Carnage To Catharsis The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 Is A Dismal End!

The Good: Moments of theme and performance, Special effects
The Bad: Unlikable or under-developed characters, Plot oscillates between predictable and undeveloped, Resolution
The Basics: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 puts to rest a series that managed to get produced at the right time . . . but will not satisfy serious film buffs.


When it comes to The Hunger Games, the truth is, the franchise did not particularly grab me. I was pretty much repulsed by The Hunger Games (reviewed here!) and while I liked Catching Fire (reviewed here!) well-enough, Mockingjay - Part 1 (reviewed here!) pretty much lost me. I just don't care about Panem. So, I was in no rush to run out and see The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2. But, with it being a holiday and me being on the road alone, I figured it was time to pay my Hunger Games dues and take in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2.

Right off the bat, I've not read the books upon which the films in The Hunger Games Saga were based. This is a pure review of the film and the movie confirmed what I suspected the moment I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1: Part 1 should have ended the moment the rescued Peeta Mellark reached up and began struggling Katniss Everdeen. Instead, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 begins with the potential of a young woman literally finding her voice and then rising up to raise a rebellion; instead, it is a movie about a mediocre woman using violence to solve her problems. Katniss Everdeen is supposed to be the hero fans root for, but Finnick made more substantive leaps in exposing the corruptions of President Snow, tyrant leader of Panem, in the prior film. Katniss does not follow Finnick's example in using logic, truth, and helping to turn the people of Panem against the corrupt President; as in the prior films, she mopes around until she shoots her problems away with her bow.

Having rescued Peeta from the Capitol, the rebels in District 13 are horrified to see how he has been brainwashed into an animal, intent on killing Katniss. Katniss, however, fights to keep Peeta alive and she is eager to end the conflict with Snow by getting support from other Districts. Her first attempt to shoot a propaganda film amid revolutionaries and refugees ends up with her getting shot. With the rebellion apparently crumbling, President Snow starts to weed out those close to him who might be political rivals, using poison like Finnick previously revealed. Despite being loathed now by Peeta, Katniss tries desperately to save him and be close to him, even though he is still violent from the venom that was used on him by the Capitol.

After Annie and Finnick marry, Katniss joins the squad being sent into the Capitol to disarm the traps that Snow has set. En route to Snow's mansion, Katniss and her companions are beset by creatures, weapons, and obstacles - much like the victors of the Hunger Games encountered during the games - and from Peeta's inability to control himself or overcome his programming. But as the resistance nears victory, Katniss gets information that suggests to her that Snow might not be the only villain in Panem and when someone close to Katniss is murdered as part of political theater, Katniss decides she alone must end it.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 failed to do what I've been waiting for in all of the films in The Hunger Games Saga: it did not make me care about the characters or Panem. Yes, oppression is absolutely terrible, but Panem in the films of The Hunger Games is a fiefdom of Districts serving the Capitol at a cost of two lives per District per year (one for the victor's district). The system has been working for 74 years at the beginning of The Hunger Games and, substantively, it is analogous to an unrestrained Capitalist system with an authoritarian government, so it was a hard dystopia for me to get into or care about (we have it as bad in real life; we just get to go to the movies and get a new smartphone once in a while). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 fails to make the viewer invested in the world of Panem.

Even worse, in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 it is almost impossible to care what becomes of the film's protagonist. There is no allegory in the film, so Katniss heals until she acts, mopes until she rages and the journey is unsatisfying . . . especially when one considers it without the "wow" factor of the special visual effects. Add to that, the love triangle where Katniss's heart is pulled by both Gale and Peeta is expanded in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, which feels like a time drain in an already packed film. The love triangle could have been left out and perhaps a scene could have been put in where Katniss sees evidence of the film's other primary villain, as opposed to simply taking other people's words for it.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 is notable in its underuse of performers Jena Malone (who, frankly, I can always stand to see more of in films) and Stanley Tucci. Elizabeth Banks plays Effie Trinket with less of an annoying quality than in the prior installment, so at least her talents are not as wasted this time around.

Ultimately, though, the time is wasted. Who lives? Who dies? It doesn't matter, so long as there's an Evangelical-friendly scene to cap off the movie with utter denial of the initial characterizations of the characters the corniest summing up of the events of the Saga. That, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 absolutely has.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
SPECTRE
Bleeding Heart
Hotel Transylvania 2

3.5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Hitting A High For The Hunger Games: The 2015 Hallmark Mockingjay Ornament!

The Good: Good detail, Perfect balance, Not overly expensive
The Bad: None that I can find!
The Basics: Before the final The Hunger Games film is released, Hallmark drops the Mockingjay ornament, which is one of the year's perfect offerings.


As the Hunger Games franchise reaches its conclusion with Mockingjay, Part 2 in theaters this month, the hype about the franchise is reaching what is likely to be its final peak. Part of the hype is the merchandising surrounding the franchise and Hallmark returns to the franchise this year with the Mockingjay ornament.

For those unfamiliar with the franchise, Mockingjay is the pin in The Hunger Games (reviewed here!) and Catching Fire (reviewed here!) that Katniss Everdeen is given to wear as a symbol of her District when going to the Hunger Games as a Tribute. The tiny pin is worn by Katniss while she is in the Games. She has become the Mockingjay, symbolically, in Panem and the pin and image is where the symbology was based.

Once again fans of The Hunger Games have an ornament to be excited about. The 2015 Mockingjay ornament is perfect!

Basics

The "Mockingjay" ornament is a very simple ornament of the recognizable artifact made of solid, but surprisingly light, metal. The ornament, released in 2015, is an entirely accurate ornament which is impressive for its likeness to the prop, both in coloring and sculpt, if not its overlarge scale. The "Mockingjay" is a solid ornament that looks just like the actual prop from the movies, save that it is quite a bit bigger than the one in the film. Measuring 1" thick, 3 3/4" wide and 3 3/4" tall, "Mockingjay" has was part of the October Release Weekend and bore an original issue price of $14.95.

