RED DAWN

FilmDistrict/Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer

Rated PG-13

Running time: 114 Minutes

 

 Click below to watch the Red Dawn trailer.

 

In FilmDistrict's/Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer's Red Dawn, high schoolers must defend themselves and their home - when America gets invaded by North Korea.

In a remake of 1984's Red Dawn, this film starts out with the high school football game with Josh Peck of the Wolverines trying to prove himself during the game to his Police Sergeant father Brett Cullen and his veteran Marine brother home on leave, Chris Hemsworth. When North Korea invades their hometown, Cullen sends the motherless Peck and Hemsworth off to their cabin in the woods for safety and to eventually make war with the Korean troops.

I have not seen the original Red Dawn since it first came out in 1984, but from what I remember I think that the new Red Dawn is a better film than the original and seems more of a regular fun action film. I enjoyed the action in this movie. With stars from current TV shows like Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Alyssa Diaz, Edwin Hodge and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, I am sure the young audience can relate to these characters like my generation related to the young stars like Charlie Sheen of the original Red Dawn. The feel was very much like The Hunger Games and the Twilight saga movies, as well as the V TV series, when the teens are out training with the various guns and developing their fighting skills in the woods, especially with Josh Hutcherson from The Hunger Games as one of the teenagers. I liked the family aspect of the movie between the brothers and their relationship, and how all the other Wolverines had family of some kind or another as well.

The opening montage sets up the movie with news clips, including clips of President Barack Obama and Senator Hilary Clinton of the escalating tension from North Korea and it's military and the technological and economic vulnerabilities of America, especially the vulnerability to a new kind of weapon. While the Koreans tried to hunt down the Wolverines, the fact that the Koreans do not take any retaliation against the population, or at least the prisoners located at the stadium for the Wolverines actions was illogical to me.

I have always wondered - both back in the 80's and now - how it would be if my high school, Estancia High School, was the one that was involved in the movie. Our mascot, the Eagles, would have been more patriotic mascot symbol for the city to rally around against the North Korean army as the kids that I went to  high school with fight the Koreans. I can imagine everyone crying out Eagles!

Originally the film was made in 2009 and was supposed to be released in 2010, keeping in mind the post-9/11 world that we are in. However, due to the financial difficulties of MGM, the released was pushed back to 2012. As a result, the enemy was supposed to been China, which would have been logical, given their resources - but with the opening up of Chinese availability of Western products, MGM wanted the Chinese box office, all references to China was changed during post production and computer graphics to make the enemy North Korea. With backing from another source, it made it more believable that North Korea could pull off such an invasion. With both Chinese and North Koreans being Asian, it was a simple matter of changing the logos and flags through CGI. With Chris Hemsworth as the leader of the Wolverines, the movie's late release works to the movie's advantage as Hemsworth is a bigger name as an action star now.

Rated PG-13 for violence and language. Running time: 114 Minutes.

Pancho 
All people smile in the same language.
 

THE HUNGER GAMES

Lionsgate

Rated PG-13

Running time: 142 Minutes

Click below to watch The Hunger Games trailer.




In Lionsgate The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, Jennifer Lawrence, is reluctantly sent from her impoverished District of a future devastated apocalyptic America, as a Tribute to the wealthy capitol city. In what is now the new country of Panem, Lawrence becomes a participant in a deadly reality TV elimination Game show - where the winner is the last person still alive.

Based on the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the movie is a cross between the short story The Lottery by author Shirley Jackson, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Running Man, and the TV show Survivor. With TV host Stanley Tucci hosting the Games, the Games was more of a media extravaganza for the masses instead of a gladiator arena for the Tributes - especially with Lawrence being billed as "The Girl on Fire." The celebrity aspect of the show is in sharp contrast to the deadly killing spree in the second half of the movie as the Tributes target each other in this survival of the fittest conflict. While Lawrence's coal minor District Tributes were chosen by lottery, other Tributes in other Districts were training all their lives for the Games. The sycophants of the show do not seem to realize or care that the Games are in reality a punishment check for the rebellious war that happened to the country seventy-five years ago. They just want a good show to be entertained by, which is sad. The "Bread and Circuses" aspect of the Game comes from the latter days of the Roman Empire, where the government would keep the masses satisfied by providing violent and deadly entertainments for the people to watch. And having the nation being forced to watch the Game is rather Big Brotherish. When Lawrence volunteers herself in exchange for her sister Willow Shields when Shields gets chosen to be a Tribute to the Games, it was a heart-rending moment to witness Lawrence's sacrifice. This sacrifice is the beginning of Lawrence's journey through The Hunger Games. It also lead to Lawrence becoming a big sister to Tribute Amandla Stenberg during the Game.

Considering that this is a post-apocalyptic era amongst the ruins of North America, there seems to be a lot of technology in this era in contrast to the lack of food that the people have. Lawrence is forced to hunt animals for food - and has become very good with the bow and arrow as a result. Lawrence's use of the bow and arrow during the Game drove home the fact to me that the Game and the Tributes really are in the wilderness. It is implied that the rebellious war only occurred in America, so it is possible that the rest of the world was unaffected by the war and could contribute to the technology - but there is no reference to the rest of the world. Still, that is a lot of advanced technology involved that is able to manipulate an entire wilderness area that is being controlled by virtual computers. And the lack of food is more implied in the film rather than being graphic about it. I was expecting graphic hunger, so the implied hunger makes trivial the status of the real life homeless who are hungry. As a result, I am still not sure in the movie if people in society are really starving or if it is just a few people. Having producer Wes Bentley manipulate the games to force some killings, I thought was very unfair to the Tributes and is a form of violation of the amendment to the Communications Act of 1934 preventing anyone from fixing quiz shows. However, Bentley was being manipulated by the President, Donald Sutherland, to keep the people from having too much hope in Lawrence as the Games are a punishment and check against the various Districts to prevent future rebellions.

While former Hunger Games winner Woody Harrelson was a drunken, jaded mentor to Tribute Lawrence and to fellow Tribute Josh Hutcherson, it was nice to see Harrelson grow to be a true mentor and trainer to Lawrence and Hutcherson - especially to Lawrence.

While I generally liked the movie, this is also a long movie though. I felt it was taking too long to actually get to the Game once Lawrence and Hutcherson were chosen to be Tributes - and the Game was what I wanted to see when I went to see the movie in the first place. The Game was actually dramatically exciting with the Game set in the wilderness and the Tributes hunting each other, but the movie had spent quite of bit of time on the celebrity aspect, and training, of the Game before they actually got into the Game. Because of the Tributes killing each other off, you never get to know most of them as they get killed off too soon. I just barely remember a couple of their faces before they were killed off. Having a boy and a girl from each District being chosen as Tributes is rather sad, especially for Lawrence and Hutcherson, knowing that they would eventually have to kill each other in the end - which would prevent any type of friendship and alliance normally. The scene in the movie that got to me the most was the genetically enhanced wasps. I was imagining if I was thrown into that situation - suddenly attacked by wasps. Arghhh!

At the end of the movie, the people behind me were talking about the books. Since the book is part of a trilogy, Lionsgate said that the rest of the The Hunger Games The Hunger Games. From the opening box office, I expect they would be working on the next movie Catching Fire right now.

Rated PG-13 for violence. Running time: 142 Minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Pancho's Movie Reviews