Through the muck of shaky-cam aesthetics and poorly rendered
futuristic design, there is something I admire about The Hunger Games. Though not short, the film offers a compact
rendering of Suzanne Collins’ massively popular novel about a ruthless game of
survival among kids in a totalitarian world. The intermittently compelling arena sequences
and Jennifer Lawrence’s serviceable lead performance keep the proceedings somewhat
engaging, but Gary Ross’ spiritless direction does no favors to the mostly
recycled Orwellian plot. Equally disappointing is how the filmmakers miss nearly
every opportunity to draw a deeper connection amid the elements of
violence, economic disparity, and societal unrest. Alas, The Hunger Games is emblematic of a growing trend that has beset
many film adaptations of popular books: It strips away any the source
material’s strengths and settles for numbing blandness so as not to offend
anyone. (Gary Ross, 2012) **
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
It’s hard to say anything more about the wretchedness of The Lorax that A.O. Scott hasn’t already
expressed in his appropriately outraged review. Unfortunately, this film is not the first to
contort the work of Dr. Seuss into something wholly misrepresentative and tonally afoul of the
beloved author’s work. And although it is not as actively repulsive as the Mike
Myers live action The Cat in the Hat from several years ago, The
Lorax has a more rotten core. It peddles a message of environmentalism
but then undermines it at every turn with the same over-stimulating,
mass-induced thoughtlessness it purports to be against. The worst gut punch comes when the Zac Efron-voiced lead
character—after venturing outside of the plastic town of Thneedville for the
first time—becomes visibly annoyed at having to sit through an old man’s story
about the death of trees. Sadly, young audience members are probably thinking the
same thing. After all, why try to engage and instruct with actual storytelling when a bounty of noise and colors get the job done much
swifter? (Chris Renauld, Kyle Balda, 2012)
*
American Reunion
After the mildly disappointing Scream 4 last year, the idea of resurrecting another popular '90s
franchise seemed positively dour. And while American
Reunion heads down the same road of awkward nostalgia in its
early-going, it eventually settles into a nice rhythm. Part of
the reason it works is that it takes a more somber approach to its own premise.
It turns out that revisiting the glory days of high school can unearth some
pretty deep-seated unhappiness about who we were and who we become. John Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg wisely avoid anything
too serious in their conventional approach to the same brand uncomfortable situational
comedy that marked previous entries franchise (to varying degrees of success). The film’s probing doesn’t
venture beyond sex, which works just fine. There is nothing too memorable about
American Reunion, nonetheless it’s a
rare welcome visit with old friends. (John
Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012) **½
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