Celebrate Mockingjay Part 2 with the Hunger Games fan quiz

The final Hunger Games film, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, is out now in cinemas across the world, starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

To celebrate, there is now a fan quiz to test out your Hunger Games knowledge. So, if you know your Peeta from your Gale and how many fingers a salute needs, check out the below.

For the full review, check out Live for Films.

*WARNING: Contains some Mockingjay spoilers so perhaps see the film first!*

May the odds be ever in your favour...

Final Mockingjay trailer and clip prepares fans for the end of Hunger Games

We’ve had four years of trailers, posters, clips, images, films, premieres, interviews… We've seen Katniss's journey progress, watched as she was sucked in to more of the Capitol's games and somehow found the will to carry on.

And now, the Hunger Games films are coming to an end with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. And we have the final trailer which, for fans of both the books and films, is certainly an exciting and emotional 1 minute and 47 seconds. There's also a clip of the Star Squad to whet your appetite if you needed any more...

Based on the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 finally arrives in UK cinemas on 19th November.

Hunger Games: New Mockingjay poster and 'For Prim' trailer fly in

There are now only two months to go before the epic story of Katniss Everdeen and her Hunger Games cohorts comes to an explosive close. It’s no surprise then to see the publicity taking things up a notch.

A new trailer has been released entitled ‘For Prim’. It’s an emotional trailer and not just because of the haunting music by M83 that accompanies it. The trailer is comprised of many of the key scenes we’ve seen so far between heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her younger sister Prim (Willow Shields). It is, of course, Prim’s selection back in the first film that began it all, with Katniss volunteering to be a tribute in her sister’s place. And from then on, we’ve seen the bond between them develop as Prim grows from a scared child to a more confident young woman.

Tissues and three-finger salutes at the ready.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 arrives in cinemas on 19th November. (Tickets will go on sale nationally on Thursday, October 1, 2015).

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 - the verdict

 

Unsurprisingly, I had a fair amount to say about the latest Hunger Games film The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. So much so that it was spread over a few sites. So here's my round-up.

For a comparison between the book (well the first half anyway) and the film, check out my book vs film review at The Hollywood News.

For my highlights from the film, check out '6 things to love about The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1' at Metro.

If - like me - you think Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen is worthy of so much more than a surfboard (not that there's anything wrong with surfboards!), check out 'Jennifer Lawrence deserves an Oscar for Katniss but why doesn’t The Hunger Games win big awards?'

What did you think of the film?

New Mockingjay Trailer Is SO GOOD!

"If we burn, you burn with us!"

Got the message, President Snow?



Can The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 just hurry up and arrive already?!

New The Hunger Games: Mockingjay poster is flaming gorgeous!

There may be ten months to go until the film is released in cinemas but fans of the Hunger Games series are getting very excited, thanks to the gorgeous new The Hunger Games: Mockingjay poster (part one!) which was Tweeted from Yahoo.

With the third book being adapted into two parts, this first installment will follow on from the end of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, when Katniss Everdeen discovered there was no district 12 anymore. Though she still has her mother, sister, best friend Gale and former mentor Haymitch at her side, Peeta has been captured by the capitol and Katniss will soon find that she is needed to be the face of the revolution - a role she has no desire to take on, especially given her mental fragility after fighting her way through two games.

The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson and many many more incredible faces. Julianne Moore joins the cast to take on the role of President Coin.

What do you think of the poster? Are you excited?

The Hunger Games continues Catching Fire with new exciting trailer

The wait is finally over for fans of The Hunger Games series - the new trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' has arrived!

This time around, something is notably different and it is Katniss Everdeen's little sister Prim (Willow Shields) who says just what that is in the trailer - hope. The hope Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has inspired, of course, also brings with it an immense and very real threat to both herself and those she loves - a threat she is desperate to flee from as evident when she begs best friend Gale to run away with her before they are killed.

