Kill Bill: Volume 1

This is the next Tarantino film that I have decided to watch as part of exploring his work to gain a better understanding of his auteur style, which is definitely becoming more clear and distinct to me now. Before watching it, I was looking forward to seeing a kick-ass woman at the forefront of one of Tarantino’s films and it certainly didn’t disappoint, as ‘Black Mamba’/’The Bride’ (whose real name we do not yet know, having been bleeped out during conversation) kills probably more people than the total death count in all other Tarantino films I’ve seen so far (excluding the people killed in the fire at the end of Inglourious Basterds).

The other main trademark Tarantino move that can be seen in this film is his use of non-linear narrative, which is becoming easier to follow after having seen other of his films, such as Pulp Fiction. Although it is a recognisable choice by Tarantino, it still had a purpose in the film, allowing us to be thrown straight into one of The Bride’s (played by Uma Thurman) revenge schemes before giving us more back story.

Kill Bill: Volume 1 is the most stylised of any of the Tarantino films I’ve seen so far, as it had a prolonged graphics animation section in the style of anime, changes in the aesthetic from colour to black and white, with a colour tinted section as well. The film felt quite different in style because of these effects, in addition to the exaggerated sound effects, music and martial arts moves.

The narrative itself is very compelling: the film is about a woman who survived a massacre at her wedding by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad of which she was formerly a member. She is in a coma for 4 years before she wakes up and begins her revenge. In the film, we see her revenge of Veronica Green first, but when The Bride crosses her name of the kill list, there is a name already crossed off, indicating Tarantino’s decision to use a non-linear narrative.

Chapter 2 flashes back to after the massacre at the chapel, showing The Bride being found just about alive, then her time in the hospital where Bill calls off his attempt to kill her by having Elle Driver inject something into her bloodstream. She manages to escape, but her legs are not working, so she sits in the back of her escape vehicle willing them to work.

In the meantime, the story of ‘The Origin of O-Ren’ is told through the medium of anime, which The Bride narrates. This chapter shows how O-Ren came to be an assassin and concludes with her murdering the men who killed her parents.

The film returns to The Bride in the car, whose legs have regained their function, and shows her flight across the world to Japan, where she obtains a Samurai sword from a specific man. This enables her to progress on her quest for revenge and she goes to find O-Ren to enact her first murder.

As it turns out, it is not just the murder of O-Ren that she commits but all of O-Ren’s supporters and there is a bloodbath as The Bride mutilates or kills every single one of them using her sophisticated martial arts moves. Once she has dealt with the masses of attackers, she can finally battle O-Ren and, although seeming too weak at first, she succeeds in killing her.

The film ends with The Bride sending Sophie, one of O-Ren’s followers, to report back to the enigmatic Bill that she is coming after all the members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad for killing the nine people, including her unborn baby, at the chapel. However, the twist at the end is that her baby is apparently still alive.

I really enjoyed the film and it felt very different from some of Tarantino’s other films with the stylistic choices he made in it. It was exciting and even fun, as the unrealistic fountains of blood that spurted everywhere after a cut made it difficult to feel horrified at the so obviously faked violence. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the next installment of The Bride’s story, which I will watch and blog about tomorrow…

And in terms of Tarantino’s foot fetish, most of the feet shots in this film actually seemed to serve a purpose, such as when The Bride is trying to move her toes and regain feeling in her legs!

Reservoir Dogs

Every since we did the practical project “Little Green Bag” of recreating the Reservoir Dogs opening sequence, I’ve been intending to watch the whole film and I finally did.

Reservoir Dogs is Tarantino’s feature-length film debut and is about a jewellery heist set up by Joe Cabot, who hires six strangers to carry it out. Each is given a code name to maintain their anonymity, “Mr Pink”, “Mr White”, “Mr Orange”, “Mr Blonde”, “Mr Brown”, and “Mr Blue”, though some are less happy with their designated colour than others (looking at you, Mr Pink). At the store, there is a police ambush, leading the men who escape to believe there is an undercover cop in their midst.

The film largely takes place after the heist, with Mr White, Mr Orange and Mr Pink in an abandoned warehouse waiting for the arrival of the others and recounting what they saw go down. Mr Orange is badly injured, leaving Mr White and Mr Pink as the two main characters for a large section of the film. They talk about what went wrong and the fact that Mr Blonde started randomly shooting after the alarm went off, suggesting that he could be the undercover cop. However, Mr Blonde himself arrives at the warehouse and reveals a cop in the boot of his car, who he proceeds to torture for the fun of it.

Nice Guy Eddie turns up to sort out the situation and goes to retrieve the diamonds with Mr Pink and Mr White. During their absence, Mr Orange gets tired of Mr Blonde’s behaviour and shoots him, whilst still lying on the ground in his own pool of blood. Then, whilst speaking to the cop, it is revealed that Mr Orange is the undercover cop in question.

Throughout the film, there are various flashbacks to show how the main characters came to be involved in the heist and are therefore connected to Joe. Mr Orange’s flashback shows his preparation as an undercover cop for his role in the heist and he successfully tricks Nice Guy Eddie, Joe and Mr White into trusting him with a made-up story about going into a bathroom full of cops with drugs in his bag. There is also a flashback to how Mr White and Mr Orange escaped together, although there are no actual scenes of the heist itself in the film.

The film ends with a shootout between Joe (aiming at Mr Orange), Mr White (who is protecting Mr Orange) and Nice Guy Eddie (who is aiming at Mr White so he doesn’t shoot his dad), in which everyone dies, except Mr Pink, who manages to escape with the diamonds. I felt that this suited the character perfectly, as he seemed the type to wriggle out of everything and it is funny that as the stingiest character, he ends up with the diamonds. However, after checking, it seems that I missed the background sound design that suggests Mr Pink has been stopped by the police and ultimately did not get away either.

The film is not entirely what I was expecting, as I anticipated more of an action, chase sequence type of film. However, I was not at all disappointed and rather enjoyed seeing mostly the aftermath of a robbery, rather than the actual attempt, seen in films such as Snatch (Guy Ritchie, 2000). The film focuses a lot more of the dynamics between characters and the lack of trust (or misplaced trust in the case of Mr White) that contributes to their downfall. I also liked the flashbacks, which gave more of an insight into each character’s motivation and allowed the audience to try and deduce who the undercover cop was, with bits of information slowly being revealed. It was interesting that Mr Orange’s flashback came after the reveal of him as an undercover cop, thus making the flashback more about why he is involved and how he came to be, rather than who he actually is.

From the snippet we watched in class, I had a warped sense of certain characters’ significance, such as Mr Blue and Mr Brown who barely feature after the opening few minutes, and the conversation between them all in the diner made me think they were a group of friends, not individuals picked by Joe who don’t even know each other’s real names.

Mr White came across as the most loyal and honourable of the men, though almost naive, as he protects Mr Orange, despite him being the undercover cop suspect. It was a shame to see him defending Mr Orange and die because of it, though the confession of Mr Orange at least allowed him the truth. Mr Pink was perhaps the least likeable, mostly set up by the opening scene in which he refuses to tip the waitress, but he is also very suspicious at the warehouse, although that is arguably justified. Interestingly, Mr Blonde seems sadistic and cruel, but his flashback shows his loyalty to Joe, so much so that he went to prison for him. This makes him slightly more complex as a character, though his violence towards the cop is unjustified.

Overall a good, enjoyable film, though the racist language was uncomfortable, as was the homophobic slur, which is unfortunate as it taints an otherwise good film and seems entirely unnecessary. And this concludes my first forray into the films of Quentin Tarantino, which I will continue soon with the exam film chosen for study – Pulp Fiction.

Five Feet Apart

This is a film I’ve had on my watchlist for a while, and what better time to watch it than in this period of social distancing? I didn’t expect to be quite as emotionally assaulted as this, though, and by the end I was certainly a bit of a wreck.

The film is about two teenagers with cystic fibrosis, meaning they have to stay 6 feet apart in order to protect themselves from catching each other’s bacteria, which could be deadly. The film is not titled “Six Feet Apart”, however, because as Stella and Will fall in love, they decide to take something back from the illness – the extra foot.

The main themes are boundaries, love and risk-taking, and Stella and Will risk their health for every moment together. They are not the only ones involved in their relationship, as there is the ever need for doctors and nurses, to keep an eye on their health. Additionally, Stella’s best friend Po, who also suffers from cystic fibrosis, is caught up in the clandestine relationship, helping them to arrange dates.

Therefore, there is the triple threat of anyone of them becoming ill, and unfortunately it is Po who falls victim to the disease, ultimately dying halfway through. This certainly had me sobbing my eyes out, especially as Stella watched on, only for the door to be closed in her face.

