The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

[baumer]

One funny note, if they could make an R-rated Hunger Games, I'd love to see Lawrence cut loose.  Ever since her foul mouth in SLP, I kinda crave her "Fucker" diatribes at times.  No one says fucker better than her.  There were a few times in here when r rated language would have been very apropos.  

[Michael Gary Scott]

Here comes a big surprise I loved it. 5/5

[Films]

The only thing I was disappointed with was (spoiler) they didn't end it as soon as Gale said there was no district 12. That was my favourite line in the books and they should have cut the screen to black straight away (/spoiler) im so happy with the film. A+, better than THG1 (which was my favourite book) and IMO this was the worst book (with a very low 99.3/100). Fantastic film. Finnick, Johanna, wiress were all great new additions in the film and I loved KATNISS and EFFIE again

Edited November 22, 2013 by HairsprayFilmsCatchingFire

[baumer]

The only thing I was disappointed with was (spoiler) they didn't end it as soon as Gale said there was no district 12. That was my favourite line in the books and they should have cut the screen to black straight away (/spoiler) im so happy with the film. A+, better than THG1 (which was my favourite book) and IMO this was the worst book (with a very low 99.3/100). Fantastic film. Finnick, Johanna, wiress were all great new additions in the film and I loved KATNISS and EFFIE again

 

Naaaa...I loved the pissed-Rambo-Murdoch-I'm-coming-to-get-you look she had on her face at the end.  That was a perfect way to end it imo.

[Films]

Then I am going to have to disagree with you baumer

[baumer]

Agree to disagree.  

[rukaio101]

Honestly, I would've been more annoyed if they just cut to black after Gale mentions the destruction of District 12 because that whole scene and the way he infodumps was just pretty poorly done, in my opinion. Katniss's final look to the camera was that scene's saving grace.

[CloneWars]

I have to agree. Ending the final shot with the look on Katniss face was the way to go.

[JohnnyGossamer]

I must need to read novels. All the principal characters bore the hell out me. Katniss, who I found very compelling in 1, just dull as hell. I just wanted to watch Woody H. and Stanley T. and Liz B. They had charisma. Fun to watch 'em work. Sheesh. I don't know where to start. The satire that played pretty stale in 1 is just downright mold-riddled here. Lacks punch and precision. Just there for sake of being there. Not witty enough to stick and not sharp enough to provoke thought. 

 

When someone mentioned J. Lawrence cutting loose, I at first thought of the director, F. Lawerence. Not the most talented guy around but certainly suffers from being reigned in here. Pretty dull filmmaking. Not a single set piece or action beat I'll remember or care to revisit. Oops... I forgot to mention Geoffrey Wright, dude's a beast. I enjoy the older cast enough to recommend it on mildest of levels to a casual moviegoer. After seeing this I also felt it could have been covered in 90 minutes or less and bled into the next. Just not enough there for lengthy saga.

 

I appreciate fans of the novels digging it wholesale. I did the same with 3 of the 8 Potter flicks. Just not feeling this at all. Plays out like a poor man's mishmash of superior average blockbusters. Movies like Running Man, Matrix Reloaded, Logan's Run, The Condemned. I didn't feel the same way about 1. But, this go 'round, I couldn't fight it. By the way, none of the aforementioned left a lasting impression but all of 'em left more an impression than this slog. Also, cinematographty and choreography fell flat. Just not my jam, I guess.

 

C- to avoid a total thrashing of labeling it the D+ I truly think it deserves. Utterly forgettable.

 

Edit: Potter severing book seven into two films started a heinous trend. Twilight came next, then PJ with his Hobbit and now Hunger Games with Mocking-jay. Man, I miss when filmmakers had to make tough decisions to sell me a quality, streamlined adventure rather than exhaustive installments slaving to the page. Tough choices make or break the sell and often lead to some pretty damn compelling revisions.

Edited November 22, 2013 by JohnnyGossamer

[K1stpierre]

I'm just glad the ending followed the book. Period. It was perfect.

