Idle Hands is a 1999 horror/comedy starring Devon Sawa, Jessica Alba, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jake Noseworthy, Vivica A. Fox, and Christopher Hart. It's...not great, but it's watchable.
Anton (Sawa) is a lazy prick. He spends his days on his couch, in his room/attic, skipping school and smoking week, or hanging out with his buds Mick (Green) and Pnub (Henson). His parents (Fred Willard and Connie Ray) seem to be somewhat in denial, but it doesn't much matter because they die in the first 10 minutes of the movie. See, there's a killer loose in the tiny California town in which Anton and his friends live, although Anton hasn't noticed. Which is odd, because Anton is the killer.
Anton's right hand is possessed by an unspecified evil force, and it makes him kill. He murders Mick and Pnub when they realize the truth, but they come back as zombies because walking into the light was too much effort. In the midst of all this, Anton finds time to woo his longtime crush, Molly (Alba), whom the evil hand wants as a sacrifice. And then there's a druid priestess (Fox) who teams up with Anton's motorhead neighbor (Noseworthy) to find and excise the evil.
The title references the adage "idle hands are the Devil's plaything," and Anton interprets that as an admonition to keep his hands busy, but that line of logic kind of peters out. Really, the movie is a low-grade slasher flick, made tolerable because it moves quickly and the interplay between Anton and his zombies friends is fun to watch. (Easily the best moment belongs to Green; when Anton starts in on his moment of redemption, saying he's tired of wasting his life, Mick responds, "Oh, god, no Kevin Costner speeches, let's just go.")
Slasher movies always have some problematic content, usually around women, and this one is no exception. The movie tries to give Molly a personality, and I appreciate that. She's unabashedly sex-positive; she invites Anton in, clearly with the intent of jumping him, but only actually does it when the hand forces him to grope her. That's a little skeevy, but there's no real hesitation on her part, either, so eh. It could be worse (and usually is). She winds up damsel'd, of course, but on the other hand, the righteous warrior who tracks down the evil and slays it is the priestess, so again, could be worse. For the record, one of the writers and two of the producers are women, which might have mitigated some of the sexist bullshit you'd otherwise see. The movie fails the Bechdel, incidentally (two female characters, Molly and Tanya [Katie Wright] talk, but they talk about Anton and Pnub, and Tanya gets cut to hamburger shortly thereafter).
Also of note is Christopher Hart, aka Thing from the Addams Family movies, as the evil hand.
My grade: C+
Rewatch value: Medium high
Next up: In Bruges
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
The Show Must Go On, 4th Letter: Graves in the Desert
I ran the first session of my new Vampire story last night. Letter's in the last post.
We open in Binion's, with a poker gamer between Heath Newman (the Nosferatu owner of the casino) and Thomas Pilate, the Mekhet Sheriff of Las Vegas. Pilate informs Heath that the double murder of Lori and Ben Dennis in the parking lot of the Downtown Grand (and the abduction of their young son, Ben Jr.) is causing waves in the mortal, and therefore Kindred, community. Since his childe, Mordecai Pasternak, is the vampire claiming domain in that little area (since he owns the nearby Mob Museum), perhaps Heath would look in it? Or send some of those young vampires he keeps around him? Heath agrees, but says Pilate owes him a favor.
Heath grabs Delphine, a cocktail waitress (and also a Mekhet) working his hotel. He wants some backup, and it's a slow night. Myra, a pro-domme working out of Binion's (and a Ventrue), notes the news and feels compelled to investigate - she, too, has a young son, born before her Embrace.
The three of them head out to the Mob Museum. Mordecai's day employee, Carlos, tells him what's happened, and leaves. Mordecai is not only concerned, but hungry - he hasn't fed lately. The other Kindred arrive and enter. Mordecai denies knowing anything about the killings, but the conversation doesn't have a chance to go much further before Detective Sally Moore, LVPD Homicide, arrives.
