Be Kind, Please Rewind

He’s Off the Reserved. He’s the…

Vidiot

Week of August 17, 2012

Nature is preordained to be pooped in. First up…

The Hunger Games

Any game that you have to play hungry is going to be a game with a lot of decapitations.

And while this sci-fi film isn’t about competing whilst hangry, it does have mounds of mutilations.

As retribution for a failed revolt, the president (Donald Sutherland) of a dystopian capital selects two children from each district and has them compete against each to the death.

Taking her sister’s place in this year’s games is Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence).

Along with her male equivalent (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss must learn to listen to her trainer/previous winner (Woody Harrelson) and stylist (Lenny Kravitz) if she hopes to sway the superficial fans and survive.

With a subversive script, an apt cast and an unconventional romance, this film adaptation of the teen-lit sensation has much more depth than others of its ilk.

Incidentally, if Hunger Game officials are anything like their Olympic counterparts they can be bought.  0

The Raid: Redemption

Finally! Hollywood has made a movie about the forgotten frivolity of a good, old-fashioned panty raid.

What’s that? This action movie was made in Indonesian, and there are no female dormitories in it?

A dilapidated apartment becomes the prime directive of the Jakarta SWAT team after the high-rise is hijacked by a kingpin, Tama (Ray Sahetapy), and turned into a fortified safe haven for Jakarta’s worst criminals.

While officers Rama (Iko Uwais) and Jaka (Joe Taslim) safely enter the building, Tama soon locks all exits and puts the inhabitants on attack.

Forced to fight throngs of armed assailants, the pair receives help from a familiar face out of Rama’s past.

While it does start off sluggish, once the surprise narrative kicks in and the martial arts intensifies, The Raid: Redemption is finally redeemed.

As for staging a raid on an apartment, remember: bullet holes come out of the damage deposit.  0

Hick

The best thing about being a 13-year-old runaway is that your dismembered body parts get to visit every region of the country.

Fortunately, the young female hitchhiker in this drama is armed.

For her 13th birthday, Luli (Chloë Grace Moretz) is given a handgun, which she then brings along with her when she flees her alcoholic parents (Juliette Lewis, Anson Mount).

On the road, Luli encounters Eddie (Eddie Redmayne), who promises to take her from Nebraska to Las Vegas.

But when Eddie goes off the deep-end, Luli trades him in for a drug-addled con-woman, Glenda (Blake Lively), who teaches her how to survive on her own.

Eventually Eddie catches up and becomes Luli’s new guardian, when Glenda sells her out.

With dreadful performances and a sleazy storyline that boarders on pedophilia, Hick is a road trip best avoided.

Besides, everyone already knows runaway hicks only hitch rides on turnip trucks.  0

***Head of the Clash***

Battle Royale

Typically, not having a seat belt on the school bus is the most dangerous part of a field trip.

But having no restraint during a collision pales in comparison to the brutality that the classmates in this sci-fi film experience.

While on a school excursion, a group of Japanese students are unknowingly drugged.

When they gain consciousness, the students (Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto) discover collars around their necks that will detonate if they are unruly or try to escape.

Given provisions that include a lethal weapon, the children are released on to an island where only one of them will emerge the victor.

As controversial as it is fascinating, this adaptation of the notorious novel explores humanity’s animalistic tendencies through the means of children, garnering disturbing results.

Despite all of the carnage, however, this blood sport isn't as grisly as the battle to get into a decent college.

He's Bringing his Eh Game. He’s the…

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