[K1stpierre]

I must need to read novels. All the principal characters bore the hell out me. Katniss, who I found very compelling in 1, just dull as hell. I just wanted to watch Woody H. and Stanley T. and Liz B. They had charisma. Fun to watch 'em work. Sheesh. I do know. Satire's seemed pretty stale in 1 is just downright mold-riddled here. Lacks punch and precision. Just there. Not witty enough to stick and not sharp enough to provoke thought. 

 

When someone mentioned Lawrence cutting loose, I at first thought of the director. Not the most talented guy around but certainly suffers from being reigned in. Pretty dull filmmaking. Not a single set piece or action beat I'll remember or care to revisit. I forgot to mention Geoffry Wright, dude's a beast. I enjoy the older cast enough to recommend it on mildest of levels. After seeing this I also felt it could have been covered in 90 minutes or less and bled into the next. Just not enough there for lengthy saga.

 

I appreciate fans of novels digging it wholesale. I did the same with 3 of the 8 Potter flicks. Just not feeling this at all. Felt like a poor man's mishmash of superior average blockbusters. Movies like Running Man, Matrix Reloaded, Logan's Run, The Condemned. None of which really left a lasting impression but all of which impressed me more than this slog. Also, cinematographty and choreography fell flat. Just not my jam I guess.

 

C- to avoid a total thrashing of labeling it the D+ I truly think it deserves. Utterly forgettable.

 

[Films]

I must need to read novels. All the principal characters bore the hell out me. Katniss, who I found very compelling in 1, just dull as hell. I just wanted to watch Woody H. and Stanley T. and Liz B. They had charisma. Fun to watch 'em work. Sheesh. I do know. Satire's seemed pretty stale in 1 is just downright mold-riddled here. Lacks punch and precision. Just there. Not witty enough to stick and not sharp enough to provoke thought. When someone mentioned Lawrence cutting loose, I at first thought of the director. Not the most talented guy around but certainly suffers from being reigned in. Pretty dull filmmaking. Not a single set piece or action beat I'll remember or care to revisit. I forgot to mention Geoffry Wright, dude's a beast. I enjoy the older cast enough to recommend it on mildest of levels. After seeing this I also felt it could have been covered in 90 minutes or less and bled into the next. Just not enough there for lengthy saga. I appreciate fans of novels digging it wholesale. I did the same with 3 of the 8 Potter flicks. Just not feeling this at all. Felt like a poor man's mishmash of superior average blockbusters. Movies like Running Man, Matrix Reloaded, Logan's Run, The Condemned. None of which really left a lasting impression but all of which impressed me more than this slog. Also, cinematographty and choreography fell flat. Just not my jam I guess. C- to avoid a total thrashing of labeling it the D+ I truly think it deserves. Utterly forgettable.

you really need to read the books. Anyway IMO how can anyone gives this a d is unbelievableMaybe they could have shown a quick shot of KATNISS at the end but they dragged it out too long and gale kept saying other things afterwards which weren't needed

[rukaio101]

Oh hey, don't bother refuting his post with actual arguments. Just post a reaction gif and I'm sure all of his criticisms will just magically vanish away.

 

Seriously, I may disagree with quite a bit of what he's saying but at least it makes sense and is reasonably thought out. Posting a reaction gif isn't going to change that.

 

 

I must need to read novels. All the principal characters bore the hell out me. Katniss, who I found very compelling in 1, just dull as hell.

Honestly, I much preferred her here than in THG, where I found her a bit too wooden (even though her character's supposed to be wooden and stoic to an extent). In this, Jennifer Lawrence got a lot more moments where that stoic facade cracked and she could really shine. The scene where Cinna was beaten in front of her stood out in particular.

 

I suppose there's quite a lot extra about the character you can get by reading the books, since it's all narrated by Katniss which gives you a much better view of her character and gives added value to certain scenes. For what it's worth, I thought the filmmakers did a good job tapping into the character, without her needing to narrate.

