Spoiler Warning – massive spoilers ahead for all Hunger Games films

The Hunger Games

The film’s central character is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a very capable young woman, who essentially is the person running her family, looking after both her mother and little sister. Katniss is a skilled hunter and brings in food from illegally going on hunting trips and trading it for things they need. When the selection for The Hunger Games happens it is Katniss’ little sister who is randomly selected and so Katniss volunteers to go in her place.

Throughout her first Hunger Games Katniss refuses to play the game of the authorities, she immediately heads out into the wilderness, away from the other competitors, not wanting to fight anyone. She meets Rue, a 12 year-old girl also competing and they help each other, and when Rue is killed it is a devastating moment for Katniss. These Hunger Games end with joint winners of Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), District 12’s other tribute after they agree to both take their own lives so there would be no winner and ruin The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

With rising unrest in the country, President Snow makes plans for a special Hunger Games coincidentally every 25th Hunger Games has a change to the rules. This time the change is tributes will be drawn from previous winners – this means Katniss will have to compete. There is a rising feeling of injustice amongst the tributes and some of those involved in the games. The games are incredibly brutal and heartbreaking and shows the strong relationships that exist between some of the victors. As the height of the fighting rebels rescue Katniss, who has become a symbol of the rebellion and it is revealed many of the other victors have been working together for her rescue.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and 2

With a full-blown rebellion underway there are no Hunger Games but as the rebel forces move on to the Capital it is announced that the people who make the games have booby-trapped much of the city, almost making the Capital a huge version of the games. The rebellion is led by District 13, which was believed to have been destroyed years before, and wants to capitalise on Katniss’s connection with the people.

The World

The world of The Hunger Games is an interesting one, the nation is Panem (built on the ruins of America), and clearly some terrible calamity has befallen society. The country is divided into 12 districts and the Capital, Katniss is from District 12. Most of the districts are known for a particular industry, such as mining in District 12. The country is ruled by President Snow, a ruthless dictator, and their rule is best shown in the Hunger Games, brutal and harsh but with a clever understanding of how the games help him control society.

The Capital is fascinating. Whilst most of the districts are desperately poor Capital is exceedingly wealthy, drowning in a decadence that puts 18th Century France to shame. Indeed the fashions of the Capital are reminiscent of old aristocracies, elaborate, colourful, often ridiculous. There is talk of eating so much that you take an emetic to throw up so you can eat some more – this while people starve in the other districts. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) is a good example of a Capital citizen (she is the handler of the District 12 tributes), smiley, happy, shallow, dressed in elaborate and impractical clothing with makeup covering her entire face. Interestingly Effie is not cruel, she is not a bad person as such, and is clearly upset when the “rules” of the Hunger Games are broken to punish Katniss. Another interesting character is Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci), the TV host of the Hunger Games – again, not someone who seems actively evil, when interviewing the tributes he wants them to do well, he wants to build them up. Through Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) the audience sees what happens to the victors, ostensibly set up for a life of luxury as their reward, he is racked by guilt and trauma. Haymitch is the only other District 12 victor and so coaches Katniss and Peeta but is often disagreeable with a severe drinking problem.

President Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the primary antagonist, a scheming ruthless politician, running the country through a combination of fear, violence and carefully managed hope. Snow is the central character of the upcoming film, a prequel showing his rise to power.

The Hunger Games are excellent young-adult adventure films that manage to walk the fine line of dealing with such a dark concept without tipping over into Battle Royale horror or failing to deal with the sinister implications of the world. There hasn’t been space in this article to get into the relationship between Katniss and Peeta, the great performances and the fantastic cast with a load of Oscar winners, or The Running Man style television spectacle of the whole thing.

Also Read: Why We Are In A (New) Golden Age of Fantasy Television

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The post Looking Back At The Hunger Games appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

3,2,1… Go!

Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), who has no parents anymore or a wife and kids, is fully dedicating his life to his missions. Space has no secrets for his anymore… or maybe just one. Due to strange powers coming from an unknown source, the earth is facing distractions destruction, death, and fear. McBride is being called in for a top-secret mission that’s not only going to have a massive impact on his professional life but also on the personal one. He will be sent up again. This time to Neptune to check out where the powers come from. However, Neptune might not be the only thing he encounters on that planet. According to the last intel, his father H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) is still alive after the latest failed assignment.

While having to deal with this very unexpected news, McBride has to prepare himself both mentally and physically for this next mission. During most of the preparations, he has been able to keep his cool but the news about his father might be too hard for him to handle. Due to the death of a fellow astronaut and due to the feeling that he’s being abused by the government, McBride might not be able to stay at focussed as he normally would be. After getting even more disturbing news about his dad, it seems that his mission is becoming in more danger. Will he be able to keep it all together and make from this mission a successful one or will he have to abort his mission for the very first time in his career?

Out-of-this world special effects

It’s for you to find out whether the voyage will be successful or not but at least one thing will have great success: This film! For many different reasons.

The brightest star of this movie is without a doubt the special effects that are being used. The visual effect department delivers out-of-this-world work with Ad Astra. Right from that very first scene, we feel what it should be like when we would be in space. That height and McBride descending the stairs is certainly a scene that will dazzle everyone. People with a fear of heights might need to close their eyes during that breathtaking moment. You feel the natural light but also the darkness of the universe coming your way.

While we all know that director Gray didn’t send it team up to space, the special effects made it look very real. The beautiful twinkling stars, the colourful rings of Neptune and the yellow heat of the sun. It’s all there coming to life thanks to the SFX team. If you’re dreaming of going to the moon yourself or you’ve always wanted to know what it would be like living in a spaceship, the impressive visuals will give you the perfect insight.

Brad Pitt takes Ad Astra to new heights

What Ryan Gosling did for First Man, Pitt (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, The Big Short) is doing for Ad Astra. Whether it’s as the dedicated, strong and professional astronaut or as the insecure, lonely and divided man, Pitt gives himself 100% every second. Some might say that his expression is a little bit monotonous but apart from the mission, there’s not much going on in McBride’s life either. Thanks to Pitt’s voice-over, the feeling and emotions from McBride are been highlighted even more.

The fact that Ad Astra is focussing mainly on McBride means that the more supporting roles are being pushed to the background. While Tommy Lee Jones (Just Getting Started, Shock and Awe), Donald Sutherland (American Summer, Basmati Blues) and Ruth Negga (Warcraft: The Beginning, Loving) are all captivating, wonderful and enjoyable to watch as H. Clifford McBride, Thomas Pruitt, and Helen Lantos, they don’t get much time to showcase their expertise which is a shame. Sadly the emotions fall a little bit flat more towards the end and it feels like this movie is dragging on. Some unnecessary and strange moments could have been left out in this film.

Ad Astra is a shooting star

It wasn’t so long ago that this film got its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Since then it’s been loved by both critics and fans. Due to the dragging feeling at the end and some strange events happening throughout the film, this film lost some light. However, it still gets three and a half very bright stars because of the captivating emotional scenes, stunning visual and top-notch Brad Pitt.

Rating: (3.5 / 5)

Also Read: How Sci-Fi Imagined The Future

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