Moore has dealt with vampires before; she's not fully savvy on what goes on, but she knows enough to know she doesn't want to know more. She asks Heath if this is beginning or ending; Heath isn't sure. She asks to take Mordecai's fingerprints to check against the crime scene. He agrees, but her machine won't read him - he's dead, and his fingers don't produce oils. This causes a breaking point (the player succeeds on the roll, but picks up the Bestial Condition - his hunger is getting to him).
Moore takes his prints with ink and leaves. The characters discuss the situation, and decide to go across the street and have a look at the crime scene. Heath, however, tells Mordecai to go feed - he's not going to do anyone any good like this. Mordecai grumbles, but agrees, and goes to a nearby casino to try and pick up older ladies playing slots. He fails miserably several times, and leaves in disgust.
Thomas Pilate finds him, and motions to a limo, in the back of which is a passed-out woman. Pilate tells Mordecai he needs to get himself together, and reminds him not to kill the woman. He also transfers his debt to Heath over to Mordecai.
Mordecai gets into the limo and feeds on the woman, managing to keep his Beast under control - only barely. He picks up the Tempted Condition as well. The Beast is lurking very close to the surface.
Meanwhile, the others go to the parking lot. Delphine looks around at the crime scene and sees blood in an arterial spray - whoever killed Ben Dennis, they didn't do it with their fangs. Myra goes into the hotel and Dominates the clerk for more information. He remembers that the couple hadn't checked out, and on the night they did an Asian woman came into the lobby from one of the rooms (where she'd been squatting, which the clerk says happens around here). Myra comes back, Mordecai joins them, and they go up to the couple's room. They don't find anything, but Myra smells the scent of baby powder, and feels a pang.
Stumped for a new lead, Delphine calls Maeve Blackwell (the local face of the Circle of the Crone) and asked if she knows any uses for the blood of a child. Maeve knows several, and none of them are good. She hasn't heard of anyone in the city who would do this kind of thing, but admits that Vegas has a high vampire tourist rate. Shortly after, Delphine's mortal girlfriend, Rachael, calls, asking if Delphine will come over this morning. Delphine says she can't, and Rachael bids her good night, dejected.
Mordecai belongs to a little club of people who pay attention to (and enjoy) the dirtier side of Vegas, so he gets on the phone. 45 minutes later he has a conversation with a school bus driver who picked some kids up in Henderson this morning, and two of them were talking about hearing a baby crying in an abandoned house.
That's the best lead they have, so Heath orders up his SUV and they head out to Henderson. Delphine points out that she's from Henderson, which is probably a coincidence.
We open in Binion's, with a poker gamer between Heath Newman (the Nosferatu owner of the casino) and Thomas Pilate, the Mekhet Sheriff of Las Vegas. Pilate informs Heath that the double murder of Lori and Ben Dennis in the parking lot of the Downtown Grand (and the abduction of their young son, Ben Jr.) is causing waves in the mortal, and therefore Kindred, community. Since his childe, Mordecai Pasternak, is the vampire claiming domain in that little area (since he owns the nearby Mob Museum), perhaps Heath would look in it? Or send some of those young vampires he keeps around him? Heath agrees, but says Pilate owes him a favor.
Heath grabs Delphine, a cocktail waitress (and also a Mekhet) working his hotel. He wants some backup, and it's a slow night. Myra, a pro-domme working out of Binion's (and a Ventrue), notes the news and feels compelled to investigate - she, too, has a young son, born before her Embrace.
The three of them head out to the Mob Museum. Mordecai's day employee, Carlos, tells him what's happened, and leaves. Mordecai is not only concerned, but hungry - he hasn't fed lately. The other Kindred arrive and enter. Mordecai denies knowing anything about the killings, but the conversation doesn't have a chance to go much further before Detective Sally Moore, LVPD Homicide, arrives.
Moore has dealt with vampires before; she's not fully savvy on what goes on, but she knows enough to know she doesn't want to know more. She asks Heath if this is beginning or ending; Heath isn't sure. She asks to take Mordecai's fingerprints to check against the crime scene. He agrees, but her machine won't read him - he's dead, and his fingers don't produce oils. This causes a breaking point (the player succeeds on the roll, but picks up the Bestial Condition - his hunger is getting to him).