The Hallmark "Mockingjay" ornament is the simple bird on its own, without the ring that was part of the 2013 Mockingjay limited edition ornament (reviewed here!). It has all of the appropriate lines of texture on the front, most notably the wings and a thin line for the beak.

The Hallmark sculptors capture the Mockingjay pin symbol perfectly, though it is large. The bronze color of the Mockingjay looks quite good and captures the look of the symbol from the films amazingly well.

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, "Mockingjay" could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, so it has both simplicity and durability going for its long term prospects. For its size, the ornament is not really overpriced, especially for the quality of the figure.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake "Mockingjay" ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate fantasy Christmas Tree, the "Mockingjay" ornament is a great addition, but hardly an essential one. The ornament has a steel hook loop that comes out of the top of the head of the bird. Hung from there with a standard Christmas tree hook, this is a remarkably stable ornament that only sways when it (or the tree) is bumped. The "Mockingjay" ornament is perfectly balanced.

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have delved into virtually every other collectible franchise in an attempt to cash in on every major license. The The Hunger Games series started a few years ago, but this year's Mockingjay ornament is not a limited edition one, like the prior release. Given the relative scarcity of The Hunger Games ornaments, it is likely this one will appreciate in value, though it is hard to bet the common-release ornament with a higher original price will appreciate fast or quite a bit.

Overview

Fans of The Hunger Games are likely to discover the easily-available Mockingjay ornament to be a wonderful addition to their collections!

For other fantasy ornaments, please check out my reviews of:
2015 "Yo, Rugman!" Aladdin ornament
2015 Smaug Awakens The Hobbit ornament
2015 Platform 9 3/4 Harry Potter ornament

10/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my Ornament Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the ornaments I have reviewed!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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An Illustration Of Consequences For Those Who Do Not Understand Nuance: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.

The Good: Themes, Decent use of the expanded cast
The Bad: Unlikable characters, Plot is more set-up than substance
The Basics: More a tease for the final installment, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is thematically heavy-handed and the film is surprisingly easy to skip!


Despite the fact that my review of Catching Fire (that’s here!) remains one of my most-read reviews, I am not what one might call an enthusiast of The Hunger Games franchise. In fact, when the cinematic rendition of The Hunger Games (reviewed here!) was released, I argued that even reviewing it was utterly pointless; the novel series had such a huge fanbase and Lionsgate had thrown so much advertising at the undecided masses that it was going to be a huge phenomenon regardless of critical analysis. At this point, there is little purpose to bothering to review The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, either, except for those who might have soured on the franchise from the first two films and need a reason to go and see it or skip it.

My vote is actually in the “skip it” category. Not since 28 Weeks Later (reviewed here!) has there been such an unnecessary sequel. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is entirely a transition movie and given where it begins (desperately hinging on seeing Catching Fire) and where is ends (with, presumably*, the initiating incident which will finally crystallize the budding rebellion in the world of Panem), it seems like it would be virtually impossible to watch The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 when it is released next year and not get everything that happens in Part 1 from context clues. Seriously; if anyone out there is on the fence and willing to try, I’d love to be proven right on this one! The reason for this is simple: despite the influx of characters into the universe of The Hunger Games, the ones who survive The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 are only incrementally moved in this film. And, on the plot front, what events do occur in the film have ramifications that will undeniably be self-evident in the second part . . . and the rest is just a dressed up version of what we saw in Catching Fire. [* I wrote “presumably” because I have not read the books, so perhaps the final film will take an abrupt right turn from the direction it has been going for the past three films, though I doubt it!]

The 28 Weeks Later analogy is not an inapt one; where 28 Days Later described the horror of uninfected people fleeing crowds of infected individuals and left it up to the viewer, like the protagonist of the film, to grasp the level of horror and change in the world, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 illustrates over and over and over again what Catching Fire began and showed quite enough of. In Catching Fire, President Snow’s tenuous grasp over the 12 Districts of Panem is slipping and he sends in faceless soldiers into the Districts to do things like beat insubordinate old men to death and shoot rebels and menace crowds with firearms just off camera from televised events. We get it; people are rebelling, Snow’s forces are pretty mercilessly killing them. When that, and the 75th Annual Hunger Games, fail utterly, Snow uses his military to bomb Katniss Everdeen’s home district right off the map. We get it.

So, where Catching Fire unfortunately repeated the plot conceit of The Hunger Games for its latter half, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 browbeats the audience with repetition of Snow’s desperate attempts to retain power and control over the districts that pay tribute to his Capital. Where Catching Fire had an old man getting his head blown off, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 ups the stakes with a line-up of children. Snow, apparently, is not the only one too stupid to realize that if fear failed to keep people in line, more fear won’t stop the rebellious forced; director Francis Lawrence and the screenwriters assume the audience needs to see more and more violent incidents to understand that.

We don’t.

Following her arrival in the subterranean District 13, Katniss Everdeen learns that the world of Panem is on the edge of full-scale revolution. Despite District 12 being obliterated, Katniss’s losses are remarkably small; she is reunited with her sister and Gale in District 13. There, she meets District 13’s “President,” Alma Coin. Coin and Plutarch Heavensbee want Katniss to become the symbolic leader of the revolution, a figurehead that will galvanize their movement. But Katniss is frustrated and determined that Peeta be rescued from the clutches of President Snow. When Peeta, who was captured after the arena was destroyed during the climax of the last Hunger Games, is shown on broadcasts as enemies to the Rebellion, Katniss is convinced that Peeta has been brainwashed and must be saved.

