The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 Film Review

With a star studded cast, part one of the third installment of The Hunger Games trilogy lives up to the hype.

When we last saw Jennifer Lawrence on screen as the teenage heroine Katniss Everdeen, she had just awoken from her rescue after the quarter-quell arena chaos.  Katniss quickly found out, as our second film Catching Fire draws to a close, that district 12, her home, was firebombed by the Capital. Now, she is en route to the fabled district 13 which was thought to have been destroyed by the Capital 75 years ago.  Mockingjay part 1 picks up right where our story left off.  Katniss is on the mend and has been reunited in district 13 with her family and friends from district 12.  Soon our heroine is swept up into the revolution by the man who designed the quarter-quell games and engineered her escape, Plutarch Heavensbee played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and the President of district 13 Alma Coin played by Julianne Moore.  Coin and Heavensbee are hatching a plan to use Katniss, or rather the “girl on fire”, as the face of the revolution.  After some convincing, Katniss agrees to help in order to end the tyranny of the maniacal President Snow played by Donald Sutherland. As Katniss begins filming promos and propaganda for the revolution, skipping from war zones to hospitals acting like a sort of USO celebrity meant to unite the troops, we begin to see the real destruction being done on the front.  As the rebels begin airing her promos on TV we get a peek at the face of the Capital, Peeta Mellark played by Josh Hutcherson.  Peeta, now brainwashed perhaps, and Katniss end up facing off over the airwaves in a propaganda-style war-of-words that would make any politician alive today blush.  The revolution continues to rage on and become more personal than ever for Katniss as we go on this emotional voyage with the girl on fire.

As someone who has read the entire series of books, and enjoyed the first two films, I wasn't sure if I would like this newest addition to the series.  Nearly everyone I have discussed the book series with views Mockingjay as the weakest of the trilogy.  It has always seemed to me that Suzanne Collins wrote a great couple of novels and then her publisher wanted a third book so she tacked Mockingjay onto the series to make a trilogy.  Adding to that, I also wasn't happy that Lionsgate decided to split this book into two films.  Although I was a bit pessimistic about this film going in, I think Mockingjay was well done.  This series has really done a great job of taking a young adult (YA) novel series and adding in great acting.  By casting the young talent of Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, & Liam Hemsworth and combining them with Woody Harrleson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, and of course Stanley Tucci, the acting is excellent in this film.  Each actor provides the depth needed for their character and even allow the audience a few laughs in this film with such incredibly intense subject matter.  

With good source material, a well written screen adaptation of that material, excellent acting, and of course likable (or hateable) characters, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 offers up everything we have come to expect and love about this series.  I give this film a 4 out of 5 stars.  Make sure to watch the first two films before seeing Mockingjay.  If you do that, you will  definitely enjoy this well made dystopian series.  If you get really ambitious, you should read the books as well.  They are a quick read and very difficult to put down. Enjoy!

Interstellar Review

Matthew McConaughey scored big with last year's film Dallas Buyers Club, but can he back up that Oscar winning performance with another masterful one? The short answer is, yes.

In the new film Interstellar, McConaughey plays Cooper, a former engineer and pilot for NASA who has been forced, along with much of the world, to resort to farming.  In this Malthusian-like bleak future, the Earth has run out of resources and the food supply has dwindled due to major blights affecting crops world wide.  Populations have plummeted and we come to find out that the Earth is dying. In order to save human kind NASA has secretly been conducting a mission to find a new home planet suitable for humans.  Aiding this search was the discovery of a worm hole near Saturn that someone or something placed there to help save the human race. McConaughey faces the terribly difficult decision to either stay with his children on our dying planet and wait for death or leave his family behind, perhaps never seeing them again, in hopes of  discovering a new planet for his family and mankind.  Ultimately for the good of his family he chooses to search for the new planet.  He and his crew, which includes Anne Hathaway as Brand and Wes Bentley as Doyle, head through the wormhole and into deep space in hopes of saving humankind.  