Moore takes his prints with ink and leaves. The characters discuss the situation, and decide to go across the street and have a look at the crime scene. Heath, however, tells Mordecai to go feed - he's not going to do anyone any good like this. Mordecai grumbles, but agrees, and goes to a nearby casino to try and pick up older ladies playing slots. He fails miserably several times, and leaves in disgust.
Thomas Pilate finds him, and motions to a limo, in the back of which is a passed-out woman. Pilate tells Mordecai he needs to get himself together, and reminds him not to kill the woman. He also transfers his debt to Heath over to Mordecai.
Mordecai gets into the limo and feeds on the woman, managing to keep his Beast under control - only barely. He picks up the Tempted Condition as well. The Beast is lurking very close to the surface.
Meanwhile, the others go to the parking lot. Delphine looks around at the crime scene and sees blood in an arterial spray - whoever killed Ben Dennis, they didn't do it with their fangs. Myra goes into the hotel and Dominates the clerk for more information. He remembers that the couple hadn't checked out, and on the night they did an Asian woman came into the lobby from one of the rooms (where she'd been squatting, which the clerk says happens around here). Myra comes back, Mordecai joins them, and they go up to the couple's room. They don't find anything, but Myra smells the scent of baby powder, and feels a pang.
Stumped for a new lead, Delphine calls Maeve Blackwell (the local face of the Circle of the Crone) and asked if she knows any uses for the blood of a child. Maeve knows several, and none of them are good. She hasn't heard of anyone in the city who would do this kind of thing, but admits that Vegas has a high vampire tourist rate. Shortly after, Delphine's mortal girlfriend, Rachael, calls, asking if Delphine will come over this morning. Delphine says she can't, and Rachael bids her good night, dejected.
Mordecai belongs to a little club of people who pay attention to (and enjoy) the dirtier side of Vegas, so he gets on the phone. 45 minutes later he has a conversation with a school bus driver who picked some kids up in Henderson this morning, and two of them were talking about hearing a baby crying in an abandoned house.
That's the best lead they have, so Heath orders up his SUV and they head out to Henderson. Delphine points out that she's from Henderson, which is probably a coincidence.
Monday, October 13, 2014
Vampire Notes
Running Vampire: The Requiem tonight. Should take notes. Now that all four of my players have return the little questionnaire I sent out two weeks ago, I can do that. :)
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Of Gods & Heroes - Notes, Actual Play, Comments
So, I'm doing this thing now where I run a one-shot a month for the good folks in the IGDN, and then review the games over on RPG.Net. This month's offering is Of Gods & Heroes, for which I made a character recently. So I am going to take some notes, and then kinda "live blog" the game (really just make any notes that I think might be relevant for the review) and then tomorrow I'll do a proper game write-up.
Opening up Eureka!, I find a plot called "In the Kingdom of the Blind," which, with some tweaking, has the feel I want. The characters will crash with their ship near a village in which 90% of the people have been blinded by evil spirits. This is all due to Amenides, an evil man who desired to see what the winds so, so he caught one of the children of Boreas, the North Wind, and cut out his eyes. Boreas flew down and drew Amenides up and dropped him, killing him, but he tricked his way out of Hades' realm using his superior sight, and came back to his village. He murdered the priests of Athena, Zeus, Ares, Artemis, and Apollo, but bartered with Hecate, giving her one of each of the eyes. Hecate then cloaked the village from the sight of Olympus - only someone who can't see can find the place.
The characters' ship gets blown off course by the blind wind child, who wants his fucking eyes back. To the characters, this is going to look like he's fucking with them. But then they get there, and the people tell them about the nightly wind-demons. A blessing from the priestess of Hecate can keep them from getting blinded, if they can convince her.
And then it's just a matter of finding Amenides, for which they need a blind person (Follower or someone can get blinded, which would be more badass). Let's find some creatures!
