Despite my protestations when I'm forced to go a few days without the best streaming services, there's nothing more brutal than The Hunger Games. It seems the odds aren't in Netflix's favour either as the entire series of movies is set to leave the platform on November 1st.
Jennifer Lawrence is a two-time Oscar winner who has been in some of the best movies of the 21st century, but it was The Hunger Games that really made her a star. Her performance as 'The Girl on Fire' Katniss Everdeen is exceptional. With the latest instalment in the franchise The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (a prequel) set to arrive in November, there's a very small window to get refreshed.
If you've never heard of The Hunger Games then where have you been? Based on Suzanne Collins' massively successful YA series, they are some of the finest examples of dystopian fiction in the 21st century. All four movies are leaving, but the first is obviously the most essential.
The basic setup is this. The nation of Panem is split into 12 districts, with each district annually selecting two teenage "tributes'' (read: sacrifice) to compete in a battle royale to the death. When her sister's name comes up in the unfortunate lottery, Katniss volunteers to take her place, but there's no way this small-town girl could be ready for the pageantry and savagery of the Hunger Games.
Don't let the YA tag fool you, this is a brutal contest with life-and-death consequences that makes Harry Potter look like the Teletubbies and is a powerful allegory for the inequalities between rich and poor in society today. Children meet brutal ends while rich onlookers laugh and fans cheer on from home.
If you would rather use the time before November 1st to get down with the spooky season, then check out some of the best horror movies that you can stream right now.
