The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Here we are, the final instalment of The Hunger Games franchise. After loving the books, I was majorly happy with the first two adaptations of the source material. The third I was not so happy with and you can read my review for Part 1 here. Now here's the second part of the third adaptation and although a it has a lot of similar problems, overall it is a good send off for the franchise. Read on below to find out my full verdict.

So by now you know the cast, the amazing Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, accompanied by Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and the best supporting cast from your favourite TV shows of the last five years. Seriously, there are so many familiar faces from the likes of Game of Thrones and House of Cards. In this film the rebellion is in full swing in an attempt to bring an end to the pain and suffering in the Districts.

Now lets start with the good, like the rest of the series, Mockingjay doesn't take a half hearted stab at the source material, instead it takes it seriously and creates a very faithful adaptation of the text unlike other Young Adult franchises such as Divergent, which is pretty much a paint by number YA film with no heart or effort put into making a 'good' film. The Hunger Games stands out because it feels like a film in which an effort has been made to make it more than just a Blockbuster, it's also a social commentary on the world we live in today. Plus the films have some amazing performances from all involved!

There are some brilliant scenes in this film and a lot of these are extremely terrifying and hard to watch at points. There is a sequence in this film that could rival most horror movies and made me wonder how this film didn't get more than a 12A rating. These scenes are well executed and the effects are top notch. We've come a long way from the crappy fire in the first film.

When this film ended I was surprised at how much it hit me that this franchise had ended. It was about four years ago I got hooked on the books and I remember being extremely excited for the first film, this excitement may have diminished in 2015 but I was left thinking how much I would miss those early days of the franchise. It packed a punch that's for sure. If the split of the final book hadn't happened and a third film was made using only the best parts of Part 1 and 2 then this could easily be one of the best trilogies of this millennium so far.

So now onto the bad. Like Part 1 there were scenes in this film that just dragged! It suffered from something I like to call The Walking Dead effect, where there are some great set pieces and then the characters just mope around and engage in un-engaging conversations about how they feel until the next great set piece. Some of the scenes were so slow that it felt like it was intentionally trying to justify the split... well it didn't work guys. But hey, now they have twice the money!

Another problem I had with the film was the lighting, it was so dark in places that I could hardly tell what was going on, which sucked because some of the visuals were great, just a little tough to make out at times.

There are few key scenes that are brushed over surprisingly quickly, scenes of a spoilerish nature but you'll probably understand what I mean if/when you have seen it.

Like I said at the start of the review, it's a good enough send off to one the best YA franchises around, I doubt we'll get anything aimed at teenagers with a similar amount of quality any time soon. Or at least not what I have seen from other YA franchises following in The Hunger Games shadow. But then again I'm not the audience anymore, The Hunger Games got me in my final teenage years and I loved it and I am now sad it's gone, well until the announcement of the prequels or some other way to drain the life out of a decent film franchise! I am giving Mockingjay Part 2 a rating of 3.5/5.

What did you think of Mockingjay Part 2? Better than Part 1? Better than Catching Fire? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

Update On My Work

So after (nearly) three years of studying, today I handed in my final pieces of work, concluding my time at Falmouth University. It's a pretty big day, but I thought I would update you guys on what I'm hoping is going to happen next!

So after studying all this time, I have realised that screenwriting is the route for me. One of my final projects was a feature length screenplay, and that is what I will now be looking to sell. Obviously, that is just one screenplay, so I'm going to need to write some more! I have my house in Falmouth for the next couple months, so I will be doing a lot of writing work during my break, before looking for a part time job, so I can begin to have some income and pay off the annoyingly high student debt, as well as use the money to submit to festivals, competitions and what not.

So yeah, lots of screenwriting is about to begin, or has begun, because I have already developed another idea which I am about to write a first draft for!

The screenplay I have already written, and gone through a number of drafts with, is titled The Pursuit. And if any producers/agents/directors/managers out there are reading, then let me tell you, it is a Young Adult Sci-Fi film, which I would pitch as a cross between The Hunger Games and Moon.

The logline goes like this:

Born onto a mission to explore the stars, Lily only dreams of going home to Earth. What was once an impossible dream becomes suddenly more achievable when the ship regains a lost connection with Earth, and Lily becomes friends with a lonely technician named Bry on the other end. 

Sound like some something you might want to read/pursue further? Get in contact!! (alex-moppy@hotmail.com) 

Other shameless plugs on this post include; an article I wrote recently on Jay and Mark Duplass's TV show Togetherness  for Steam TV. You can read that one here.