There are two elements of the trailer, however, which are even more exciting to see. Firstly, there is a lot more of the infamous conversation which takes place between President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and Katniss. This conversation - as fans will already know - is what starts the story and makes Katniss decide to do all she can to keep Snow on side. 'Would you like to be in a real war?' Snow asks. 'What do I need to do?' Katniss asks in response.

Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, is the first real look at the victors who will be joining Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) in the arena. None of them have been allowed to speak yet in this trailer but - in true Hunger Games fashion - they are far more captivating showing off their fighting skills. Unsurprisingly, we have been treated to a glimpse of a half-naked Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) and a rather intimidating Johanna Mason (Jena Malone) - though no sight yet of that much-loved first appearance of hers.

The trailer also shows something that is not often seen in any of The Hunger Games stories - a surprised and rather annoyed President Snow - after Katniss's magical transformation from blushing bride to Mockingjay.

Arguably, the most powerful and lingering part of the entire trailer is that of Haymitch's parting words for Katniss, spoken once again by the incomparable Woody Harrelson: 'Remember who the real enemy is.'

The promotional team behind the film are being careful not to give too much away too soon. The first trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' was focused on the immediate aftermath of the first film and the struggle the two victors faced under the Capitol's spotlight. Now, with this second trailer finally released, and only four months left until the film hits cinemas, fans of the franchise are able to see what happens next, meet the other victors and get a look at the arena itself. The more footage I see, the more it looks like this will be another stunning adaptation of the Suzanne Collins novels - and the more I cannot wait to see the film itself.

What's your favourite part of the trailer?

The ‘reality’ of The Hunger Games

Stanley Tucci and Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games. Credit: Murray Close.

Suzanne Collins, author of 'The Hunger Games' trilogy says she first came up with the idea for the stories when she was channel hopping between the news and reality TV. There was something terrifying in turning the violence and horror we see every day on the news into a reality TV show. Sparked by this idea, the annual hunger games began.

As 'The Hunger Games' begins, viewers see many of district twelve preparing for the reaping ceremony - the ceremony where one boy and girl will be chosen at random from each of the twelve districts to take part in the games. Even though they are sending two of their own to probable death, each citizen must dress up for the occasion, with the girls doing their hair in some special way. If they are not seen to be making an effort, they are likely to be punished.

The entire ceremony is also, of course, televised and broadcast across the nation of Panem. This is not an event you can simply call in sick for. Everyone must attend. Those in charge want the parents, siblings, friends and relatives of those selected to witness not just their selection at the reaping but everything that follows - right up to their death. They want everyone to see their power and what they can make Panem's children do. It is essential to their control.

The violence found in 'The Hunger Games' has, of course, been done before. Children killing children can be found in many stories - from 'Lord of the Flies' to 'Battle Royale'. However, we currently live in a world of reality TV - from Chelsea to the Geordie Shore via Laguna Beach. People film everything on their camera phones nowadays and some even film people being attacked or abused so that others can watch for their 'enjoyment'.

Collins managed to tap into this social phenomenon by incorporating this reality TV element into her stories and it was this focus that made 'The Hunger Games' that much more menacing - and oddly captivating. This is what allows for the film to be both inherently violent and not remotely gratuitous. None of the violence is glamorised. If anything, the focus is more heavily weighed on just how horrific it all is. Viewers of the film watch not just what happens within the games but everything that happens outside them too. As Panem's citizens are forced to watch their loved ones fight, kill or be killed, so is the viewer.

Adapt or Die: Why Adaptations are Taking Over Cinema

Adaptations are everywhere. Cinema over the last few years has relied heavily on books, plays, comics and often previously released films for their source material. Some claim that cinema today lacks originality, that filmmakers have run out of new ideas…and with the resurgence in comic book films, English-language remakes and book to film adaptations, is it any wonder? But people are still flocking to the cinema in droves to see these adapted films. So why the appeal?

