The Congress – Really enjoyed this but I do love weird “adult” animated films. Robin Wright was very good & I loved the idea but the movie didn’t really explore the difficulties of being an aging actress & the story got very messy once it became animated. And Max Richter was the perfect choice for the score yet it wasn’t quite working for me in this. Still loved the animated weirdness, though. Very me.
Added to My **** & Up Animated Films Ranked list. – 7.5/10
The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes – I make no apologies – I’m a fan of The Hunger Games. I enjoyed this prequel book (even though we want a Haymitch prequel – who cares about Snow?!). Certainly not as good as the first two books/movies, but still enjoyable revisiting this universe. This film adaptation was very faithful but had to leave so much out that I don’t think it made Snow’s motives very clear for those who are only watching the films. The movie didn’t give me the sense of just how poor Snow was after previously being part of a powerful family & just how desperate he was to get back to The Capitol & to become someone important. Which is necessary to show as we know he becomes such an evil man.
Also, although everyone was “fine” in their roles in this prequel, they all lack the charisma that so many had in the original Hunger Games films. Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss while people like Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland etc added so much to those films & didn’t feel like they were phoning in their performances like some actors do for YA film adaptations. This prequel just had more of that “YA adaptation” feel to it than The Hunger Games did. I still enjoyed seeing the story on screen but this film was just less gripping & less intense. To be fair to the director, though, the same can be said of the book so it’s not necessarily the movie’s fault (seriously – we don’t care about Snow’s backstory!). Two stronger lead actors may have helped this movie, though.
I sound more harsh than I feel. I did enjoy this & will always happily read/watch anything else related to The Hunger Games. And apparently Suzanne Collins has announced that there is a Haymitch prequel on the way in 2025? Yes! It’s what we all wanted before the Snow one…
I always feel like I need to add this to any Hunger Games reviews: Some people are very negative about YA, especially stories aimed more at female readers. I don’t see why. I read a lot of it still and, yes, some novels are better than others. But this is a well written series with strong characters & a good story. And I absolutely love Battle Royale too (which I also read as I loved the movie so much). Am so sick of the comparison when they’re very different movies despite the central idea being the same. The Hunger Games has a far more complex story than just “teenagers being made to kill each other”. Just find it funny when so many manly action movies are the exact same, recycled plot but with different big-muscled actors. But no one has a problem with those. (I say this as well after having finally discovered & decided that I have a thing for JCVD – I love watching his movies but how many of his films have recycled plots?! Hilarious). – 7/10
An American In Paris – Watched this for my Best Picture Project. It’s embarrassing how few Gene Kelly movies I’ve seen. What a stud. Absolute horndog in this, though. Leave the teenage girl alone, dude. Seriously. Some glorious musical numbers, of course, so was delightful to watch. A worthy watch & Best Picture winner but I feel it, and its songs, are less memorable than some other classics in this genre.
But, wow, how did I never realize that Gene Kelly’s ass could give JCVD’s a run for its money?! I really must watch more of Gene Kelly… That dancing man was sexy as hell. – 7/10
Cinema Parrot Disco 
Um. Uh. Well, I probably won’t see any of these but it was to happen:
#horndog