Trailerwatch: The Hunger Games – Catching Fire

This year will see some highly anticipated follow ups to successful movies. And the next ‘Hunger Games’ movie is pretty high on that anticipation-list (at least mine). Last night the first teaser trailer (though thankfully longer than just 30 seconds) has been unveiled at the MTV Movie Awards and boy does it deliver:

 

The freshly crowned Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence seems to bring charm to Katniss that I personally missed from the books while Donald Sutherland is just awesome at being mean. This looks so amazing – I can hardly wait. But we have to since the movie won’t be released until November 22nd 2013.

Recap: Academy Awards 2013

What a night! Beautiful people in beautiful gowns, few winning, a lot losing but everybody having a good time (even Tommy Lee Jones). When Seth MacFarlane was announced as Hos of the 85th Academy Awards I didn’t know what to expect. Having never seen Family Guy I didn’t know this guy at all but after the Oscar Nominations I had a pretty good feeling about him. And he did not disappoint at all! He was funny, didn’t bother about the famous people and just made jokes (ok some of them were not that funny) and reminded me a little bit of Ricky Gervais. I truly hope he will be allowed to host more shows!

As for the winners – most of them were already clear before the show started. I can’t imagine anybody doubting a third statue for Daniel Day Lewis (winning previously for ‘My Left Food’ and ‘There will be Blood’ though I was kinda hoping for a miracle. Even though Emmanuelle Riva previously won a Bafta there was little doubt that Jennifer Lawrence would eventually succeed. And succeed she did – only her dress wanted to fight her. There were a bunch little accidents that I didn’t see in previous shows which could have been down to the fact that usually I had to be up at 2am and therefore didn’t see every detail. But this year – lipstick on cheeks and other places not the lips, dresses with weird hems (Anne Hathaway, please listen to Cher from Clueless and take a picture in your outfit and check it!!!) and hobbling or falling actresses (poor Kristen Stewart was injured but bravely decided to walk without crutches on the stage).

Usually when the speeches are too long, there was a beautiful music being played – this year they were chased off by the big bad shark from ‘Jaws’. The most beautiful and heartfelt speech in my opinion came from Ben Affleck. He was visibly moved, humble and reminded everybody that you can be at the bottom of your life and that all you need is pick yourself up from the floor. ‘Argo’ was an amazing movie and Ben Affleck deserved every single award he received. And his lack in the Best Director category also led to my most favourite joke of the night: ‘Work on the movie ‘Argo’ was so secret, not even the academy knew who its director was!’

I am now looking forward to the next year in movie. Here’s to dreaming the dream!

Santa Barbara Film Festival Tribute

Though she is only 23, she has already received her second best actress oscar nomination. There is one scene in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ where she outshines Robert DeNiro by miles – in my opinion this scene alone deserves her an Academy Award.
This video is a pretty impressive summary of Jennifer Lawrence’s career thus far – the way she can express the deepest imotions without saying a word is just extraordinary. We can expect great things from her.

Review: Silver Linings Playbook

If you hear ‘Mental Illness’ one doesn’t usually think ‘Comedy’ straight away. Sure there are comedies where one of the protagonists are mentally sick but more often than not they are the butt of the joke. Or the writers try to be very sensitive so the jokes don’t even get off the ground.

That David O. Russel has managed to write and direct a genuine comedy that is life affirming and whose main leads happen to be bipolar and a sex addict. While the illness gives background to the characters and how they got to the place we meet them it never becomes overbearing and in your face. It also helps that the movie shows some of the greatest acting I have seen this year: Bradley Cooper is a revelation as the bipolar Pat who believes if he is just a good person he will win back his wife. Rober DeNiro is finally allowed to act again and boy does he grip this opportunity by the horns – he plays Pat’s bookmaking father who is  a die-hard football fan and extremely superstitious. The real gem of the movie though is Jennifer Lawrence who is great throughout but when in one scene she shows Pat and his whole family what she is really made up of, she deserves every single award she can possibly get for this performance!