Think back to your favourite film from the last few years – was it a new idea? In just a few years, we’ve had adaptations made from the books for Anna Karenina, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Lucky One and the massive blockbuster hit, The Hunger Games. On the side of comics, there’s been Avengers Assemble (The Avengers in the USA) and The Dark Knight Rises – two of this year’s biggest films. In the last few weeks alone, adaptations of The Silver Linings Handbook, Breaking Dawn and Argo have hit, with a new take on Great Expectations arriving in cinemas this weekend. The play Carnage was adapted into a hilarious film with big names including Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet.

So why do filmmakers keep taking these ideas, instead of coming up with their own? Well, for one there is an audience already out there to tap into. The popularity of The Hunger Games book trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins, meant that fans of the books were already going to see any film adaptation that was made – no matter how good it may have been. Just look at the staggering box-office success of Twilight!

The other factor, I imagine, is the opportunity to bring something old and tired back into the limelight. The number of times Batman has re-imagined himself would put even Doctor Who to shame. He is a fascinating and beloved character and fans will always want to see new guises for him. Classics such as Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina and Jane Eyre are always getting new adaptations because, after all these years, people are still enjoying the stories over and over – be they in book, TV or film form.

It’s worth considering that the dominance of adaptations at the cinema does not mean there is no room for something new. Two of the greatest films of 2012 so far – The Raid and The Cabin in the Woods – took old, tired ideas and injected new life into them. Cabin took every cliché in the horror genre and flipped them on their head to make something brilliantly clever and original – but it was done by lovingly taking everything that had been done before and making something new with it. The Raid had a fundamental plot similar to that of Judge Dredd but by using a new martial arts star (the insanely talented Iko Uwais) and showcasing the martial art style of silat, writer/director Gareth Evans managed to redefine the action genre.

More solemn and incredibly well-acted adaptations like We Need to Talk About Kevin and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy did tremendously well with critics and audiences alike, winning numerous awards and worldwide acclaim. Sadly though, for every We Need to Talk About Kevin, there is a My Sister’s Keeper – a debacle of an adaptation which can be seen to take a strong, powerful idea and turn it into overly sentimental drivel. Film adaptations like these have no need for adapting a source text when all they want to do is change it into something that has been done already – and often done better.

This tendency to adapt shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. Still to come in the next few months are adaptations for Life of Pi, Les Misérables, Gangster Squad, Cloud Atlas and The Great Gatsby.

The old phrase goes that you need to adapt or die. Well it seems filmmakers are finally learning to adapt to new ideas – even if they sometimes need to use old ones to get there.

Which adaptations have you enjoyed so far this year and which ones are you really looking forward to in 2013...?

 

Citizens of the British Isles District: A Release Date Has Been Announced for The Hunger Games DVD/Blu-Ray Release

Citizens of the British Isles District, you can reserve your copy of The Hunger Games on Blu-Ray and DVD from today!!!

There appears to be two versions of the Suzanne Collins adaptation available too - one rated 12A and one - with previously unseen footage - rated 15. There are also lots of bonus features to enjoy!

For more information check out http://www.theukwillbewatching.co.uk/

Jennifer Lawrence on Adapting The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games has been out now for a few weeks and is still doing well, beating off competition from some strong contenders. It did well over Easter and has somehow managed to satisfy fans of the book and those new to the trilogy. The books, written by Suzanne Collins are all set to be made into films and fans of The Hunger Games are hoping that the sequels (three films from two books - Catching Fire and Mockingjay) are as good as the first.

The film's star, Jennifer Lawrence, talked about her apprehension in taking on the role of heroine Katniss Everdeen in a recent interview with Moviefone and how being a fan of the books eventually made up her mind. See the link below for the full interview over at Moviefone.

