Entertainment
‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1’ – mockingly tedious (Movie Review)
Film: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1”; Director: Francis Lawrence; Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffery Wright, Stanley Tucci and Donal Sutherland; Rating: *1/2
Based on Suzanne Collins’s third young adult novel on the futuristic dystopian society of Panem in the “Hunger Games” series, this film, “Mockingjay – Part 1” is a sequel to the 2013 released “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”.
But unlike its previous editions, “Mockingjay – Part 1” lacks the zing of an adventure film. During its entire run time, it just concentrates on creating a setting for the next part.
Unfortunately, this science fiction adventure film will be understood only by those who’ve read the book or have seen the previous editions of the series.
As the saga continues, the film begins with Katniss Everdeen, the winner of the previous ‘Hunger Games’, being in an unsettling transitional period of her life. Her moods swing as she battles to recover from the shock her body, mind, and spirit have undergone in the past few months.
The games are over and there is a revolution in the offing. The man who devised the sadistic competition, Plutarch Heavensbee reveals a new facet to his character. His role as the Games’ evil planner was just a cover-up for his activities as a rebel agent. Now, as a rebel strategist, he is pressing Katniss to become the poster-face of the rebellion against the Capitol, governed by President Snow.
Katniss, who now lives in the underground District 13 with her sister, mother and a few trusted friends, has her own issues. She is angry that her partner during the Games, Peeta, who was thought to be dead, is now in the Capitol, giving propaganda talks. This, according to her, seems to be manipulated. She misses him and feels for him.
At the same time, she is still close to Gale Hawthorne, but her experiences have taken her far away from their romantic moments as adolescents.
The film is about the state of affairs in Panem and Katniss’ personal journey in this political tale. But with the book being split into two film adaptations, this edition lacks the three act structure.
Jennifer Lawrence, who has delivered remarkable performances in her earlier films, finds it difficult to balance a fiery attitude along with frowning her brows in sadness. Her performance in this film, as the heroine Katniss, lacks energy, depth and luster; to galvanize a rebellion.
Hutcherson as Peeta, like in the previous editions, is wasted. Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket sticks out as an odd rebel with an amusing hairstyle and headgears. But unfortunately, her character does not take her anywhere in the narration. The rest of the cast does not offer anything exceptional.
Visually, director Francis Lawerence fails to elevate the film. The high-drill action sequences look staid and oft seen. Also, the carnage and destructions in all the districts look uniformly alike. In addition, since a major part of the film is shot in the dystopian society, the frames in monochromatic shades of grey give a monotonous feel to the film.
But what stands apart is cinematographer Jo Willems’s trailing camera work which captures a few lengthy shots in the bunker rooms of District 13 and the vertical staircase there.
Overall, the film is well-made and drab. It is not in the least entertaining or satisfying. Yet it lures you to look forward to the concluding edition — “Mockingjay Part 2” which is scheduled to release in 2015.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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