When Pat is released from a mental health facility where he is sent to after attacking his wife and her lover when surprising them in the shower he has to move back in with his parents. While his parents (Jackie Weaver and Robert DeNiro) are trying their best to support Pat in his quest of getting back on track they are weary about his obsession of getting back with his wife. Pat believes that if he becomes a better person, she will come back so he works out and visits a therapists. At a dinner at a friend’s house he is introduced to Tiffany, a young widow and recovering sex addict. They instantly bond over their shared neurotics and knowledge of pharmaceutical mood enhancers but while Pat wants to keep his distance Tiffany is trying hard to spend time with Pat. After some uncomfortable confrontations in the street Pat ends up agreeing on participating in a dance competition with Tiffany while she promises to deliver letters to his wife (something he can’t do because of a restraining order).

For me ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ is the example of a perfect movie: It is a wonderful love story with great acting, an endearing and relatable story and a finish that is hollywood style but also makes you believe in the good in people. Of course Daniel Day-Lewis did a great job portraying President Lincoln, but it never managed to engage my feelings and my heart – while every single performance in  ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ managed to do just that. That’s why I am rooting for Bradley Cooper to receive an oscar for his wonderful performance though knowing that from a technical acting point, Daniel Day-Lewis was better (and he will most probably win).

Review: Hunger Games

As much as I love books and usually read 2-3 at the same time (currently one in the handbag for the train ride to work, one at the bedside table and one at the breakfast table) somehow the “Hunger Games” phenomenon totally passed me. I only started to realize I should read into this when the development of movie-version of the book filled the blogs across the spectrum of the industry. When I heard about the story I was pretty surprised to learn that this was targeted at teens: young adults killing themselves in futuristic gladiator-style games. Charming but nothing that hasn’t been discussed before. Already 1954 William Golding published the widely acclaimed “Lord of the Flies” where a group of 6-to-12 year old boys are stranded on a deserted island. It displays the dramatic consequences of struggling for survival – turning kids into killers.

So really “Hunger Games” takes an old topic but turns it into an up-to-date version with its display of societies current addiction to reality TV. The kids that are thrown in the arena with only one survivor winning the Hunger Games are constantly followed by cameras for the pleasure and entertainment of the viewers in the capital as well as to the agony of the parents of the children in their home districts. The Hunger Games are an invention by the totalitarian futuristic state Panem of what is left of the USA in order to remind the 12 districts of what happens when they try to start another rebellion. The last has left the 13th district in shatters and ever since each district has to send 2 children (chosen by a lottery) into the games.

While “Lord of the Flies” had only boys as protagonists and we weren’t really treated to a female lead worthy of being described as a heroine “Hunger Games” finally changes this: Katniss Everdeen is a heroine, girls can look up to and boys can admire for her courage and fighting skills while still being a little girl at the heart of the story, afraid and in need of protection.

The first movie serves as an introduction to the history of Panem, the protagonists and the Games and it will be interesting to see Jennifer Lawrence playing the torn Katniss of the upcoming sequels. You don’t have to read the books in order to enjoy the movie but I found it very helpful to understand the characters even more. The reason why Katniss feels so indebted towards her district-tribute Peeta is only lightly touched upon in the movie while the book explains it in-depth. When in the end you see the beginning of Katniss torments having to face the disturbing results of her actions, Jennifer Lawrence turns this movie into something special and it is clear why she has already received an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 20.

Surprisingly the scenes where the kids fight to the death are less cruel than I would have expected and the books describe them much more graphic than the movie shows. Still I wouldn’t want to watch it being 12 but then again I also found the first Harry Potter extremely frightening and I was 18 when I read it. There has been a lot of talk about the weird paring of the tall Jennifer Lawrence and the pretty short Josh Hutcherson (he is 5cm shorter than her) clever camera angles and good editing don’t make it very visible. Just refrain from seeing press picture of Lawrence, Hutcherson and Hemsworth (playing the some times love interest of Katniss) next to each other! But the two leads have great chemistry and are also supported by the always charming Woody Harrelson. The one thing that didn’t work for me on reading his casting and then seeing him on the screen is Lenny Krevitz. He might be a handsome bloke and some find him a great musician (not me) but he NOT an actor and I couldn’t take him seriously at all throughout his scenes which is a shame because his Cinna has quite a pivotal role in the books.

