Reel advice: Hunger and horror

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate): The second installment in the film adaptations of the popular Y/A novel series, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the kind of smart sequel that surpasses the original and ignites the flame that keeps audiences hot to see the next movie in the cycle. Where the 2012 first episode laid the groundwork and set the tone, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire delivers on the promise and raises the stakes.

Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), the female victor of the 74th Hunger Games, is still torn between two lovers. There's her co-victor Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), whose feelings are stronger for Katniss than hers are for him. District 12 miner Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Katniss' obsession, shares her feelings, but has been relegated to the background. Part of winning/surviving the Hunger Games means that Katniss and Peeta must be a couple publicly, part of insidious President Snow's (Donald Sutherland) plan to keep the citizens of Panem's poverty-stricken districts distracted from their miserable existence.

But there is a change coming and revolution is in the air. It's a fact of which Snow is keenly aware and one that Katniss experiences firsthand. While on the multi-district Victory Tour with Peeta she witnesses a man in the crowd killed by the military Peacekeepers for giving the three-fingered rebel salute. Snow, who has put the burden of charade on Katniss, is ultimately disappointed in her ability to soothe society's woes. New Hunger Games honcho Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) devises a plan to put Katniss in her place.

Tributes (aka competitors) for the Quarter Quell of the 75th Hunger Games are drawn from a pool of existing victors. Since Katniss is the only female from her district, she is a shoo-in. Down to Peeta and alcoholic victor-turned-trainer Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), Peeta volunteers and, to Katniss' dismay (because she truly cares for Peeta), the team is set. Here is where we meet the other competitors (and possible allies), including Finnick (Sam Claflin), Mags (Lynn Cohen), Beetee (Jeffrey Wright), Wiress (Amanda Plummer) and Johanna (Jena Malone).

As rebellion and uprising seem more of a possibility, the games begin on an island where the body count begins to mount. Faced with an array of threats (and stellar special effects), including a poison fog, a lethal force field, killer monkeys and blood rain, not to mention other tributes, allegiances are established. But nothing is as it seems (no spoilers here), so be prepared for thrilling twists and turns (that is, if you haven't already read the book). Regulars from the previous Hunger Games, including Katniss' sexually ambiguous stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), Katniss' social escort Effie (Elizabeth Banks) and TV personality Caesar (Stanley Tucci), round out the cast of characters.

With The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, this serial immediately surpasses Twilight and the Tolkien gobbledygook of Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit and now stands alongside Harry Potter as the best of the 21st century's multi-segment movies. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire sizzles and scorches, leaves its mark on your memory.

The Book Thief (20th Century Fox/Fox 2000): Holocaust movies come in all shapes and sizes. From the doc masterpieces Shoah and The Sorrow and the Pity to dramatic films such as Sophie's Choice, The Diary of Anne Frank and Schindler's List to the overrated Life Is Beautiful and the creepy The Boy In the Striped Pajamas. Like the sinister ... Striped Pajamas, The Book Thief is based on a Y/A novel (see a pattern here?).

Having God as a narrator in a book is disturbing enough, but having God (voiced by Roger Allam) narrate a movie such as The Book Thief is downright wrong and eerie. This God, who allowed Hitler to come to power in Germany, takes Liesel's (Sophie Nélisse) younger brother just before the two children arrive at their new home on Heaven Street. Given up for adoption by her communist mother, Liesel pines away for the day they will be reunited (here's a hint: they never will).

Settling in with her new family, lenient papa Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and strict mama Rosa (Emily Watson), takes time. So does fitting in at school where bully Franz (Levin Liam) is relentless in his abuse of the momentarily illiterate Liesel. Thankfully, she has hit it off with neighbor and classmate Rudy (Nico Liersch), who borders on being as frightfully Aryan as the kid in those Pillsbury Toaster Strudel commercials. But we soon discover that under that blonde forelock and behind those limpid blue eyes is a good soul.

Just as Liesel and her new family are adjusting to life during wartime, and Liesel is learning to read and write, there is a knock at the door. Standing there is Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jew on the run from the Nazis. Max's late father saved Hans' life during World War I and now it is time for Hans to repay the debt by hiding Max in his basement. Liesel is sworn to secrecy, something tested on a couple of occasions.

For example, after being welcomed into the Burgermeister's extensive home library by his wife Ilsa (Barbara Auer), where Liesel begins to purloin books (see the title), she almost spills the beans. Then, after being caught making a hasty retreat from the Burgermeister's by Rudy, she eventually reveals the truth. Here's the thing, Liesel develops into a famous writer later in life, making it hard to imagine that she would approve of the direction this story takes (not to mention the ridiculous voiceover).

With all this available firepower, it is only Emily Watson who survives this mess. We believe her nuanced performance as she evolves from efficient to affectionate. The rest are all caricatures and audiences, especially the Y/A readers who want to see how their beloved book was transformed, deserve better.