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| Photo courtesy of Just Jared Jr. |
21-year old Academy Award nominee, Jennifer Lawrence, slips into the leather hunting boots of our braided heroine, Katniss Everdeen. If you are unfamiliar with Lawrence's work, WATCH: Winter's Bone. Lawrence plays 17-year old Ree, a girl trying to track down her drug-dealing father and keep her family intact. Lawrence earned an Academy Award nomination for this performance in 2011 (she lost to Black Swan's Natalie Portman). SKIP: X-Men: First Class. It's a totally average big box superhero movie. I can safely say that it is not as bad as X-Men: The Last Stand, but I wouldn't call it good. Spend your two hours and your $1.29 on Winter's Bone instead.
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| Photo courtesy of The Hunger Games Movie |
19-year old Josh Hutcherson plays one of the most unfortunate lottery winners ever; baker's son, Peeta Mellark. Like Katniss, Peeta is chosen in the reaping to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games. My favorite thing about Peeta? Katniss repeatedly describes him as smelling like bread. Yum . . . . bread. If you are thinking to yourself, Hutcherwho? WATCH: The Kids are All Right. Hutcherson plays 15-year old Laser, the younger son of a lesbian couple (played brilliantly by Academy Award nominees Annette Benning and Julianne Moore. Benning was nominated for her work in Kids in 2011, but, like Jennifer Lawerence, lost out to Swan's Portman. Moore has been nominated for an Academy Award four times over the course of her career but has never taken home a statue.). Laser begs older sister, Joni (Mia Wasikowska), to track down their biological father, Paul (played by Mark Ruffalo). Hijinks ensue. SKIP: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. I want to like this movie. I really do. It's got Michael Caine. And The Rock. And Vanessa Hudgens. Not to mention my newest little crush,
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| Photo courtesy of Deadline |
Liam Hemsworth, most famous for making out with Miley Cyrus all over the tabs, plays Games's resident tall, dark, and handsome brooder, Gale Hawthorne. Assuming Games stays true to the novel, you won't see much of Hemsworth in this first installment. Gale will likely be spending most of his time off-screen brooding it up until Catching Fire hits theaters in 2013. If you have never seen Hemsworth in action, you are not alone. Older brother, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), is the more famous of the Hemsworth brothers. For more on Liam, CHECK OUT: The tabloids. Or Google. SKIP: The Last Song. Forget Liam Hemsworth, Song is two hours of having to deal with Miley Cyrus's voice. And I just can't take it.
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| Photo courtesy of Pop Tower |
Woody Harrelson, perfectly cast as Haymitch Abernathy, plays Katniss' and Peeta's mentor in the Games. Haymitch, best described as a surly and somewhat violent alcoholic, is charged with keeping Katniss and/or Peeta alive in the Hunger Games arena. If you are in The Hunger Games target audience, you are likely too young to remember Harrelson's turn as bartender Woody in Cheers. In that case, WATCH: No Country for Old Men or Rampart. Or White Men Can't Jump. Or maybe not. If you're too young to remember Cheers, you are almost certainly too young for No Country or Rampart. See if your parents taped Cheers. Like on VHS. We used to do that back in the day. Or check out the upcoming HBO movie Game Change. It is unfortunate that Harrelson has been better known recently for some of his activist activities rather than his filmography because he is an extremely talented actor. That said, SKIP: Seven Pounds. I am used to Will Smith's unabashed attempts to manipulate my emotions (see The Pursuit of Happyness). But Seven Pounds is just too much.
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| Photo courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes |
Elizabeth Banks may very well be the Ryan Seacrest of Hollywood actresses. You seriously cannot walk 10 feet in any direction without running into something that Banks has worked on. Banks portrays District 12 escort, Effie Trinket. Effie is most widely known for being the pinnacle of Capitol fashion and for uttering the film's famous tag line: May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor. Unless you are a member of a group that prohibits watching movies or television, I guarantee that you have seen Elizabeth Banks before. If, however, you cannot remember where you have seen her before, WATCH: Role Models. Single best movie about LARPing (Live Action Role Play) ever made. Fun fact: I can recite the entire movie line for line from credit to credit. SKIP: Zach and Miri Make a Porno. Like Lawrence's X-Men role listed above, Zach and Miri is not terrible and it's not great. But Banks has made so many films that there is just no need to waste your time on one that is only ah-ight. EXTRA CREDIT: Check out this short film Banks directed and starred in for Go Red for Women. I told you this woman is everywhere. Think you've seen Banks's on-screen husband before? If you watched 2011's Something Borrowed, you have. In Borrowed, Colin Egglesfield plays the object of Ginnifer Goodwin's desire, Dex.
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| Photo courtesy of IMDB |
Gary Ross co-wrote (along with Hunger Games creator, Suzanne Collins) the screenplay for and directed The Hunger Games. Ross reportedly campaigned hard for directing duties on Games, and fortunately for him (and us), got the job. Unfamiliar with Ross' work? WATCH: Pleasantville. Not only is Pleasantville well-paced and visually stunning, it also happens to be my second favorite Reese Witherspoon film (favorite: Alexander Payne's Election). SKIP: Dave. Note: Ross wrote and did not direct Dave, but that's of little consequence to me because the film just isn't funny. Skip it.
The world, or at the very least I, will be watching on March 23rd when The Hunger Games opens in theaters. Also, new trailer alert! Now with more Peeta (and by "more Peeta," I mean about two seconds more Peeta than in the other trailers. What's up with that? It's like they're trying to advertise this movie as Peeta Lite. No one wants that. More Peeta!)!
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