Jim Sheridan admires how Colin Farrell turned his life around.

We’ve had some very persuasive movies in the past on how tough it is to be a teenager — Heathers (1988), say, or Kids (1995) or the ultra-violent Battle Royale (2000) — but The Hunger Games (12A) is unambiguous: it’s a jungle out there, so get ready to kill or be killed.

Death is a lottery – literally – in Gary Ross’s nail-biting survival thriller based on the first chapter of Suzanne Collins’s post-apocalyptic trilogy.

Set during one evening, this frightener could have been so much better - but is let down by poor characterisation, weak plotting and all-round indifference.

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

From Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce to Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman, it seems that some of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the moment hail from Australia.