Howdy Folks! It’s The Kendog here with a look at the latest chapter in the Hunger Games franchise. It’s called “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” and takes place 64 years before the events of the first film. Here we see the rise of the young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), the struggling son of the inventor of the Hunger Games. Now living on his late father’s name, Snow attempts to win the big monetary prize at the University by taking advantage of the new rules for the 10th Annual Hunger Games and sponsoring one of the “tributes.” He catches the attention of of the Games lead designer Dr. Gaul (Viola Davis) and the ire of the dean of the university (a great Peter Dinklage). His ideas on glamorizing the tributes and enhancing the watchability of the Games conflicts with the feelings he has for his tribute, a fiery young singer Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). His feelings for Baird threaten to ruin his rise to the top of the capital.