The Hunger Games.



Seen by many to be the most anticipated movie of 2012, I had very high expectations of 'The Hunger Games'. This new book to screen adaptation has been dubbed as the new 'Harry Potter' and 'Twilight', but I disagree strongly with this and The Hunger Games is a phenomenon in its own right and with a novel as unique as this, there's no reason to compare it to those gone before it.


The Hunger Games has a completely unique plot line which is absolutely gripping from start to finish. After an unsuccessful uprising in North America by the thirteen districts of Panem, a 'reaping' (it's more like a raffle really), is held every year to remind the remaining twelve districts of the authority of the Capital. During this 'reaping', twenty-four children are chosen, one boy and one girl from each of the twelve districts, to participate in 'The Hunger Games'. These children are taken away from their distrcits and placed into an arena where they must fight til the death. There can only be one victor and this winner will receive fame and glory. Katniss and Peeta are the two contestants from District 12, the poorest and least prepared of all the districts, that must compete in the 74th annual Hunger Games and it is the stories of these two that we follow whilst they're in the arena, where some unexpected things happen.


As far as book to film adaptations go, I would have to say that this is one of the best. There were several moments in the film where the scene was the exact image that I had had in my mind whilst reading the book. The plot sticks to the original story line as much as possible, though obviously with some bits taken out. I was completely astounded at how well they brought the images from the book onto the screen and I think 'The Hunger Games' deserves a very big round of applause for this. At no point whilst watching the film did I think, 'Oh, the book is so much better', in fact, the film has made me love and appreciate the novel, where this story began, all the more. It's been a very long time since I read The Hunger Games, but as I was watching, I remembered the exact extracts from the book from which they originated.


The Hunger Games is sort of a mixing of the old with the  new as the districts live in impoverished conditions whilst the rich live in technical spleandour. The mixing of these two was done perfectly and the effects of the modern scenes was mesmerising, as were the scenes of nature. I've never seen a film where the two meshed so perfectly together and I was really pleased to see the coming together of old and new done so well.

Many people are under the impression that The Hunger Games revolves around a teenage romance, which it does not, I repeat, it does not. Whilst there are a couple of romantic elements to the plot, this is seen as a dystopia story. That said, I found myself rolling around on the floor in some scenes because I'm a big Peeta-Katniss fan and there are some scenes which make your heart pound.


I literally just finished watching the film and I'm on such a high. I recommend this film to everyone who loves a good film and fans shouldn't be afraid of this 'ruining' the series, because it definitely doesn't. In terms of quality (and plot), I believe this film surpasses Twilight by far, though unfortunately, the fan base is not as large as this story deserves. Being a massive Potter-head, I can't say that this is better than Harry Potter, but it's definitely a very, very, close second on my list of favourite books and films. I'm literally buzzing after watching this film and I can't wait to watch it again and again and again!

For those of you that have sat in romantic movies and said to yourself: 'but that wouldn't happen in real life!', may I present to you, The Vow, a true story. The plot line is really simple and yet incredibly moving. Paige and her husband Leo are involved in a serious car accent leaving Paige with severe memory loss. Paige's last memories are when she was engaged to another man, her relationship with her family was great and she was attending law school. Leo is but a stranger to her. Leo is determined to win back Paige's heart and salvage their marriage, but it won't be easy starting anew. Is true love a once in a lifetime opportunity or will Leo be able to make Paige fall back in love with him all over again?


Rachel McAdams has been crowned the 'Rom-Com Queen' so she was really in her element in this movie. It was interesting to see her in a slightly more serious romantic setting, going back to what brought her to stardom in the world of romantic dramas, The Notebook. McAdams' performance in The Vow is incredibly real and moving, drawing the viewer in, making you sympathise with Paige's circumstances even more. You may possibly find yourself quite frustrated with her character at times, but this is just the film drawing you in, willing her to remember the past and her love for Leo.


I have quite mixed views about Channing Tatum. I'm still on the rocks about whether or not I think he's suited to playing serious roles as I commonly associate him with his role in She's The Man. I think that perhaps he could've done a better job, though Channing Tatum has always been good at acting awkward, and there's plenty of awkward in this film. Channing Tatum's character, Leo, is the character that really turns the water works on as ultimately it's him who has lost the love of his life and feels it the most. Whilst of course you feel sympathy towards Paige who is completely disorientated and forced to adapt to her new life, Leo is the one stuck with memories of the past that he cannot possibly erase.

I watched The Vow the day before Valentine's day so obviously I was feeling slightly more vulnerable than usual which is probably why this movie had such a profound effect on me. Though, I'm pretty sure even if I'd been watching this when I was feeling extremely un-romantic with a steely heart it still would've made me crumble inside. The fact that this film is in fact based on a true story stays in the back of your mind throughout the movie and you can't help but imagine the pain that this pair must've gone through in order to salvage their marriage. Everything is heightened when you think that this is the story of someone's life. You won't be sat there thinking, 'this would never happen', because it already has, and that sense of realism is what makes this movie really top notch.


It's not all doom and gloom though! There are some very funny moments in this film too as well as moments that make you want to cry happy tears. There is a good balance between sad and moving and the comical - though it isn't funny harhar - which is good because otherwise I would've no doubt transcended into a serious phase of depression.

Whilst Rotten Tomatoes only gave this film a rating of 28%, we all know film critics are made with hearts of lead so I'm not surprised. If you look at the ratings from ordinary viewers this film has been voted as 3.5/5 stars or higher which is much more positive and I think is a better representation of the reaction to this film. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone and everyone who needs a reminder that true love isn't easy. Prepare yourself for some heartbreaking scenes and bring a box of tissues and a shoulder to cry on.

Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum alonside the real couple who inspired 'the Vow'

Anonymous.

Being a bit of an English nerd, I was quite excited to hear that there was a film coming out about one of the many conspiracy stories of one of the greatest writers of all time, William Shakespeare. Not to mention, that every time I went shopping at Westfield, which, by the way, was an awful lot, I saw the trailer being repeatedly played on that massive screen they have set up outside the shopping centre. I was slightly dissuaded by the bad reviews of this movie online and so I decided to not go and see this film in the cinema; however, I was pleased to find that they were playing it on the airplane on my way to from Chicago so I watched it absolutely free then.

This film basically questions what many have before, who wrote all the masses and masses of works credited to one William Shakespeare. This film is set within the political atmosphere of the Elizabethan Court and Lord Oxford is presented as the true author of the many works of 'William Shakespeare'. Being a Lord, writing plays wasn't really something that he was able to share with the world and so he paid an actor to pretend to write his plays in order to get them onto the stage of the famous Globe Theatre. At the same time De Vere, or Lord Oxford, has a love affair with the Queen and with her, he sires a child. This is something that turns out to be incredibly important nearer the end of the film through one of the most shocking plot twists I've ever seen.

Anonymous is defined as a political thriller and a pseudo-historical drama film. I've always been a big fan of fictionalised history because when a story is loosely based on true events I find that it's usually a lot more believable. This was true, to some extent, for Anonymous; however, I felt that as the film progresses it became less and less believable. For people who don't have much historical knowledge, they probably thought this film was absolutely bonkers though I wouldn't be that surprised if these events had actually happened as they did some pretty strange things back in the day. I'm no expert on Shakespearian history, but the general atmosphere of the film seemed to tie in with the way of life back then.


I have to admit that the plot was not at all easy to follow and I found some scenes thoroughly confusing. There were quite a lot of scene changes in which they showed snippets from the past which involved different actors playing the younger versions of the characters and I found it a little hard to keep up with who was who. Adding to the confusion was the fact that this film was a play within a play within a play. If you can wrap your head around this, then it is rather a nice touch; however, if you get left behind, you'll probably never catch up.


On the other hand, the cast was made up of a number of brilliant actors including Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, David Thewlis, Sir Derek Jacobi, Xavier Samuel and many more. It is a little hard to judge the actors on their merits when the plot is all over the place but I believe the actors did a good job of translating the script to screen. I do not think it was the acting that brought this film down for critics, but rather the plot line. There was some really solid acting from Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and Jamie Campbell Bower and I believe that they really embodied their seventeenth century characters.