Donald Sutherland shines as the really, really bad guy though his mumbling seems to be getting worse with every movie. Next to Woody Harrelson Elizabeth Banks (nearly unrecognizable) has another supporting role prepping the tributes for the games and as ever Stanley Tucci shines in his role as Games-Show host. I remember after watching the first trailer asking one of my friends who read the books if they were serious with those wigs and make up – indeed they are. Another crucial theme of the book (unfortunately less explained in the movie) is the extreme shallowness and addiction to beauty of the inhabitants of the capitol – the people to be entertained by the Hunger Games. Only the starved and deprived people from the districts can see how ridiculous those capitol people actually look like but their opinion is dismissed as unknowing.

So when reading the book or watching the movie you find yourself shaking your head in disbelief about what is displayed I urge you to imagine looking 20 years back being shown the latest episode of “Jersey Shore”, “This is Essex” or “The Kardashians” and tell me that you would have believed those having a lasting impact on our society turning those people into “stars”. And as much as “Hunger Games” is an enjoyable piece of entertainment it is more than that – it makes you think and question our current state of “reality-addiction” and ever-increasing cruelty making me feat that real-life Hunger Games might not be that far off.

Trailerwatch: The Hunger Games

I read a lot of blogs and news sites in order to keep up to date with the latest movies, releases and castings. So when the movie blogosphere got into this whirl wind about who is going to be cast for “The Hunger Games” and some of the most prolific names were read out during this time, I got a bit confused because I have never heard of “The Hunger Games” before. In my defense – in German the books are called “The Tributes of Panem” … won’t get into ridiculous translations here. But also this is a children’s book aimed at the mid teens so I am not really meeting this demographic.

But with the names attached to this movie this looks quite intriguing and I will probably check it out (and maybe read the books before hand). I am eager to see how Jennifer Lawrence develops and if she uses here immense talent wisely.

So here is the trailer:

 

I am wondering if that wig that Woody Harrelson is wearing was actually described as being that badly in the book but other than that it looks quite interesting. It will be released in March 2012.

Trailerwatch: The Hunger Games

For a while every single blog I read was about casting for “The Hunger Games” and I had no idea what all the fuzz is about. I still don’t but I asked around. “The Hunger Games” are a very successful book series by Suzanne Collins. So here is the first teaser trailer with the great Jennifer Lawrence as the lead.

Well – not much to say from that, I guess we’ll have to wait for March 2012 for a final verdict.

Trailerwatch: Like Crazy

A movie that already garnered a lot of buzz at this years Sundance Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize and a Special Jury Prize for Acting to Felicity Jones. And the trailer is just gorgeous!

Like crazy stars Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones and Oscar Nominee Jennifer Lawrence

Review: Winters Bone

I am not really a big fan of those highly acclaimed indie movies but once a year I do make an effort of trying to watch as many Oscar nominated movies as is possible – and I am not talking about the ones nominated for special effects which I would have seen way before. I am talking about small indie movies that only get recognition in Oscars and that only get shown in my local cinemas because of its Oscar nomination / win. I probably would have never watched “The Hours” has it not been for Nicole Kidman’s Oscar winning turn as Virginia Wolf and boy was I glad to watch it cause it also has one of my most favourite scores of all times – composed by Phil Glass. And I probably wouldn’t have seen “Sideways” hadn’t it won best Adapted Screenplay in 2005. Hence Oscar wins can bring little screen gems to a wider audience and I am very thankful for that – sometimes it also makes your head scratch and constant questioning ones reasoning behind sitting in a dreadfully dull movie, asking the academy “but WHY???” but Winters Bone definitely does not go in the latter category!

