The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) Review

                                'Since the last games, something is different. I can see it'
                                                     'What can you see?'
                                                               'Hope.' 

Straight hot off the screen is the new second instalment from the movie series The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It is surprising that in this case, the latter appears to be just that bit more impressive than the former. Visually breath-taking and with a certain flair for the dramatic, the film picks up the pace and flies off with it.

The film continues to follow Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) after her victory in the 74^th Annual Hunger Games, alongside her fake beau, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), as they embark on their victory tour around all the districts in Panem. Soon however, Katniss’ new found symbol of hope forces President Snow to become weary of an uprising, so he thrusts a weary Katniss back into the games in a 75^th Annual Hunger Games (also known as the Quarter Quell), which is made up of previous victors. Also back is third member of the love triangle, Gale, (Liam Hemsworth) and Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), who returns to rally her team from District 12. Also along for the journey are Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) and designer Cinna, (Lenny Kravitz), whilst ruthless dictator President Snow is portrayed by Donald Sutherland. Some of the key tributes in the latter part of the film are Finnick Odair (Sam Claflik), Mags (Lynn Cohen), Johanna Mason (Jena Malone), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Wiress (Amanda Plummer), who help Katniss along with her journey.

Lawrence (Jennifer) sparkles on screen as the symbol of rebellion herself, Katniss Everdeen; electrifying the audience’s attention and making sure that all eyes are on her (literally). It is questionable as to whether the film would prove to be made of such a sound infrastructure without Lawrence being there to hold everything together, but nevertheless, all the actors put in a fine performance, which helps to unify the struggle that each character is facing.

What’s more obvious in this film is the level of devastation and the impact and consequences violence has. Everything is kicked up a notch, the events more ruthless and emotional, and the depth of the characters explored further and presented more complexly. We see Katniss once again at possibly an even more vulnerable level; everyone is thrust into the scenes of war and rebellion, and with that comes violence and death, which the film certainly deals with. 

A more emotional, and thought-provoking piece than the first, it masterfully gets the audience involved, and feeling the flames, the burn and the heat that the districts feel. It would seem that Francis Lawrence’s film does what it says in the title; it ‘catches fire,’ both in the literal sense, but also in the way it is able to ignite a certain sense of thrill into its audience, not only for the characters on screen but also engages with the darker, more political plot that underlines the film.

For the most part, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a gripping and thoroughly entertaining piece of cinema, whose only flaw is that it perhaps overruns too much; the 146 minute running time can drag on for even the most eager viewer. However, the film’s overall more intimate and personal themes of plight and struggle, put forth a greater meaning to viewers, and provide a more substantial source of material for director Lawrence to work with. This in turn is executed superbly, managing to grip and intensify the situation for all involved, both on and off screen.

Exceedingly darker and devious, and overall more rebellious and violent, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire serves to remind everyone who the real enemy is. 

4.5 stars 

Reviewed by Mel. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - New Character Posters!

Some new character posters for The upcoming Hobbit movie are in! And as usual, they are looking pretty spectacular. For larger images and captions, and to revel in the glory of the film, see below: 

Good ol' Gandalf [the grey] (Ian McKellan) looking pretty bad-ass in his new character poster. 

In a nice change of character posters, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) the elf is doing the butt-shot pose instead of Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly). Yep, you go elves. 

Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman. 

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield, looking to be in a bit of a sticky situation. 

And finally, the hobbit himself, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins! (who has also stars alongside Sherlock Co-Star, Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Smaug and The Necromancer.) So, how do the new posters shape up for you? Getting excited for the film which is released less than a month away? If not, watch a sneak peek below!: 

Muppets Most Wanted (2014) - New Theatrical and UK Trailers!

The new theatrical and UK trailers for Muppets Most Wanted (scheduled for release in March 2014) have been released, and see the good ol' green frog and his friends back, and in more trouble, than ever. Following on from the last film, The Muppets go on a tour in Europe, where they unfortunately encounter Constantine, the World's number 1 criminal, who looks almost identical to Kermit, who plans to become to most notorious criminal ever. Quickly and abruptly the gang and especially Kermit face various foes including Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), who is Constantine's sidekick. The film features a whole heap of celebrity cameos, most notably including the formidable Tom Hiddleston (Thor: The Dark World), Sean Combs, Tina Fey (who plays a Russian GULAG officer), Ty Burrell (who plays a French interpol inspector) and many more. Watch the new theatrical trailer below: 

And watch the official UK Trailer as well, below:

Film news by Mel. 

