Dude we're living Call of Duty... It sucks.

Date: Friday 15th March
Film: Red Dawn (2013)
Director: Dan Bradley
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki and Josh Peck
Running Time: 01 hour, 33 minutes
Rating: 2/10

Friday night and some quality time with The CW.We met early, had some dinner, had some wine, went to another bar and had some more wine, then settled down to see Red Dawn. A remake of a 1984 film starring Patrick Swayze.

My love for Swayze isn't a secret, but the original Red Dawn isn't a film I've seen and, after seeing the remake, I'm a bit nervous about seeking it out.

Friday night is a busy time at Islington Vue, there were quite a few people milling about in the foyer, very few of them made it into our screen. In fact, other than us, there were three other people in the cinema. They weren't together. Three men, all sat separately. Possibly the emptiest cinema I'd ever been in. A sign that what were about to watch may not be good.

Not good is an understatement. Red Dawn really was terrible. A mixed bag of a cast, some an awful lot stronger than others, and a nonsense plot make for a film that has little in the way of redeeming qualities. Even a mid-film pop up from a man I adore couldn't save this.

All I could take away from Red Dawn was the overwhelming sense that most remakes are terrible and unnecessary, and the knowledge that if a film takes years to be released following filming, it isn't always going to be a gem.

Challenge day: 171
Challenge time: 10 days, 18 hours, 05 minutes
Challenge film total: 133

They just want a good show, that's all they want.

Date: Monday 31st November
Film: The Hunger Games (2012)
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth
Running Time: 2 hours 22 minutes
Rating: 8.5/10

New Year's Eve, a bowl of chili, a glass of champagne, some good friends and a film I've watched, and enjoyed, recently.

Nothing to add on the second viewing. It's still great.

Challenge day: 97
Challenge time: 05 days, 20 hours, 53 minutes
Challenge film total: 73

Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear.

Date: Sunday 4th November
Film: The Hunger Games (2012)
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Laim Hemsworth
Running Time: 2 hours 22 minutes
Rating: 8.5/10

After reading the books earlier this year, I was a little torn on whether I would like the first movie in The Hunger Games trilogy, mainly because whilst I enjoyed the premise of the books, I found the Katniss character to be weak and whiny, something I struggled to tolerate.

However, friends who had seen the film but hadn't read the books advised me that Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss differently to how she is written. Instead of being this girl who puts herself into situations then complains that she doesn't like the way things are going, in the film Katniss is a strong girl who fights for the people she cares about.

The subject matter is dark, in the future Panem (the remains of North America) is controlled by The Capitol, who suppress the 12 poorer districts. Annually, in an effort to exert their control, the Capitol run the Hunger Games, a nationally televised event in which a male and female tribute, aged between 12 and 18, from each district must go into an arena and fight until only one person remains standing, having helped kill the other 23 tributes.

As with all book adaptations, I had ideas in my mind of what I expected characters, scene and environments to look like and, ever since the soul crushing disappointment of the adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife (way to ruin a great book), I went into this with low expectations. I was pleased to be proved wrong.

Considering that for a large section of the story Katniss is alone, the filmmakers have worked well to show her struggle without resorting to cheesy voice overs. Considering the manner in which some tributes meet their demise, the fight scenes weren't overly graphic and were balanced well with the relationships forming in the arena and views of the nation outside watching the games.

Backed by a strong supporting cast, made up of many a familiar face, The Hunger Games is a great film.

Challenge Day: 42
Challenge Time: 2 days, 3 hours, 42 minutes
Challenge Film Total: 29