As the temperature cools, and the days grow shorter, fall brings a lack of outdoor activities and a yearning for warmer indoor ones. Including these activities is movie-watching, and this autumn, cinema releases will not ‘fall’ short of expectations.
Coming to the box office this weekend is the Oscar-buzzed movie “Captain Phillips” starring Tom Hanks. The high-action film tells the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the hijacking of his cargo ship in 2009 by Somali pirates.
For a more lighthearted choice, after you and your family have finished gorging yourselves with stuffing and pumpkin pie, you may want to take a trip to see Disney’s 53rd animated feature “Frozen.” The Thanksgiving Day release includes voices from Kristen Bell, and “Wicked”’s Idina Menzel. A girl named Anna (Bell) teams up with a mountain man and his reindeer sidekick, fighting through winter extremes to find Anna’s sister, the Snow Queen (Menzel). They need to reach the Queen to plead with her to save their kingdom from eternal winter.
Another much anticipated November release is the second film adaptation of Suzanne Collin’s trilogy “The Hunger Games.” “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will still star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, and Josh Hutcherson as her sidekick/lover Peeta.
The two are called back to compete in the 75th annual Hunger Games, a Quarter Quell. These special competitions occur every 25 years, where the normal layout of the game is changed. This time around, President Snow is having victors from previous Games compete again. Katniss and Peeta are of course chosen, being the only eligible victors from District 12, and so Snow’s plan of having them both killed so the rebellions in the districts cease.
Fans are dying to see how this drama plays out on film, including junior Cassie Patrick. “I think this movie is going to be even better than the first because the second book was much better than the first,” Patrick said.
Like “The Hunger Games,” the release of “The Ender’s Game” is another film adaptation of a popular book. Written in 1985 by Orson Scott Card, this upbeat sci-fi film stars a young character, Ender Wiggin, played by “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” ’s Asa Butterfield. Ender is being trained by Colonel Graft (Harrison Ford) to become the young leader of the International Fleet to prepare for the next invasion by aliens on planet Earth. Ender is taught war tactics made to prepare him to lead an army to protect the welfare of the human race. No big deal.
Junior Matt Jones is an avid fan of the novel, but doesn’t know what to expect of the film. “It’s a little worrying. The format of the book doesn’t translate to a big Hollywood screen.” Jones said that the book is greatly centered around the connections between the characters, which is difficult to portray in a movie.