'There was not one thing that I wasn't blown away by -- that I just loved. I know that's a typical interview answer, but really: what the Capitol looked like, what the train looked like, what an Avox looks like -- they created this world that I couldn't even imagine when I was reading the book. Anything that has changed is for the better -- for making a better movie. I think that's where people go wrong when they're making books into movies. People are disappointed if there's something missing, but you also have to think that you're making a movie. It's the perfect combination; everything that you want in there is in there, but it's also just a great film.' - Jennifer Lawrence on adapting The Hunger Games

Check out all the coverage of The Hunger Games books and film here.

The Hunger Games is in cinemas now.

Source: Moviefone

The Hunger Games: Book vs Film

The first in the hotly-anticipated Hunger Games films hits screens this weekend and the fans of the books - written by Suzanne Collins - are hoping for greatness with the hype suggesting that Director Gary Ross may have actually done it really well. So has it worked...?

The Hunger Games is the story of Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old citizen of district 12 - the poorest district in Panem. Each year, a boy and girl between the ages of 12 and 18 are selected at the reaping ceremony for the 'honour' of representing their district in a fight to the death which is televised to the entire population of Panem. Katniss has been surviving for years and providing for her mother and sister so when her little sister Prim's name is called at the reaping, she volunteers to go in her place. Whisked away to the Capitol where luxury and excess is the norm, Katniss has a few days amongst the glitz and glamour of the Capitol to prepare before she is thrown into the games.

The book of The Hunger Games packed an emotional punch thanks largely to the central focus of Katniss and all her struggles to survive, her flaws and her drive. The film manages to keep this focus with Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role. Katniss is a massively complex character who many actresses would have struggled to play. However, Lawrence has surpassed expectations with a quietly restrained but massively heart-wrenching performance. She is both  strong and vulnerable, emotional and cold, affectionate and distant. Lawrence manages to achieve it all with apparent ease and in the few moments where she lets her emotions take over, all you want to do is reach into the screen and give her a hug - a feeling no doubt many fans of the book did when they read it.

Her support in the film comes in the shape of Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, Elizabeth Banks as Effie and Donald Sutherland as President Snow. But the acting talent does not stop with this impressive core. The supporting cast each bring something to their respective roles.

Courtesy of Lionsgate/Murray Close

The Hunger Games is not just about the characters though. The Panem Collins created in her books was so imaginative that it drew readers into another world. Escapism at its finest, the stories were so much more than just the drama. The detail in outfits, hair and make-up as well as nuances of each district are part of the reason The Hunger Games trilogy stood out to readers. In the film, this care and attention to detail has been upheld brilliantly. 

There are changes though, as many expected. Smaller parts are ignored entirely. The Avox cast are kept in the background with only a fleeting reference to the Capitol removing your tongue if you disobey them. William Faulkner said you have to "kill your darlings" and if someone had to go, personally I'm glad it was the Avox who didn't make the cut. There are also additions - but only if you have only read the first book. What Ross has cleverly done in the adaptation is start the build-up to Catching Fire with a few teasers along the way. In the books, Collins liked to start each book with a sort of recap of what had been missed between books - things Katniss couldn't possibly know but guessed were true. One death that is assumed at the start of Catching Fire happens at the end of The Hunger Games.

Squeamish fans be warned, the rating may be a 12a but the violence is not. There may be nine seconds less of blood spatter but there is a shot of one tribute breaking the neck of another in one swift movement which still makes me shudder to think of it. Those who fear the violence is a bad thing, let me assure you that both book and film far from glorify it. It is an essential part of the story, illustrating the horrors the citizens are forced to endure at the hands of their government. What is written around so eloquently by Collins in the book is horrific to watch on the big screen though. There is no way to detach from it like there was in the book, as in the arena there are no wigs, no make-up - just 24 children vying for each other's blood in order to protect their own.

