A few days ago we let you know that The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was featured in Yahoo!’s list of the 25 best movies of 2013. With the new year only hours away already in some parts of the world, most of the major entertainment/media outlets have also released their best-of-2013 lists, not just for the movies themselves but also for related aspects such as posters, trailers and even scenes. With the success Catching Fire has had, it’s no surprise it’s been featured in many of these lists.
Best Posters:
FirstShowing.net lists the Mockingjay wings poster (pictured above) as no. 5 in their list of top 15 movie posters of the year, mentioning that it “ looks like a painting that would be hanging in a museum somewhere in the fictional world of the sci-fi series.” Not only that, but the Victory Tour poster with Katniss and Peeta (pictured below) appears as no. 2 on the same list, as in their opinion the poster is “big, showy, and exactly what people of The Capitol would be excited by.”
Female First and Business Insider put the Mockingjay wings poster in their respective lists, the latter as no. 5 out of 13 best posters of the year, calling it “a classic retro throwback” and stating it was effective because it “sheds light (literally) on the one sign of hope for the people (Katniss).”
Katniss’ Mockingjay wings also made the list over at Slant Magazine, as no. 19 on their top 20 list. According to them, the poster was “evocative of markedly epic—and markedly male—fantasy actioners like Conan the Barbarian.”
And for a change, the official IMAX poster (also pictured below) made Yahoo! Movies‘ list. The outlet calls the poster “striking” and the best in a series of great visual marketing materials.
Best Trailers:
Movies.com lists the final trailer for the movie (the arena one) at no. 5 on their list of best trailers of the year. In her description of it, Perri Nemiroff praises the pacing of the 1.5-minute-long trailer, calling it “a vicious grand finale with an undeniable power to make a big impression.”
It’s the teaser trailer (the District 11/whipping one) that makes MTV‘s list, coming in at no. 19 out of 19. According to them, this teaser “escalated the action and danger from the first movie, while only beginning to hint at the huge twist halfway through the film.”
The Hollywood Reporter instead focuses on the first full trailer (the Victory Tour one), stating it highlights the political themes and “the antagonistic relationship between Katniss and President Snow.”
And lastly, the teaser trailer is also featured, in the no. 1 spot at that, in IMDb‘s top 10 list. This is a really big deal because the positions on this list are determined by the number of views from IMDb visitors.
Best Scenes: Film.com lists Peeta’s baby bomb as no. 94 on their list of top 100 best movie scenes of 2013. The site calls Peeta’s clever fib “the biggest lie of all,” even among the political machinations brewed by President Snow.
Funniest quotes:
“So it’s you and a syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans.” — Haymitch to Katniss.
NBC News Entertainment included the above quote in their list of funniest movie quotes of the year. Now, we know the context in which this is said is not really on the lighter side (quite the opposite, really), and I’m thinking the uninitiated only found this quote funny in retrospect, but this is Haymitch we’re talking about: the guy does know his witty one-liners, gotta give him that.
Best movies:
The Den of Geek writers voted Catching Fire to their no. 3 spot on the top 10 list. They praise the film for building up on its predecessor’s success without dumbing its themes down. They also highlight the action and pacing, because “no-one would want to sit through two and a half hours of pointed critique of western society if that was all it was, and Catching Fire is definitely more than that.” And lastly they applaud the acting and the characters at the heart of the story, because they make it relatable: “You and I, we haven’t got superpowers. I’m never gonna be Spider-man. [...] If you’re gonna be inspired by anyone, if you had to pick a fictional role model, well, Katniss Everdeen wouldn’t be a bad choice.”
Female First situates the film as no. 9 in their list, praising the film for the performances (especially Jennifer Lawrence) and the depth Francis Lawrence brought to the story. They applaud the director for delving into “themes of loyalty, honour, freedom and sacrifice” and making the movie “more substantial and weighty than the first.”
Catching Fire also comes in at no. 26 in Empire Magazine‘s list of top 50 movies of the year. They highlight the fact that Francis Lawrence spent the majority of the film’s running time showing us the status quo outside the arena, which leaves no doubt as to how important Katniss is for Panem, and makes this into a film “that felt, yes, darker, but also stronger and more powerful.”
Coming in at no. 14 in Moviefone‘s list of the top 50 movies of 2013, the site praises Catching Fire‘s expanded universe and its host of new characters, as well as the added visual and thematical complexity of the Games themselves, aided by “placed emphasis on geographic clarity and sly subversion.”
Digital Spy ranked it at no. 11 in their list of the 20 best movies of the year, placing it even higher than some of the films currently dominating in critical acclaim, such as American Hustle and Philomena. They comment positively on the movie’s “onslaught of assorted peril” in the third act, its “visual lushness” and a “paranoid tone in its dystopian horror” as developed through Snow and Heavensbee’s machinations.
The Huffington Post situates the film as no. 13 on their list of 17 best, stating that “the action is bigger, the excess of the Capitol is bigger, and even the close-ups are bigger” (which we can corroborate after having seen it in IMAX!).
PopCrush doesn’t only include it in their list of best movies of the year, but names it the best movie of the year! They praise Jennifer Lawrence’s acting, saying she “has the range of an actress beyond her years,” and applaud the faithfulness of the adaptation from book to screen.
Whitney Matheson of USA Today‘s Pop Candy puts the film as no. 11 out of 11 best movies of the year, mostly due to “fast-paced action and good editing.”
Katie Walsh, from Indiewire’s The Playlist, lists Catching Fire as no. 9 in her top 10, boldly stating that the movie “made [her] believe in big Hollywood filmmaking again.” She highlights the performances, but mostly it’s the way the movie presents the stakes of the story: “These stakes, big or small, are pitched perfectly. The film truly makes you care if the characters live or die and that there is actual weight and heft and consequence to their actions.”
In MTV‘s list, the movie comes in at no. 4, once again higher up than critics’ favorites such as Spring Breakers and 12 Years a Slave. They applaud the movie for not being “more of the same,” for the new characters and performances and the darker tone. “That’s not to say it’s so grim that we won’t be watching it again and again — the odds are ever in its favor for that.”
The film also comes in at no. 4 in TV Guide‘s top 15, and the site points out that the movie rises to the occasion after the success of the first installment, with great performances from both returning cast and newcomers. According to them, it “has a closer examination of morality that lays the groundwork for the major social upheaval to come in the following films.”
And once again to round up, the movie’s also included in IMDb‘s 2013 ranking (as determined by the number of visitors for the film’s page on the website), this time coming in at no. 3, just under Man of Steel and Iron Man 3.
These are just a few of the mentions Catching Fire has achieved on year-end lists, but we’re sure there’s plenty more out there that we didn’t mention. How psyched are you that our movie is getting so much recognition by the media? Do you agree with these sites? Be sure to tell us what you think in a comment!