Hunger and Games

There's a blockbuster out there at the moment ... you may have heard of it.

Yep - Hunger Games 2 - it's being hyped mercilessly (although not with the arrogance that is the intro to the Hobbit 2 trailer).

While I'm on Hobbit ... Pronunciation is weird here. English has a lot of inconsistencies in its language but it has its consistencies. Things like :
Caught, taught, haughty, naughty - pronounced with that "au" coming out like "or"

I can't think of any "au" sounds that come out differently. Until now. In their lacking wisdom, the Hobbit 2 people have decided that Smaug sounds like Smowg. I'd hesitate to even consider finding an alternate saying of Smaug that doesn't sound like smorgasbord. The way the Hobbit 2 people have done is it just plain Wrong.

I'll go see Hobbit 2 anyway, although it's tarnished by :
Arrogance of the producers (you will like our film, you will see it in 3d - no I won't)
Being overlong (that's a Peter Jackson thing)
And that pronunciation which will be annoying for eternity.

Oh - Hunger Games 2 - if you saw the first one and appreciated it in any way, this one is better in almost every way. The first was produced extremely well and made for one hell of a movie. It's very faithful to the book, although it removes some of the brutality that makes up the backstory. Be warned with HG2, that brutality is all there this time around and it's heavy stuff. Executions, torture, whippings, implied torture. Lots of stuff, some of which is shown. Be warned.

Hunger Games is set in a relatively distant future earth where a calamity has occurred that's redrawn the map and concentrated the population into a capital and districts. The rich/poor divide has extended to the point where the capital denizens are ridiculously pampered while the district populations are severely downtrodden. The districts are kept in line by the Hunger Games, which happens annually. Each district contributes 2 tributes, 1 girl, 1 boy, who join a fight to the death with the other tributes. The tributes are picked at random (mostly), with the odds being dependent on how much food the candidate requisitions. More food, more likely to be picked.

That's the basics at least, there's more in the books and the film. The upshot is that the capital is expressing their power by enforcing these games upon the populace.

There's a lot going on here too. The first introduces two characters, Hamitch and Effie. Hamitch is a veteran of a Hunger Games, Effie is the flowery fluffy person who picks the names. Their characters are very much drawn up by their experience. Effie is distant, Hamitch is a drunk suffering PTSD. They've both seen years upon years of kids being picked, trained and condemned to die. The first movie sees their first time where their kids have survived.

And you can see how it all affects them through the movie.

I've probably said too much already and given too many spoilers !

Go see it, it's worth it. Although it's highly recommended that you see the first one or read the book.

There's been some pretty good films out there, although if it's a choice between HG2, Ender's Game and Iron Man 3 (all big highlights of this year), I'd actually choose Pacific Rim. It's very silly but it's a lot of fun.

How have I been doing ?

Tired and sore pretty much sums it up. I'm drawing on reserves at the moment, as is usual for this time of year. I'm sore on the inside as well as resisting the urge to tear at the bits of skin that are still bad. However !

The skin is in the best shape it's been for over a year. It's mending. I just have to give it the chance to repair itself. I'm still not free of the need to occasionally hit the bad bits with gunk though. My insides have got better too - tummy bug - gone.

So - things are looking up, although I'd like that skin condition all gone instead of just doing the steps forward, steps back as always.

Not long left until Xmas and then the best time of the year comes around again. Yep. Mini Eggs will be back on sale soon. Hurrah !

PS This was supposed to have a little about gaming in. Doh ! I forgot and the post grew too long anyway. I shall save the Naked Outland story for another day ...