The major difference between the book and film is that, though still led by Katniss, the film explores a world beyond her own. The audience gets to see inside Seneca Crane's control room and President Snow's rose garden. As the games begin, we see Gale alone in the forest - thinking of Katniss - and families watching their TV sets. Far from weakening the story though, this only serves to enhance it. We see the effect Katniss and the games are having on the citizens of Panem. Instead of following along with the pawns in the games, the audience gets a glimpse at what it's like to pull the strings behind the scenes. The manipulation is constant and felt, it seems, to be necessary for the 'greater good' of Panem.

What Ross has done in this adaptation is spectacular. He hasn't been wholly concerned with the book fans and forgotten that people will just want to see the film. He caters to both markets. This is not a page by page adaptation to the big screen but it is a perfect example of what great adaptations should do - take the original text and adapt it lovingly to a new medium.

This is one of the finest adaptations I have ever seen. The fundamentals of the story are upheld, the very best actors are there to breathe life into Collins's creations and the imagination and emotion that resonates off ever page of the book is there in every scene in the film. For a film that could so easy have become an overly sentimental tearjerker, favouring either action or plot, it remains poignant, subtle, heart-wrenching and above all, the perfect balance of action and violence with emotion and character-driven plot.

Book - 4.5/5 FOBLES
Film - 5/5 FOBLES

The Hunger Games vs Twilight vs Battle Royale

It is so often the case that when a new book or film comes out, it is compared to a similar predecessor. More often than not, it's essential to give people a clue as to what they are letting themselves in for. The Hunger Games has striking similarities with both Twilight and Battle Royale, but is it the new version of either of them? Well, no.

Firstly, the plot of Twilight is completely different to The Hunger Games. Apart from the obvious lack of werewolves and vampires (you can see there whose team I'm on!), the focus is entirely different. Granted, they are both young adult fiction and they both have a pretty complex love triangle. But the similarities end there. While the love triangle in Twilight is the central focus of the plot and other stuff happens around it, The Hunger Games is a dark look at a dystopian future with an incredibly strong female lead in Katniss Everdeen - it just happens to have a love triangle going on at the same time.

The main comparison though is with Battle Royale - a story which brilliantly looked at a Japan that forced a class of students each year to kill each other until only one survived. In this, The Hunger Games is the same - simply put, it is children forced to kill each other or die.

The most notable difference though is the style of each. Battle Royale is a horror film, plain and simple - it is a blood bath of epic proportions that examines the different reactions people would have if put in that scenario. Would you kill yourself, kill everyone else, form alliances or just sit and hide? In The Hunger Games, there is a whole horrific level of reality TV added. The 24 chosen participants are not only forced to kill each other, but many are trained for the eventuality and all of them are forced to put on a show. There are days between the reaping (when the 24 are chosen) and the actual start of the games and in this time, they learn new skills, perfect those they already have and are interviewed on live TV for all of Panem to see. The children in Battle Royale are drugged and wake up with a bomb round their necks.

So if you want a clever horror film with a blood-bath and fantastic lost-in-translation subtitles, check out the film of Battle Royale. If you want the back-story and a more graphic look at each of the class members, then read the book. If, on the other hand, you want an easy to read piece of fantastic young adult literature which is dark and gripping with a phenomenonally strong and brilliantly flawed heroine, check out The Hunger Games.

Roll on March 23rd for the film...

Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM BOOK ONE - THE HUNGER GAMES AND TWO - CATCHING FIRE*

When we left Katniss Everdeen at the end of Catching Fire, she had just made it out of her second Hunger Games in two years only to learn that Peeta had been captured and a rebellion had begun against the Capitol. 

Mockingjay picks up with Katniss in a state of mental confusion. She has been so heavily sedated to deal with her breakdown that she struggles to tell the difference between nightmare and reality. The leaders in District 13 are struggling to get her on board as the symbolic image of the rebels' fight and she can barely construct a coherent thought in her head. As she starts to get a grip on reality, the gravity of her absence finally seems to dawn on her and she realises the power she could have in helping the rebels with their cause. But she has her focus on more specific things - finding Peeta and killing President Snow.