The film had a very Romeo and Juliet feel, and when Stella fell in a lake towards the end, nearly drowning, and Will had to perform mouth-to-mouth recusitation, with the risk of giving Stella his bacteria, I was certain that was going to be the tragic ending.

Luckily, Stella regained consciousness and even had a lung transplant, but the true ending was not much happier. Will chose to leave Stella to protect her and the film ends with a voiceover from Stella, the same as at the beginning, bringing the story full circle. As the credits rolled, I wondered if the saying really is true that “it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

Despite having been left crying, the film made me more optimistic about the time we live in, and served as a reminder that it could be a lot worse. As we stay trapped at home with our families in self-isolation, it is good to remember that these current events are only an experience in our life, not our life’s experience.

To All The Boys – P.S I Still Love You

What better film to watch on Valentine’s Day than the newly released To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Susan Johnson, 2018) sequel? There isn’t one. So I decided to settle down and enjoy. The film certainly lived up to my expectations, actually, I would say it exceeded them, as I wasn’t sure the film would be able to pull off the Peter – Lara-Jean – John Ambrose love triangle nearly as well as the books did. However, I was proved wrong and found myself rooting for John Ambrose at certain points, as any good romance film should have you do for the rival love interest. I frequently found myself wishing that Lara-Jean would choose John Ambrose, but I will have to await her final decision until the third/last one is released, which should hopefully be soon, seeing as the cast have already filmed the entire thing.

This film continued on from the previous one; although, in the credits of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, John Ambrose McClaren (played by Jordan Burchett) turned up on Lara-Jean’s doorstep with her letter to him in hand, whereas in this film, John Ambrose was neither played by Burchett, nor did he go to Lara-Jean’s house with the letter. Despite some initial fan disappointment that Burchett was not going to reprise the role, the revelation of Jordan Fisher as the re-cast John Ambrose more than made up for it, and personally, I believe he made an excellent John Ambrose McClaren.

Having become official with Peter Kavinsky in the first film, after their fake romance to make Peter’s ex-girlfriend/Lara-Jean’s ex-best-friend Genevieve jealous and to avoid Lara-Jean’s real crush (her neighbour/older sister’s boyfriend, Josh) realising she still liked him, Lara-Jean finds herself stuck in a new and more prominent love triangle. She can’t help but be attracted to John Ambrose, who she has not seen for many years, since he moved away, despite her recent change in relationship status. Her relationship with Peter also becomes complicated by Genevieve, as Lara-Jean finds that she keep comparing herself to Genevieve and feels that Peter has not let her go. The two break-up, and Lara-Jean shares a magical moment with John Ambrose in the snow, before realising that she wants to be with Peter and running off to find him. The film ends with Lara-Jean and Peter together, although we are left wondering if that’s the way it will stay…

Overall I definitely enjoyed the film, and I am impressed at how well the love triangle was played out. I felt that both films managed to stay true to the books enough, and maintain their essence, despite small differences, such as the hot tub video coming out in the first film instead of the second, as in the books. It is often difficult, in my opinion, for the screen, whether TV show or movie, to portray a love triangle as well as a book can, because a book allows the reader to follow the main character and feel what they feel in a way that can’t be done on-screen. Therefore, it becomes much harder to make viewers fall in love with alternative love interests on-screen than in a book, because the audience is much more partial to make their own mind up, depending on who they find more attractive. This is where the casting of Jordan Fisher and the characterisation of John Ambrose in the film succeeded, allowing the audience (or at least me) to be suitably conflicted between the two guys.

I am greatly anticipating the third installment and am very glad I chose to spend my afternoon watching the film, which managed to remain faithful to the much loved book by Jenny Han. Certain parts were less in depth, such as Lara-Jean’s developing relationship with the wild old Stormy from the old people’s home, which is understandable, and the character of Stormy was still done well, although her status as John Ambrose’s grandmother was removed, and instead he was just a volunteer at the home to explain his presence. The film also dealt with Lara-Jean’s father and his budding romance with their neighbour well, but Lara-Jean’s hesitation about the relationship was downplayed, with her instead being very supportive. I felt that this took away a part of Lara-Jean’s character that we don’t get to see in the film, but which is explored well in the books: a reluctance for things to change in her family and a worry that her mother will be forgotten.

