Stealing from Japan. Again.

Rating: 3/10 (27 March 2014)

Battle Royal, the Japanese wonder from which "author" Suzanne Collins stole the plot to "write" 'The Hunger Games', was nothing short of a unique piece of art in a sometime dull cinema industry. It was refreshing, brilliantly played, and even had Takeshi Kitano in it.
And then came the cash cow makers, yearning for fast-money franchise. Makes sense though, you wouldn't work for the lesser salary either. Their job is to make huge profits, and this usually comes with a total absence of feeling. Fair enough!
But 'Hunger Games', really... It is the diet version of entertainment. A terrible actress to begin with. And if you have seen American Hustle or the recent X-Men movies, you know it is not ready to change. Jennifer Lawrence has no acting, no understanding of her roles, and to be true, millions out there are still trying to make sense with her Oscar...
Then come the Art Direction... Again, no creativity, everything being taken from more glorious creators from the past. Make-up just looks like Ziggy Stardust had more offspring than we thought. Costumes look like 'The Shindler List' VERY unfortunately met 'Zoolander' with a failed attempt to "Jean-Paul Gaultier" the overall look. And let's not talk about the boring settings... Even if creativity rides along with inspiration, there is a huge step between referencing and raiding. This is clearly the latter.
And yet, there is ONE beacon of hop amidst all this terribly annoying waste of time: the next 'Hunger Game' movie. Stanley Tucci alone gives more credit to the franchise than any other previous actors. Then of course Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore. Obviously. Let us just hope that the mediocrity that transpired through the first movies will be washed away by this brilliant cast.