The best thing for me about this film was probably the costume and scenery. There were some absolutely magnificent and scenic views of 'Old' England so I suppose that's a huge thumbs up to the location scouter. In addition, the makeup, the costumes and the set were fantastic and looked very authentic adding to the credibility of this film. However, I did not like the character Shakespeare at all. Whilst the point of this movie was to show Shakespeare as a fraud, I didn't feel that the representation of his character was accurate or believable at all. I seem to remember Shakespeare even crowd surfing at one point. This is by no means a criticism of the actor, but of the way that the character Shakespeare was written in the script. His character is obnoxious and I just cannot believe that the great Shakespeare could actually have been a power-hungry actor. Again, I suppose this was the point.


 All in all, this movie isn't bad at all. Whilst the plot was confusing at times, there was some brilliant acting and the effect of the visual was magnificent. This is definitely a film for English or history nerds, though this film is truly mind boggling at times so I wouldn't recommend this for those who like light hearted and simple films. If you are an English nerd, prepare for your dreams of what William Shakespeare was like to be shattered and you will probably also be a little angry that the producers even considered making a movie about a fraudulent Shakespeare. However, it is interesting to know what conspiracy theories there are surrounding the world's greatest writer.

I have to admit, I strongly dislike the Paranormal Activity series. I don't find them scary at all and I don't like that everything looks like it's been filmed on a family camcorder. I would probably have to say that this is the best out of all three Paranormal Activity movies, because at least this one gave me a couple of jumps, whereas I fell completely asleep in the other films. I don't know if I missed something, but I don't seem to recall 'Bloody Mary' appearing in this film as she did in the trailer. I found this thoroughly disappointing as that was really the only reason I watched this film. The Paranormal Activity movies also greatly confuse me because they are all linked to each other and yet the events that take place don't really seem to follow on from one another and I got the impression that the characters had forgotten the past horrors, which makes absolutely no sense to me.


The third movie takes us back to 1988 again as a sort of prequel to the prequel and we see Kristi and Katie as little girls. Kristi mysteriously starts interacting with somebody that noone else can see, who she calls 'Toby'. After Toby's appearance, many strange things start happening in the house, so Kristi's mother's boyfriend, Dennis, sets up several cameras all around the house in order to see if anything weird is going on. Everyday, Dennis collects the tapes that have been recording all night and watches the back. At first he cannot see anything, but then strange things start happening, mysterious moving objects, empty spaces that dust won't fall on, floating sheets and slamming doors. Dennis tries to convince Julie, Kristi and Katie's mother, that there's something weird going on in the house, but she refuses to believe him and this could have consequences for her and her family.

The style of acting in these movies is obviously quite different to any other movie. In addition to the fact that you're being recorded on a home camcorder, the characters are usually seen doing normal everyday things, so there's never really any need to display much acting talent as it's all pretty realistic. I did believe that all the scenes were real and had I not known that this was a film, I probably could've believed that they were real home made tapes. I suppose this means that they all were very good at acting, though it would be interesting to see how these actors fare in normal films where they would be forced to adhere to a script that is probably something they have never actually experienced in real life.


These movies always get better as time goes on. The beginnings are usually very, very slow, in fact, I'm pretty sure nothing interesting happened until the last 15 minutes of the second movie, and this one was much the same. However, by the middle of the movie, much had happened, or at least, enough to tickle your curiosity buds and make you pay attention. I felt like there was much more a story line to this one than the previous movies and it wasn't just everyday life with a bit of a twist there was actually a character, 'Toby', involved in the horror. The ending of this movie is definitely the most frightening bit and I think it was done very well in terms of filming; however, I was slightly frustrated at the end as I wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but that was probably my own fault. This movie actually has a build up and reaches a climax, unlike its predecessor and I'd say this is probably a case of 'third time lucky' for the producers.


Whilst this film was the scariest out of the three for me, it still no way near as scary as your typical 'horror' movies. If you're a fan of the Paranormal Activity movies, then I'd recommend you watch this as it is miles better than the second movie. If you're a horror movie fanatic, but have never watched any of these movies, then personally, I wouldn't recommend that you do when there are plenty of other horror movies out there; however, that's just me. If you're the sort of person who is easily frightened by the mysterious slamming of a door or 'real' horror, then I suppose this is the sort of movie for you.