OK, so let's use the Harpies for the spirits, aaaaaand...Oni, I guess, for Amenides? (I would normally just stat him up myself, but I'm out of time.) I think that'll work.
And I think my first player is here, so the next thing will be PCs.
Led by Tellus (who can find his way unerringly, which is strange), they find a village. But most of the villagers are blind - their eyes sucked out by some horrible force. Looking around, they find that the temples are largely abandoned, and the priest of Poseidon is dead. It seems as though the gods have forsaken this village.
Villagers speak of horrible demons that fly at night and suck out the eyes of those they catch. Dolophous orders the soldiers to gather the dead and bring them to the temple of Hades for burial (there's a hole in the temple floor leading to the sea, which is where this village disposes of their dead). Aedelphus finds one temple that remains intact - a temple to Hecate, the goddess of magic.
Tellus speaks with the wind, and learns that the man responsible for this is Amenides, the Cruel. The heroes learn from the priestess of Hecate that Amenides stole the eyes from a son of Boreas, the north wind, and then after Boreas killed him, used those eyes to find a way back to the land of the living. He then made an agreement with Hecate to blind the gods to the village, and lives like a dictator. The heroes offer a sacrifice to Hecate (and Dolophous uses the ram's blood to cast a ritual making his eyes appear already gone). Hecate's priestess, sensing her goddess is pleased, casts a similar ritual on the heroes, protecting their eyes. And then night falls, and the demons come.
They attack, but Dolophous fires an arrow over their heads and grounds them, making them corporeal (using a Legendary Feat). The others best the demons with nary a wound taken, and then the Heroes wait for morning.
Come morning, the priestess shows them Amenides home - on a mountaintop. They climb the cliffs (Balendin making a pulley system for Tellus to use, since he's not much of a climber), and they come to the home of Amenides the Cruel.
He steps out of his hut, and Aedelphus attacks (Legend Point for Red Rage). Amenides, though, wears the eyes of the priests on a necklace of sinew, and grabs an eye, becoming muscular and fast, and backhands Aedelphus away. But then Tellus slips in unseen, and cuts the sinew with his blade (Legendary Feat). Zetis runs and grabs the necklace. Amenides grabs the other end, but Dolophus shoots his thumb off. Aedelphus lunges in and runs Amenides through with his spear.
The Heroes take the eyes back to the village, and restore everyone's sight. Dolophus carries the head of Amenides, and Boreas and his son arrive to reclaim the wind-boy's eyes. Tellus takes the eyes of the dead priest of Poseidon, restoring his sight, and the Heroes set to work rebuilding the village and getting a ship together, to take them on to their next adventure.
Opening up Eureka!, I find a plot called "In the Kingdom of the Blind," which, with some tweaking, has the feel I want. The characters will crash with their ship near a village in which 90% of the people have been blinded by evil spirits. This is all due to Amenides, an evil man who desired to see what the winds so, so he caught one of the children of Boreas, the North Wind, and cut out his eyes. Boreas flew down and drew Amenides up and dropped him, killing him, but he tricked his way out of Hades' realm using his superior sight, and came back to his village. He murdered the priests of Athena, Zeus, Ares, Artemis, and Apollo, but bartered with Hecate, giving her one of each of the eyes. Hecate then cloaked the village from the sight of Olympus - only someone who can't see can find the place.
The characters' ship gets blown off course by the blind wind child, who wants his fucking eyes back. To the characters, this is going to look like he's fucking with them. But then they get there, and the people tell them about the nightly wind-demons. A blessing from the priestess of Hecate can keep them from getting blinded, if they can convince her.
And then it's just a matter of finding Amenides, for which they need a blind person (Follower or someone can get blinded, which would be more badass). Let's find some creatures!
OK, so let's use the Harpies for the spirits, aaaaaand...Oni, I guess, for Amenides? (I would normally just stat him up myself, but I'm out of time.) I think that'll work.
And I think my first player is here, so the next thing will be PCs.