I particularly enjoyed the scene in the treehouse, which was very awkward for all three of the main characters and also the choice of music was generally well done. What makes the films so good for me, and allows me to forgive them for not being identical to the books, are the little moments that really capture the feeling of the story, such as the Covey family’s visit to their relatives, or the telling of the canned green beans story at ‘Fakesgiving’.

My Complete Oscar 2020 Predictions…

With the Oscars going on later this evening, I have entered into a competition with my brother in which we will predict the winners for every single Oscar category, major and minor, gaining points dependent on the importance of the category. I have decided to blog my predictions, which I may decide is a mistake in the morning, if the results are not in my favour.

Without further ado, the list of nominations and then my predictions is as follows…

(and I will follow up with the winners tomorrow, finding out my success rate)

Best Picture Nominations:

• Ford v Ferrari
• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Joker
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Parasite

Daisy’s Best Picture Prediction:

Having originally chosen The Irishman for my official Film Studies class prediction, I am now choosing 1917 as my prediction, although this may be biased as I have not yet watched the former.

OSCAR WINNER:

Not at all what I was expecting, Parasite won, and having seen it since, I would say that it is a deserved win.

Best Director Nominations:

• Martin Scorsese, The Irishman
• Todd Philips, Joker
• Sam Mendes, 1917
• Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
• Bong Joon Ho, Parasite

Daisy’s Best Director Prediction:

Betting on Mendes and 1917 for a second time, I am choosing him as my Best Director prediction.

OSCAR WINNER:

Another major win for Parasite and director Bong Joon Ho, even with some serious competition in this category.

Leading Actress Nominations:

• Cynthia Erivo, Harriet 
• Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story 
• Saoirse Ronan, Little Women
• Charlize Theron, Bombshell
• Renee Zellweger, Judy

Daisy’s Leading Actress Prediction:

In my opinion, I believe Renee Zellweger will win this category, but as my brother took this prediction out from under me, I am forced to choose Saoirse Ronan, a nevertheless deserving nominee and strong contender, but perhaps not strong enough to take down Zellweger in this category.

OSCAR WINNER:

It was in fact Renee Zellweger so I am rather salty about not getting to have her for my official prediction.

Leading Actor Nominations:

• Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory 
• Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood
• Adam Driver, Marriage Story 
• Joaquin Phoenix, Joker
• Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Daisy’s Leading Actor Prediction:

I am confidently choosing Joaquin Phoenix for this one.

OSCAR WINNER:

Bang on here and my first win in one of the major categories.

Supporting Actress Nominations:

• Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
• Laura Dern, Marriage Story 
• Scarlett Johannson, Jojo Rabbit
• Florence Pugh, Little Women
• Margot Robbie, Bombshell

Daisy’s Supporting Actress Prediction:

Having made a literary character that everyone hates into a relatable film character that shines in her own right, I have to go with Pugh for Supporting Actress as my first choice, despite having chosen Saoirse Ronan for Leading Actress and not being convinced both Little Women actresses can scoop the awards. However, Pugh was the choice I was going to go with before and am sticking with.

OSCAR WINNER:

Unfortunately my brother is correct again with Laura Dern, who was nominated for Marriage Story despite also being in Little Women so I suppose she has worked hard this year and is deserving.

Supporting Actor Nominations:

• Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
• Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes
• Al Pacino, The Irishman 
• Joe Pesci, The Irishman 
• Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Daisy’s Supporting Actor Prediction:

Sticking with my Film Studies class prediction, I am choosing Joe Pesci for Supporting Actor, although I did find this choice very difficult between Pitt, Pesci and Pacino, all well-known actors. Tom Hanks is another strong, well-known actor, but I don’t think his role can be accurately defined as “supporting” when the film was mainly about his character.

OSCAR WINNER:

Brad Pitt won here, not much more to be said.

Best Original Screenplay Nominations:

• Knives Out
• Marriage Story 
• 1917 
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Parasite

Daisy’s Best Original Screenplay Prediction:

Extremely biased in this choice, I am going for Marriage Story, because I thought it was brilliant, but any one of these is a valid option and may well win.

OSCAR WINNER:

Yet another win for the incredible Parasite, which I am much more accepting of after having seen of it, although it has messed up my success rate rather significantly.

