Giant Freakin Robot

Let’s make a few things clear right away. We love theaters, we love television, and we love DVDs and Blu-rays. That said, we also love online streaming. And so we present this new weekly feature spotlighting the more important new science fiction-related releases of the past week from such sites as Hulu, Crackle, Redbox Instant, and the granddaddy of them all, Netflix. So without further ado, here is the best that legal streaming has to offer…

The Hunger Games (Netflix)
This ridiculously popular first entry adapted from Suzanne Collins’ mega-hit franchise tore up theaters, making it the 13th highest grossing film of all time, not adjusting for inflation. Though the sequel will of course be bigger and better, Gary Ross’ efforts here are accommodating for almost all audience types. Boys like Jennifer Lawrence’s hottie heroine, girls like Liam Hemsworth, and someone probably likes Lenny Kravitz dressed like “Prince from outer space.” Chances are, you’re beyond sick of hearing about this flick, so just know that if you’re into watching kids beat the shit out of each other, watch Battle Royale. For slightly less violent urges, this is the film for you.

I was as surprised as anyone by my enjoyment of the film version of The Hunger Games, especially after badmouthing it in favor of Battle Royale for so many months. The beginning was clunky, but once “survival instinct” became the thrust of the plot, I dug it. I find myself nearing excitement for the sequel’s release in November, and it isn’t only to stare at Jennifer Lawrence. (That would be what watching House at the End of the Street was for.) But am I excited enough to scour Google Maps for the possibility of finding Catching Fire in the process of filming? Never, but it’s kind of cool that someone else was.

Pseudo-detectives and Twitter users @starfishtony and @Whedonite96 discovered these satellite photos of both Catching Fire‘s unique lake-within-a-forest setting, as well as an overhead view of the Tribute parade. The beach scene was being filmed in Georgia’s Clayton County, in a place originally built for beach volleyball contests in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The vastness of the Atlanta Motor Speedway is serving as the Capitol, where all of the tributes will be unveiled. The parades in New Orleans this week are going to be much more interesting.

Pop! Pop! With Community’s season four premiere set for February, there has been a lot of drama behind the scenes of NBC’s cult comedy series on NBC. Community’s creator and showrunner Dan Harmon was fired after the third-season finale, staff writers are jumping ship to other network comedies, and series regular Chevy Chase has left the series with only two episodes left in the fourth season. But now there’s a silver lining: NBC has released a teaser, which highlights Community’s tribute to The Hunger Games. Watch the teaser below.

Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ young adult novel, The Hunger Games, wasn’t a perfect movie, and nowhere near as good as the book, but it wasn’t bad. The folks from CinemaSins, however, have a bit of a different stance on the matter, and their latest video points out everything that is wrong with the movie. In their estimation there are 53 crimes against filmdom, and they point out every last one of them in this three-minute supercut.