This film is done brilliantly with a well written story by writer and director Christopher Nolan as well as great acting from McConaughey, Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain as McConaughey's grown up daughter Murph.  Although it is possible this film won't receive the same buzz and award season recognition as other films due to its sci-fi nature, McConaughey's role playing a father and the emotions he went through from leaving his kids behind to the heartbreaking scene of him watching them grow up via space transmission evoked major emotions on screen and with the audience.  McConaughey's portrayal of Cooper leaves me no doubt that he is one of the best actors in Hollywood today.   In addition to McConaughey, this star studded cast does an amazing job of acting.  With such big names as John Lithgow, Michael Caine, and Matt Damon, the film has plenty of big name acting talent and it shows through on screen.  

Although the film has a rather bleak outlook of our possible future on Earth, the tag line of the movie does indeed offer a glimmer of hope.  "Mankind was born on Earth, it was never meant to die here." Indeed we will find a way to endure.  The message of this film resonates at a time when we face major issues across the globe and many people foresee widespread food and resource shortages in our future.  This well written story hits close to home while being an original story at a time when reboots and sequels dominate the box office.  I give this film a resounding 5 out of 5 stars and recommend you see this film with some Kleenex if you are a parent.

"Fury" Review

The gritty World War II film "Fury" sets its sights on a poor box office.  

A few words can sum up the new Brad Pitt World War II film "Fury":  gritty, realistic, and raw.  The film is set in April of 1945.  The Allies have the Nazis on the run and as a last ditch effort to stave off defeat, Hitler has decreed "total war", demanding every man, woman, and child take up arms in defense of the homeland.  The film also sets the stage by letting the audience know that American tanks are out gunned and lack the armor that the more advanced German Panzer and Tiger tanks posess.  Enter the grizzled tank crew of Sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier played by Brad Pitt.  We quickly learn that this band of rag tag fighters have been together since the beginning of the war, as Sergeant Collier so eloquently stated,"I started this war killing Germans in Africa...Now I'm killing Germans in Germany."  The film also does a great job of adding details and building the characters' war backgrounds through stories and meaningful dialog between each other.  

The real strength of this film is the extreme realism of the characters, their interactions, and the major theme this film focuses on.  Where many war films paint war in a heroic, almost romantic light, this film focuses on the realities of warfare.  The exchange between tank gunner Boyd "Bible" Swan played by Shia LaBeouf and replacement driver Norman Ellison sums up the theme of the film, "Wait till you see what one man can do to another."  This theme stays evident from one scene to the next. Death is everywhere in this film, from the raw battle scenes to the German civilians that have become casualties of total war.  Director and writer David Ayer does a great job of showing us the realism of warfare.  No character is without flaws and the audience gets the feeling that by cheating death, "by the grace of God", that their grace may be running out.  

"Fury" features great acting by Pitt, LaBeouf and company, along with an excellent storyline and great war action.  This gritty and raw movie has plenty of battle action while setting the stage of this bleek war, and maintaining its overarching theme showcasing the horrors of man in war. If you are a fan of "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers" like I am, you will enjoy the storytelling and legitimacy of this film.  Although be warned, this movie is very realistic and depicts the horrors of warfare. I give Fury 5 out of 5 stars.

Expendables 3 Review

Can the recipe for Expendables films keep churning out winner?

The third installment in the Expendables film franchise has picked up right where the first two films ended.  In Expendables 3 Stallone's mercenary leader Barney Ross continues to work odd jobs with his band of highly trained operatives. Just as in the last two films Stallone's team is made up of Jason Statham's Lee Christmas, Dolph Lundgren's Gunner Jensen, Randy Coutrue's Toll Road, and Terry Crew's character Caesar.  Joining this star studded cast again is Schwarzenegger, and Jet Li with newcomers Antonio Bandaras, Wesley Snipes, Kelsey Grammer, Mel Gibson, and Harrison Ford.  With so many stars it seems like it would be difficult to work them all in.  However each star plays an interesting character and each seems to have their moment of the film to shine.  This time around Barney Ross takes a job which gets one of his men injured.  (This should sound familiar to Expendables 2) seeking revenge against the man who injured his team member, which turned out to be a former expendable gone rouge, Ross retires his old team to protect them and then assembles a new young team to help him go on a suicide mission. That mission goes south and Ross then needs the help of his old team to help rescue the young team.  Of course, along the way is plenty of laughs and of course fights and explosions.  

