LOST barges in on the TRUMAN SHOW . . .

Rating: 9/10 (24 November 2013)

. . . but most HUNGER GAMES fans won't care, since they are too young to remember LOST very well, and WAY too youthful to have heard of THE TRUMAN SHOW. Which is why the producers of this movie did not hesitate to film it in LOST's Hawaiian setting--complete with the spinning island Orchid Station effect--and also rebuild THE TRUMAN SHOW's dome, which was just ripped off this summer by Stephen King and the UNDER THE DOME people. Scoring few points for originality, then, CATCHING FIRE must rely on Jennifer Lawrence for its warmth, and she proves capable of virtually bringing down your local multiplex screen in flames. This girl survives EVERYTHING with more class than Sylvester Stallone as RAMBO or Clint Eastwood as DIRTY HARRY ever did. If Jennifer, as Catniss Everdeen, doesn't butter your biscuit, you must have a heart of stone (or a bad case of Celiac Syndrome).