In exchange for committing forces to a rescue operation, Katniss allows Coin and Heavensbee to use her for their own propaganda machine. The result is a conflict that does not climax, a character whose heroic journey is stalled, and a film that seems much more like filler than flash.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 is thematically unsettling in that protagonist Katniss Everdeen, who worked very hard to resist being a part of Snow’s propaganda machine in the prior installment, is willing to be a part of Coin’s media blitz against Snow in this one. Either way, she’s just a tool and like Snow menacing her family in exchange for her campaigning and illustrating love for Peeta, Coin withholds resources to rescue Peeta until Katniss commits to help her cause.

Unfortunately, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 flops even more in-context of the larger Saga . . . for anyone who has a memory. Katniss Everdeen didn’t love Peeta in The Hunger Games, she did not particularly love him in Catching Fire (though she was protective of him). In Mockingjay – Part 1, Katniss is more obsessed with saving Peeta without having an emotional connection to him to back that up. Katniss seemed happiest in District 12 when she was with Gale and now she and Gale could be together; from the moment Peeta first appears in Mockingjay – Part 1, the damage he can do is done. He is Snow’s mouthpiece. For a character who has no genuine love for him, assassination should bear the same emotional effect as rescue (a loss to a rebel is a loss to a rebel; how one commits resources says a lot). In the simplest possible terms, Katniss feels more like she is going through the motions with pushing for a rescue attempt as opposed to a character who has a heartfelt love and genuinely likes the guy she is concerned with.

To that end, Jennifer Lawrence does what she can with the role that spends much more time being passive and lackluster than truly compelling. Katniss Everdeen is barely the hero in the process of becoming, as opposed to the “political pawn who realizes she’s actually a rook;” Lawrence has very little she can do with such a limited character.

The rest of the cast is as good as the writing allows them to be. Josh Hutcherson may be bland as a love interest, but as a brainwashed figurehead delivering Snow’s talking points, he seems to have found his niche. Jenna Malone’s time on screen makes no real use of the actress's talents; her character is an afterthought and her appearance is little more than a cameo near the climax of the film. Philip Seymour Hoffman, Woody Harrelson, and Donald Sutherland each return to their roles flawlessly. Julianne Moore, Mahershala Ali, and Robert Knepper join the cast and integrate well. Moore is given the most screentime of the new arrivals and she is exactly what she needs to be in order to sell the character of President Coin. She is dignified enough to be realistically presidential and she delivers the character’s strategies with a sense of pragmatism that makes her a good embodiment of a rebel. While Jeffrey Wright is simply continuing his role of Beetee, he is a pleasure to watch; the part of the intellectual with a grasp of both physical and political sciences suits him well.

Ultimately, though, none of the performances are so superlative that they become the “must see” embodiment of any of the actors’ talents, the characters are not drastically transformed in a way that the next film would not have to say (yet again) what happened to them and the themes are nothing new to the audience of the first two The Hunger Games. The result is a film that may be very safely skipped.

For other films currently in theaters, please check out my reviews of:
To Write Love On Her Arms
The Seventh Son
Paddington
Inherent Vice
Selma
Still Alice
Predestination
The Interview
The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies
Expelled
Annie
Comet
Horrible Bosses 2
10,000 Days
Interstellar

4/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Midnight Release Party Snack! Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate Bar!

The Good: An interesting mix of peanuts and chocolate, High quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: A bit expensive, More peanut than peanut butter flavored.
The Basics: The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate Bars are an interesting alternative to sweet treats like Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and are a high quality way to get a chocolate/peanut fix!


As fans of the franchise queue up for the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!), it’s a good idea to bring a snack! Tonight, the snack I’m recommending is the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bar. Representing Panem District 6 is the “Transportation” Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bar. This chocolate bar is good, but calls to mind an argument I made when reviewing the Lindt Peanut Butter Lindor Truffles (reviewed here!): if you’re going to make something that tastes like a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup, you have to work real hard to justify charging quite a bit more.

The Wild Ophelia Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate Bars do not suffer from that same conceit; they do not attempt to mimic the popular, inexpensive Reese’s/Hershey’s product. Instead, Wild Ophelia makes a distinctive, solid candy bar with minimal peanut butter and more broken up pieces of peanuts. That might make it more like a Mr. Goodbar or a Crunchy Peanut Butter Cup, but the distinction is enough to take note of. Those looking for a blend of chocolate and peanut butter are likely to be more disappointed than those looking for an incredible combination of milk chocolate and peanuts.

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate Bar is a solid milk chocolate bar with peanut chunks embedded in it (visible and felt on the bottom, which is more textured than most of the Wild Ophelia bars) from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 6. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is identical to all of the other The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars I was able to find.

The chocolate is not at all waxy, but it is softer than some of the other Wild Ophelia bars. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. They are expensive compared to other chocolate and peanut candies, though they taste like they are made with better chocolate and real peanuts!

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bars are chocolate, not making your own peanut butter with peanuts you’ve grown yourself! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is a premium chocolate product, I recommend eating this a little at a time, not just biting right into the bar.

Taste

The Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar smells delightfully like both sweet chocolate and peanut butter. The Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bars have an aroma that is very natural (the peanuts smell like peanuts, not like the inside of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – there is a difference!) and the chocolate scent foreshadows the flavor wonderfully.