Reluctant to be yet another pawn in somebody else's game, Katniss struggles to take orders as her efforts to help those fighting in other districts are recorded and beamed out to the citizens of Panem, showing them and President Snow that she and the rebels are all still fighting. But are the rebels being totally honest with her or just using her for their own gain? Has too much damage been done already for Katniss to ever come back from it? And what are the peacekeepers in the Capitol doing to Peeta?

Where many authors would have picked up this third installment in the trilogy with action and fighting, Suzanne Collins bravely acknowledges the person behind all the action - Katniss Everdeen - and allows her time out of battle to try and deal with what has happened to her. She is filled in on all that she missed while in the arena the second time round and often has relapses into a state of severe agitation and confusion. She is a fighter - there is no question - but in allowing this vulnerability and weakness to shine through, Collins allows the reader time to really embrace Katniss and will her onwards. Then of course, there is the ever confusing love triangle between her and her best friend Gale and fellow victor Peeta. Her worry for Peeta while he is being tortured by the Capitol starts to seem more than just friendly concern and Gale doesn't know how to take it.

Collins kills indiscriminately, much more like Harry Potter author JK Rowling than Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. But she does not kill off her characters lightly. By revealing early on that she is not afraid to kill people off, she keeps the reader guessing. There is no comfort in knowing it will all be alright in the end. You know no such thing. Emotions run high in this final book in the saga and Collins keeps you guessing till the very end as to whether or not it will all have been worth it. Have tissues at the ready for an emotional rollercoaster of a read.

Mockingjay is a gripping and action-packed end to the Hunger Games trilogy fraught with emotion at every stage.

4/5 FOBLES 

For your chance to win the entire trilogy you have until Wednesday 29th February to enter the competition over at Novelicious.

Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM BOOK ONE - THE HUNGER GAMES*

In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins created an incredibly strong female lead in Katniss Everdeen. She was a survivor, pushed to the brink and forced to kill in order to survive in a world where the inhabitants live in constant fear of their oppresive and harsh government.

In The Hunger Games, Katniss managed to win the Hunger Games along with fellow District 12 contender Peeta Mellark. When we left them, they had just returned to their district to reap the benefits of their new-found status, wealth and security.

In Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Katniss is still fighting for survival - but in a very different way. Having managed to get out of the games alive - and not alone - Katniss has attracted a lot of unwanted attention. Though hers and Peeta's final act of defiance was played by the Capitol as an act of love, the devilishly sinister President Snow and his fellow officials are unconvinced that the people haven't seen through it. In his attempt to squash any rising rebellion, Snow pays a personal visit to Katniss threatening her with the assassination of everybody she holds dear - her mother, sister and best friend Gale. She soon realises that if she is to protect the people she loves, she must keep up the pretence of her love with Peeta and convince the people of Panem that she is head over heels for him. If she doesn't manage it, it's all over.

It is also the 75th year of the games, meaning that the government are about to pull something spectacular to prove their all-seeing power to the masses and take Katniss down a peg or two. It isn't long before Katniss must decide if she is to fight the system or run from it.

In this sequel, Collins has taken a much deeper look at the world of Panem. The opening celebratory tour takes Katniss and Peeta through each of the districts where they soon realise things are a lot stricter than what they are used to in District 12. The unwanted attention their win has brought on Katniss does not stop with her. More and more peacekeepers are brought into District 12 and public whippings and punishments are reinstated in a district that had, until now, been left largely to its own devices. While The Hunger Games merely hinted at the true horror of Panem, Catching Fire reveals it in all its terrifying glory.

The love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale is also looked at much more closely as she starts to realise her true feelings for Gale but is forced to accept a love with Peeta. After spending so much time with him and going through the games together, she begins to realise how good he really is and allows herself to have feelings for him - though Gale is never far from her thoughts.

