FILM: The Hunger Games

Based on Suzanne Collins’ well renowned book trilogy is the first instalment, The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) never imagined herself volunteering for the most horrendous annual event of the year. But when she’s done everything up to this point to keep her family alive, volunteering as Tribute is the only way she can secure the safety of her sister, Prim (Willow Shields). After this point there’s no turning back. It’s Darwin’s survival of the fittest. 24 Tributes. 1 winner.

Welcome to The Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favour.

The Story

Since it’s based on a book the story is pretty much set, but I have to say I’m slightly double minded on how well some things were executed in the film. I will say that the film is closely accurate in terms of the progression of the storyline and how the characters tie together. But because it’s part of a trilogy there were some scenes added in order for those who haven’t read the series to understand the whole idea of the concept of The Hunger Games.

Since the series are written in first person, audiences could not fully grasp the extent of what’s going on in Katniss’ head. I was happy to see that the story was portrayed in a way that put the audience in the perspective of the viewers of the Games rather than seeing it from Katniss’ perspective the whole way through. Since the book alienates you from Katniss, but also puts you in her shoes in a way where you make decisions along side her, I thought the third person perspective tied in well with portraying the detachment that readers feel with Katniss. Seeing the story unfold before me, even though I had read the book, I was able to see a somewhat “full” picture of the importance of the Games, but still retain the remorse for its need that the books convey.

I was a little disappointed with how the progression of the film lacked the ability for characters to really connect. There were times where I wanted them to extend certain scenes be tween Rue and Katniss as well as with Peeta. These are the relationships that matter in this film and for the following films – especially for Peeta and Katniss.

The Cast

Jennifer Lawrence: I loved Lawrence in X-men First Class and I still love her in The Hunger Games. She has this beautiful way of conveying things without speaking which is perfect for Katniss. Since the books are written from her perspective, it was important for Lawrence to portray that battle the runs through Katniss’ mind. I think much of the story was driven by her non-verbal expressions, which made up for the films lack of in depth portrayal of how important certain character are or aren’t to Katniss.

Josh Hutcherson: I’m disappointed to say that I have not seen anything with Hutcherson in it except for The Hunger Games, but I still think he was a perfect choice for the role. He’s got that “youthy” look and when he smiles it’s eye catching which is perfect for Peeta. We don’t really see much of him though which is accurate enough in conjunction to the book, but I think there when it came to the cave scene, I thought they should have extended it to really capture how much Katniss meant to Peeta, nevertheless, Hutcherson’s portrayal of his eagerness to declare his love in that scene was convincing enough.

Woody Harrelson: Cheers start Harrelson was an excellent Haymitch, pity he wasn’t given more aggressive lines to play with. Although Harrelson was brilliant, I think the character lacked the stern-haunted-alcoholic mentor that readers are familiar with. Instead, he was replaced with a somewhat entertaining comic-relief character, which is not what Haymitch is about. It might just be me, but I really hated the fact that I liked Haymitch way too much and so did Katniss. Towards the end that “liking” is necessary, but I just felt that there was too much given to this relationship that let other relationships slide. But then again, it could be due to the trilogy – I don’t know I haven’t read that far yet!!!

Liam Hemsworth: I didn’t even recognise Aussie representative, Liam Hemsworth, with the brunet makeover! Although he’s not in this film as much as most people had hoped, I’m happy to say that he did us proud! American accent was flawless and you really felt the connection between Katniss and Gale. I think that this is important as when next instalment comes to the screens.

Costumes and Graphics

You can’t NOT talk about the costumes when the first strange thing you see in the trailer is a woman with oddly applied magenta lipstick! The people of Capitol were all Lady Gaga-upped! There were so many bright colours and weird outfits that I was absolutely sure they raided Gaga’s wardrobe for this film. In contrast, the districts we all clothed in 50s or 60s working-class fashion, which I loved because it gave them this normal and identifiable relation to the audience. It was as though they had been stuck in a time warp because of their poverty.