Perhaps the best part of these films is that you get to see the old action heroes back in action. Every time a new character steps on the screen you find yourself wondering which big actor will be next.  I also love the fact that these aging action stars know how to make fun of themselves by using lines from their other famous films. It was great to hear Arnold's character Trench yelling over and over "Get to the choppa!"

With the success the other two films in the franchise have had it is no shocker that Stallone and company have put together another great film.  The addition of Gibson, Grammar, and Banderas was great.  You always know what to expect and what you will get with the Expendables franchise.  Big fight scenes, big explosions, huge aging action heroes, and of course comedy. With success like this I wouldn't be surprised if Stallone and company continue to churn Expendables films out as long as they like.  I can't wait to see Vin Diesel and the Rock step into this franchise one day.  I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.  If you liked the first two, you will like this one as well.  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles (2014) Review

The heroes in a half shell are back, but are they better than ever?

The newest attempt at the Ninja Turtles franchise has hit theaters with a fairly successful opening. So is this latest attempt actually worth seeing?  The movie starts out by tweaking the cannon of the turtles by altering their background story.  The turtles are still genetically altered "mutants" however rather than their creation being an accident it was intentionally done as a science project.  Fast forward 18 years or so and the highly skilled turtles, trained by the lab rat turned mutant named Splinter, voiced by Tony Shalhoub, are ready to hit the streets to defend NYC from the evil foot clan.  As our story unfolds we learn that the turtles and April O'Neal, played by Megan Fox, have a history, as she is the one who rescued them from a laboratory fire when they were baby turtles.  Eventually it is up to our heroes to save the city from a terrorist chemical attack planned by the foot clan, the TCRI corp, and the Shredder.  

I am a lifelong fan of the Ninja Turtles.  starting with the 90's series as a kid, the strange live-action movies, and now the new animated series with my daughter, the Turtles are one of my all time favorites.  When I saw the look of the new turtles and the previews for the film I had very low expectations.  Making me wonder why Nickelodeon studios would stray so far from their solid animated series currently running.  When it comes down to it, this film offered a new look and interpretation of the classic TMNT cannon.  If you are a fan and can over look the super strength, 6' size, and the weird look they gave the turtles then this can be an entertaining film.  Remember that is coming from someone who is a lifelong Turtles fan.  I was also pleasantly surprised by Megan Fox's performance.  Typically the actress bothers me, however she did a nice job in this film.  

With this film filling a little over an hour and a half it is a pretty entertaining movie if you are looking for some laughs and action.  If you are a fan of the turtles, young or old, you can enjoy this film. Just keep in mind this is not the new animated series which is very good (and raises the question why Nickelodeon didn't just use the voice actors from the series) and this is not the computer animated film called TMNT about the turtles in their 20's.  This is its own interpretation of a favorite franchise.  Be open and check your reservations at the door and you will enjoy the film.  I give this movie a 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

We finally have a true summer blockbuster!

In a summer filled with many potential blockbuster films, 2014 is going to go down as a lackluster one for Hollywood.  The box office and attendance is down through July, leaving it up to three films to deliver a true blockbuster for 2014.  The last ditch effort comes from a film industry juggernaut Marvel Studios. Marvel launched a hail Mary pass with one of their strangest comic book series to date, Guardians of the Galaxy.  

Much like Marvel's tent pole series The Avengers, Guardians brings together five heroes.  However unlike Avengers these heroes are brought together not to work together for a greater good, at least to begin with, but for personal gains.  The unlikely band of heroes learn along the way that they work well together and they even begin to care for one another, which is a long way from how they felt to begin the film.  As the action intensifies and the Guardians learn they must work together, the audience is treated to a number of fun action scenes.  From strange new worlds across the galaxy and even into space itself, the action and events of Guardians take us to a place Marvel has never brought their audiences before.  Guardians plays less like a super hero film and much more like a sci-fi shoot'em up western.  Although much of this movie will feel strange and new; the action, comedy, and characters keep the audience enthralled from beginning to end.  