The action takes a while to get going in Catching Fire but the sinister arrival of President Snow and the forced pretence of the tour more than makes up for its absence. When the action does get going again, just as in The Hunger Games, the book becomes impossible to put down. I devoured it in two days and couldn't rest till I knew how it all ended. And of course all the ending did was make me desperate to read the third and final book in the saga.

The impending release of the first film next month has many people excited but I, for one, am looking ahead to when this book will be made into a film. The incredible Donald Sutherland is cast as President Snow and seeing more of him can only be a good thing along with a whole host of new characters.

5/5 FOBLES - Gripping, fascinating, clever, emotional, action-packed and utterly impossible to put down.

Read my review of the last book in the Hunger Games series - Mockingjay.

2012: The Year of Hemsworth

Courtesy of Crushable - Liam supporting big brother Chris's film Thor

This may come as a surprise to nobody but me - what with their surnames being quite unique and exactly the same - but I've just learned that Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is big brother to rising star Liam Hemsworth whose portrayal of Gale in next month's release of The Hunger Games is sure to send him into stardom.

Liam and other brother Luke were both at one time in hit Australian soap Neighbours while Chris was in Home and Away.

This year, as well as starring in The Hunger Games, Liam Hemsworth will be in The Expendables 2 alongside every action heavyweight in cinema today. Chris will be starring in Snow White and the Huntsman, The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers.

Not bad for one year - and certainly not at all bad for one family.

2011: A Look Back

This time last year, I decided to set up a little blog. A place for me to jot down what I thought of books and films I'd been enjoying. One year on, and the site is far more successful than I could have imagined and has turned into a place not just for my ramblings, but for everyone to share their opinions and debate to their heart's content! So as 2011 draws to a close, here are my favourite things from this past year.

What have your book and film highlights been in 2011? As always, comment away! Enjoy xxx

FILMS
2011 has been an impressive year at the cinema with massive hits from comic books to classics and brilliantly original screenplays. But it all started out with The King's Speech and Black Swan back in January - two completely different films that were both staggeringly good to watch. Later in the year, there were some more arty, occasionally darker films to marvel at rather than enjoy. The violence in Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine's directorial debut - was intense but entirely overshadowed by the phenomenal performance given by Olivia Colman. Tilda Swinton also gave a quietly torturing performance in the bloodstained We Need to Talk About Kevin.

ADAPTATIONS
We Need to Talk About Kevin was one of the biggest adaptations of the year - but not the only one. There was also One Day, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Help and the final Harry Potter instalment - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two. While The Help and We Need to Talk About Kevin did brilliant jobs with their original source text, it was the final Harry Potter that stood out and for all the wrong reasons. The team behind the final film opted for 3D spectacle over plot and lost all the fitting ends to the beloved characters. It was a sorry end to an incredible series.

BOOKS
While 2011 was the year I managed to read The Help and We Need to Talk About Kevin - two incredible books - the book of the year has to be Afterwards by Rosamund Lupton. It held its own, even given the high standards set by Lupton's staggeringly brilliant debut Sister back in 2010. It was a lot to live up to but Lupton managed to prove just how talented she is with her second book. I look forward to book number three...
Though released a few years ago, 2011 was also the year I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, a brilliant piece of young adult fiction set in a dystopian future. The book has been made into a film for release in 2012 and I am hugely excited to see it on the big screen.
A piece of quality non-fiction came out in 2011 in Dani's Story by Bernie and Diane Lierow. It is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once and looks at the struggle the Lierows had in adopting Dani, a young girl who had been removed from her family home due to severe negligence.

INTERVIEWS
In the last year, I have had the great pleasure of chatting to some brilliant people in the world of film and book, but the highlights have to be getting to pose my questions to two brilliant authors - Rosamund Lupton and John Grisham. Getting to hear Real Steel director Shawn Levy and star of Fright Night David Tennant talk about their films at Empire Big Screen Weekend was also brilliant fun.