On the tongue, the flavor of peanuts and peanut butter dominates. The Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar has an instantly nutty flavor, cut by the sweet, rich chocolate flavor of the chocolate coating. Interestingly, the chocolate coating keeps the nut flavor from being overly dry, so these chocolate bars carry a very true peanut and peanut butter flavor, without having a salty or dry aspect to it. This allows the buttery flavor of peanuts to blend with the chocolate flavor in a very organic way, as opposed to having the two flavors competing in the mouth.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bar has a sweet aftertaste that endures on the tongue for about thirty seconds.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with quality ingredients, which is arguably why they range in price in the real world and online anywhere from $2.99 - $10/bar! With the primary ingredients being milk chocolate (41% cacao), peanut butter, and dry roasted runner peanuts, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bars are a candy bar, not a legitimate source of nutrition needed to survive. Because they use real peanuts they have a little more in the way of calories than some of the other Wild Ophelia bars. Wild Ophelia uses natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 1 ounce serving (which is unfortunate because the seams make the bar breakable into thirds, not halves!), there are 160 calories, 100 of which are from fat. This represents 17% of one’s RDA of fat (29% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 25 mg of Sodium and 3 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium (4% RDA), Iron (10% RDA) and Magnesium (6% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural with no artificial ingredients and have no preservatives, they do contain soy, peanuts, and milk. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy. Obviously, with the milk, these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant, though they are Gluten-free.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is soft, as most milk chocolate is, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bars are somewhat susceptible to heat. These should be kept cool in order to not melt. As long as they are kept cool and dry, these bars will last almost a year (the one I picked up at the beginning of the week would have lasted until August 26, 2014, had I not consumed it already).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crunchy Runner Peanuts In Peanut Butter And Milk Chocolate Bar is good and actually fills the consumer up, but it’s not an extraordinary option for the price, making it a slightly tougher sell than some other chocolate and peanut/peanut butter candies.

For other Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire candy bars, please check out my reviews of:
District 12 Mining Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bars
District 5 Power Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bar
District 7 Lumber Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar
District 10 Livestock Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars
District 3 Technology Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars

6.5/10

For more chocolate reviews, please check out my Chocolate Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Countdown Continues: Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bars!

The Good: Embodies all of the promised flavors perfectly, High quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: Pricy.
The Basics: The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bars are perfect. Period.


I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I like when companies try to be ambitious and make flavorful foods that I might like, even when I am disappointed when they do not attain their goal. So, when a company scales back on something they might have presented ambitiously and failed at, but succeed with the scaled back version, I try to give credit where credit is due. As I have been doing daily reviews of Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire candy bars (oh no, I’m about to run out!), as my own little celebration leading up to Friday’s DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!), I have occasionally found myself disappointed by a bar that promises a complex flavor, but does not live up on all fronts. So, it is with quite a bit of excitement and legitimate praise that I come to today’s bar, the Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bar. Representing Katniss’s own Panem District 12 is the Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bar. That chocolate bar tastes exactly as it is supposed to with its flavors of chocolate and salt.

The Wild Ophelia Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bars are my fifth experience with Wild Ophelia chocolate bars and these premium chocolate bars are pricier than many other candy bars, but on par with other premium chocolate bars and given how well these live up to their promised flavor, they are priced appropriately. The bars that represent District 12 in Panem are a flavorful blend of sweet, creamy chocolate and exciting-on-the-tongue salt!

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bar is a solid milk chocolate bar from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 7. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The Bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is distinctive.

The chocolate is not at all waxy, but it is softer than other Wild Ophelia bars I have tried so far. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. For those who like the gourmet combination of chocolate and salt, this is well worth the price (especially compared to other niche chocolates).

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bars are chocolate, not mining salt with one’s bare hands! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is a premium chocolate product, I recommend eating this a little at a time, not just biting right into the bar.

Taste

The Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar smells solely of chocolate. The Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bars smell only like the creamy, sweet chocolate they are supposed to and that prepares the consumer well for the taste experience!

The Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar is sweet and delightful, a perfect embodiment of milk chocolate. The smooth, sweet, milk chocolate flavor coats the tongue in a pleasant, inviting way and then cedes to the recognizable, strangely complimentary flavor of salt. The blends with the creamy sweetness of chocolate before evaporating on the tongue . . . leaving only a sweet aftertaste in its wake.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bar has a sweet aftertaste that endures on the tongue for about a minute after the salt flavor has dissipated and it is delightful.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with quality ingredients, which is arguably why they range in price in the real world and online anywhere from $2.99 - $10/bar! With the primary ingredients being milk chocolate (41% cacao) and pink Himalayan salt, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bars are a candy bar, not a legitimate source of nutrition needed to survive. That said, Wild Ophelia uses natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 1 ounce serving (which is unfortunate because the seams make the bar breakable into thirds, not halves!), there are 150 calories, 110 of which are from fat. This represents 19% of one’s RDA of fat (38% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 50 mg of Sodium and 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium (2% RDA), Iron (20% RDA) and Magnesium (15% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural with no artificial ingredients and have no preservatives, they do contain soy and milk. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy. Obviously, with the milk, these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant, though they are Gluten-free.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is soft, as most milk chocolate is, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bars are fairly susceptible to heat. These should be kept cool in order to not melt. As long as they are kept cool and dry, these bars will last almost a year (the one I picked up yesterday would have lasted until August 29, 2014, had I not consumed it already).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Mined Salt And Milk Chocolate Bar is an arguably unimaginative flavor of chocolate bar (but hey, District 12 is simple, dirty, and poor, so a gourmet bar would hardly make sense, right?), but Wild Ophelia perfectly nails the flavors it promises to with it, making it an unlikely perfect candy bar worth every penny!

For other Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire candy bars, please check out my reviews of:
District 5 Power Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bar
District 7 Lumber Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar
District 10 Livestock Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars
District 3 Technology Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars

10/10

For more chocolate reviews, please check out my Chocolate Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Great Chocolate, Underwhelming Bar: Catching Fire Release Week Continues With Wild Ophelia’s Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bar!

The Good: Amazing dark chocolate flavor, Wonderful quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: Unfortunately weak additive flavor, Fairly expensive.
The Basics: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bars from Wild Ophelia are an interesting idea that is executed without enough of the promised additive to make it worth picking up.


