THE HUNGER GAMES

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs
GRADE: A -
Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Stanlet Tucci, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, Toby Jones
Screenplay by Gary Ross, Suzzane Collins and Billy Ray
Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins
Directed by Gary Ross

Unless you have been living in a cave on Mars for the past two years, you've probably heard of “The Hunger Games” book series, which has a rabid cult following of fans that take it far more seriously than most of us take our religious affiliations, and almost as seriously as some people take Twilight. 

Well, fans, Suzanne Collins novel has finally made it to the big screen: let the games begin.

Sometime in the future, the nation of Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. Due to an unsuccessful uprising by the districts of Panem, a raffle (known as the "reaping") is held to choose one boy and one girl, aged 12–18, from each of the twelve “districts” to participate in the Hunger Games, which is basically “the Triwizard Tournament” meets “Thunderdome” meets “American Idol.”Each contestant, or tribute, battles until only one is left. The winner receives honor, gifts, and enough food and supplies to never worry about anything ever again. The Hunger Games are a yearly reminder to the 12 districts of the Capitol's authority, and punishment for their rebellion over 70 years ago, in which the 13th district was supposedly destroyed.

In District 12, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen (played by Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lawrence) cares for her mother and her sister Prim, and in her spare time, she illegally hunts for food outside the boundary fences with her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth.)

When Prim's name is drawn as tribute in her very first year eligible for the Hunger Games, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her place. Soon, she finds herself on the way to the Capitol along with her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark (Josh Huthcherson), a boy whom Katniss barely knows, but nevertheless holds a certain significance to her.

Katniss and Peeta train for the games under the guidance of a mentor and former victor of the games (Woody Harrelson), a stylist (Lenny Kravitz) and overly made up, sticky sweet escort (Elizabeth Banks, who seems to be channeling Sarah Palin.). Together they prepare for battle, knowing that, at best, only one of them can come out alive.

Director Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) directs with a deft and serious hand, and does the material proud, paying great attention to detail and treating the source material with great respect while at the same time not being afraid to add his own touch to it and take the liberty to explore aspects of the story that were less focused in the book, in particular the story of Seneca Crane (played by Wes Bentley), the “Gamemaker” of the Hunger Games, and the President of the Capitol, played by Donald Sutherland. While these characters are in the book, they are more vague presences than actual characters, and while the first person, “as it happens” narrative style that Collins' chose for the novel does not allow for cut- aways to any point of view but that of Katniss herself, Ross chooses not to stick with that restriction and introduces us to different aspects of this interesting world. Ross was faced with a difficult task – adapting a decidedly R rated book who's fan base relies heavily on the teenage crowd into a PG-13 movie that teens and pre-teens can see (nothing is offensive or potentially harmful in written form, because it doesn't have a letter assigned to it), without losing the brutal intensity of the source material. Fortunately, the highly talented director is up to the challenge.

In terms of adaption, this is one of the most faithful I've seen in some time, both in spirit and and in content – it even looks just like I pictured it when reading (except for Woody Harrleson replacing Jeff Bridges.). The klunkiest bit of adaptation, for me, was what I felt was an inadequate explanation of a bird called a “Mockingjay,” (the title of the third book) – if you haven't read the book, you don't know exactly what it is. However, the biggest genuine change from the book was one that I welcomed, as I found it to be a bit silly on paper and would have played as genuinely laughable on film.

The performances are very strong, in particular Lawrence as Katniss . “Winter's Bone” was no fluke. This young actress can really carry a movie. But it doesn't hurt that she is surrounded by pros like Harrelson, Sutherland and Stanley Tucci, who is delightful as Caesar Flickerman, sort of a cross between Bob Costas, Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and the announcer at the Roman Colluseum.

If there is a major failure in the film, it is in losing some of complexity of the Katnis-Peeta relationship (what are they doing for the camera versus what they are really feeling.). No major changes are made – in fact, that may be the problem. In adapting so literally from the book it was hard to get the smorgasbord of emotions these two are feeling across, and perhaps greater liberty was needed. I would have liked to have seen more conflicted emotion, particularly when the two are last seen together. But I reserve the right to change my mind about this upon repeat viewing.

