I have never really been into films or film series that were based on teen book series like Twilight and so many more. Nonetheless, I thought that for the sake of this challenge that I would change my mind. So, I did that and for today’s film I watched The Hunger Games. In the world of Panem, there was once an uprising against the government, but when it became time for peace, an agreement was made and The Hunger Games was born. Every district has to give up one male and one woman who will compete in a game to the death that is televised. Afraid that her sister wouldn’t survive, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers herself into the competition, but she’ll have to learn to play the game if she wants to survive. The film also stars Stanley Tucci (Jury Duty) as Caesar Flickerman, Wes Bentley (American Beauty) as Seneca Crane, Elizabeth Banks (The Lego Movie) as Effie Trinket, Woody Harrelson (Rampart) as Haymitch, Josh Hutcherson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Peeta, Toby Jones (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) as Claudius Templesmith, Alexander Ludwig (Lone Survivor) as Cato, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2) as Gale Hawthorne, Donald Sutherland (MASH) as President Snow, Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen, and the film was directed by Gary Ross (Big).
There is something to be said about these films that are taken from popular teen books because I enjoyed watching the Harry Potter films I watched and I even enjoyed this one. There catchy and when turned into films with great actors involved in it then they actually work. I liked the story of the film and I really liked the premise of it, but I did think it was a little log for my liking. The actual battle scenes are very cool, but there are points in the story that I could have done without. I do however understand that the scenes I could have done without were definitely needed for the drama aspect of the film. I thought the acting for the most part in the film was really good from everyone like Harrelson, Banks, Tucci, and Lawrence to name a few. The sets and costumes for the film were awesome and the way some of the people in the Capitol looked interesting. The film has an interesting concept of how the government controls everything from lack of food to how everyone must conform to their rules. It could kind of reflect certain societies for sure. Governments are always trying to figure out ways to control everything and this is definitely reflected in this one. I’m not completely positive if you’ll get another Hunger Games film for the challenge, but I’ll definitely check out the rest of the series. I a going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I had always been curious about a certain film that you see in the music video for Metallica’s One (which was also the band’s first music video ever). Ever since I found out the name of the film which is Johnny Got His Gun, I have been meaning to see it and it was directed by Dalton Trumbo, one of the directors who was blacklisted in the 1950’s. Johnny Got His Gun tells the story of soldier Joe Bonham (Timothy Bottoms), a World War 1 soldier who gets hit by an artillery shell in the trenches on the last day of the war. Joe loses both his arms and legs and can no longer speak or see as well. The film tells the tale of how Joe struggles to deal with the situation he is dealt with and he ends up finding a new way to communicate with the doctors. The film also stars Kathy Fields (The Towering Inferno) as Kareen, Jason Robards (Once Upon A Time In The West) as Joe’s father, Donald Sutherland (The Italian Job) as Christ, Charles McGraw (Spartacus) as Mike Burkeman, Don “Red” Barry (Only Angels Have Wings) as Jody Simmons, and Eric Christmas (Harold And Maude) as Corporal Timlon.
This was an interesting film to say the least and a very interesting story. The film balances between reality and dream when Joe feels certain sensations during the film. We either see a memory like the night before he had to leave to war or a dream where he is talking to Christ who is played by Donald Sutherland. I love the contrast the film has when it goes from reality which is in black and white to his dreams and memories which are in color. It could be symbolism for how the world is just plain black and white while dreams and memories can be colorful. Jason Robards is terrific in the film and really commands the screen as well as Timothy Bottoms who is the star of the film. It’s a different kind of war film because it spends less time in war and more time questioning the moral of the world and the way people thought back then. There is a dream sequence where Joe is asking his father what democracy and his father responds with young men killing each other. The ideals of Americans back then is a lot different than it is today. I never thought they would include any weird scenes in the film, but they have one where a nurse is clearly masturbating the patient who can’t do it for himself. Yeah that is in their, but whatever maybe it was the Florence Nightingale effect. If you want something different than your typical war movie, then check this one out. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 