Don't worry though, I'm not giving up the blog just yet! In fact I'm celebrating my hand in with a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road, because that's just what film students do. Keep an eye out for a review of that in the next few days!

Thanks for reading!

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

I've been quite busy recently and haven't had time to write a review for the the third instalment of The Hunger Games franchise. I saw the film last week and my feelings are a bit mixed on it. Carry on reading to find out why.

So the third film follows the first half of the final book in the trilogy. Following pretty much after the events of the second film, we see Katniss in District 13, where she must help start the rebellion by being the 'Mockinjay' symbol to create war propaganda and unite the districts against the Capitol. I've read the books and was surprised they were going to split the last one into two films. Unfortunately every young adult franchise seems to do this now and Lionsgate are going to want to keep on milking The Hunger Games cow because it has made them a tonne of money. Because The Hunger Games franchise has been so well done, I thought this film might show me a viable enough creative reason for splitting the films. It does not. The film drags and hasn't got enough content to keep me fully engaged throughout. In my opinion they split the films where the book finally gets interesting. This means the second part should be pretty great but I am not longing for it like I was after watching the brilliant Catching Fire.

Katniss is a great character and she has always been played superbly by Jennifer Lawrence. This film is not an exception but does feel less like Katniss is helping move the plot of her own film. Obviously this is not a great time in her life but there is only so much upset Katniss I can take, she took a backseat in this one and rarely engaged in the action. This is similar to the book, however she does do a lot more in the second half, so I guess we'll just have to wait a year to see Katniss at her best.

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad film. In fact there are quite a few really awesome and powerful scenes. The only problem is, is that the awesomeness is mixed in with long, boring scenes that drag. I just want to see the main character do something!

One of things I like about the films is that they can delve into the world more than the books did, because we aren't just looking at this world from Katniss's point of view. Mockingjay continues this and shows a really well developed and thought out world. We get to see some awesome rebellion scenes and find out more about the villains like President Snow, who was definitely my favourite character in this film. He is pretty darn scary. Donald Sutherland has brought way more to that character than I ever got from the books. I love all the political and social undertones to the film and they are the themes that separate this franchise from other young adult films. A love triangle is present but it never feels like the driving force of the film. I like that Mockingjay still feels different and cool.

So Mockingjay is an ok film with standout scenes but pretty dull ones as well. I feel if the third book was one film, with just the awesome scenes from part 1, and then whatever is to come in part 2, we could have been looking at one of the best trilogies of our generation. However this is not the case and the once superb franchise now has a dent in it, not a big one, but a dent none the less. I'm still excited for part 2 but not as much as I was last year after watching Catching Fire. I am giving The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 a rating of 3/5.

Here's hoping the second part is a lot better!

What did you think of Mockingjay Part 1? Are you still excited for the final instalment next year? Let me know in the comments below.

On a different note, the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer came out yesterday and it looks incredible! I grew up on Star Wars and I cannot wait to go see a new one in the cinema! Go watch it if you haven't already!

Thanks for reading!

Quick Reviews #5

I have been very busy as of late, and haven't found time until now to review the latest instalment of The Hunger Games franchise; Catching Fire. But during the time since seeing the film I also watched Prisoners so instead of doing one big review of each, I thought I would do another post of quick reviews for the two films. So please read on and enjoy.

Catching Fire

I have been quite negative in the year heading up to Catching Fire. I loved the first film but thought they might be rushing the second one, even previous director Gary Ross left the franchise for he did not think he could make the film he wanted in the time before the release date! The first couple trailers came out and looked pretty cool but quite CGI heavy and didn't have the 'shaky cam' style of the first film, which I loved. The 'shaky cam' may have been toned down a lot but I was pleasantly surprised at how good the second film was, especially as it was based on what I consider to be the weakest book of the trilogy. In fact I would go as far as saying that this may be the first film I have seen that I believe to be better than its book as it expands upon it and I was more emotionally attached to the characters. Catching Fire picks up where the first film left off with Katniss and Peeta returned champions of the Hunger Games. But their actions in the arena have sparked riots in many of the districts that the Capitol is worried could turn into a full blown rebellion. As with the first film Jennifer Lawrence is outstanding as Katniss Everdeen, a role model for a generation, not just within the story of the films. We have some other great new additions to the cast such as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Clafin and Jeffrey Wright who really stand out in their roles. The characterisation is great and has been improved upon from the first film, as has the dodgy CGI which no longer looks out of place. The story feels as if it has been made for the big screen, with many twists and turns that lead to what some are calling an abrupt ending, but one I knew was coming and had been looking forward to seeing how the filmmakers handled it. Director Francis Lawrence has fitted in perfectly and really added to the expansion of the world. I cannot wait to see how the next book turns out which is being split into two films. Only time will tell for me whether this film was better then first but it sure was great. It's main flaw is a average first act but I am still giving Catching Fire a solid 4/5.

