Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Between the prime source material, built-in fan base, epic star power and increased budget, Francis Lawrence’s adaptation of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” had all the potential in the world, but that also shrouded it in an exorbitant amount of pressure and expectation, so it’s a good thing Lawrence rose to the occasion.

The second installment picks up shortly after the events of the first. Katniss and Peeta (Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson) are home sweet home in District 12, but still suffer from the repercussions of surviving the Hunger Games, one of which is participating in the Victory Tour. Even though the Capitol’s beloved star-crossed lovers travel from district to district professing their devotion to Panem, there’s no stopping what they started. With a rebellion on the horizon, President Snow (Donald Sutherland) opts to hit the districts where it hurts, targeting their resources, safety, and their Hunger Games victors.

Scoff at the “Hunger Games” craze all you want; this is a franchise that earns every ounce of attention, press and profits. Not only did Gary Ross’ film do the pre-release hype justice by kicking off the series with a riveting, well-composed and highly effective adaptation, but now Francis Lawrence and writers Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt build upon Ross’ success by taking the budget boost and funneling it into quality talent, stunning visuals and creating an all-consuming experience.

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‘The Hunger Games’ Countdown: Halloween, Panem-Style

We’ve got a handful of cast photos floating around the Web worth checking out. Woody Harrelson steps out of Haymitch’s shoes to enjoy some Lenny Kravitz music while franchise newcomers Lynn Cohen, Stephanie Leigh Schlund, Meta Golding and Bruno Gunn posed with the cast of Cirque Du Soleil Totem after the show’s premiere. Looks like they’re all having a blast, but the thing that catches my eye is how comfortable Cohen looks hanging out on one of the performer’s back. HG Girl on Fire tracked down a holiday-appropriate shot of Jennifer Lawrence. She may be rough and tough as Katniss, but when it comes to haunted houses, clearly Lawrence is vulnerable to a good scare.

Catching Fires’ Plutarch Heavensbee, Philip Seymour Hoffman, got chatty with The Independent, mainly discussing The Master but also touching on the Hunger Games books, revealing, “I’m in the middle of reading the last one now; they’re very special.” I’ll leave it at that as the second quote is a bit of a spoiler, but if you’d like to read on, check out the full article right here. Toby Jones is on a press tour as well for his upcoming release The Girl, but ET Online got to him about Catching Fire. When asked about the state of the script, Jones responds, “It’s a bit of relief, I must say. I was worried it might just be repetitive, but it’s not. The script is just tremendous!”

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Review: The Hunger Games

The pressure is on. The time has come and now the world really is watching. Does The Hunger Games live up to the hype that’s preceded its release? Most certainly.

The nation of Panem consists of 12 districts and the Capitol. As punishment for a rebellion, each district must pay penance to the nation by sending one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, to the Capitol to compete in the annual Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death.

When Katniss Everdeen’s (Jennifer Lawrence) younger sister Prim’s (Willow Shield) name is randomly selected during the District 12 reaping, Katniss does something no District 12 citizen has ever done before; she volunteers to take Prim’s place in the Hunger Games. And so it is done; Katniss is forced to say her goodbyes and board a train to the Capitol alongside her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), to fight for her life.

The concept in itself is enough to get just about anyone hooked. No, the idea of children killing each other in order to preserve their own life isn’t appealing, but it is intriguing. However, what’s even more captivating than that is the world that’s built around it – the people in it, the districts that keep it running and the values that make the nation of Panem what it is when we enter The Hunger Games.

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‘The Hunger Games’ Countdown: The Dos and Don’ts of Midnight Screenings

Whoa. We’re really getting close! With only two Hunger GamesCountdowns to go before the big release (and hopefully many more to come thereafter), we’re putting the spotlight on those coveted midnight screenings. But before we get to the meat of this weekend Countdown, how about a brief run-through of all the recent Hunger Games news?

With the big opening fast approaching, the cast and director Gary Ross are out and about promoting. We’ve got Isabelle Fuhrman (Clove) on the cover of Girls’ Life Magazine, Wes Bentley (Seneca Crane) and Leven Rambin (Glimmer) in a photo shoot together for Genlux Magazine, Liam Hemsworth on the cover of GQ Australia and more. Sure these magazines are great and it’s something tangible you can keep, but talk show appearances are far more exciting. Why? Because talk show appearances generally require clips. We just got that oneof Katniss firing an arrow at the Gamemaker’s pig and, now, thanks to Lenny Kravitz’s appearance on Ellen, we’ve got clip #2, Cinna’s pre-opening ceremony advice for Katniss. And, of course, the Hunger Games mall tour is also currently underway. The gang already hit LA and Atlanta, are due to visit Phoenix and Chicago today, and will make it to Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis and Seattle by Saturday.

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‘The Hunger Games’ Countdown: What To Watch While You Wait

The Hunger Games may have gone without a Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con this year, but not only did it make an impact on the event with a booth on the convention floor, Lionsgate’s been able to maintain a bit of a ripple effect, keeping the film in the spotlight with the help of Entertainment Weekly. Like with Jennifer Lawrence, EW had the honor of debuting both Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) on the cover of their August 5^th issue as well as some exclusive stills and behind-the-scenes photos inside. Click here to catch the cover as well as the general consensus on the image, and here to see three of the photos from inside, two of which are The Hunger Games’ first official stills.

Just the other day, we tracked down official still #3 and #4. While they don’t offer too much more in terms of details on the costume and set design, they do provide up close and personal looks at Katniss and Peeta in the arena. You can see those and read about the announcement ofCatching Fire’s November 22^nd, 2013 release date right here.

In terms of unofficial photos, one popped up online that’s of interest: an image of some extras killing time before shooting a scene in the Capitol. Nailing the looks of the District 12 residents and the Hunger Games tributes are one thing, but the costume design for Capitol folk is undoubtedly a bigger challenge. Crazy hairstyles, dyed skin, odd piercings, outlandish makeup – I’d like to bet designer Judianna Makovsky is having a field day. Thanks to the Charlotte Observer we have an early taste of what she’s working on via a photo snapped while a small group of extras headed into the Duke Energy building for filming. It’s hard to pass judgment just yet as these actors are clearly not big-screen ready, but it seems as though Makovsky is heading in the right direction.

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The Hunger Games Countdown: Katniss Who?

And we’re back! Now that we’ve gotten all of the basics out of the way, let’s focus on our leading lady, Katniss Everdeen. In recent weeks, we got our biggest non-casting update yet, a look at Jennifer Lawrence in costume. You can read more about my thoughts of Lawrence on the Entertainment Weekly cover as Katniss right here, but in this edition of the Countdown, we’re taking it one step further by focusing on who Katniss really is. But, before we get to the nitty gritty, let’s run through all of the latest production updates.

New Panem Residents & President

While the casting craze has certainly died down, we’ve still gotten a fairly steady stream of new faces over the past couple of weeks. Since the addition of Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy, Lionsgate has added Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Brooke Bundy, Latarsha Rose, Lenny Kravitz, Toby Jones, Amber Chaney, Nelson Ascencioand lastly, Kimiko Gelman.

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