Best Adapted Screenplay Nominations:

• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Joker
• Little Women
• The Two Popes

Daisy’s Best Adapted Screenplay Prediction:

Going for JoJo Rabbit, despite not having had a chance to see it and am fairly confident in the choice, as it is the one my brother would have made if I had not got there first. My initial thoughts were for Little Women, as it was the only one I knew where it had been adapted from, but I have already chosen both actresses for it, so am not choosing it again. And personally, I found the film good but not necessarily a deserving winner of this category.

OSCAR WINNER:

Finally! Another win for me or rather one for JoJo Rabbit, which is still on my list of films to watch.

Live Action Short Film Nominations:

• Brotherhood
• Nefta Football Club
• The Neighbors’ Window
• Saria
• A Sister

Daisy’s Live Action Short Film Prediction:

Haven’t watched or heard of any of these, but after a quick google, I think A Sister sounds most interesting.

OSCAR WINNER:

The Neighbors’ Window wins – I don’t particularly feel either way about this.

Animated Short Film Nominations:

• Dcera
• Hair Love
• Kitbull
• Memorable
• Sister

Daisy’s Animated Short Film Prediction:

Again, not heard of any of these, but as Dcera has won a fair few awards, that is my prediction. Pixar film Kitbull could take the win, though.

OSCAR WINNER:

Hair Love won this one.

Original Score Nominations:

• Joker
• Little Women
• Marriage Story
• 1917
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Daisy’s Original Score Prediction:

Joker is my choice here and a solid one, in my opinion.

OSCAR WINNER:

Joker has led me to another victory here!

Best International Feature Film Award Nominations:

• Corpus Christi
• Honeyland
• Les Miserables
• Pain and Glory
• Parasite

Daisy’s Best International Feature Film Award Prediction:

A confident choice of Parasite. Little more to be said. I will be shocked if it doesn’t win, especially as it made it into the Best Picture category, despite being a foreign film.

OSCAR WINNER:

I was correct of course with Parasite, though little did I know it would win some of the much bigger categories as well.

Sound Mixing Nominations:

• Ad Astra
• Ford v Ferrari
• Joker
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Daisy’s Sound Mixing Prediction:

1917, definitely. It is a strong contender due to its war film nature and the sound mixing is great (according to an Independent article I read, myself not being at all qualified in this department).

OSCAR WINNER:

Well, my success seems to be coming a lot more from the smaller categories of which I know little about the technicalities, but I will take it with 1917‘s win!

Sound Editing Nominations:

• Ford v Ferrari
• Joker
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Daisy’s Sound Editing Prediction:

Like most, I don’t really know the difference between these two categories and I could have gone for 1917 again, but I decided to mix it up a bit with a Ford v Ferrari prediction. Those car noises must have been made somehow.

OSCAR WINNER:

Woah, there was some absolute luck involved here! I somehow managed to get the two predictions correct and the right way round. Thank you, Ford v Ferrari for your car noises that are apparently the reason I picked this film for my prediction! Did I say I was unqualified to judge, because I’m starting to re-think that comment?

Costume Design Nominations:

• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Joker
• Little Women
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Daisy’s Costume Design Prediction:

An obvious choice for me, the period drama Little Women with all those big, bustling dresses must be a sure bet.

OSCAR WINNER:

Correct again, I’m liking this roll I’m on, let’s keep it going!

Documentary Short Nominations:

• In the Absence
• Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
• Life Overtakes Me
• St Louis Superman
• Walk Run Cha-Cha

Daisy’s Documentary Short Prediction:

Not having watched these again makes it difficult, so I am going for Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone, about young girls in Afghanistan.

OSCAR WINNER:

Well well well, my quick google search and decision based on that has given me yet another win in the categories which I know little about.

Documentary Feature Nominations:

• American Factory
• The Cave
• The Edge of Democracy
• For Sama
• Honeyland

Daisy’s Documentary Feature Prediction:

A pure guess of a prediction, I am choosing The Cave.

OSCAR WINNER:

Nope, my guess here was off. Winner was American Factory.

Achievements in Production Design Nominations:

• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
• Parasite

Daisy’s Production Design Prediction:

I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a decent prediction based on its recreation of 1969 Los Angeles, but I find this difficult to call.

OSCAR WINNER:

And I’ve done it again! Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes the victory.

Achievements in Film Editing Nominations:

• Ford v Ferrari
• The Irishman
• Jojo Rabbit
• Joker
• Parasite

Daisy’s Film Editing Prediction:

I am going with Ford v Ferrari based on the difficulty of capturing racing cars and moving between very different shots of these cars in a sleek way.

