JACK THE GIANT SLAYER (2013)

I enjoyed this movie.  Jack (played by that zombie dude from WARM BODIES) is a simple farm boy who accidentally gets a hold of some magic beans.  Stuff happens and before you can say "Fe-fi-fo-fuck!" the princess, who he has the hots for, gets carried away up into the clouds on the giant beanstalk.  The king is not happy about this and orders his men (and Jack) to climb the towering beanstalk and rescue the princess.  When they get to the top they discover a lost world of giants.  Oh...and two of the guys that go with Jack up the beanstalk are traitorous assholes.

With this kind of story the filmmakers could have gone all kinds of ways from silly as hell to super duper serious, but I think they made the wise choice by going in the middle.  The story itself is serious, but the whole thing kinda has a light feel to it.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it!  Honestly I wish the film had been even longer and explored the giant world a little bit more.  Also more screen time for the princess would have been nice.

As it is though, JACK THE GIANT SLAYER is a fun fantasy adventure film with a quick pace, good acting by a talented cast, impressive special effects and an entertaining story.  Recommended, although I am curious what ever happened to the cat?

THE HUNGER GAMES (2012)

I don't know if they'd be considered great literature or not, but the Hunger Games novels were fucking awesome. I read all three in less than a week and part 2 in pretty much one sitting. I couldn't put it down!

The story is set in a future post-America North American country called Panem (yes, it's based on "bread and circuses"). The country is divided into twelve districts (Thirteen was destroyed as an example against rebellion). Here's a rundown of the districts, but let's just save time and say One is the Capital and where all the politicians and ultra-rich live and the other districts are less fortunate. District Twelve, where our young hero Katniss lives, is a dirt poor mining area. She lives in The Seam which is pretty much just shacks surrounded by an electric fence that doesn't work. After her father was killed in a mining accident, her mother mentally checked out and Katniss becomes the sole breadwinner and responsible for raising her little sister, Prim. To do so, she hunts in the woods which are off limits.

Each year, as a soul-crushing reminder, the Capital puts on The Hunger Games. I won't go into all the rules, but two children (one male, one female) from each district are chosen at random to go into a massive arena and fight to the death. Yes, that sounds a lot like BATTLE ROYALE, but BATTLE ROYALE was underwhelming, so who cares? Anyway, shit happens and Katniss ends up in The Hunger Games and it's...alright. The book was great, but the film lacked that emotional element that really made the novel so addictive. Also...the lack of Gale (and other stuff back in The Seam), the relocation of the rooftop scene, the Cinna character was weakened, the changed origin of the mockingjay pin, the pussification of the wolf mutts, the altering of the Rue scene and the reduction of violence hurt the film. I enjoyed it and time flew by, but it wasn't as awesome as it could have been.

My recommendation: devour the first two books, read the third and tolerate that weak ass ending then watch the movie. Here's hoping the second movie is rated R and awesome as fuck. That novel was so action-pack and rad I was twerking around my crib while reading it.

Part 2 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Part 3 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014)
Part 4 - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)
Prequel - The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023)