This Mockingjay Part 1 scene was reportedly meant for Philip Seymour Hoffman, and after his passing, Effie got Plutarch’s line from the book. Does it work better for her, or is Plutarch just as much of a fish out of water? We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on…
Kit, Andy, and Steve continue their Hunger Games coverage with the conclusion to Katniss' story. The war against the Capitol reaches its breaking point as Katniss and her squad push deep into a booby trapped Capitol on a mission to assassinate President Snow. But as the battle grows more brutal…
Effie isn’t really in the Mockingjay book. She’s still in the Capitol. Bringing her to District 13 is one of the best changes the movie made, especially when she’s convinced she’s a political prisoner. We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Streaming Things! #mockingjay #hungergames #effietrinket #elizabethbanks #shorts
That dog wandering District 12 in Mockingjay Part 1? According to IMDb trivia, he’s Donald Sutherland’s dog, Biggles. We can’t confirm it, but we really want it to be true. We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Streaming Things! #mockingjay #hungergames #donaldsutherland #movietrivia #shorts
In the books, The Hanging Tree carries family history for Katniss. So is the movie version just a three-minute Easter egg, or does it stand on its own? Plus, Jennifer Lawrence was reportedly petrified to sing it. We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Streaming Things! #mockingjay #thehangingtree…
Snow bleeding from the mouth in Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1 unlocked a memory: years ago, someone at the movie theater told Steve that Snow’s roses mask the scent of blood because he’s a vampire. Most of it was accurate. Then came the vampire part. We did The Hunger…
That bright red Mockingjay suit from the marketing never actually shows up in the movies. What we get in Mockingjay Part 1 is all black, down to a black-on-black pin you can’t see, and we’re not sure Cinna would approve. We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Streaming…
Ralph Fiennes as President Snow, Elle Fanning as a young Effie Trinket, and Maya Hawke as Wiress. Not all of us were caught up on the Sunrise on the Reaping cast, and the reactions are exactly what you’d hope. We did The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Streaming Things!…
Mockingjay Part 1 might be the low point of the franchise, but it has a few high points, starting with Jennifer Lawrence. It’s what happens when you stretch one story into two movies, and it’s mostly gray jumpsuits with barely any Cinna fashion in sight. We did The Hunger Games:…
Should Catching Fire have shown District 12 getting bombed? Steve wanted to see it, maybe as a flashback while Gale tells her. Andy argues the rebellion is happening to Katniss, so leaving us as unsure as she is was the point. We did The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Streaming…
Once you know Plutarch is working for the resistance, every bad call Snow makes in Catching Fire makes sense: Plutarch was puppeteering him. But keeping Snow on the hook meant throwing poison fog and baboons at Katniss, and she could have died at any of a thousand points. We did…
Kit, Andy, and Steve continue their Hunger Games coverage with the franchise’s darker and more politically charged third chapter. Rescued from the arena and brought to the hidden District 13, Katniss is asked to become something more than a survivor, the Mockingjay, a symbol of revolution for a rebellion that…
Gale ends up on Katniss’s kitchen table, Prim goes full doctor mode, and Haymitch finds the alcohol. We narrate it like a medical drama, because how could we not? We did The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Streaming Things! #catchingfire #hungergames #prim #haymitch #shorts
Beetee and Wiress are the goofy nerds of Catching Fire, but when Katniss meets them, she’s the new kid and they’re the cool kids laughing because she can’t see the force field. Jeffrey Wright is a delight, and there’s a very good reason this scene exists. We did The Hunger…
The Catching Fire elevator scene is Jennifer Lawrence’s best facial comedy: disgusted, angry, and a little jealous. On rewatch, Johanna’s stunt is also a statement about how much she hates the Capitol, and Haymitch is thrilled in the corner. We did The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Streaming Things! #catchingfire…
Last week we got into Peeta vs. Gale. This week, a Catching Fire rewatch flips Kit to Team Peeta: Gale’s selfishness, Peeta’s apology, and a confession about wanting to be Gale at 20. We did The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Streaming Things! #catchingfire #hungergames #teampeeta #teamgale #shorts
We cover The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on Streaming Things! #hungergames #catchingfire #thehungergames #jenniferlawrence #shorts
The Capitol vs. District 12 contrast is obvious. What's smarter is how Capitol culture runs on the same competition as the Games, from Effie's makeup to Seneca's beard. We did The Hunger Games on Streaming Things! #hungergames #effietrinket #moviefashion #filmanalysis #shorts
Effie Trinket has the propaganda video memorized, but watch her closely. Elizabeth Banks plays her as deeply upset by what's being done to these kids, and it's so subtle you might miss it. We did The Hunger Games on Streaming Things! #hungergames #effietrinket #elizabethbanks #filmanalysis #shorts
Kit, Andy, and Steve continue their Hunger Games coverage with the series’ acclaimed second chapter. Following her victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen is thrust into a Victory Tour that makes clear just how dangerous her act of defiance has become. President Snow, threatened by the spark she…
Peeta vs. Gale is a Jacob vs. Edward situation, and Kit is firmly on the unpopular side. Gale's deer problem, reaping day logistics, and that bread all come up. #hungergames #teamgale #teampeeta #peetavsgale #shorts
There's a screenwriting rule called Save the Cat: give your hero an early act of kindness and the audience will root for them no matter what. Katniss saves her sister from the games while also threatening a literal cat! #hungergames #katniss #savethecat #screenwriting #shorts
Before Katniss, there was Battle Royale, plus a little Long Walk, Running Man, Lottery, and Lord of the Flies. Suzanne Collins says she'd never heard of it, but owning it on DVD in high school made you cool. #hungergames #battleroyale #suzannecollins #jenniferlawrence #shorts
Rewatching The Hunger Games came with a shock: Jack Quaid, in his theatrical debut, is the one who kills Rue! Add a host who laughs at devastating fandom deaths and a character named Marvel, and things get heated. We did The Hunger Games on Streaming Things! #hungergames #jackquaid #rue #thehungergames…