Prisoners

What seems to be a classic, 'who done it' turns out to be much more of an emotional rollercoaster ride that delves deep into our own humanity in Prisoners. Following Hugh Jackman's father character as he and another family both have a child abducted, we get to see what lengths this man will go to, to bring his daughter back. He is not without help as Jake Gyllenhaal's Detective Loki also tries to find the girls and the person who took them. This film is pretty crazy from the get go, with lots of twist and turns that will never let you fully guess the mystery behind everything. You will be on edge for most of the film but your patience will be rewarded. Jackman and Gyllenhaal give off what could be their best performances yet as both their characters get a hefty amount of characterisation that sees them as changed men for better or worse by the end of the film. I really loved this film, the camera stays still for most scenes, letting you take everything in from the great backdrop to this heart racing story. The two leads are incredible but the supporting cast get thrown to the side a bit, especially Terrence Howard's character who I believe was severely underused. The film feels a lot like Zodiac, and like that film it brings a lot to a genre which could be very by the books, creating a generic crime thriller, but Prisoners is a lot more than that. I am rating the film a 4/5.

Do you agree with my reviews? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading! 

SDCC 2013 Thoughts #4

Amazing new from Comic Con including a Batman & Superman movie (YEAH!), and a  Catching Fire and Arrow season 2 trailer!

Best news first! Warner Brothers announced today that a Superman and Batman team up film is in production awaiting a release for 2015! This is amazing news and could be what heads up a Justice League film reported for a 2017 release just after a film for The Flash in 2016. Kind of nerding out right now! Man of Steel cast members are set to return with a new adaptation of Batman. In a year full of Star Wars and Avengers sequels could 2015 be the best year for us nerds ever? Here's a look at the logo for the newly announced film.

Here's the new trailer for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire.


Looks promising but knowing that the second book is the weaker of three I am still sceptical about the sequel. As much as some of this looks great it still loos very CGI heavy compared to the first film. We will have to see with this one, I just hope that I am proven wrong.

Here's the trailer for Arrow season 2.

Although  a lot of the footage is from the first season, this trailer still looks pretty good. Arrow had it's ups and downs but its final episode really embraced the superhero genre and made for some incredible TV. I hope the second season follows on from this as the show is a lot of fun.

Some great news for DC fans right now, check back later for more SDCC news!

Review of 2012

Happy new year people! Shall we start the year with my review of the last one? 2012, what a year it was! My top ten films list may just be the hardest I have had to compile! Other lists include my top 5 TV shows of the year and my top 3 albums of the year. So please take a look at my post and I hope you enjoy my review of an outstanding year of film! Starting with my top ten films of 2012:

10. Liberal Arts

Funny, charming and very sweet. One of the films I saw at Sundance London and it sure did leave an impression. Check out my review of this film and the festival here: Sundance London

9. Dredd 3D

The biggest surprise of the year. I saw this film just to pass away time one day whilst waiting for my phone to be repaired. I went in with low expectations but came out very happy! It was super cool and featured some of the best 3D I have seen. Read my full review here: Dredd 3D

8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I didn't realise how much I missed Middle Earth until I saw the first part of The Hobbit earlier last month. A very good film but unfortunately the higher frame rate let it down a bit, making it only 8th in my top 10. I wonder if the second part will make into my list for 2013? Read my full review here: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

7. Looper

The most original sci-fi film of the year! Featuring some excellent performances and a very smart storyline that changed the way I felt about each character all the time. An example of brilliant film making. Read my full review here: Looper

6. The Hunger Games

Being a massive fan of the book, I was extremely happy at how faithful the adaption was on the big screen. An excellent approach to a film that could have been a disaster. A standout performance from Jennifer Lawrence and top notch direction from Gary Ross. Although I am worried for the sequels, at least this film was awesome! Read my full review here: The Hunger Games