- Balendin the Smith: Descendant of Hephaestus. Prowess: Beloved of Hephaestus. Fatal Flaw: Trusting.
- Aedeleus the Deadly: Former solider in the Peloponnesian War. Prowess: Deadly. Fatal Flaw: Red Rage.
- Tellus the Skein: Blind oracle (which the player came up with entirely independently, it was just really serendipitous). Prowess: Wise. Fatal Flaw: Trickster.
- Zetis the Hunter: Child of Zeus and the Golden Hind, hunted by the gods and goddesses forever. Prowess: Fast. Fatal Flaw: Sacrilegious.
- Dolophous Kouneli the Assassin Rabbit: Another child of a god whose mother was in animal form, this one is a child of Hades after he sent a rabbit to retrieve the Golden Apple for Persephone. Prowess: Beloved of Hades. Fatal Flaw: Proud.
Led by Tellus (who can find his way unerringly, which is strange), they find a village. But most of the villagers are blind - their eyes sucked out by some horrible force. Looking around, they find that the temples are largely abandoned, and the priest of Poseidon is dead. It seems as though the gods have forsaken this village.
Villagers speak of horrible demons that fly at night and suck out the eyes of those they catch. Dolophous orders the soldiers to gather the dead and bring them to the temple of Hades for burial (there's a hole in the temple floor leading to the sea, which is where this village disposes of their dead). Aedelphus finds one temple that remains intact - a temple to Hecate, the goddess of magic.
Tellus speaks with the wind, and learns that the man responsible for this is Amenides, the Cruel. The heroes learn from the priestess of Hecate that Amenides stole the eyes from a son of Boreas, the north wind, and then after Boreas killed him, used those eyes to find a way back to the land of the living. He then made an agreement with Hecate to blind the gods to the village, and lives like a dictator. The heroes offer a sacrifice to Hecate (and Dolophous uses the ram's blood to cast a ritual making his eyes appear already gone). Hecate's priestess, sensing her goddess is pleased, casts a similar ritual on the heroes, protecting their eyes. And then night falls, and the demons come.
They attack, but Dolophous fires an arrow over their heads and grounds them, making them corporeal (using a Legendary Feat). The others best the demons with nary a wound taken, and then the Heroes wait for morning.
Come morning, the priestess shows them Amenides home - on a mountaintop. They climb the cliffs (Balendin making a pulley system for Tellus to use, since he's not much of a climber), and they come to the home of Amenides the Cruel.
He steps out of his hut, and Aedelphus attacks (Legend Point for Red Rage). Amenides, though, wears the eyes of the priests on a necklace of sinew, and grabs an eye, becoming muscular and fast, and backhands Aedelphus away. But then Tellus slips in unseen, and cuts the sinew with his blade (Legendary Feat). Zetis runs and grabs the necklace. Amenides grabs the other end, but Dolophus shoots his thumb off. Aedelphus lunges in and runs Amenides through with his spear.
The Heroes take the eyes back to the village, and restore everyone's sight. Dolophus carries the head of Amenides, and Boreas and his son arrive to reclaim the wind-boy's eyes. Tellus takes the eyes of the dead priest of Poseidon, restoring his sight, and the Heroes set to work rebuilding the village and getting a ship together, to take them on to their next adventure.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Promethean notes!
So! Here's what we've got for The 7th Angel going into the next story:
- Avalon: Up the mountain, had adventure, followed Amanda Palmer around on tour, wound up in Chicago with the tour. Currently working on the Follower Role.
- Grimm: Got license to bounty hunt (Alternate ID: Craig Wizowski), learned grappling, stole body parts from morgue (Spare Parts), acquired car, drove to Chicago to meet throng. Currently working Stalker Role.
- Feather: Worked on establishing a new identity (Alternate ID: Robin Schwartz), joined JCC in Skokie, IL, got basement studio apt. Currently working Bodyguard Role.
