Friday, November 28, 2014

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is a 2014 American science fiction adventure directed by Francis Lawrence with a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong. It is the first of two films based on the novel Mockingjay, the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins, and the third installment in The Hunger Games film series, produced by Nina Jacobson and Jon Kilik and distributed by Lionsgate. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. It is the sequel to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and will be followed by the concluding entry, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2.

The story continues to follow Katniss Everdeen; having twice survived the Hunger Games, Katniss finds herself in District 13. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss reluctantly becomes the symbol of a mass rebellion against the Capitol and fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage. Principal photography for both parts of the film began on September 23, 2013 in Atlanta, before moving to Paris for two weeks of filming and officially concluding on June 20, 2014 in Berlin.

Part 1 was released on November 19, 2014 in Brazil, November 20, 2014 in Malaysia, United Kingdom, Greece and Indonesia, November 21, 2014 in the United States, and is scheduled to be released on November 28, 2014 in India, with an unconfirmed date in January 2015 in China. It landed atop Fandango's list of most-anticipated films of 2014. Like its predecessors, the film was a box-office success grossing $55 million on its opening day, making it the largest opening day of 2014 and the sixth-largest in November. The film went to the No. 1 spot during its opening weekend with a $121.9 million gross, becoming the biggest opening of 2014 and marking The Hunger Games film series as the only franchise to have three films earn over $100 million in a weekend.

After being rescued from the destroyed arena in the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen, along with fellow Victors Beetee and Finnick Odair, are taken to District 13, an underground rebel facility hidden beneath the ruins of the old District 13, where she is reunited with her mother and sister Prim. While recuperating, she is introduced to President Alma Coin, the rebel leader, and is told that her actions in the arena sparked riots and strikes against the Capitol. Coin asks her if she will become the "Mockingjay"—the symbol of the rebellion— as part of their "hearts and minds" strategy. Katniss flatly declines, angrily reminding her that they left Peeta Mellark, her portrayed lover and fellow District 12 tribute, behind in the arena. At the suggestion of Plutarch Heavensbee, the former Gamemaker, she is taken to see the ruins of District 12, which was completely leveled by a Capitol bombing campaign (with the exception of the houses in the Victor's Village). After seeing that Peeta is being used by Capitol state television to try and quell the rebellion, Katniss reluctantly changes her mind and agrees to become Coin's Mockingjay, on the condition that Peeta and the other victors will be rescued, and pardoned, at the earliest opportunity.

After Haymitch notes that Katniss thrives on spontaneity, she is introduced to her film team (led by Capitol escapee Cressida), is dressed up in a specially-designed outfit, and given Effie Trinket as a stylist and close friend Gale as a bodyguard. They go out to District 8 to visit a hospital, but as the visit concludes, a Capitol bombing squadron arrives and bombs the hospital, killing everyone inside. In her rage, Katniss gives a rousing speech to the camera, which is broadcast when Beetee hijacks the Capitol's news feed. The team then go back to District 12, where Gale tells the story of its destruction, and Katniss is filmed singing "The Hanging Tree." After both are broadcast, strikers in District 7 kill an entire team of Peacekeepers with hidden land mines, and a rebel demolition team destroys the dam providing the Capitol with electricity, forcing them to use power generators and weakening their ability to broadcast their propaganda.

That night, Katniss is watching Peeta being interviewed by Caesar Flickerman, the Games' former presenter, when, in an apparent defiance of his captors, he suddenly shouts a warning to the camera that the Capitol is about to attack District 13. Coin orders a mass evacuation into the underground shelters. While Prim is nearly locked out when she goes back to get her cat, everyone manages to get inside safely, and the facility survives the attack unharmed. Upon emerging, Katniss discovers that the area is littered with white roses, and realizes that President Snow has sent them to taunt her, and presumes that he is about to kill Peeta. As Peeta's warning gave the District an additional eight minutes evacuation time, Coin dispatches an elite special forces team, which includes Gale, to rescue him, along with Johanna Mason, and Annie Cresta, the remaining Victors, from their prison in the Capitol's Tribute center. The rescue is successful. However, when Katniss goes to greet Peeta, he unexpectedly attacks and strangles her into unconsciousness, before being knocked unconscious himself by Boggs.

Katniss wakes up in the medical facility, and is informed that Peeta has been "hijacked"—brainwashed into wanting to kill Katniss through aversion therapy and tracker jacker venom - explaining why the Capitol allowed Gale's team to escape. A process to undo the therapy begins, with Peeta kept in isolation. Meanwhile, Coin announces the successful rescue of the Victors, and that the fight may now be taken to the Capitol.
Watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Trailer

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