5. Skyfall

The best Bond film yet! An excellent way to celebrate 007's 50th anniversary! I couldn't have asked for anything more from Skyfall! Read my full review here: Skyfall

4. Your Sister's Sister

The first of two films starring Mark Duplass in my top 10 list. The guy sure knows how to play lovable losers. I am a sucker for new takes on the romance genre and this film is one of them. A great film with some great performances from all 3 leads. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Not as good as The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolans final Batman film was nothing less then spectacular! A great finale to one of the best trilogies we have seen. I feel sorry for whoever has to take on the next Batman film. Read my full review here: The Dark Knight Rises

2. Safety Not Guaranteed

Mark Duplass's second film in my list and second on my list! Another film I saw at Sundance London and what a treat it was! An awesome and heartfelt film that every time I've watched it has never failed to put a smile on my face. A well deserved second place! Read my review of the film and the festival here: Sundance London

1. The Avengers

The ultimate superhero film! Never before have I been so happy and excited in the cinema and the feeling has not declined every time I have seen it! The ultimate geek feast for your eyes! I could not have wished for anything more. The best film of the year and one of my favourites ever! Read my full review here: The Avengers

Some of you may be surprised to see that The Amazing Spider-Man did not make the list considering I am a giant fan of the character. Although I did not think it was a terrible film, I was however disappointed with it. A good film, but not the best of the year. There were loads of films that could have made the top 10 in 2012. It was such a good year for films and lets hope 2013 can continue the trend!

2012 wasn't just a good year for film, it was also a great year for TV. Here are my top 5 TV shows of the year:

5. Doctor Who Series 7

Matt Smith continues his brilliant run as The Doctor. The latest season shows off why, in my opinion, he is the best man yet to play the time lord. Not every episode was amazing but the majority of them were awesome. I look forward to the second half of the season coming later this year.

4. Sherlock Series 2

The first season was good, but the second was on another level! Sherlock proved Benedict Cumberpatch and Martin Freeman were top class actors, and look where it's got them now. We're going to have to wait a little while for the third series as they are only just about to film the episodes this month. I for one can't wait!

3. Game of Thrones Season 2

Game of Thrones is Lord of the Rings but the adult version. This show brings the fantasy genre to a new level. Truly is one of the best shows on TV and it has some adorable looking dragons. Such an epic TV show!

2. The Walking Dead Season 3

After some people disliked the second season (not me), the creators really tried their hardest to make the third season much better. And their hard work really paid off. Season 3 has created some of the best TV moments I have ever seen and has even reduced me to tears in parts. The Walking Dead is something special indeed.

1. Breaking Bad Season 5

I have never been so hooked on a TV show in my life! This show is the reason that posts have been slow for the last few months on the blog! Well that and University life! Breaking Bad is like nothing I have ever seen before, the story lines are great and the characters are awesome! Such a clever and truly incredible TV series and the latest season has been no exception. I can't wait to see the final 8 episodes coming this summer. I highly recommend!

Now on to my favourite music albums of the year:

3. The Killers - Battle Born

Although it wasn't everything I had hoped for from my favourite band, it still had some great tunes!

2. Mystery Jets - Radlands

The Mystery Jets change their tune a bit in their latest album, which has a very American feel to it. Maybe because it was produced over there! Very catchy!

1. The Vaccines - Coming of Age

The Vaccines take first place for a second year in a row! Both the band's albums have been great, I hope they will only get better!

Well that concludes my review of 2012, I hope you enjoyed it just as much as I did! 

Did you enjoy 2012? Do you agree with my lists? Are you looking forward to 2013? Feel free to comment and share with me your top films of year!

Thanks for reading! Happy New Year!

Where Have All The Special Features Gone?

It has occurred to me in the last few years, that DVDs contain little to none in the area of special features. Now this is obviously because Blu-Rays have been brought into the mix and have the ability to contain more footage on their discs.

I do remember however, when DVDs first came out they were advertised as being able to have loads of special features. It seems Blu-Ray's have taken the same approach and the only way to enforce this and increase sales is to leave DVDs with no extra bits. Well thanks. Because I don't have a Blu-Ray player and don't plan on spending the small amount of money I have, on one in the next few years as I will be off to University.

In University I am going to be a Film student and will therefore be interested in watching the special features of films. I can probably guess that a Blu-Ray player will be very rare thing in the halls of residents, leaving me to have to find these features elsewhere.

