20s Movie Review - The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Director: Francis Lawrence
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Drama
Runtime: 157 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage

Description: Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) mentors and develops feelings for the female District 12 tribute (Rachel Zegler) during th 10^th Hunger Games.

Review: “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the fifth movie in the Hunger Games franchise, based on the 4-part book series written by Suzanne Collins. The story is set many years before “The Hunger Games”, before we meet Katniss Everdeen.

In this film we see a world recently torn apart by war. there were many deaths, but above all there was hunger. A lot of hunger. Therefore, the instigators of the war, the districts that must listen to the autocrat in the Capitol, must pay. Every year 24 children, two from each districts, are drawn by a lot and thrown into an arena. They have to fight each other to the death, only one can come out alive and will be the winner. And the whole event can be followed on TV.

The “The Hunger Games” books, was one of the first series I absolutely loved. And I believe they did a fantastic job with the movies. This prequel came 10 years after the last book, “Mockinjay”, was released. In 2020, so not that long ago. We jump to the 10^th Hunger Games, which seem to be waning in popularity. Dr. Volumnia Gaul wants the games to continue at all costs. It is up to the students of the prestigious Academy to turn the children of the districts into a spectacle. They are all assigned one, and must coach them.

One of those students is Coriolanus Snow, the 18-year-old son of a deceased war commander. To the outside world, his family still has a lot of prestige, power and money, but in reality he is emaciated, broke and living on soup and cabbage. If he wants to continue his studies after the Academy, his tribute must win. Lucy Gray Baird is the poor girl from District 12 that he has to mentor.

Coriolanus Snow is of course the same person as President Snow, as we met him in “The Hunger Games”, the relentless, merciless leader of Panem. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” shows you his backstory, of how he went from a hungry schoolboy to a ruthless tyrant. He falls in love with his tribute, Lucy, which should show us that he ones had feelings and heart. But somehow, I can never get behind it, I never feel respect, compassion or sympathy for young Coriolanus. Because I know who he will become. And although you are rooting for Lucy, her character didn’t do anything for me. I also didn’t like all the singing, it felt out of place. Rachel Zegler is a great singer, but you don’t have to use this quality every moment you get.

Viola Davis plays Volumnia Gaul, a pretty disturbing character. Loved her. And Peter Dinklage play Casca Highbottom, the brilliant mind behind the Hunger Games. It’s just a small role, but he steals every scene just like in “Game of Thrones”. He really fits into this world. Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman is portrayed by Jason Schwartzman, the presenter of the Hunger Games. And he has a link to Cesar Flickerman, Stanley Tucci’s character in the original “The Hunger Games” films.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a long sit, with over two and a half hours of runtime. But when you want to give a character depth and also show a lot of world-building, it’s necessary. And I didn’t mind, it didn’t feel like more then 150 minutes. And the actual Hunger Games is also a big part of the movie, which was really well-done. And it felt like a “Hunger Games”-movie, it fits in with the other four films. But the movie doesn’t stop right after the Hunger Games. For we see, and this is very well portrayed, how Coriolanus Snow changes from that schoolboy into a power-hungry, ruthless man, who will pulverize anything and anyone in his path towards his goal.

Overall, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is a good film, I enjoyed it, but didn’t care for the characters as much as I did with the other films.

Rating: 3,5/ 5
 

20s Movie Review - West Side Story

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Musical/ Romance/ Drama/ Crime
Runtime: 156 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Rachel Zegler, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Rita Moreno, Brian D’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Mike Faist

Description: West Side Story explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.

Review: It is important to note that Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story” is not a remake of the original film. The filmmaker deliberately took the theatrical musical as his starting point. So those who know the classic film from 1961 well may wonder if musicals numbers were thrown out. The Latin American cast is also given a much larger role. Much Spanish is spoken and it was Spielberg’s explicit instruction not to subtitle it. However, the context is sufficient to understand it, even without knowing the language.
“West Side Story” is set in the New York of the late 1950s. the neighborhood is a victim of renewal or what we would qualify as gentrification. Only the store of the elderly Valentina (a newly written role played by Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for best female supporting actress in the original film) bravely holds out. The neighborhood is weighed down by the battle between two gangs. The Puerto Rican Sharks are fighting for a place in society and are diametrically opposed to the leather-jacketed Jets. Former Jet member Tony has just been released from prison and want to make a quiet new start. Then the inevitable happens: during a dance party, he falls madly in love with Puerto Rican Maria.
Already from the opening shot, where the wrecking ball takes us into the experiential world of New Yorkers, it is clear, in combination with Bernstein’s matchless music: this is going to be something special. So the question of whether there is any need to record a new version of “West Side Story” quickly fades. Spielberg didn’t add many big new things, but went for rather small subtle addition that made a big impact. For example, a nonbinary side character who floats between scenes and clashes only momentarily with the rest of the characters. Forced or overly woke, this addition doesn’t feel like it; in fact, Spielberg stands for diversity and inclusiveness.   
The romance that develops between Maria and Tony is one of attraction and little repulsion, but it is the rivalry of circumstances that creates difficulties. “West Side Story” is still a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But the romance here is rarely wry, but mostly sweet and beautiful without ever becoming overly sentimental.
The original had a store owner Doc, but he is replaced by his wife Valentina. She provies shelter for Tony but also the greatest emotional charge. Her fragile sung “Somewhere (aka “There’s a Place for Us”) provides goosebumps and poignancy. Rita Moreno’s Valentina forms the conscience, the calm and the spectator of Spielberg’s film.
Leonard Bernstein’s famed music has been rearranged and reworked but forms the rhythmic heart of this new musical adaptation. This is complemented by dazzling choreography that really splashes of the screen. The inexperienced lead actress Rachel Zegler, who was assigned the rol of Maria our of thirty thousand applicants, also deserves a special mention. Her Maria is independent and self-confident, but cannot resist the beckoning of love. When the romance does eventually turn sour, it is the circumstances that make it so.
In other hands, a new “West Side Story” might have become a mediocre film production. But Steven Spielberg has turned it into something very special, without compromising the heart of the original production. The direction and beautiful camerawork made it look like we are in the 1950s and the way they work with color is extraordinary. For example, the Jets are styled in dark and blue tones, where the Sharks are in bright and red/ yellow colors. You can see it best in the dance party scene.
This new adaptation of “West Side Story” is amazing. A movie I didn’t think was necessary, but I’m so glad Spielberg made it. It’s beautiful and a treat for every musical fan. Now streaming on Disney +.

Rating: 5/ 5