Friday’s DVD release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!) is rapidly approaching and I feel lucky to have stocked up on Wild Ophelia’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire candy bars. I think it’s important to say up front in my review of Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire District 5 Power Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate chocolate bars that for the problems that this candy bar has, the chocolate is not one of them. Wild Ophelia makes an exceptionally good, high-quality dark chocolate. The flavor of the dark chocolate in these bars is of a quality that almost justifies their price. Given how many other incredible dark chocolate bars Wild Ophelia and its parent company, Vosges Haut-Chocolat, make, it is not worth spending a dime on a chocolate bar from the company that does not live up to its promised unique flavor. Unfortunately, Wild Ophelia’s bar with Caramel Corn does not do that.

The Wild Ophelia Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bars are good chocolate, but a poor combination of the flavors.

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bar is a solid dark chocolate bar from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 5. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The Bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is distinctive.

The chocolate is very dark and incredibly solid. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. Given the quality of these bars, it is tough to call them too expensive.

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate bars are chocolate, not finding food within the game arena in the Hunger Games! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is pricy, at least for what it is, it should not be eaten in huge bites!

Taste

The Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate chocolate bar has a scent that is entirely dominated by the chocolate. The bar smells strongly of rich, dark, unsweetened chocolate. The bar smells exclusively of dark chocolate, but nothing close to caramel corn or popped corn.

On the tongue, Wild Ophelia creates an exceptionally good dark chocolate. The Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate chocolate bar is dark and rich and it must truly linger in the mouth for the chocolate to melt away. After it dissolves, there is a salty, muted flavor that is vaguely like caramel corn. There is not much of the familiar, delightful buttery flavor of caramel corn and while the amazing chocolate is great, the caramel corn is little more than a texture to the chocolate bar.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate bar has a slightly bitter aftertaste that lingers on the tongue for about a minute after one is done consuming the bar. After that flavor fades, the sweetness of the caramel coating on the caramel corn brittle is evident again.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with fine ingredients, which is arguably why they are so expensive. With the primary ingredients being dark chocolate (70% cacao), caramel corn brittle, and sea salt, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate bars are not bad, but they are candy. However, Wild Ophelia does use natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 1 ounce serving (which is odd because there is no easy way to break the bar into two equal pieces), there are 140 calories, 90 of which are from fat. This represents 16% of one’s RDA of fat (34% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 10 mg of Sodium and 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium (2% RDA), Iron (15% RDA) and Magnesium (10% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural and have no preservatives, they do contain soy. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy, which implies that these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant. They are, however, Gluten Free.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is so hard, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate bars are not especially susceptible to heat. Still, these should be kept cool in order to not melt. With that in mind, as long as they are kept cool and dry, these will last almost a year (the one I picked up today would have lasted until August 26, 2014, had it not been consumed by my wife and I).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Crispy Crunchy Caramel Corn And Dark Chocolate Bar is hard to call a failure; it’s a tasty chocolate, but it does not live up to the promise of its multiple flavors. That makes for an expensive dark chocolate bar in cute packaging.

For other Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire candy bars, please check out my reviews of:
District 7 Lumber Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar
District 10 Livestock Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars
District 3 Technology Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars

4/10

For more food reviews, please check out my Food Review Index Page!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Successful Niche Chocolate: Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar!

The Good: Embodies all of the promised flavors, High quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: Fairly expensive, The bar is hot, but not flavorful and the spiciness is very much a “love it or hate it” flavor.
The Basics: The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bars are spicy and delightful for capturing their niche flavor.


Today’s review related to the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!) is another wonderful candy bar from Wild Ophelia! Representing Panem District 7 is the Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bar. That chocolate bar falls very much into a niche that seems to be “love it or hate it;” spicy-hot candies. Like the Jelly Belly Tabasco jelly beans (reviewed here!), the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire District 7 Lumber Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate chocolate bars are an acquired taste.

The Wild Ophelia Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bars are my third experience with Wild Ophelia chocolate bars and these premium chocolate bars are expensive. The bars that represent District 7 in Panem are a potent blend of spicy and sweet, creamy chocolate (which is not at all waxy).

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar is a solid milk chocolate bar from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 7. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The Bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is distinctive.

The chocolate is firm, creamy and not at all waxy; it’s a quality chocolate bar. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. They are expensive for those who do not like the combination of chili and chocolate, though. For those who like the gourmet combination, this is a pretty reasonable price (especially compared to other niche chocolates).

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bars are chocolate, not getting chili pepper oil out of one’s eyes! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is a premium chocolate product, I recommend eating this a little at a time, not just biting right into the bar.

Taste

The Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar smells mildly of peppers. The aroma of chocolate is almost entirely absent from the bouquet of the Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bars.

The Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar is sweet and delightful, a perfect embodiment of milk chocolate. The smooth, sweet, milk chocolate flavor coats the tongue in a pleasant, inviting way . . . for about two seconds. Then the chili peppers burn right through the chocolate. The hot peppers assert themselves as a burning spiced flavor immediately and for about two minutes on the tongue. The chocolate seems to mute the taste outside the physical sensation of spicy burn, to there is no real flavor depth to the Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bar. The best analogy I have is that it’s like getting the heat from the fire without seeing a flame or smelling smoke; the bar is monolithically hot, but not a real flavor besides the hot chili and the milk chocolate.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bar has a sweet aftertaste that asserts itself only after the chili flavor has been completely burned through and muted. The sweet flavor endures on the tongue for about a minute.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with quality ingredients, which is arguably why they range in price in the real world and online anywhere from $2.99 - $10/bar! With the primary ingredients being milk chocolate (41% cacao), chipotle chili powder and alder smoked salt, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bars are a candy bar, not a legitimate source of nutrition needed to survive. That said, Wild Ophelia uses natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 1 ounce serving (which is unfortunate because the seams make the bar breakable into thirds, not halves!), there are 150 calories, 90 of which are from fat. This represents 16% of one’s RDA of fat (33% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 45 mg of Sodium and 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium (4% RDA), Vitamin A (2% RDA), Iron (8% RDA) and Magnesium (6% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural with no artificial ingredients and have no preservatives, they do contain soy and milk. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy. Obviously, with the milk, these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant, though they are Gluten-free.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is generally hard, but a milk chocolate, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bars are somewhat susceptible to heat. These should be kept cool in order to not melt, but I have not had any problems with mine As long as they are kept cool and dry, these bars will last almost a year (the one I picked up yesterday would have lasted until August 19, 2014, had I not consumed it already).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Smoked Chipotle Chili And Milk Chocolate Bar is good, but not exceptional. While they do spicy very well, Wild Ophelia mutes all other flavors in this bar, making it a tough sell for those who want a flavorful chocolate bar.