 

 

Satire's seemed pretty stale in 1 is just downright mold-riddled here. Lacks punch and precision. Just there. Not witty enough to stick and not sharp enough to provoke thought. 

I'd struggle to call the satire stale in either films. While I agree it lacks punch (especially in this film where it's barely that noticable), that's because it's not meant to have that much punch to begin with. It's subtle and doesn't choose to beat you over the face with it. It's not a brutal satire like 1984 as the satire is not supposed to be the prime focus. It's a secondary focus to the characters and plot.

 

 

When someone mentioned J. Lawrence cutting loose, I at first thought of the director, F. Lawerence. Not the most talented guy around but certainly suffers from being reigned in here. 

Opposite for me. I'd say he got a surprising amount of leeway. I was surprised they let that downright brutal scene of the old man being executed in District 11 into a PG-13. And, unlike the shakey-cam-fest that was the first movie, the fight scenes in this one were much more clear. Although, while I would like to see this film as an R, it's obvious the executives would never let it happen.

 

 

After seeing this I also felt it could have been covered in 90 minutes or less and bled into the next. Just not enough there for lengthy saga.

This I just outright disagree with. I struggle to think of a single scene which didn't add something to the movie (except maybe some of the Gale scenes) and could've just been cut.

 

 

Edit: Potter severing book seven into two films started a heinous trend. Twilight came next, then PJ with his Hobbit and now Hunger Games with Mocking-jay. Man, I miss when filmmakers had to make tough decisions to sell me a quality, streamlined adventure rather than exhaustive installments slaving to the page. Tough choices make or break the sell and often lead to some pretty damn compelling revisions.

I'm of the opinion that I'd rather have two slightly stretched out movies than one which has to cram way too much into its running time. Heck, Deathly Hallows still had to cut quite a bit of interesting stuff from the book, even with two movies.

 

And yeah, Breaking Dawn probably could've been one film, but I appreciate the filmmakers getting all the insulting junk out in Part 1 and making Part 2 just outright hilariously stupid.

 

As for Hobbit and Hunger Games, my motto is 'wait and see where they go with it.' Little point in condemning something before we've seen enough to make an educated remark. 

[JohnnyGossamer]

Just my opinion folks. And, I gave it a C- not a D+ and voted it C. To each his/her own. I'm an uber-geek and fully respect the fandom of all here. I take the earnest suggestions and commentary to heart and, whether I like a film or not, I revisit just about everything via RedBox. Grade could go up...

Edited November 22, 2013 by JohnnyGossamer

[baumer]

It's okay to not like something everyone else does.  

[K1stpierre]

I post a gif because I am truly flabbergasted. I have no idea how Lawrence (director) could have made that film better. Or how the actors could have done better. I just don't. But, as bailer said, to each their own.

[K1stpierre]

I admit and listen to the faults of THG. it was good, but I understood the mediocre/eg reviews. If someone didn't like it, I could understand it (may not agree, but will understand). This film is the opposite.

[Heretic]

By far the best blockbuster of the year. Massive step up from THG, which was already a good adaption. This was almost perfect. 

 

A

[Heretic]

The part in District 11 where Katniss gives the speech about Rue gave me chills. Easily one of the most emotional scenes of the year. She acts the role out so naturally now, raw emotion, strong and determined. 

 

The tone of the movie was absolutely spot on, and the cinematography was gorgeous. Camera work was also a big improvement this time round, adding a heightened sense of hopelessness and chaos. 

 

Would have liked for the climax to last a little longer, it did end rather abruptly, but the actual ending itself was more than enough to pull in audiences for the next film.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Heretic

[Films]

Just my opinion folks. And, I gave it a C- not a D+ and voted it C. To each his/her own. I'm an uber-geek and fully respect the fandom of all here. I take the earnest suggestions and commentary to heart and, whether I like a film or not, I revisit just about everything via RedBox. Grade could go up...

 

Don't worry. I think im the only person who liked Mortal Instruments and Beautiful Creatures [i gave them both A's but it got F's all round from everyone else- especially the former]