Looper

 A random Youtube video profiling bizarre mind-bending movies (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K0d0BTRJ9M&t=595s) brought me to The Triangle (2009) – which in turn I watched on an “unconventional” URL (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9iu0zq). Clearly the OTT masters of the universe consider us intellectually incapable of processing such fare. In the story of Sisyphus, the protagonist pushes a boulder up a hill in an endless temporal loop. In The Triangle, Jessie (Melissa George), mother of an autistic child, goes on a boat trip in the Bermuda Triangle with her friends. Their boat hits the doldrums, and the deserted ship Aeolus is where they take refuge. Soon after coming on board a sinister sequence of events ensues – things are not what they seem at all – and friends are injured and dying, and Jess and the castaways are heavily looping in time. A mindbender that is likely to stay in the mind for a while in a sea of cinematic monotony

16/20

Katniss Marketing

In the buildup to the last installment, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is literally paraded by the rebel factions hidden in District 13. Led by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), Katniss becomes a thoroughly marketed symbol of hope for all the Districts breaking out in rebellion, with the highlight being a particularly rousing speech in District 8 post the bombing of a hospital. In the backdrop plays out the impending confrontation of Katniss with President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and the release of her boyfriend Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) with some complicated side-effects. Clearly a bridge-ing movie, The Hunger Games – Mockingjay – Part 1 preserves continuity, but has little new to offer

13.5/20

Girl on Fire

If you ignore the sheer murder of elements of ancient history – the pomp and splendor of the gladiatorial arena adorned by tributes in lycra, the hackneyed morality tale meets teen romance storyline, and the hangover of a tepid first part, The Hunger Games – Catching Fire is actually a (gasp!) taut well-narrated story. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) find themselves reluctant ambassadors for the Capital and President Snow (Donald Sutherland), and their ambivalence and potential to cause disruption is well-noted. Enter the latest edition of the games, and this time it is the 75^th edition and a kill-or-be-killed across previous winners. What the movie obviously lacks in a meaningful storyline, it makes up in some pretty cutting edge cinematography. Worth a watch and will not test your patience at all

14/20

No Hunger

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) offers herself as a tribute to save her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) - and the Girl on Fire makes up in spunk what she lacks in battle training. As her personality manages to curry favor - albeit grudging - with Sponsors - Katniss steps into The Hunger Games - well rated, but perhaps with not the best of odds. Was skeptical at entry about a film adaptation of a teen novel, but was a good watch till the interval, i.e., the anticipatory build-up to the games. Not so the Hunger Games themselves. Contrived and brutal, and not quite Death Race, the movie version is a decent adaptation of a story about children slaughtering each other – and that, unfortunately, in the end reckoning, is rather tasteless

10/20