disney stereotypes, from Evil Queens to the idea of love at first sight- are completly subverted. It is so new and yet it is still able to feel like a classic Disney movie- it could be shown alongside the greatest films of the Disney Renaissance and you would not be able to tell the difference.

The characters are also interesting and unquie- I especially love the two sisters, as they are both brilliant- Elsa is a complex, fansinating and overall wonderful character and Anna is refreshingly quirky  and arkward- what other Disney Princess could sing the line 'Don't know if I'm elated or gassy, but I'm somewhere in that zone'?

Another great thing about this film is the animation, as the snow is absoulutley stunning and the backgrounds are spectacular. I also liked the character designs, however, they do follow the style of Tangled a little too closley- there is nothing really new.

That's another problem with the film- certain sections feel very Tangled-esque- but luckily the section that most closley resembles Disney's previous fairytale blockbuster passes quickly and it soon develops into it's own story.

Additionally, some of the storylines are a little underdeveloped- for example, we never find out the source of Elsa's powers and some elements of the plot seemed to come out of nowhere. Although I liked the plot developments, I wish they had been a bit more foreshadowed.

However, overall Frozen is a fantastic film that is a worthy entry to the Disney Animated Canon.

Chicago

Chicago- *SPOILERS!* 

In the genre of movie musicals, Chicago is a big one. It is the winner of 6 Oscars,  it is absolutely adored by critics and is based on one of the most popular musicals of all time- but does it actually live up to all of the hype?

Let's start with the plot and the way in which the story is told .The film is about two murderesses , Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart , in 1920s Chicago- it charts both their trials and their attempts at fame as they fight for the fame that will eventually save their skin.

This storyline is interesting to watch and it is a clever satire of both the justice system and celebrity culture- how quickly fame can come and how easily ‘stars’ can fade into obscurity. It also makes a good point that when it comes to celebrities, the public doesn’t really care about what the person has done in reality

– they just see a pretty face and believe what they are told. It makes all these points without shoving it in the audience’s face- it is very subtle and you have to figure it out for yourself, which is a very different, but very clever way to show the message.

Although not very many of the characters are likeable, they aren’t supposed to be- you are supposed to hate Velma, you are supposed to want both girls to be found guilty, you are supposed to have a sense of injustice when they both get a happy ending.
It could be said that if you don’t support the main characters, then the plot just feels empty- that might be one of the films only flaws, although it is a small one that may only bother audience members a tiny amount towards the end. It could also be said that a movie needs likeable characters to succeed – if you are looking for this, then Chicago probably isn't for you. On the other hand,  the villainous nature of both the main characters helps to enhance the message of the film, otherwise  it probably wouldn't mean as much.

All the actors do a great job- there wasn't  a single character that was miscast or a single actor that looked out of their depth.

Another element that makes the film work are the songs – they are all brilliant , memorable and catchy and are combined with brilliant choreography, by the legendary Bob Fosse, that looks so well rehearsed and precise that the movie looks fresh from the West End or Broadway.

However, the crowning achievement of the film is how well put together it is- the whole thing flows so well, the songs the songs seamlessly weave their way into the narrative, the cinematography and the overall look of the film suits the overall style perfectly, the camera shots and angles portray just the right feeling and tone for the story that they are trying to tell- it all just works so well.

Overall, it is an outstanding film that I would recommend to anybody who likes musicals or is looking for something with a darker tone and a story where the characters are less moral than your average protagonists. 

Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect is  a chick flick about an all girl acapella singing group called the Bardem Bellas and their attempts to win a championship competition After a disastrous defeat at last year’s finals, they regroup in the new year and get five new members, including the main protagonist, Becca.

This is one of the major problems of the film – the lead character. She is boring and clichéd- the ‘bad girl’ who acts all tough and behaves like she doesn’t care, but eventually grows to love the nerds she is forced to hang around with for whatever reason.

We’ve seen this type of character a million times before in a million different chick flicks- why repeat a worn-out stereotype instead of coming up with something new and original that they could later be credited for?  Her relationship with her ‘DJ-ing is not a profession’ father is also very overdone.

However, the rest of the cast is brilliant, especially the comic relief characters of Fat Amy and Lilly- those two are the ones that make the movie. Rebel Wilson is a comedy genius  who should definitely continue to be in more chick flicks- she was hilarious in Bridesmaids and now having been given a bigger part as Fat Amy in this movie she completely steals the show. It also helps that they are supported by a brilliant script, meaning that when the jokes work, they really really work and it’s hysterical.

The other element that makes this movie as good as it is the music- they take songs that are popular with the target audience and remix them to make something totally unique – and it works fantastically. The musical numbers make for some of the best scenes- including the ‘Riff off’ where the acapella groups have a competition at the beginning of the year.

A possible reason for this movie's growing popularity amongst teenage girls is because it takes components we all love- it is a Glee-style format in a chick flick style-and it remixes into something new and unique enough to stand out and become a firm favourite with its target demographic.

On the other hand, Becca’s romance with Jesse, a member of rival acapella group the Trebletones, was not necessary and took up time that could have been spent on other characters and plot points- we could even have had more of Fat Amy- Rebel Wilson improvisations were cut out in many scenes to make room for said pointless romance and a lot of unnecessary scenes.

A final issue is that the film feels very short and it has no real depth to it- however, this doesn’t matter too much- if you just accept the film for what is – silly fun- it makes for a very fun watch.