On the whole, this is a very satisfying and engaging film, and anytime a movie can keep me on the edge of my seat with suspense despite the fact that I know exactly what is going to happen next, that's a sure sign of strong direction (and the terrific and beautifully subtle musical score by James Newton Howard doesn't hurt, either – it's nice to see this talented composer move away from rehashing old Bernard Herrman scores for Shyamalan and get back to showing his versatility.).

The Hunger Games is rated PG-13 for quite a bit of violence, suspense, and mild profanity.

JOHN CARTER

 Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

JOHN CARTER

GRADE: A-

Screenplay by Andrew Stanton & Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon

Based on the Novel “Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Directed by Andrew Stanton

First thing’s first: yes, this is one of the dullest titles ever for a blockbuster science fiction film, and no, it has nothing to do with the character Noah Wyle played on E/R.

Shortly after the Civil War, an embittered and war weary confederate veteran named John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), goes prospecting in Arizona after the war's end. Captain Carter was quite the soldier in his day, and speaks fluent Apache, and  an Army Colonel named Powell (Bryan Cranston, one of the great actors of our time once again in a smaller role than he deserves), is eager to enlist his aid in a campaign. But Carter is done fighting - having struck a rich vein of gold, he has better things to do with his time. But while evading Powell, Carter runs afoul of the Apaches. While hiding in a sacred cave, he is mysteriously transported to Mars, called “Barsoom” by its inhabitants. Carter finds that he has great strength and superhuman agility in this new environment as a result of its lesser gravity. He soon falls in with the Tharks, a nomadic tribe of Green Martians, as the planet's warlike, six-limbed, green-skinned inhabitants are known. Thanks to his strength and combat abilities, Carter rises to a high position in the tribe and earns the respect and eventually the friendship of Tars Tarkas, one of the Thark chiefs (Willem Dafoe.).

The Tharks subsequently capture Dejah (Lynn Collins), Princess of Helium, a member of the humanoid red Martian race, and it's not long before Carter becomes embroiled in the political affairs of both the red and green men.

Based upon the novel Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan, John Carter was planet hopping long before Buck Rogers or Flash Gordon, let alone Han Solo or Luke Skywalker. It's the prototypical B science fiction “space opera story,” and it's silly, convoluted, and at times very cheesy. It's also hands down one of the most enjoyable blockbusters I've seen in a very long time, transporting the audience back to days of childhood wonders and rousing space adventures – I found myself wanting talk my Mom into taking me to the toy store to buy all of the action figures, and then grudgingly remembering that I'm 37.

Director Andrew Stanton, who has given us some genuine modern classics, such as Finding Nemo and WALL-E, makes a major impression with his first major live action feature (thought the designation is debatable – at least two thirds of what you see on screen is C.G.I. But Stanton and the other folks at PIXAR have always known how to use the tool to tell the story, rather than letting the story be an excuse to use the tool. While those two so called “kids films” are both deeper and more profound than John Carter, the name level of commitment to detail and excellence in film making is applied here, and this movie, pulpy and goofy as it is, is so breathtaking, so exciting, and so comfortable with it's own silliness that it's very hard to find any real fault with it.

The lead performances are very solid, with Kitsch, best known for TV's Friday Night Lights and his appearance as Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, shows a surprising amount of screen presence and star potential as Carter, though at times he seems perhaps a bit young for the role, particularly in the final section. Lynn Collins, who plays Princess Dejah, ironically, is also best known for Wolverine, which begs the question: did the folks at Disney PIXAR actually watch that film and find something worthwhile? Collins also shows a lot of charisma and a commanding presence. Let's face it – neither of these two are called upon to deliver Oscar caliber performances. They are playing larger than life pulp figures, and they are there to be likable and to look good exposing as much skin as they can in a movie released under the Disney label, and they succeed. Mark Strong, the Alan Rickman for the new generation, gives what can best be described as “a Mark Strong performance.” Nothing new, nothing Earth shattering, or Mars shattering, but as always, he makes a good villain. The best performances come from the Tharks: Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkas, Samantha Morton as Sola, and Thomas Hayden Church as Tal Hajus, go above and beyond to make these green, tusked Martians surprisingly believable. But I have to admit, for me, the movie was about the giant dog.