For other The Hunger Games merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
2013 Mockingjay Exclusive Hallmark ornament
NECA The Hunger Games trading cards
The Hunger Games DVD

5/10

For more chocolate reviews, please check out my Chocolate Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Catching Fire Release Week Continues With The Awesome Wild Ophelia Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars!

The Good: Embodies all of the promised flavors, Wonderful quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: Fairly expensive, Could be just a little more flavorful on the mesquite front.
The Basics: For a delightful blend of meat and chocolate, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars are well worth hunting down!


I’m celebrating the DVD/Blu-Ray release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!) with reviews each day of merchandise from the popular The Hunger Games franchise! On the heels of the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate (reviewed here!), I was eager to try the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire District 10 Livestock Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate chocolate bars. This was the second Wild Ophelia chocolate bar I tried; I bought a lot of them from the local drug store and decided to enjoy them and review them based on the order of how good each one sounded to me. The Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars are delightful and remind me of the Chuao Chocolatier Maple Bacon Bar (reviewed here!) . . . except the Wild Ophelia bars actually live up to their meat flavor.

The Wild Ophelia Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bars are only my second experience with Wild Ophelia chocolate bars and these premium chocolate bars are expensive, but well worth the price. The bars that represent District 10 in Panem are a cool blend of meat and sweet, creamy chocolate (which is not at all waxy), but not overly mesquite-y.

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bar is a solid milk chocolate bar from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 10. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The Bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is distinctive.

The chocolate is firm, creamy and not at all waxy; it’s a quality chocolate bar. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. Given the quality of these bars, it is tough to call them too expensive, especially with the quality of the jerky in it.

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate bars are chocolate, not being forced to kill your own food to survive in a bloodsport! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is a premium chocolate product, I recommend eating this a little at a time, not just biting right into the bar.

Taste

The Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar smells wonderful! These chocolate bars smell darker than they are. There is a scent under the chocolate aroma that is incredibly similar to barbecue sauce. The aroma is, no doubt, indicative of the smoked mesquite flavor in the chocolate bar.

In the mouth, the Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate chocolate bar is salty and has a somewhat crispy texture to it. The chocolate is sweet, but the saltiness of the meat overwhelms the milky chocolate flavor. The longer the chocolate lingers on the tongue, the flavors blend and come together with the spicy mesquite flavor of the meat embedded in the bar to create a delightful combination that is utterly uncommon in candy.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate bar has no aftertaste. The flavor is intriguing, deep and embodies exactly what it is supposed to.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with quality ingredients, which is arguably why they range in price in the real world and online anywhere from $2.99 - $10/bar! With the primary ingredients being milk chocolate (41% cacao), organic beef jerky, and organic apple cider vinegar, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate bars are a candy bar, not a legitimate source of nutrition needed to survive. That said, Wild Ophelia uses natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 28 gram serving (1 ounce, which is odd because the seams make the bar breakable into thirds, not halves!), there are 150 calories, 90 of which are from fat. This represents 15% of one’s RDA of fat (31% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 40 mg of Sodium (which makes sense given that there is beef jerky in the bars!) and 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium (4% RDA), Iron (8% RDA) and Magnesium (4% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural with no artificial ingredients and have no preservatives, they do contain soy, milk, and real meat. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy. Obviously, with the beef jerky and milk, these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is generally hard, but a milk chocolate, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate bars are somewhat susceptible to heat. These should be kept cool in order to not melt, but I have not had any problems with mine As long as they are kept cool and dry, these bars will last almost a year (the one I picked up yesterday would have lasted until August 26, 2014, had it not been devoured by my wife and I).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Beef Jerky & Smoked Mesquite And Milk Chocolate Bar is only really robbed of perfection by the lack of a more robust mesquite flavor (it has the scent!) and the cost of the bars, though the expense is pretty justifiable given how yummy they are!

For other The Hunger Games merchandise, please check out my reviews of:
2013 Mockingjay Exclusive Hallmark ornament
NECA The Hunger Games trading cards
The Hunger Games DVD

8/10

For more food reviews, please check out my Food Review Index Page!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Happy The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Release Week! Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars Delight!

The Good: Great taste, Wonderful quality, Does not melt easily
The Bad: Lacking on the salt flavor, Fairly expensive.
The Basics: Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars are worth their price . . . for anyone who absolutely loves dark chocolate and coffee flavors!


With the release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (reviewed here!) on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, I’m finding myself amused by and enjoying the merchandise surrounding the franchise. For the cinematic release of The Hunger Games, licensees were a bit more conservative and NECA seemed to take the most risk, producing both action figures and a trading card set (reviewed here!) for the film. Today, I swung by a drug store and found most of a display of Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire chocolates! The gimmick is an interesting one; apparently the chocolatier Wild Ophelia manufactured twelve different chocolate bars (one for each District in Panem, the world of The Hunger Games). While this seems like just a classier, dressed up version of the cookies I bought as a kid themed for Return Of The Jedi, looking over the ingredients and concepts of the six bars I was actually able to find (I wish I could get my hands on the other six now!), I very willingly let Wild Ophelia suck me in. Because I like to try new things that I might actually like, my first selection is the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire District 3 Technology Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate chocolate bars.