Guardians takes the same format that Marvel Studios has been so successful with in their past franchise films. Take larger than life characters, give them a nice back story, develop these characters on screen, and then bring those characters together to save the world.  The same equation pays off here in Guardians of the Galaxy.  It helps that Marvel always finds and casts great actors for their roles.  In Guardians we see good performances from a number of well known stars.  Chris Pratt plays the lead as Peter Quill a.k.a. Starlord, a human who was abducted from Earth (or Terra as they call it) when he was just a boy.  Gamora a genetically altered assassin played by Zoe Saldana adds some brains and muscle to the team, and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista brings the pain and a number of hilarious scenes as Drax the Destroyer.  Perhaps the most notable performance of the film actually comes from a star we never even see.  Bradley Cooper voices the genetically altered raccoon Rocket.  Cooper, whose voice is hardly recognizable, is great at providing not only some nice comedic scenes, but also some character depth with his heartfelt performance.  Marvel packs in action and stars, but they are very adept at developing their characters.  With small tidbits unveiled throughout the film, the audience learns background about each of these characters and also begins to identify with them, something that many films this summer have had difficulty doing.  

Guardians of the Galaxy may not be the greatest Marvel film of all time, it may not even be the best of the year.  However this movie asks it's viewers to buckle up and come along on a crazy ride through the galaxy at hyper speed.  Guardians delivers an great action hero film combined with a hilarious comedy, that even finds time to make fun of hero films, all while including an amazing soundtrack.  I give Guardians of the Galaxy a 4 out of 5 stars and would definitely check this one out in theaters.  Go see this one, don't be left in the dark when Guardians 2 comes out in 2017.  

Hercules (2014) Review

Can the Demigod fight his way to the top of this summer's lackluster box office?

The legend of Hercules is an amazing Ancient Greek myth about a child born from Zeus, King of the gods, and a mortal woman.  Knowing that this film had plenty of mythological "cannon" to draw from and such a legendary character excited me quite a bit.  Unfortunately the "cannon" they chose to pull from for this film was a Hercules comic book rather than the stories of Ancient Greece.  Rather than playing up the son-of-a-god angle they chose to stray away from the mythology and use a more historical lens to examine the possibilities of a man named Hercules who did great things, but whose feats were exaggerated by storytellers.  

The film starts with a narrator guiding us through the life of Hercules, son of Zeus, hated by Hera because of her husband's infidelity, and grew up to be an amazing warrior.  Such an amazing warrior he was sent on 12 labors by the gods.  Included in these 12 labors were the battles with mythical beasts like the Lernean hydra, Erymanthian boar, and Nemean lion. Although these scenes make great moments in the beginning of the film, the rest of the movie takes place after Herc's 12 labors when he and his small band of warriors have become mercenaries traveling Greece as hired muscle.  The group of warriors fighting with  Herc are also interesting elite fighters, however we never get a good sense of who they really are other than a few hints and campfire stories about them.  After a successful campaign of ridding a city-state of pirates, Hercules and his men are called upon to help save a kingdom known as Thrace from an evil warlord.  

Although I really wanted to like this film quite a bit, I found it falling a bit short.  The lack of character development is tough.  The warriors that surround Hercules are all interesting characters, but we never learn much about them.  Ian McShane plays a soothsayer and warrior named Amphiaraus who Hercules has befriended.  It's a great character and McShane does a nice job, however we know very little of his character.  Other notable performances come from John Hurt as Lord Cotys, the leader of Thrace, Rufus Sewell playing another warrior with Herc named Autolycus, and of course Dwayne "the rock" Johnson as Hercules.  The Rock actually does a great job playing Herc.  I typically enjoy the Rock's films, especially when he is kicking butt, and this film does not disappoint with the butt kicking.  The fight scenes were done well and were fun to watch.  Ultimately though I believe the film falls victim to its lack of myth.  Throughout the entire film they push the fact that Hercules and his band of warriors are perpetuating the legend of Hercules.  That there is no such thing as a demigod, and that Hercules is just a great man.  I like the attempt to make it more historically based, as if he was just a great man and not a god, but I came to this movie to see a full on demigod battle mythical beasts and the gods themselves.  Outside of the first 10 minutes of the film, that wish falls short.  

If you are looking for a great film based in Ancient Greece, watch Troy.  If you want a good movie based on a comic book in Ancient Greece, watch one of the 300 films.  If you want decent action and like to see The Rock kick butt, then this is the film for you.  I give this movie 2.5 stars out of 5.