Though the Hunger Games has already been happening for 10 years in the era of “Songbirds and Snakes,” the film follows the addition of mentors for the young tributes, here culled from the top students at a wealthy academy in the capitol. “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” invites viewers to learn more about the background of Coriolanus, played here by Tom Blyth, and to witness the early days of the Hunger Games, in which the game-makers figure out how to wield the spectacle of children killing each other for sport as a tool of propaganda. He is a true craftsman and audacious visual stylist, bringing a Cold War Soviet flair to the Panem of 64 years before Katniss Everdeen. There is something comforting about slipping back into the world of Panem, dystopian and brutal as it is, especially in the capable hands of director Francis Lawrence, who helmed three out of four “Hunger Games” films: “ Catching Fire” and both “Mockingjay” installments. It also helps that author Suzanne Collins released a prequel novel in 2020, “ The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which explores the young adult life of Coriolanus Snow, the tyrannical president of Panem played by Donald Sutherland in the prior (though chronologically later) films. It’s been eight years since the release of the last “Hunger Games” film, “ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2,” which means enough time has passed that it feels appropriate to return to the well that produced big box-office dollars for Lionsgate, and made star Jennifer Lawrence a household name.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |