THOUGHTS: THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS & SNAKES

CONTAINS SPOILERS.

Suzanne Collins. I love you I love you I love you. The chokehold I was in between the ages of 9 and 15 because of The Hunger Games series needs to be studied by clinical psychologists. I was OBSESSED. Obsessed to the point I was consuming any sort of media related to Jennifer Lawrence. That meant reading and watching The Silver Lining Playbook aged 11.  

I know. Zero parental supervision. What business did I have reading a book about mentally ill adults navigating the world of love and relationships whilst working on their recovery you ask? I had no business but anything for Queen J-Law.

I missed a day of tutoring to go and watch the first movie, kept every cinema ticket and spent a disgusting amount watching cast interviews on YouTube. Only baddies had a Hunger Games phase.  Even Miley Cyrus had a phase.

I was just as excited watching the The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at 22 as I was watching The Hunger Games at 11. 

I thought it would be fitting to make the film series that shaped my love for film the first film review I write. 

THOUGHTS:

Visually stunning. Real cinema is back. Mr Francis Lawrence thank you bestie! We have been suffering with 100000 back-to-back Marvel movies and Vin Diesel screaming about family every five seconds. I'm not the biggest fan of long movies but I’ll make an exception for anything Suzanne Collins related. Prequels are often hit or miss, and The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes was a big fat hit. The world-building was done incredibly well, it had the viewers doing mental gymnastics trying to figure out how much Panem had changed from the prequel to when we first meet Katniss. It felt like I was discovering all of these easter eggs. 

Me when Lucy Gray said Katniss’s name and Katniss’s score started playing.

The casting was 10/10. Jason Schwartzman as Lucky Flickerman, the father of Caesar Flickerman, was chef’s kiss. The resemblance was uncanny. 

Speaking of casting…

I need a quick word with the casting director who cast Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow. 

Whoever you are... 

I hope both sides of you pillow are always cold, you never have to wait at a red light and I really hope you get a big fat bonus cheque from Lionsgate. 

 Tom Blyth took us on an emotional rollercoaster. Slim Shady really ate this role UP. He had us fooled so much that we almost forgot that he grows up to be a homicidal maniac. Donald Sutherland’s Snow made a guest appearance in a few of my nightmares but Tom Blyth, I shall see you in my dreams boo. 

Why get a good-looking villain if you don’t want us to root for him? My mind will automatically root for the fine character. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

ARREST ME!

I CAN CHANGE HIM

I was convinced he was going to change. MY MAN MY MAN MY MAN. Coriolanus had the makings of a great man, but he succumbed to his biggest flaw: being a white man.

The casting director was on a roll when they cast Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray.

Rachel Zegler, you will always be famous. Honestly, the perfect Lucy Gray and a star who is going to dominate the world with her crazy talent. I remember seeing people complaining when the cast was announced who did you idiots want? Addison Rae? 

The country bumpkin accent was an interesting creative choice... But it worked, I guess. 

Rachel Zegler hate is so forced, and I’m convinced it’s driven by jealousy. Her wiki filmography section is SICKENING. What do you mean her first-ever screen credit was as the star of a Steven Spielberg movie all before she graduated high school? 

Don’t even get me started on her vocals. I heard the people behind me sigh after Lucy Gray burst into song for the 100th time. That was funny but what did you expect the film is called THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES. The Capitol tried to erase her from history, but her voice and song survived.  

In my usual delulu fashion, I was convinced Lucy would be the one to change Snow. But all men do is disappoint. I personally think she should have kept the scarf like a true city gurl and sold it or burnt it as payback. 

Snow telling Lucy Gray that his old self was the third person he killed even had me fooled.  

This next part is dedicated to Sejanus Plinth. RIP King. Katniss would have loved you. Sejanus deserved so much better. I wrote a short poem addressed to Snow, to express my grief caused by his involvement in Sejanus’s untimely demise:

“This is for Snow you big fat white nasty smelling fat bitch why you betray Sejanus with your trifflin dirty white racist ass you big fat bitch oompa loompa body ass bitch I'm coming up there and I'm gonna beat the f*ck out of you bitch and don't even call the police today cause I'm gonna come up there unexpected and wait on your motherfuckin ass bitch I’m coming to beat the f*ck out of you bitch. “

The last thing Sejanus said before he died was “Corio”😭

The soundtrack of the Hunger Games franchise has always been super important. In the past Taylor Swift, Lorde and Xtina have all contributed music to the soundtrack.  

The soundtrack for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has been on repeat. Olivia Rodrigo was the perfect choice. The Academy Award for Best Music nomination has been secured. 

I also know Rachel is laughing her way to the bank because the soundtrack is 90% her. Get that bag! 

Reading the books, I was always intrigued by the character of Tigris and the movie delivered in constructing her character incredibly well. Fashion icon and the only person to see the spec of goodness in Snow’s heart. Hunter Schafer delivered the best line in the entire movie: “I think you look just like your father.” 

Tigris knew she ate with that line. 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

A perfect prequel that would have had 11-year-old me possibly reading Lucy Gray x Snow fanfiction,