Songbirds
Similar2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), 2046 (2004),
Blade Runner (1982) Brazil (1985), Desert Hearts (1985), Die Hard (1988), Dune (1984), I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016), Mars Attacks! (1996), Metropolis (1927), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Random Harvest (1942), Spider-Man 2 (2004),
Strange Days (1995) The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Twelve Monkeys (1995),
Watch afterAquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Napoleon (2023),
Oppenheimer (2023) Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023), Thanksgiving (2023), The Marvels (2023), The Nun II (2023), Wonka (2023),
StudioLionsgate,
Despite a challenging premise and an overlong runtime, the Hunger Games prequel makes the most of the hand it’s been dealt.
The character of Coriolanus Snow is an odd choice for a Hunger Games hero. In the original books and films, as played by screen giant Donald Sutherland, Snow was a cold-hearted, cruel dictator clearly meant to echo real world fascist leaders. Here, in the prequel story The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (say that five times fast), Coriolanus (Tom Blyth) is just a sensitive, emotional teen dreamboat whose main goal is to provide for his family in the wake of the violent revolution that tore apart Panem, the country formerly known as the United States of America.
It’s difficult to understand why author Suzanne Collins, who wrote the novel Songbirds is based on, made the decision to try to humanize a violent authoritarian when a core theme of the original Hunger Games books and movies was lashing back at systemic oppression. Nonetheless, director Francis Lawrence (Catching Fire, I Am Legend) and his enthusiastic cast of talented performers make the best of the rather thematically confused story arc they’ve been given, turning in one of the most exciting, emotionally arresting entries in the franchise. Continue Reading →
Money for Nothing
If I told you that thirty years ago, 1.2 million dollars literally fell out of an armored truck, would you believe me? To be clear, this money wasn’t stolen – at least, not initially. A Purolator Armored Services truck – carrying an enormous quantity of cash from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia – suffered an “equipment malfunction,” leaving 1.2 million dollars lying on the side of the road in South Philly. As 1993’s Money For Nothing will tell you, this cash was quickly discovered by Joey Coyle (John Cusack), an out-of-work twenty-something. What does one do next? Continue Reading →
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
"What do you get for the man who has... everything?" Continue Reading →