The Wild Ophelia Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bars are my first experience with Wild Ophelia chocolate bars and it is clear the company is providing a premium product (given how expensive the bars are). Fortunately, the bars intended to represent District 3 in Panem is worth it. They have a powerful dark chocolate flavor, augmented by a delightful coffee texture and taste!

Basics

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bar is a solid dark chocolate bar from Wild Ophelia. Each 2 oz. chocolate bar is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper indicating that it is from District 3. Inside the cardboard case is a thick metallic plastic wrapper (with a seam resembling a Pop Tart more than a chocolate bar). The actual chocolate bar is 4 1/2” long by 2 13/16” wide by 1/4” thick. The Bar has no identifying marks or logos on it, but it is segmented to make three 1 1/2” wide by 2 13/16” long bars. The top features ribbing that give the bar a very Art Deco look that is distinctive.

The chocolate is very dark and incredibly solid. Individually, the bars are found in the $3.99 range, which is expensive, though I found mine on clearance for $2.99. Given the quality of these bars, it is tough to call them too expensive.

Ease Of Preparation

Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bars are chocolate, not surviving The Hunger Games! Preparing them is as easy as unwrapping the candy bar. Because the chocolate is pricy, I recommend eating this a little at a time, not just biting right into the bar.

Taste

The Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate chocolate bar is very aromatic; the bar smells strongly of rich, dark, unsweetened chocolate. The bar smells exclusively of dark chocolate and it is mouthwatering for anyone who loves high quality, rich dark chocolate.

On the tongue, Wild Ophelia provides a completely delightful dark chocolate with real flavor depth with their Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate chocolate bar. The chocolate is dark and rich and it must truly linger in the mouth for the chocolate to melt away. As it does, though, what little sweetness chocolate possesses is replaced by the bold, bitter flavor of the coffee that is ground into the bar. The added texture from the coffee beans makes for an intriguing experience in the mouth and, interestingly, helps keep the flavors rotating over the taste buds!

What the Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bar lacks is a recognizable salt flavor. The bitterness of the coffee and droolworthy dark chocolate completely overwhelm any sense of sodium in the flavor palate.

The The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bar has a slightly bitter aftertaste that lingers on the tongue for about three minutes after one is done consuming the bar.

Nutrition

Wild Ophelia makes their fine chocolates with fine ingredients, which is arguably why they are so expensive. With the primary ingredients being dark chocolate (70% cacao), ground coffee and sea salt, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bars are not a wonderful food to try to survive on (but who expects that from a candy bar?!). However, they do use natural ingredients and organic ingredients where possible; none of the ingredients are unpronounceable. In a 1 ounce serving (which is odd because there is no easy way to break the bar into two equal pieces), there are 150 calories, 110 of which are from fat. This represents 19% of one’s RDA of fat (38% of the RDA of saturated fat). Each bar has 25 mg of Sodium and 2 grams of protein. There is a smattering of Calcium,(2% RDA), Iron (20% RDA) and Magnesium (10% RDA), but no other vitamins and minerals. In other words, this is not a snack to try to survive on.

While the bars are all natural and have no preservatives, they do contain soy. As well, there is an allergy warning for tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, milk, wheat, and soy, which implies that these The Hunger Games: Catching Fire bars are not Vegan-compliant. They are, however, Gluten Free.

Storage/Clean-Up

Because the chocolate is so hard, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bars are not especially susceptible to heat. Still, these should be kept cool in order to not melt. With that in mind, as long as they are kept cool and dry, these will last almost a year (the one I picked up today would have lasted until August 2014, had it not been devoured by my wife and I).

Clean-up is easy, so long as the chocolate does not melt. The Wild Ophelia Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate bars have wrappers that ought to be properly disposed of, but otherwise, the chocolate washes off skin and non-porous surfaces. It the chocolate melts onto fabric, consult a fabric guide.

Overall

The Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bar is delicious, but I’m weirded out by how it is segmented in a way that is entirely inorganic to the serving size. Why didn’t Wild Ophelia segment the bar in halves or make the serving size 1/3 of a bar (2/3 oz.) so the nutritional information would actually be useful?! Between that and the fact that the promised salt flavor is pretty much absent from the bar’s flavor palate robs the bar of a perfect rating. Even for the price, though, the Wild Ophelia The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Arabica Coffee & Crystal Salt And Dark Chocolate Bar is a pretty wonderful candy worth tracking down!

For other fancy candies, please check out my reviews of:
Chuao Chocolatier Maple Bacon Bar
Endangered Species Chocolate Dark Chocolate With Forest Mint Bar
Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Chocolate Squares

8.5/10

For more food reviews, please check out my Food Review Index Page!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Why Catching Fire Is Worth Watching (When The Hunger Games . . . Not So Much)!

The Good: Good story, Decent use of themes, Generally good acting, Decent effects
The Bad: Characters still fall a little flat
The Basics: Rectifying many of the issues that made The Hunger Games not worth watching, Catching Fire becomes a Fall film worth tuning in to!


Lionsgate has made a huge mistake. I write that as someone who is not a fan of The Hunger Games Trilogy, despite the fact that my wife has now read all three books. I was not impressed by The Hunger Games (reviewed here!) and I have noticed that the merchandising for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire has been pretty anemic. In fact, outside the limited edition Hallmark Mockingjay ornament (reviewed here!), Catching Fire has not had a big pre-release push on the merchandising front. There seems to be a good reason for that: Catching Fire is a far more cerebral film than its predecessor and a far better one.