FUN
Sometimes, films and books get overlooked because they are silly and not to be taken seriously - though this does not make them bad. For pure unadulterated enjoyment, highlights have to include the Hugh Jackman robot film Real Steel and hilarious romp My Sweet Saga by Brett Sills. Marvel film Thor was also suprisingly entertaining and saw newcomer Chris Hemsworth pull off arrogant, funny and charming with apparent ease. Kristen Wiig also proved her worth by starring in and writing the massive hit Bridesmaids which mixed gross-out comedy, humour, touching sentimentality and heartbreaking sadness with class. But the clear winner by a mile was the JJ Abrams/Steven Spielberg summer hit Super 8, which had me hooked from start to finish. It was an adrenaline fuelled ride with incredible young stars, amazing effects and a dark and twisted storyline to match.

Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12 of Panem with her mother and little sister Primrose. After the death of her father and her mother's subsequent breakdown, she has had to take charge of her little family, risking the death penalty daily by entering the woods with best friend Gale to hunt for food.

Every year, one boy and one girl from each district aged between 12 and 18 are selected to take part in The Hunger Games - a fight-to-the-death reality show where there can only be one victor. Once you turn 12, your name is entered and is again with every birthday. There are also ways to buy food, which is scarce in many districts, by adding your name even more times.

For 16 year old Katniss, the odds are not in her favour. She has been getting food and supplies for her family by adding her name to the pot and for her age has been entered five times already. 12 year old sister Prim has only been entered once. But when the name for the girl Tribute in District 12 is called out, Katniss is horrified to hear that of her little sister. She immediately steps forward and volunteers as Tribute in her sister's place - becoming one of the 24 young people who will, in a few short days, be dropped into the games.

In Katniss Everdeen, Collins has created a fantastic female lead. She is flawed in her social skills, cold and harsh with her mother and does not really understand the world, romance or love. But at the heart of it all she is a survivor. She loves her sister in a protective maternal way, but other than that she looks at each day as a battle, a hunt for food, for trade, for carrying on whichever way she can.

The reality show style of the games means that she quickly becomes more a pageant show contestant than a fighting machine, trying to win the affection of sponsors who will then drop things into the game to help her along the way. Though she knows she must ultimately kill him, she is advised by her team to befriend Peeta, the boy chosen to represent District 12 alongside her. The two are the only District pair to enter the procession holding hands and they share their training time, while others work alone.

"They want a good show" she is told. And so, because she will do whatever she has to to survive, she goes along with it. She blushes, flirts and plays up the romance to the cameras. Anything to put the odds more in her favour. The relationship that develops between the two, and all its hidden understones, is a fascinating one as Katniss starts to realise that perhaps it is not all just for the cameras.

The book also has an incredibly fast pace, even for the massive stints when Katniss is alone in the games. She is always thinking, always planning, so there is always something to do, some plan to follow. When each chapter ends, you just want to keep reading to see what is around the next corner.

The book has striking parallels to Battle Royale but fans of the book and film of the Japanese hit should not be put off. The Hunger Games is an entirely different approach to the same concept. It is a young adult fiction book and set in a dystopian fantasy style reality instead of the "real world" of the Battle Royale. By doing this, it manages to be different enough that fans will not be constantly comparing the two. Battle Royale is a much darker novel and though the violence still exists in The Hunger Games, it is not nearly as terrifying. A few nasty deaths did make me wince but they are more ugly than scary.

The fantasy element is not just in the customs, clothing and names of Panem's inhabitants but in the creatures. There are genetically modified birds that mimic song, the muttations - creatures that are wolf-like in nature but also walk like humans, and tracker jackers - wasps that have an enhanced sting that can easily kill a person.

A superb, clever and imaginative book that left me dying to read the following two books in the trilogy.

I cannot WAIT for the film in March 2012!

4.5/5 FOBLES

Read my review of Book 2 in the series Catching Fire here