The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
That's right The Hunger Games that was a was a cinematic franchise [Music] once so the Hunger Games the ballot of song birds and snakes is a it's a long ass title Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood not the longest I've heard though it's a prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy because in entertainment you got to strike while the iron's hot if you can't do that make a movie eight years later why not I know it's based off a book just saying I was I wasn't I saw the poster in the theater I was like isn't a new one and this movie will hopefully and in some ways it does some ways it doesn't shows how this seemingly nice person will one day become a really big [Ø¢ __Ø¢ ] first of all it takes place in the capital for the most part in the other Hunger Games movies we got glimpses of the capital we were still outside eyes visiting the capital but we never got a peak behind those closed doors this is that Peak so you get political Intrigue classism Hunger Games has always had class class ISM but even among the rich and Elite there are subclasses among the classes take snow for instance he's not the most popular he's not the richest he's not the most connected he still feels and seems like the little fish among much bigger fish in this Capital pond so that's just more interesting to see it Through The Eyes of a character like that even though the tactics he learns will Aid him in mess murder but still for the sake of entertainment and it taking place in the past I thought the capital of PanAm was the most interesting version of the capital of PanAm we've seen on screen yet the technology isn't this futuristic digital technology it's analog the tech the sets all looks like mid-century radio and television shows the televisions are all CRTs I was salivating at the thought of that Retro Gaming experience but it's futuristic sci-fi style technology woven into there too and mid-century futuristic sci-fi analog Tech that's just that's Peak to me it's a very specific Vibe and experience so this is the movie it's not just call I don't want to call it the rise of of President Snow because that's not really what it is it's just President Snow and how he was back when but in terms of the World building this is the chapter in Pan's history where the Hunger Games became entertainment the manipulative tactics of entertainment what draws people in what holds them there the original Hunger Games trilogy we we just come into that world when they've already figured it out this is them figuring that out which means in the world it's a less interesting Hunger Games event but the adaptation of making it more marketable I thought that was the cool part not the murder no the pr that was solid it's not always about that and when that ends man you feel it okay the acting as for the acting Tom blle as snow he is the star of the film and I thought he was great and I suppose that is a testament to Tom blle he still makes this character although you know where he ends up you know he's the biggest dick in the world in Hunger Games he ends up there but for the most part he makes us forget that he shows us the human being that will one day be lost another standout is Viola Davis as I mean she's pretty much a mad scientist in the movie no doubt she is absolutely having fun with the role uh shortly into it I was like she overcooking it a bit little bit came across cartoony at times not going to deny it but I also can't deny that I ended up having fun when the character was on screen at first I was just kind of feel like I was laughing at the character and then I ended up laughing with the character cuz well Viola day she could sell room temperature flat beer to someone she's that good at the job she's the real backstory right there I wonder know what happened to her character Sid do experiments on her in Final Fantasy 6 what happened why is she crazy Peter Dinklage was great too the guy who came up with The Hunger Games what would that person feel on his dayto day Peter Dinklage just we know I don't need to sell Peter Dinklage we know how great he is he brings that here Rachel zaggler okay she has an amazing voice every time she's singing in this this movie it's clear why she was cast other than that I felt she was forgettable as [Ø¢ __Ø¢ ] fitting this November theme apparently of two weeks in a row of Dollar Store characters she just kind of felt like dollar store catniss and granted with catniss you got her backstory you knew where she was coming from you knew why she was doing this thing she actually was sacrificing herself to save her sister it's easy to get behind that but when the first Hunger Games came out Jennifer Lawrence did something special you know she made it her own she stood out she had that screen presence Rachel Ziggler's character Lucy gray Lucy gray is just she's a girl in this movie cuz granted the movie as in the script the adaptation could have done a couple more things for her I was picking a buddy's brain who read the book and I was like okay this this scene spoiler free but it has to do with her singing in The Hunger Games and the way he broke down the information control that PanAm is known for that the capital is known for I was like I could have gone for more of that in the movie information control and those futuristic sci-fi dystopian Concepts that most certainly absolutely definitely don't exist in our world but you know that would be a scary world in which they do exist but not here and then the last act happens this movie's broken up into three chapters the last act a lot more boring than the first two and it just rushed to the end all this build up with characters and friendships and character conflicts and possible conflicts later and this is where it's all going to go down and it does technically speaking but again there a difference between just doing something fulfilling a checkbox and hammering home the point not saying this doesn't have a couple of emotional moments Tom ble has a couple of great scenes where you're like he is feeling it and he's selling it however when the movie wrapped up it it sprinted to the end and I felt it cheaping the payoff not just the payoff with some of the support characters but the payoff with snow himself he has gone from those golden locks looking like the loved child of Nicholas Holton Tom Felton to looking for mom's spaghetti he's seen some [Ø¢ __Ø¢ ] he's been there he's seen the things but I didn't feel it by the end so I can't help but think this probably would have been a better miniseries actually once again for another week of reviews let's talk about bad CGI which to be fair VFX departments for these movies work to the Bone underpaid I absolutely get that VFX workers getting boned over a side it happens it's noticeable it's happening more and more and it happens in here too there's one scene particular I was like wow that is the greenest of green screen so in the end The Hunger Games The Ballad of song so in the so in the end The Hunger Games The Ballad of sng birds and snakes got the title sweet for me I thought Tom ble was great didn't need a backstory for President Snow but among the young President Snow backstory is the real compelling backstory for me and that's the building upon the Hunger Games but there were other things that didn't work for me that are kind of important like the main supporting actress pretty much the the third chapter which is kind of a snoring comparison like how does the third chapter feel so slow in its pacing yet so rushed and fast to its execution to the ending a true cinematic Paradox my friends but by God they do it it probably be a better time if you're drunk yeah now it's a party all right so the Hunger Games the ballot of song birds and snakes have you seen it what did you think about it whatever you thought comment below let me know and as always if you like what you've seen here and you want to see more click right here to see more [Music] the end of this movie was so fast it was such a rush felt like it was going to get his head crushed by omn man no