GONE (2012)

Awhile back Amanda Seyfried was abducted out of her bed by some unidentified kidnapper dude and held in the middle of the woods in a hole with the bodies of previous victims.  She managed to escape, but for whatever reason the police were unable to find any evidence to back up her story.  People start to think she might be a little bit unhinged so she's placed in a mental facility.  Fast-forward to the opening of the film and now Amanda lives with her older sister.  Somehow (and this is the most mysterious part of the movie) Amanda is able to hike around the forest all day looking for the murder hole and then work the overnight shift waitressing at a diner.  When does she sleep?!

So now one night after work she gets home to find her sister gone...GONE!  You would think that after the first kidnapping she would have invested in a home security system or a dog, but no that makes too much sense.  She goes to the police, but they don't give a fuck, so she takes the law into her own hands and turns this mother upside down looking for her sister.

As far as illogical thrillers go GONE is pretty average, but still an enjoyable watch mainly thinks to Amanda Seyfried.  The pace is fairly quick, so even if the story is completely unbelievable you really never get a chance to get bored.  With zero nudity, zero blood, zero gore and very little cussing GONE is pretty much just a fancy looking TV movie, but still worth a watch on a rainy afternoon.  Oh, yeah the film also co-stars Wes Bentley and Dexter's sister, but neither one have more than just a bit role.

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)