Manny Casillas (casillase1)

OK, so Hollywood doesn't totally botch the film version of the best seller form Suzanne Collins, about a dystopian future (are they ever anything else) in which pretty young things are forced into a fight to the death on reality television. Only the victor goes home. The Hunger Games is bursting with fierce energy and epic dazzle, all anchored by a kick ass performance from star Jennifer Lawrence, who plays a a heroine worth rotting for, a female warrior on par with Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ellen Ripley.

In short: The Hunger Games is no Twilight wimp-fest. It may not be as dark and daring as I had hoped, but if you're one of the many die hard fans of Collins' best selling trilogy, which includes Catching Fire and Mockingjay, no need to worry, The Hunger Games is pretty top notch. Sure, there were things I didn't so much care for about it, and the PG-13 rating irks me, but The Hunger Games is driven by an honest to God idea and a story that can get your pulse pounding.

Lawrence plays 16 year old Katniss Everdeen, an expert hunter good with a bow and arrow who volunteers to step in for her younger sister in the Games. It's in this set up that Lawrence deftly reveals nuanced emotions and physical grace that is electrifying. It's why the movie is hers alone. Lawrence is a bona fide dynamo, having earned a deserved Oscar nod for Best Actress for 2010's Winter's Bone, and has been just as effective in supporting roles as varied as The Beaver, X-Men: First Class and Like Crazy. She's just as good if not better, as Katniss, a girl trying to survive a world spinning off its moral axis.

The Hunger Games is a long 142 minutes, and does tend to drag in some parts, and rush along in others, but for the most part director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) makes sure to make high points hit, using action to help define character. Collins herself collaborated on the script with co-writer Billy Ray (Shattered Glass), and they have a lot to condense into a feature length film, but always they make sure to service characters and genuine feeling first.

The Games themselves are a sort of punishment created by the Capitol of Panem for the 12 districts who all led an unsuccessful revolt decades ago. President Snow (Donald Sutherland, terrifically hammy) is all to eager to mete out this punishment. Every year on a day called Reaping Day, a by and girl, ranging from ages 12 to 18, from each district are chosen by lottery to fight in a violent gladiatorial contest devised by Games-maker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley). And everyone must watch, even in the poorest areas, such as the one where Katniss hunts for scraps to feed her sister, so ratings are never an issue. You must watch. The same should be said of the film itself. shot with a poet's eye by cinematographer Tom Stern (Mystic River), whether the setting goes from the lushness of the Panem Capitol or the harsh battle zone. Even the tributes (that's what the contestants are called) get artful makeovers, courtesy of fashion guru Cinna (Lenny Kravitz). Just look at the dress he creates for Katniss.

There's also a love triangle, with Katniss being yearned for by two hunks-in-waiting. One is childhood friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and then there's fellow opponent Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), a baker's son. It's this one element of The Hunger Games that works the least. It reeks of Twilight pandering, especially since neither guy has much erotic allure, not even in the way, say Robert Pattinson does. Hemsworth is appealing enough, and Hutcherson has a welcome sense of humor and excels at conveying a bruised heart, but not much else.

The adults are portrayed by a dynamite collection of actors, including Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, a tv host who's Ryan Seacrest with a dark streak. Elizabeth Banks is all evil wit as PR expert Effie Trinket, delivering her signature phrase 'May the odds be ever in your favor' with wicked insincerity. Best is Woody Harrelson as the drunken Haymitch Abernathy, a former victor of the Games and now mentor to Katniss and Peeta, at least when he's not down on his face drunk. He schools the two of them in the way of sucking up to sponsors who can provide them supplies while in the arena. Tributes basically learn to pander to cameras like the best reality tv stars, and so we wonder whether Katniss is really falling in love with Peeta while nursing his wounds, or if she's only doing it to save both their asses.

The book exuded erotic heat when it came to Katniss and Peeta. Onscreen, less so. The most chemistry ad intensity comes from the onscreen battles, which include contestants Cato (Alexander Ludwig) and the knife-wielding Clove (Isabelle Fuhrman). And that's not even mentioning the swarm of genetically engineered wasps known as Tracker Jackers. Also wonderfully felt is the bond Katniss forms with young Rue (Amanda Stenberg), the youngest of the Tributes.

In the end, The Hunger Games is very compromised in the name of box office profitability, but it's not a disaster, nowhere near. Sure, the idea's been hit upon before, notably in 1987's The Running Man and 2000's cult favorite Battle Royale, but never in a movie with this much universality. Much of that credit must go to Lawrence, presenting a female character driven by principal, not the need to have a cute boyfriend.

If there's one major takeaway from the big screen version of 21 Jump Street it's that life, no matter how much we try, never stops looking like high school. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star as two cops going undercover in a high school to bust a drug ring. What they didn't count on was running into the same issues that horribly defined their teenage lives. But 21 Jump Street is no meditation on aging and nostalgia. It's a comedy and a damn funny one at that, featuring a welcome breakout comic performance from Tatum. Just watch him try to squeeze into a classroom seat as a student snidely asks 'What are you--40?'.

Taken from the Fox television series that starred Johnny Depp, 21 Jump Street reboots the series' premise for the new millennium. Hill served as producer and came up with the story with screenwriter Michael Bacall (Project X), and their affection for the source material shows. There's even a hilarious cameo from Depp himself reprising the role that turned him into a teen heartthrob.

Hill is excellent as Schmidt, the brains of the two stars because Tatum's Jenko barely got through the police academy without his assistance. In high school, these two loathed one another, as seen in the funny as hell flashback to a time when jock Jenko reigned supreme and tormented nerdy Schmidt, glasses, braces and all.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, best known for the kiddie movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, have natural ears for goofy farce and gags, but Hill and Tatum remarkably manage to make sure they actually flesh out real characters. They're assigned to the Jump Street unit that's been moribund since the 80's and take orders form a hilarious Ice Cube, playing their captain, and he has no patience for the 'Justin Bieber/Miley Cyrus muthafuckas' he has to deal with. Schmidt and Jenko have to pose as brothers at the same high school and find the student daling a new drug. He turns out to be good boy vegan Eric (Dave Franco). That he seems so harmless is part of the joke, prompting Jenko to quip 'I blame Glee.' Jenko has his own issues when the cool kids could care less about him and take to liking Schmidt better, who becomes admired as an anti-bully and even dons a pair of tights for a star performance of Peter Pan. He's so admired he even gets a shot at getting with his co-star playing Wendy (Community's Alison Brie).

21 Jump Street attempts to juggle a lot and doesn't always do so with great results. Sure, the car chases, obvious homages to Michael Bay, are entertaining, but the real kicks come in seeing Schmidt ad Jenko taking weed from a police evidence locker so they can use it for a party. The two getting high on it themselves to prove they aren't narcs is comedy gold. Hill and Tatum are a fantastic team. 21 Jump Street is a fantastic comedy.