I will say though that the whole idea of Katniss being “The Girl on Fire” was not so catchy with the parade entrance. I will be honest and say that I was disappointed by the fire entrance – it wasn’t as “wow” as the book had portrayed it to be – goes to show imagination is still better than graphic generation. But in saying that, the other dress wasn’t a let down. I have to keep reminding myself that filmmakers do have limitations.

The graphics for the hovercrafts, Capitol and the game-making centre were fantastic. I will say that those mutant dogs trump Twilight’s werewolves any day! But I will also say, I was disappointed by the lack of important characteristics for the dogs. I won’t ruin it for people who haven’t read the book, but if you have and have seen the movie, you know what I mean.

Overall

I thought the movie was really good; I may have to go see it again to see how accurate I am in my star rating. It just because the book’s so fresh in my mind that I can pin point scenes that have been shortened or completely removed and scenes that are obviously added for dramatic affect or incorporation for the next movie. If I do see it again, then I’ll have to close my mind to what I know and re-watch it from a perspective of someone who’s never read the book and never seen the film. Otherwise I recommend it to everyone. No age or gender segregation. I suggest reading the book first though, that way you get the background story to the history of the Games.

sL Star Rating: 4 Stars

Next: TBA – still on Hiatus. Sorry!

INTERVIEW: Defining "SLAMCORE" with The Relay Company's Adam Mariucci

Who says that you need to be face to face to do an interview? Although I didn't literally sit down with The Relay Company's lead singer, Adam Mariucci, he was kind enough to write down his answers to a few things you guys wanted to know.

So without further ado, here's my "QnA with The Relay"…

First of all, let's get to know The Relay Company. How did you guys form as a group and what are your roles in the band? Also, how long have you guys been a band?

Stephen and myself have always been in bands together since we were really young. I actually needed a bass player in my high school pop punk band when I was a freshman, so I convinced by little brother who was in 7th grade at the time to learn how to play bass. That same year we ended up headlining over The Matches and Reel Big Fish at a show where we brought like 250 of our friends. It was the show that gave us that 'bug' to pursue music. Since then, we have gone through many members (and band names) over the years, but "The Relay Company" came together 3 years back, with the recent addition of our awesome drummer, Jake Pooser (aka “Skinny Jake”). When our good friend Jonathan Fernandez was still in the band, he found Jake online via YouTube with his amazing drum covers. We flew Jake out from Louisiana to be in our music video, "Marco Polo", and from then on he has been a staple member of The Relay Company. We all write together and compose our tracks with different producers and friends, but generally Stephen and I are the songwriters of the band. Our live shows consists of me on vocals, Stephen on guitar/electronics and Skinny Jake on drums.

Your sound is a hybrid of different genres, and you've recently mentioned in an earlier review that it's hard to describe it, but if you were to create your own genre for your particular sound, what would you call it?

It's absolutely a hybrid of different genres, which to us is how we like it to be. We never want to fit into 'x' genre or 'y' genre. I mean, if you really had to go with one word to describe us, you would probably say "pop"...but nowadays, pop music can literally be any type of music, so that doesn't truly mean anything or describe much either. Hmmm, if I could make up a genre for us I'd call us "slamcore" - a hybrid of rock and heavy electro pop that slams.

Not bad right? It could catch on...

*sL: “Slamcore” – I like it!

Since your sound is so diverse, I'm curious to know who or what inspired your sound?

We grew up listening to a lot of indie rock and pop rock bands – Relient K, Anberlin, etc. – but we also always loved pop radio and electronically arranged music – Enya, Ace of Base, ect. Our roots in music come from playing guitar and drums and other organic instruments, so our older stuff generally was more organic. But as electronic synthesizers and the ability to produce music on computers became more widely available to independent musicians like ourselves, we began to expand our craft to other sounds, tones and techniques when arranging the songs that we write. We also love up beat and high energy music all around, so it comes naturally to create our 'slamcore' sound now. (Hahaha! – Already using it...)