Castle - Season 6, Episode 9 'Disciple' (RETURN OF 3XK!) [Review + Recap]

Well, this week's episode of Castle was certainly one of the most interesting and disturbing episodes. Just in case killed doppelgängers of Laine and Espo wasn't enough to get you interested, the potential return of 3XK and his equally as crazy girlfriend certainly will be. 

What's that you say? You want a bit more of a detailed recap? Can do! And this one's certainly going to beguile you. The episode opens with a security guard at the docks who finds a women who is seemingly levitating off of the ground, but upon closer inspection, it's revealed she is hanging from fishing wire. Now for the scary part - she looks exactly like Laine. 

Yep, and Laine's pretty freaked out by it all. Cue the arrival of Castle and Beckett, who were previously discussing potential honeymoon locations, except that Castle has been pretty much all around the world - oh dear. It is soon uncovered that Laine and her doppelgänger, Pam, are exactly identical, and nope they're not related, someone has made Pam (aka ex streetwalker) up to look exactly like Laine. Creepy. Even down to a tattoo that Laine has in a private place. Kate and Rick go to see a plastic surgeon who operated on Laine to ask her a few questions. Her name is Dr. Kelly Nieman. 

She is pretty useless in terms of information. However, she is pretty creepy, complimenting Kate on her looks but insisting she isn't perfect, and let's just say she's less that complimentary to Rick. Ryan calls and says that they have located the boat Pam was last seen on, and they go on over to investigate. Ryan and Espo go on the boat only to find another victim, Daniel, who looks exactly like Esposito. 

Both victims were involved in seedy industries until apparently they both got a big break and someone who funded their lavish lifestyle, and also, they both knew each other. Kate likes Kelly for the crime, as it is revealed she was having a 'physical' relationship with Daniel, but she is less than upset about his death. However, there is no evidence and apparently she has good alibi's, so back to square one. The team uncover security footage of Daniel getting into a car owned by the security guard at the beginning of the episode, who found Pam, and they feel confident they have found the right killer. 

However, all the pieces don't exactly match up and Castle is unsure. Castle has had an overarching theory that 3XK is behind the killings, and upon inspection, they find the lab files and other documents missing, having been checked out by the doppelgängers. Uh-Oh. Castle is now certain 3XK didn't die on the bridge, but is back, and now he just needs to figure out how everything fits. The security guard Carl eventually admits to the murders but says he doesn't know anything about 3XK, and as Kate and Rick leave the room he makes a significant comment that they have no idea what is truly going on. Ryan, on the other hand, has discovered that Dr. Kelly knew 3XK when he was imprisoned, and that she is potentially his girlfriend. Double Uh-Oh. 

They rush on over to her office, but it is completely abandoned and the only thing left behind is a Dr.Kelly pen and a note saying 'better luck next time.' Whilst back at home, contemplating the situation, Rick discovers that the pen is actually a flash drive, and plugs it into his computer, only to hear the song 'we'll meet again' by Vera Lynn. 

Kate and Rick are speechless. The episode ends with a lot of potential questions, like as to whether 3XK is back and teamed up with his girlfriend to kill again? Will Castle and Beckett be able to uncover the truth? Who knows, but this was one hell of an episode. The next episode entitled 'The Good, The Bad and The Baby' sees Kate and Rick become temporary parents to a newborn baby who was left at the scene of a murder. Watch the promo below:

Reviewed by Mel. 

Kanye West - Bound 2 [Watch the Official Music Video!] [+ Review]

The new video, (starring a topless Kim Kardashian) for Kanye West's track 'Bound 2' is out, and let's just say it's weird. Ok, it's a whole heap of weird, with a dash of awkward for good measure. Just in case you haven't heard, the new music video [which you can watch below] features Kanye West's new fiancée, Kim Kardashian. Except she's topless, not a big deal, necessarily, but when you pair it with the ridiculous graphics and the fact Kanye and Kim are riding on the back of a motorbike, performing some questionable intimate acts. The whole thing is a heap load of bizarre, and the random wild horses just make the thing possibly even more laughable. I'm not quite sure whether this is some sort of international joke, but it does resemble some hap-hazard project by a bunch of students with a penchant for green screen. If all the above hasn't aroused your attention enough to encourage you to watch the video, then I would suggest you perhaps watch it just so you can be in the know, when everyone else is talking about it, no doubt. Watch the ridiculous video below: 

We hope you enjoyed this ground-breaking, deeply poetic piece of video. You're welcome.