That leads me to my opening assertion: Lionsgate has made a terrible mistake. I was not a fan of The Hunger Games but I get how Lionsgate felt compelled to make the movie and make it first. Viewers needed to be introduced to the universe of The Hunger Games and understand the brutal methods of power and control utilized by the Presidents of Panem, including the current one, Snow. But when my wife finished reading the books, she noted that Catching Fire was the longest of the books and she complained that nothing much happened in Mockingjay. The mistake Lionsgate made: cramming everything from the second book into a single movie. Instead of breaking the final book into two films, the second book has a very natural break in it that could have made it a far better movie. This is a film with a lot crammed into it.

As it stands, though, Catching Fire is ambitious, generally smart, and well-presented, living up beyond the potential of The Hunger Games to make for a vastly superior film. Unlike the first film, which essentially made the audience into the citizens of the corrupt Panem, rooting for Katniss Everdeen to slay her child opponents in a bizarrely orchestrated bloodsport, Catching Fire exposes the movement throughout Panem that is leading to a genuine revolution. For half the film, the consequences of the corruption embodied by President Snow is explored and the viewer is given a fairly decent (and entertaining) civics lesson on the power of the individual and the methods employed by corrupt individuals in the highest levels of government. The allegory is strong and worthwhile and it makes most of Catching Fire worthwhile. The latter half of Catching Fire develops nicely as a story of sacrifice and rebellion realized; a story that would have carried more weight if some of the characters involved in making the sacrifices (and orchestrating the rebellion) were characters the viewer cared about more.

Catching Fire picks up where The Hunger Games left off. Having been triumphant dual survivors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark have become symbols of defiance throughout the Districts of Panem. Katniss realizes this while on tour in District 11, where the child, Rue, she worked to protect in the Hunger Games hailed from. Having seen Katniss defy the rulemakers in the Hunger Games, by threatening to kill herself with Peeta at the climax and rob the government of a victor to trot around, Katniss has inspired the rebels scattered throughout Panem to openly engage the government forces. When Katniss learns that the previously-destroyed District 13 may not be the abandoned wasteland the government claims it is, she becomes even more sympathetic to the anti-government forces.

To stop the growing insurrection and to psychologically devastate the Districts of Panem, President Snow uses the 75th Annual Hunger Games as a way to dispatch of the troublesome Katniss, Peeta, and other prior victors at the Hunger Games who have symbolic value to the Districts and the Rebellion. Traumatized from the moment she is forced back into the games, Katniss works to keep Peeta alive. But soon, other contestants in the Games begin to ally themselves with Katniss and it becomes clear that Snow may have botched his attempt to stop the rebellion.

Right off the bat, it is worth noting that President Snow is one of the lesser villains of modern cinema. How a man who expects to rule with an iron fist using fear and ritualized demoralization does not see the potential of prior victors slugging it out as a bad idea seems particularly lame. For sure, Snow is getting some bad advice from the new Game’s Master, Plutarch Heavensbee. Heavensbee’s role in Catching Fire might go over the head of Katniss, but it is unlikely to stymie fans of science fiction or political dramas. While there is almost always a Brutus in a political drama, it weakens the Caesar of the work for them to be so blind to it. As a result, President Snow’s miscalculations in pitting former victors against each other (which basically puts the people who have been most traumatized by the system in one place for days on end and seems like it would do little outside inspire further acts of televised resistance) weaken the President of Panem.

For her part, Katniss Everdeen comes across as less whiny in Catching Fire than she did in The Hunger Games. A lot of the credit for this has to go to Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence portrays Katniss as a young woman who is ignorant of political intrigue, as opposed to just stupid. Despite having the tactical wherewithal at the climax of The Hunger Games to extort the Capitol for her and Peeta’s lives, Katniss is still just an inexperienced young woman whose tactical abilities largely come from hunting. While that is an asset inside the games, it does not realistically prepare her for clandestine approaches from rebels and Lawrence walks the fine line that makes Katniss seem reasonably ignorant as opposed to laughably daft.

Unfortunately, Josh Hutcherson is still thoroughly white bread as Peeta Mellark and Liam Hemsworth’s Gale is presented with so little substance as to not make him a viable romantic interest for Katniss. Hutcherson’s presence in the movie is undermined by the far more dynamic Sam Claflin as Finnick. Finnick seems instantly more interesting than Peeta and where Peeta bumbles through the film, Finnick actually is presented with all the seeds of being an able leader. Claflin plays Finnick well and the onscreen magnetism he possesses serves the character well. Also noteworthy of the Catching Fire cast is Jena Malone. Malone manages to make the acerbic Johanna Mason seem unlike any of the meek roles she has played in the past and she plays the rougher edges in Mason without any sort of hints at her Sucker Punch (reviewed here!) character.

Before Catching Fire degenerates into the choreographed blood sport – though this time there is so much more going on inside the arena than simple survival that the audience does not fall into the trap of being like the citizens of Panem and there is little entertainment in the deaths in the arena – the film manages to captivate. As the story of sacrifice and rebellion grows, the viewer actually begins to care what might come of Panem, if not Katniss.

Catching Fire is a strong middle act and the struggle of the twelve (or thirteen) Districts against the oppressive Capitol seems crammed into a film that moves along at a decent pace, but glosses over some of the subtlety that might have made Panem one of the more interesting dystopian realms. As it stands, Catching Fire might have a problematic antagonist and an ally hampered by lackluster acting, but it progresses The Hunger Games Saga in a direction that is enough to make viewers want to see how the Rebellion fares. What might have made the Saga, and this installment, more compelling is a fundamentally more interesting protagonist. Jennifer Lawrence does what she can with Katniss Everdeen, but for the bulk of Catching Fire, viewers are rooting for a pawn and that’s not an enviable place for a storyteller to hinge their success, nor an audience to hang its hopes.

For other action/science fiction second act films, please check out my reviews of:
The Empire Strikes Back
The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
Thor: The Dark World

7.5/10

For other film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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