You've just released you current album i5 - that's an interesting title, who came up with it?

We all did. We like short and simple album titles so they are easy to remember and aren't overly dramatic and lame. We thought, "Hmm we named our last record 'X', let's name the next one by just a number...3 – for the three of us? 5? How about i5 since we drove up and down the Interstate 5 so many times for this record?" And that's how we named it "i5". Dumb and simple!

*sL: "Less is more" philosophy - I wouldn’t call it ‘dumb’ at all! It’s quirky and it works.

The album itself is a great mix of upbeat "get up and dance" tracks along with slower tracks that people can play while they're "just chillin'", so, my question is, when you write your music, how do you retain that techno vibe so it doesn't over power the other elements in the more upbeat tracks or disturb the mood in the slower ones?

It all comes down to the energy in the music and matching the correct vibe/feeling to the song itself. Believe it or not we have multiple versions of a lot of these songs on i5 that we ended up scratching half way through because they weren't doing the song justice. Our songs are vocally charged as well, so you have to be particular in selecting the right synths/bass tones and drums/percussion samples. And of course, a lot of these responsibilities are on the producer of that specific track, but it takes a lot of time and work arranging these songs before we put them out to people.

Is there one particular song in the album that you all agree on as the "Token Favourite" or the "Golden Song"?

There is no single group favorite. But then again, we don't listen to our own songs for enjoyment...and they are much older to us then they are to those just now hearing them. Keep in mind, we had to hear these songs hundreds of times in the studio when we were working on them so it's hard to think about a favorite at this point! But if I had to pick a couple, I'd go with Animals, When Love Is Far Away and Diva. I know Stephen's favorites are Silhouettes and WLIFA, and Jake's are Animals and WLIFA.

*sL: Clearly "When Love Is Far Away" is a unanimous favourite. ;)

When you were writing and recording for this album, was there a particular song that you guys weren't sure should be in the album but later realised needed to be there?

Yes. "When Love Is Far Away" was put on the back burner for almost 3 months, but later decided it was a 'sleeper' and that we needed to pursue finishing it full flex. One of our producers, Nico Hartikainen (aka “SmileFuture”), did an amazing job finishing the arrangement of this track and also brought out the best in my vocals as well. Once we finished the track it instantly became one of the top tracks on the record and we were all very happy how it came out.

You guys have a solid fan base all across the world, does it suprise you about how much support you guys are getting?

It does surprise us and we can't tell you how flattered and humbled we are. Our social networks have really grown a lot in the past few months since our release as well. Also sites like PureVolume have brought us a lot of attention - we were the #1 Song Stream and #1 Download on PureVolume for almost a week over artists like Skrillex, Twin Atlantic and Australia's own, Tonight Alive.

What's your fan base like here in Australia - will there be a likely chance that The Relay Company will be to Australia in the future?

I know we have some fans there, but I think that is because our family over there promote us! Yes, we are part Australian...bet you didn't expect that!

*sL: My jaw just literally dropped!

You have a tour coming up for the new album, which stage are you looking forward to the most to play on?

Hmmm…we look forward to playing any stage: big or small. No matter what the situation we have a blast because we love performing together. Right now we are planning our Spring and Summer touring plans!

What song do you think will be your favourite to play no matter which stage you guys are on?

I think "Animals" will be a blast to play live just because it will be a high energy song that we can really get the crowd into. Although most of our songs are high energy, so usually our entire set is pretty engaging with the crowd throughout. Outrageous fun.

Finally, what would you like to say to your Australian fans?

We hope that we can make a trip out to Australia to play a tour someday soon. We know the Aussies would party hard with The Relay! Hope to see you mates soon...cheers!

"Mirage" from "i5"

Next on sL: TBA