- Matt: Hung out in Hollywood to research James Canaday, bus to Chicago, (Alternate ID: Matthew Paul Anderson). Currently working on Mystic Role.
- Enoch: Got a place on the west side of Chicago and is working on Scientist Role.
So we ended in January, 2008, and we're gonna take 4 months downtime, picking up in later April, 2008, in Chicago.
OK, then, let's take some notes.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Movie #274: The Hunt for Red October
The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 spy movie based on a novel by Tom Clancy. It stars Alec Baldwin, Sean Connery, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones, Courtney B. Vance, Fred Thompson, and Tim Curry.
Here we are in the Cold War, and the Russians have developed a "first strike" sub that moves silently and undetectably, but is bigger than a WWII aircraft carrier. On its maiden voyage, Captain Ramius (Connery) murders the political officer aboard, falsifies the orders, and makes for the US, intending to defect. Most of the officers, including the first mate (Neill), are in on it, though the crew at large is not.
Meanwhile, in the US, Jack Ryan (Baldwin), who is a doctor of something, but they never say what; he's an analyst for the CIA, talks to a buddy of his who makes subs (Jeffrey Jones) and realizes that the sub with the "caterpillar" drive really exists. An American sub hanging out near Russia figures out that the Red October exists, though not what it really is, and follows it. Ryan gets aboard said sub, and convinces its captain (Scott Glen) that the Red October isn't going to blow up the ocean, but that the captain is trying to defect. There are thrilling sub maneuvers, a shootout below decks, and the Russians get to defect while the crew gets sent home.
I saw this movie when it opened, so I would have been about a sophomore in high school. I like it well enough; it's a good Cold War flick that doesn't make the Russians into mindless goons or the Americans into cheerful heroes, and it's a good look at sub combat and tactics, I think. Plus, the neat little trick at the beginning of having the Russian characters speak Russian until you kind of get "pulled in" by the politico speaking in English is fun, and helps to convince us that Connery's accent isn't pure Scottish.
OK, not really. But it's a well-acted piece, the pace is steady but not languid, and we get a sense of at least a few of the characters. You can tell from the moment Sam Neill starts talking about Montana, though, that he's fucked. No one else gets that much monologue.
My grade: B+
Rewatch value: Medium
Next up: Idle Hands
Here we are in the Cold War, and the Russians have developed a "first strike" sub that moves silently and undetectably, but is bigger than a WWII aircraft carrier. On its maiden voyage, Captain Ramius (Connery) murders the political officer aboard, falsifies the orders, and makes for the US, intending to defect. Most of the officers, including the first mate (Neill), are in on it, though the crew at large is not.
Meanwhile, in the US, Jack Ryan (Baldwin), who is a doctor of something, but they never say what; he's an analyst for the CIA, talks to a buddy of his who makes subs (Jeffrey Jones) and realizes that the sub with the "caterpillar" drive really exists. An American sub hanging out near Russia figures out that the Red October exists, though not what it really is, and follows it. Ryan gets aboard said sub, and convinces its captain (Scott Glen) that the Red October isn't going to blow up the ocean, but that the captain is trying to defect. There are thrilling sub maneuvers, a shootout below decks, and the Russians get to defect while the crew gets sent home.
I saw this movie when it opened, so I would have been about a sophomore in high school. I like it well enough; it's a good Cold War flick that doesn't make the Russians into mindless goons or the Americans into cheerful heroes, and it's a good look at sub combat and tactics, I think. Plus, the neat little trick at the beginning of having the Russian characters speak Russian until you kind of get "pulled in" by the politico speaking in English is fun, and helps to convince us that Connery's accent isn't pure Scottish.
OK, not really. But it's a well-acted piece, the pace is steady but not languid, and we get a sense of at least a few of the characters. You can tell from the moment Sam Neill starts talking about Montana, though, that he's fucked. No one else gets that much monologue.
My grade: B+
Rewatch value: Medium
Next up: Idle Hands
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Movie #273: Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the sequel, of course, to The Hunger Games, based on the second book in the trilogy. It stars the same folks as before (Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland) and adds Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffery Wright, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, and Lynn Cohen.
