I am a huge “Hunger Games” fan. I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies multiple times and am way too attached to Katniss and Peeta as a couple. All that said, I loved this book too and couldn’t wait for the movie to come out, so I may not be the most objective.

Bringing back the same director only further raised my hopes and honestly, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” did not disappoint. This “Hunger Games” installment is darker than the rest, but sadly not as compelling, despite Tom Blythe (“The Gilded Age”) skillfully making the transition from compassionate young man to the paranoid demon we now know as Snow.