When following the upfront Oscar talks, nominations and finally the actual event in 2011 something stood out: everybody kept on talking about Jennifer Lawrence and the movie she starred in “Winters Bone”. Having never heard about the actress nor the movie (it was released in Germany on 31^st march, Oscar Ceremony was held February 12^th – go figure) I wanted to make sure I found out what all the fuss is about.

The movie talks about Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) trying to figure out where her father has gone after missing though he was supposed to stand trial. In order to pay for bail he put down the family house and grounds as a pawn. It takes place somewhere in the forgotten woods of Arkansas in the midst of winter where people trying to survive by either abiding the law (local Sherriff, teachers) or working around it (cooking meth, growing weed, illegal hunting) and how the people living there pretty much have resigned to the life they have chosen for themselves though I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it was actually god that chose this life for them.

It was pretty soon clear that it was one of those movies that will do well with the critics but not so much with the box office. It is a slow movie, with uninviting landscapes and horrible hair styles (do they not have hairdressers in Arkansas??) but boy the acting is good. It is so good that you stay on your seats in order to find out how the little girl, taking care of her sick mother and little siblings saves their house that her father put down as collateral for his bail. It is so good that I found myself feeling with her the blows she receives in her search, the loneliness she never shoes but certainly feels, the desperation that shows through in that small scene where she asks her catatonic mother for advise. Being a fan of British weather (rain, storm, clouds) I found the landscape in this movie extremely beautiful – wild and rough and very much like the protagonist not to be defeated. And you even feel pity with those mean characters that Ree comes to meet during the course of the film because you realize that it’s simply Darwin’s Law all over again: survival of the fittest.

After the film is over you definitely don’t feel better and you might need some hot chocolate to cheer you up (or in my case a dose of an old school Meg Ryan Movie) but it will get you thinking. For me it worked as an eye opener as to how low our society has come to accept behaviour like that displayed in the movie without getting help for either party – in the end also the criminals need help. It also shows that just because people live in the grey zone of legality they are not capable of showing kindness and support even when it is disguised by foul language and physical violence.

I can only urge people to watch this movie because it is simply great: Great acting, great story and some reminder of how bad it can actually get.

Review: X-Men: First Class

It is Comic Con week so to honor the genre of comics, I thought I tell you my thoughts on the latest X-Men Movie.

We’ve seen quite a lot of comic book movies but rarely did one have the actor power of Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen as Professor X and Magneto respectively. I enjoyed all 3 X-Men Movies but found the prequel “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” a bit boring and unnecessary. So when another prequel was announced I wasn’t too optimistic the cast pretty much sold me: long time favourites Kevin Bacon and James McAvoy as well as recent oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence and the up and coming Michael Fassbender. And boy was it good! Matthew Vaughn delivered a slick 60’s but not really 60’s style super hero movie and answering the question of what really happened at pig’s bay – though the really interesting story is between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr and what made the men we got to know in the later X-Men movies.

As usual the baddies are surrounded by beautiful but a bit bland women. January Jones doesn’t stand a chance against a very entertaining Kevin Bacon though his German is crap. I also noticed that for being born in Heidelberg, Germany, Michael Fassbender speaks German with a strong English accent which I already noticed in “Inglorious Basterds”. Also according to a French friend, the French spoken in this movie wasn’t too great either so maybe next time just have them all speak English.

The quality of foreign languages was probably the only thing, that I found irritating about this movie. Other than that it was entertaining, heartfelt and great acting. The movie doesn’t take itself serious and the 60’s style editing was awesome. I do believe if Sam Mendes is done with the next James Bond (if it ever gets made that is) Matthew Vaughn would be a great director – he has the talent and the style for it.

And on a finishing note – any movie playing Take That in the end credits is a great movie in my eyes.