Not all DVDs have this problem. The Hunger Games DVD coming out soon in the UK and has it's own second disc full of special features! This is most likely because the studio know that most of their audience do not own a Blu-Ray player. Surely all studios could do this?

The reason I wanted to have a bit of rant about this is because of the soon to be released DVD of The Avengers. Being one of my most anticipated films ever, I want to know how it was made. Instead all I get on my DVD is a special feature called A Visual Journey. Yay. Whereas the Blu-Ray has a load more special features and a short film! Come on Marvel, at least give me a 2 disc special edition! You did it with Iron Man, and I bought that!

So come on studios! Please add some special features to your DVDs or people are just going to download or stream them online! Remember there are those of us who haven't upgraded to Blu-Ray and will not for a while to come! We need to make this the normal thing again, or at least for The Avengers DVD!

What do you think? Is it just me who thinks this, or is just me who still owns a DVD player? Comment below!

Thanks for reading!

The Hunger Games Review

Ok so if you have read any of my early posts you will know that I have been looking forward to this film for a while after having my mind blown by the books. I booked tickets as soon as I could after recent hype suggests this could be massive! Well... It did not disappoint!

I thank the director Gary Ross for not making this 'the next twilight' as it has been wrongly accused of being. This was a sophisticated film that had it's own unique style that pulled it apart from any other film I have seen before. I'm sure there will be some who join the 'Team Peeta' and 'Team Gale' groups but for me, I'm more 'Team Katniss'!

Jeniffer Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen. She truly does take over the role and holds the film throughout, even against the acting legends such as Donald Sutherland, Stanely Tucci and Woody Harrelson. The world will definitely be watching her then! If you are unsure of plot (where have you been?) then here it is: 'Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.' This may sound cheesy but it is far from it!

The films cinematography is superb and it visually looks incredible. The camerawork is mainly handheld and shaky which gives it it's own style though sometimes is overused and can confuse the scene ans starts to make you dizzy. The visual effects are great and The Capitol personally reminds me of the planet Naboo in Star Wars. The 'girl on fire dress' which fans of the book have been eagerly waiting to see is the only down point of the film as it does not look brilliant but then again imagination is each to their own.

The music contributes to the emotion of the film even when it is not present. With the ambient music and unique cinematography the film feels like it should be an indie and not the big blockbuster I am sure it will become.

This though is not a film for kids, not because of the graphic content, (which there is enough for us older teens to enjoy!) but because it is quite slow paced and dramatic which is not bad at all for us movie buffs out there! It really is emotional and I felt myself getting goosebumps and welling up at numerous scenes from the very start! Some bits in the film I felt more emotionally connected to the characters then I did when I was reading the book!

But I am not saying it is better then the book, because it is not. The books go more in depth about certain situations and you can understand the characters motives more. Though there are some bits of the film that I thought were better then the book and better then I imagined them to be! The film even adds stuff in that was not in the book, which really work as we are no longer watching just from Katniss's point of view like the books, but we see outside the games, including one very emotional and powerful riot scene which was actually one of my highlights of the film!

Overall a very good and faithful adaption that leaves you hungry for more. Though I do worry for the sequels as the first film has raised a very high bar. I am not afraid to admit that this is one of the best films I have seen and definitely the best film of 2012 so far! Bring on The Avengers!

Thanks for reading!

Team Katniss!

 

The Digital Era

With the recent instalment of Netflix in the UK it crossed my mind that more and more entertainment texts are becoming available online. But is this a good thing? I am not just talking about films, I'm talking about newspapers, books, magazines and even music, all now available online and digitalised.

Ever since Internet speeds have sped up, piracy has gone up. It has been a big subject in the news recently especially with the SOPA act that was trying to be put in place. But even they underestimated the power of the Internet nerd!

I can see why sites such as LoveFilm and Netflix have come along now because they have an easy affordable solution to illegal downloading. You can now watch official movies online for a small amount of money. The only bad thing about this is that users are still able to open a new tab and download the same films for free. I also don't think I would like to watch a film on a small pixelated screen that needs to buffer every 10 seconds depending on your connection. I would much rather get the DVD, which is an offer that LoveFilm do where they will send the disc to you, this however costs more.

But it's not just films that are becoming multi-platformed, look at books and comics. Download ibooks on to your iPad and you have millions of cheap books at your disposal wherever you are. When devices such as the Kindle were first created I couldn't see why you would want to read off a screen instead of a book. I now however have come to terms with idea as I can see the reasoning if you are a massive book worm and go through a different book everyday. But still, there are such things as libraries where you can get all these books for free.

But I do love being able to read comics off my iPod! Living in the UK, where it is not as comic book mad as the USA, I have never been able to get down to a comic books store which has all the latest releases. As a child I found myself reading a comic book here and there if it was in the library. With the Marvel Comics app I have been able to buy and read comics as soon as they have been released. It did take a while for them to get this way though. I now buy every issue of The Amazing Spider-Man and have been lucky enough to be able to experience Dan Slott's great writing style in the big Spider Island event  which took my fandom of Spider-Man to new heights!

Music is another thing I buy online which allows for it to be put straight on my iPod. I no longer have to wait until I go into town to get the latest CD, I can now just order it off iTunes. Unfortunately this hasn't been great for the music industry 'apparently' but it's a lot easier for us the music buyers!

So yes I can see the why we are going digital with our entertainment but I personally would rather see a film in the cinema rather then my laptop and if I could buy a comic rather then have it on my iPod I would! But the great advantage of the digital era is that it means the entertainment is now more easily accessible then it ever was and can be seen, read or heard by a larger audience. That's if its legal though.

On another note it's the start of Being Human Series 4 tonight!!! And a new The Amazing Spider-Man trailer should be out on the 9th!

@SuperAlexMan

The Hunger Games & a hangover!

So this is now my second posting and this time I will go straight into things with a look at the recent Hunger Games trailer and my view on The Hangover Part 2.

So first of all The Hunger Games trailer, now I am a big fan of the books and think if they are made correctly on the big screen they could be awesome, and be the answer to our post Potter blues. Now we were giver a tiny teaser trailer a couple of months ago but lets face it, for people who don't know anything about the film it was pretty crap. So when I heard there was going to be a full one released I was quickly live streaming Good Morning America on my laptop to see it. And what a good morning it was! Well afternoon for me living in the UK. I loved the trailer and that is a good thing, because there is a massive chance that they could have made this film a Twilight film. And we don't need anymore of those! But thankfully first impressions show that the studio haven't butchered the books and look set for making the next big teen franchise. Now the film is set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match. Now the books were amazing and actually some of the best I've read and even though it is teenage fiction there are many underlying adult themes such as capitalism and poverty and this really does make it a very powerful series of books. The trailer looks at the vents before the games so thankfully it doesn't give too much away but gives enough away to make me scream 'YES THAT LOOKS FREAKIN AWESOME!' And trust me, I really am happy at what it looks like so far! The only thing I was a bit disappointed in not seeing was whether the violence was watered down too much within the games, because this is film where kids fight each other to the death. And obviously the institution don't want to cut out there target audience and make it a 15. So I'm just hoping that with seemingly less strict rules on what children should be allowed to see will allow some of the gritty violence in the book to be portrayed on screen. I do however like the casting very much, most importantly Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss because she really is superb actress. Not to sure about Liam Hemsworth but that's only down to his previous movies, because he might actually be awesome in the role, just like his big bro as Thor! Also director Gary Ross has a pretty good film history with Pleasantville and Big so hopefully the film should be amazing. But why don't you take a look for yourself and tell me what you think! The trailer actually gave me goosebumps so I think that's a sign of greatness!

Now onto my review of The Hangover Part 2. Now before I start I must say I really really loved the first film, because it was something different, unexpected and best of all very, very funny! So I though could they really make an awesome sequel to what looked like a stand alone film? And my answer is...no. Set two years after the bachelor party in Las Vegas, Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug jet to Thailand for Stu's wedding. Stu's plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch, however, goes seriously awry. 

The great thing about the first was that it was unpredictable and audiences were on the edges of their seats throughout. With the second it looks as if they copy and pasted the winning formula of the first and tweaked stuff around to say it was 'original'. And it didn't work, everything was predictable and some of it really wasn't that funny. I mean some bits were great especially the character of Stu played by the brilliant Ed Helms but apart from that, the rest was a bit boring. Now apparently they are going to make a third (that's Hollywood for ya!) and if rumours are to be true the gang may be off to Berlin, which could be a laugh as long as the scriptwriters don't just copy and paste again!

Anyway, if your reading this thanks a lot. Please tell your friends about my blog, it would be nice to have some followers! But  until next time please comment bellow!

Alex