In addition, the Moab scenery and the rousing score by Michael Giacchino, who is well on his way to becoming the next John Williams, are both stunning.

This is not a deep, thoughtful film. It's not a great, profound story of vivid characters searching deep within their souls to find out who they are. It's a rollicking and unapologetic throwback to the golden ages of space fantasy – namely, the early '80's, the 'early '40's, and of course, 1912, when Burroughs first put pen in hand and used his imagination to influence countless others for generations. This movie is pure fun and pure adventure, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

John Carter is rated PG-13 for a profanity, violence and mild sensuality – don't let the Disney name make you just assume that this is suitable for all ages.

DR. SUESS' THE LORAX

Reviewed by Paul Gibbs

 GRADE: B+

Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Ed Helms, Dannny Devito, Betty WhiteB
Screenplay by Ken Daurio & Cinco Paul
Directed by Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda

To start with let's get the politics out of the way: The Lorax is a tree-hugger movie, based on a classic tree-hugger children's book. It's never tried to hide that fact. If you're the type of person who is offended by environmental messages in children's movies, you should probably just steer clear of this one. But don't blame Hollywood, blame Dr. Suess. Despite additions made to expand the story to feature length, they've stayed pretty close to the source material, and completely true to its spirit. Personally, I happen to agree with the message of the book/film, but even the best of messages can be hurt by bad presentation. Fortunately, that doesn't happen here.

The Lorax is, to date, probably the best feature film adaptation of Dr. Suess (though I did find quite a bit to enjoy in Horton Hears A Who). While it's inherently difficult to adapt the charmingly simple, rhymed-verse stories to feature length, this time it's been done with a gentle simplicity that doesn't detract from the work (unlike, say, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, which for some reason decided it was a good idea to replace “His heart was two sizes too small” with “He was abused and ostracized as a child, and had his heartbroken by a slutty Who played by Chrtistine Baranski”). Two stories play out simultaneously: Ted Wiggins (voiced by Zac Efron) is the kind of lovable, daydreaming adolescent protagonist who is semi-secretly in love with “the girl next door”, Audrey (voiced by Taylor Swift). Both reside in Thneedville, a plastic dystopia where no real trees or any sort of planet life has been seen in what appears to be several generations. In order to impress the girl by bringing back a real tree, Ted leaves Thneedville to find the mysterious Once-eler (voiced by Ed Helms). The Once-eler provides us with the films prinicipal narrative, the story of how he began chopping down trees to make a do-all product called a “thneed” (I can just see them being advertised for order on basic cable), and encountered the Lorax (voiced by Danny Devito), the guardian of the forest.

The wrap around segments with Ted stray farther from the book (which features a young boy who goes to seek the Once-eler to learn about what happen to the trees, but doesn't give him a love interest or his own story). I was less immediately charmed by them than by the main story, but I have to admit I was one over by them by the end of the film, and that includes Efron's likable voice performance. For me, nearly everything in the Lorax story worked. Thankfully, Devito's performance captures the gentle wisdom of the beloved book character, instead of just focusing on being loud and obnoxious as the trailers might suggest. And Helms fares equally well, including getting a chance singing some bouncy tunes that Andy Bernard would annoy co-workers with for weeks. The various non-speaking forest animals are some of the best characters in the films, rendered by animation that is gorgeous and expressive.

The Lorax isn't up there with the best Pixar works, but it's a very solid animated film that will delight kids, and should be at least fairly enjoyable to most adult audiences. It's one of the better films I've seen so far in 2012.