RUNNING MAN // A FILM REVIEW OF "MOST DANGEROUS GAME"

BY MATEO MORENO

The new streaming app Quibi, created by Jeffrey Katzenberg, has officially launched, and the platform is offering a 90-day free trial through the end of the month. Prefect timing for all of us (re: nearly everyone) who's stuck at home. Each program, and they have movies, TV shows and reality television so far, offer each "episode" in 10-minute small bites, which are released one at a time daily on weekdays. One of the starry new offerings is the running man thriller MOST DANGEROUS GAME starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz.

This high octane thriller starts off without any set-up. We meet Dodge (Hemsworth), our main protagonist as he is meeting with a business man by the name of Miles Sellers (Waltz) who runs "The Tiro Fund." Dodge is hoping that Sellers can help him out with a loan, as he is badly in need of money, with a baby on the way and Cancer treatment eating away at him. However, Sellers isn't interested in giving a loan. What he is interested in is Dodge participating in a game. The most dangerous kind of game, in fact, where he himself would be hunted by rich people who enjoy that kind of thrill. It would take place over the course of 24 hours and should he survive, he'll have more money than he could even dream of. In fact, each hour he survives, more money will automatically be wired into his account. Should he not survive the 24 hours and a hunter catches up with him, they would actual kill him and the game would be over. At first, Dodge rejects the request outright, saying he'll go to the cops. However, Dodge is a desperate man and in the end, he agrees to the insane request.

Since this is on Quibi, I've only seen the first few chapters and can't fully review the film in its entirety. But from all of the offerings I've seen on the new streamer, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME is one of the strongest, anchored by the magnetic Chritoph Waltz and a very game Hemsworth. The game has just begun where I'm at so far, but I'm definitely invested and drawn in by the stylish directing of Abraham and the literal "thrill of the chase." This kind of show seems perfect for 10-minute episodes, drawing your excitement just enough to draw you into the next chapter. This is a new way to experience a thrill ride like this, and I'm completely game for it.

GRADE: B+

WRITTEN BY Nick Santora, Josh Harmon, Scott Elder, DIRECTED BY Phil Abraham STARRING Liam Hemsworth, Christoph Waltz, Sarah Gadon, Zach Cherry. NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON Quibi

THE BEGINNING OF THE END // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1"

BY CHRISENA RICCI

I’m convinced that every woman in America wants to be Katniss Everdeen. Or maybe they want to be Jennifer Lawrence. Or both, I don’t know whom I would prefer to be actually. They both get to hang out with absolute dreamboat leading men, wear the best clothes and be kick ass role models for the entire country. After seeing THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 1, I’m going to have to take a pass on wanting to be Katniss. Between her tear-filled episodes of extreme PTSD and her teen angst, she manages to get strangled and almost blown up. No thanks.

I absolutely adore the Hunger Games franchise. I devoured the books and have eagerly anticipated every film release. This one was by far my favorite installation yet. This film steps away from the pathetic puppy dog love triangle that is so pivotal in the second film. Instead it evolves into a true war story.

We meet President Coin of District 13, played by Julianne Moore, and her chosen panel of strategists played by Woody Harrelson and the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman. With the all-star cast comes some all-star acting.  My favorite performance though comes from Elizabeth Banks, who plays Effie Trinket, the fashion obsessed advisor from the capitol. She really dug into a character that could have otherwise been an archetypal nightmare. Effie Trinket doesn’t even survive the rebellion at this point in the book series, so I was nervous when she showed up. The director (Francis Lawrence) does a fantastic job of showing us the depth of this character by allowing Banks to not play every line for comedy. It is so appreciated.

What I didn’t appreciate was the brutal violence of the final scene. In the final moments of the film, Katniss is strangled by the rescued Peeta Mellark, nearly to death. And it was uncomfortably detailed. I could have lived an entire lifetime without seeing a man strangle a woman like that. The film spares no detail, even showing us the blood vessels popping in Katniss’s bulging eyes. It was too graphic. For a series that has a huge teenage following, I think it was too much. I’m not suggesting that they should of changed what happens between the two characters. Only that it should have been less detailed, or the scene itself should have been shorter in length.

CHRISENA'S GRADE: B-

Directed by: Francis Lawrence Screenplay by: Danny Strong and Peter Craig Based on the novel by: Suzanne Collins Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Stanley Tucci

FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s heavy on the acting chops, interesting dialogue and cringe worthy violence.

CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.