From the Theater: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

 



    The Hunger Games The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is one of the best movies I've seen in the past 5 years, it is also the best film out of the five film series. Director Francis Lawrence and his team are working in lockstep here with , the book's author Suzanne Collins , delivering an exploration of war and its consequences that never talks down to its intended audience.

    This is a film that teens and parents should be paying attention to, because it not only delivers a compelling story, but it also illustrates how book to film adaptations can be as thematically dense as one another. A good adaption is neither straightforward nor destructive, it is a conversation. That stance ls on full display here, amplified even further by Francis Lawrence's experience with the franchise having directed three of the four previous installments.
    It should go without saying here that the performances from the young stars are uniformly excellent, with Tom Blythe and Rachel Ziegler being standards in a cast full of standouts. On all levels The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is running on all cylinders. I hesitate to say that this film is special due to its subject matter , but I believe that a person should be honest. So yes, this film is special , and it should be seen by as many people as can go out and see it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Top 5 Films of 2024

Image
5.  Twisters 2024 “Nature's masterpiece.” If you feel it, chase it” “You don't face your fears you ride them” All right, I'll just say it, Twisters is an exhilarating experience. It is one of the most well orchestrated summer blockbusters that I have seen in years. Yet, it is also a film that never forgets the vehicles of utter power and destruction that it illustrates on-screen. Perhaps that is the film's strength: it is able, in a real tangible way, to convey these acts of God with respect and reverence for their awesome power. It does this, without losing, for one second the thrill and wonder of the chase. Twisters is a roller coaster ride in the best sense of the phrase. It has heart, meaning and poignancy in every inch of its special effects filled plunge, into the thrills and difficulties of storm chasing. On that note it is a movie that uses all of the available filmic and auditory tools to the greatest effect. At least to my ears Twisters is an exh...
Read more

Who Made Man's Mouth: Recontextualizing Disability as an Ordinary, Every Day, Purpose Driven Life

Image
Michelangelo's Moses c.1513-1515 Who Made Man's Mouth:   Recontextualizing Disability as an Ordinary, Every Day, Purpose Driven Life     "I want to live in a world where we value genuine achievement for disabled people, and I want to live in a world where a kid in year 11 at a Melbourne high school is not one bit surprised that his new teacher is a wheelchair user. Disability does not make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does." -Stella Young, TEDxSidney 2014      When you realize that perhaps you've been misunderstanding a core tenant of  yourself for a better part of your life, you begin to deconstruct the factors that brought you to that realization. Now, before we start this journey I want to say that I am not a theologian nor am I trying to be one. This endeavor is as much a journey of discovery for me as it is for you. It is a recontextualization of ...
Read more

The Boys in the Boat 2023

Image
 " It's called Swing, when all eight are rowing in such perfect unison that no single action is out of sync with the rest of the boat. Then you aren't fighting each other, you're moving less effort. Each one of your strokes is worth one and a half of the other boats. Most groups never find it, but when they do, rowing is more poetry than sport.” What does it take to be one? How do we overcome our innate desire to be loners, to fend for ourselves? These are questions that The Boys in the Boat attempts to answer. As a film the story of the 1936 Washington State Crew team brings us back to essentials. What is Sport? Is it a singular endeavor or does it require a team? The truth is, even when a singular person is on the field, their skills are still being honed by many hands. This is the essential aspect of Sport that we are asked to recall in thls engaging journey of the Washington Crew team, as they seek for Olympic Gold. It may seem like you've seen ever...
Read more