The Hunger Games

Seriously.  This blew my mind.

I am in the post-movie brain blend, and pretty damn tired.  Still.

Reality-TV's gladiatorial self-commodification.  The spinning of the life narrative.  Manipulation of human drama. Remote warfare.  Hope as a means of control.

I'm pretty impressed that this snuck through as a blockbuster and got widespread, mass distribution.

I think that this film makes its own meta comment on going and enjoying it as a movie as being part of the machine that it is illuminating.

(In fact, I only saw it because of a last minute whim, any preview or media coverage that I had seen had really not made me interested, if anything I had decided that I was anti-the hoopla).

The conondrum of how inspiring content or ideas can break through and use the machinations of soma-entertainment.

I'm pretty gob-smacked.

It's Kind of a Funny Story

Some movies are on another level; I leap forward and clutch the footrest-pouf with my knees and elbows, shaking in the tense ecstasy of wise human insanity.  This is one of those.  I won't review it with words.  Just see it.

Here's the trailer (or in Australian English, preview).  But maybe you want to go in with an open mind, as I did.

Ghosts With Shit Jobs

Good ole' reversal works:

The Extra Man

It is exhilarating to watch a film with truly vibrant characters.  Even though he is not the protagonist, Kevin Kline's Henry Harrison is a killer character and looks like so much fun to play: as I imagine it was to write.  I regularly exclaimed 'who wrote this?' throughout this movie.  Cracking, cracking lines.  The movie had room to breathe, skirted around platitudes and resolution and was not an overly neat package.  Which is an excellent thing.  Most, most recommended.