OSCAR WINNER:

Back on track again (accidental pun?) with Ford v Ferrari‘s win in this category.

Achievements in Cinematography Nominations:

• The Irishman
• Joker
• The Lighthouse
• 1917
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Daisy’s Cinematography Prediction:

I mean, it’s got to be 1917, but I did enjoy the cinematographic and lighting techniques in Joker, so that would be my second choice.

OSCAR WINNER:

Of course it was Roger Deakins and 1917.

Achievements in Visual Effects Nominations:

• 1917
• Avengers: Endgame
• The Irishman
• The Lion King
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Daisy’s Visual Effects Prediction:

I think the de-ageing process in The Irishman could clinch this, but 1917 could go for another win, with visual effects so realistic, I didn’t even notice them.

OSCAR WINNER:

1917 again it was.

Achievements in Make-up and Hairstyling Nominations:

• Bombshell
• Joker
• Judy
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
• 1917

Daisy’s Makeup and Hairstyling Prediction:

Not entirely sure with this, but perhaps Judy, after all, trying to turn a person into a completely different person is a difficult feat.

OSCAR WINNER:

It was actually Bombshell.

Best Animated Feature Film Nominations:

• How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
• I Lost My Body 
• Klaus
• Missing Link
• Toy Story 4

Daisy’s Best Animated Feature Film Prediction:

Another confident choice, with Toy Story 4 as my prediction. It did very well not to let fans down, after bringing back a franchise that ended beautifully with the third installment. However, Missing Link did win the Golden Globe.

OSCAR WINNER:

It had to be Toy Story 4 and it was – there was no need to doubt!

Best Original Song Nominations:

• I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away, Toy Story
• I’m Gonna Love Me Again, Rocketman
• I’m Standing With You, Breakthrough
• Into the Unknown, Frozen II
• Stand Up, Harriet

Daisy’s Best Original Song Prediction:

Although this is Frozen II‘s only nomination, I still feel that Elton John and Taron Egerton’s extremely catchy duet I’m Gonna Love Me Again could win out and I wouldn’t be unhappy about it. I’m not sure Frozen II‘s soundtrack quite hits fans in the same way as the original film, meanwhile Rocketman is full of Elton John classics and this track finishes the film off nicely; it is exactly the type of song you would expect from Elton John, in a good way.

OSCAR WINNER:

And concluding nicely on a win with I’m Gonna Love Me Again. Now onto the final scores…

FINAL RESULTS:

The Hunger Games

‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy are books by Suzanne Collins that have been adapted into four films – The Hunger Games (Gary Ross, 2012), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Francis Lawrence, 2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (Francis Lawrence, 2014) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (Francis Lawrence, 2015).

The dystopian series is about a girl called Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence) who volunteers to take part in the annual Hunger Games in place of her sister, Prim. The Games are a savage fight to the death, with two competitors from each of the 12 Districts. Katniss is from District 12, one of the poor districts, that contributes to the society by coal mining, and is selected for the Games along with Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson), the local baker’s son. In the first book/film, the two are coached by the only previous district champion, Haymitch Abernathy, a notorious drunk, and attempt to work together to survive.

Note: Spoilers for the next three ‘Hunger Games’ films ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

The second instalment of ‘the Hunger Games’ follows Katniss and Peeta after the win of the 74th Hunger Games, touring the Districts together. However, an announcement that the 75th Hunger Games’ competitors will be taken from previous winners in each District, leaves Katniss and Peeta forced back into the arena. This time, though, they have more allies, and a clever scheme brings the Games to an abrupt end.

In ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’, Katniss finds herself in the mysterious District 13 without Peeta, who has been captured and brainwashed by President Snow. Katniss agrees to act as the figurehead for the rebellion, which is planned by President Coin, leader of District 13. In the final film, the rebellion is carried out, with Katniss helping to invade the Capitol.

‘The Hunger Games’ series is a captivating story, full of loss and war. I feel it balances well various strands of the narrative, including, in part, a developing romance between Katniss and Peeta. However, there are also focusses on Katniss’ other relationships, such as with her sister, and in the first film with Rue, one of the other competitors. Throughout the series, a variety of emotions are evoked within the audience, both due to the story and the powerful performances from the actors.

I would highly recommend ‘The Hunger Games’ for anyone who enjoys the dystopian genre, and the films are some of the few that accurately portray the original story, with consistency from book to film.