Some time after the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are trying to adjust to be celebrities forever, and also having PTSD. Their role, as their mentor Haymich (Harrelson) puts it, is to be a distraction, forever, so that people don't rebel. Trouble is, President Snow (Sutherland) views their little stunt at the end of the Games (in which they threatened to die rather than kill each other) as exactly what it was - an act of defiance, and now the people are rebelling.
This being the year of the 75th Hunger Games, the powers that be announce a Quarter Quell (special games!), in which the tributes are all former victors. And these victors are fucked up individuals - they're all people who killed a lot of other people, and Katniss is advised to make allies. She chooses the brilliant Beetee (Wright), and Haymich hooks her up with the young and skilled Finnick (Clafin) and his elderly, mute friend Mags (Cohen), and into the arena they go. Joana Mason (Malone), unhinged and violent, joins them as well, and they kill off the Careers fairly easily...
But the Games are small potatoes. The Gamemaster (Hoffman) is a rebel, and rigs it to get Katniss, now recognized as the face of the revolution, out. She escapes with Finnick and Haymich, and learns that Peeta and Joana and in the capitol, captured. And, her home district has been razed (though her mother, sister, and boyfriend Gale [Hemsworth] escaped).
Which sets us up for Mockingjay, opening soon!
Catching Fire serves as a nice bridge for the story. It's good, but long, and I kind of feel like they stayed on the first half too long (setting up how shitty things are in Panem) at the expense of making the Games feel rushed and not letting us get to know the other tributes. But it's a minor thing. Hoffman and Sutherland both turn in great performances, and Lawrence is amazing as usual. It's interesting to see the pain and obvious damage that all the tributes have suffered - as Haymich mentions, no one wins the Games, though some survive.
It's hard to view middle movies like this in context without seeing the whole thing, and I'm sure I'll be reviewing Mockingjay in a year or so, so here's hoping!
My grade: A-
Rewatch value: Low
Next Up: The Hunt for the Red October
Some time after the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are trying to adjust to be celebrities forever, and also having PTSD. Their role, as their mentor Haymich (Harrelson) puts it, is to be a distraction, forever, so that people don't rebel. Trouble is, President Snow (Sutherland) views their little stunt at the end of the Games (in which they threatened to die rather than kill each other) as exactly what it was - an act of defiance, and now the people are rebelling.
This being the year of the 75th Hunger Games, the powers that be announce a Quarter Quell (special games!), in which the tributes are all former victors. And these victors are fucked up individuals - they're all people who killed a lot of other people, and Katniss is advised to make allies. She chooses the brilliant Beetee (Wright), and Haymich hooks her up with the young and skilled Finnick (Clafin) and his elderly, mute friend Mags (Cohen), and into the arena they go. Joana Mason (Malone), unhinged and violent, joins them as well, and they kill off the Careers fairly easily...
But the Games are small potatoes. The Gamemaster (Hoffman) is a rebel, and rigs it to get Katniss, now recognized as the face of the revolution, out. She escapes with Finnick and Haymich, and learns that Peeta and Joana and in the capitol, captured. And, her home district has been razed (though her mother, sister, and boyfriend Gale [Hemsworth] escaped).
Which sets us up for Mockingjay, opening soon!
Catching Fire serves as a nice bridge for the story. It's good, but long, and I kind of feel like they stayed on the first half too long (setting up how shitty things are in Panem) at the expense of making the Games feel rushed and not letting us get to know the other tributes. But it's a minor thing. Hoffman and Sutherland both turn in great performances, and Lawrence is amazing as usual. It's interesting to see the pain and obvious damage that all the tributes have suffered - as Haymich mentions, no one wins the Games, though some survive.
It's hard to view middle movies like this in context without seeing the whole thing, and I'm sure I'll be reviewing Mockingjay in a year or so, so here's hoping!
My grade: A-
Rewatch value: Low
Next Up: The Hunt for the Red October
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