The Cinephile

Hunger Games

I saw the Hunger Games the day it debuted. I was very impressed despite a few flaws.


Hunger Games is set in Panam, a post-apocalyptic nation set in  the ashes of America. Each year the poor districts must send a boy and girl to the wealthy capital. These kids, or "tributes," must then face off against one another in a vicious fight to the death known as "The Hunger Games". The "Games" are punishment for a past rebellion in which the districts unsuccessfully rebelled against the Capital.


The movie stayed remarkably close to the book and was very entertaining. Jennifer Lawrence was outstanding as Katniss and the acting was superb. I was slightly disappointed in the fight scenes. They often were only shaky blurs followed by a shot of a mangled corpse. The characters stayed close to their roles in the books, aside from Haymitch, who was far more sober than the incoherent drunk you see in the book. I wasn't blown away by Katniss's "girl on fire costume," but the sets and the capital were perfect down to the last detail. 


The verdick: 4.5 out of 5. It is thrilling, intense, and superbly acted and retains the gritty, suspenseful feel of the book.

Gold!

I did a science report on gold.I put in all the stuff that was interesting rather than put the whole thing on.

• The Greeks thought gold was made by dense concentrations of sunlight and water.
• The ocean has enough gold in it for each person to have 2 pounds.
• One ounce of gold can be pounded out to 300 square feet, roughly the size of a tennis court.
• The symbol Au comes from the Latin "Aurum," meaning "shining dawn.".
• Nobles in the 1500's would drink molten gold and emeralds to cure bubonic plague.
• More than 25% of the world's gold is in the Federal Bank Reserve in New York. It is half the size of a football field and has 540,000 gold bars.
• Gold has been found on every continent on earth.
• Gold is soft but heavy and incredibly dense. A cubic foot foot of it weighs half a ton.
• The bible has over 400 references to gold.

Best Villains

Here are my top five favorite villains from movies, comics, television or wherever the else I find them. I'd like to make this a top ten, so feel free to throw in any suggestions.

1. The Governor- The antagonist of The Walking Dead, he is the best developed and most believable villain ever.
2. The Thing- The goriest, most explosive monster to ever burst out of your innards.
3. The Joker- Don't have to explain this one.
4. Hannibal Lector- The only charming cannibal.
5. Darth Vader- After 6 movies you get to know him pretty well.