THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE – REVIEW

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE REVIEW

Every once in a while we get a big major blockbuster film that not only entertains, but actually as some depth to it. The first Hunger Games film was exactly that. It was beautifully translated from the book as masterful all round filmmaking made the first film commendable on all fronts. Needless to say that director Francis Lawrence had quite the shoes to fill, considering the fact that Gary Ross, the director of the first film, was the main reason that The Hunger Games translated so well onto the big screen.

After winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen returns home to District 12 along with fellow winner Peeta Mellark. Shortly after returning home, they must embark on a "Victory Tour" of the districts, leaving behind their close friends and family again. But little do they know they will have to go back into the arena with the past winners. On the day of the Victory Tour, President Snow threatens Katniss' best friend and pretend cousin, Gale Hawthorne, outraged after she and Peeta broke the rules of the 74th Hunger Games that allowed them both to win. During the tour, Katniss senses that a rebellion is brewing in the districts, but the Capitol is still firmly in control as Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games, known as a Quarter Quell, an event taking place every 25 years – a competition that could change Panem forever.

As a fan of the book series, I would have to say that Catching Fire is the weakest book of the trilogy. While I do adore Suzanne Collins writing, Catching Fire is merely a segue way to MockingJay, which would seem to be the story, which she was more interested in as compared to Catching Fire.  Catching Fire was rather formulaic and rushed, while most of the ancillary characters were much more interesting, it was a repeat of the original book. 

With that being said, I expected Catching Fire to be nothing more then a simple segue to Mockingjay just as its source material. The truth is however, that Catching Fire went above my expectation. It was far better then it should of have been and in my opinion its better then the original film. 

Catching Fire certainly enters the small club of sequels to great films that manages to not only meet audience’s expectations, it manages to exceed it.

Director Francis Lawrence does a wonderful job of respecting everything Gary Ross built in the first film, as he builds upon that world by keeping the tone and atmosphere of the film rather than stamping his own style over it. Lawrence did an excellent job in making the Districts feel more tangible, gritty, robust and rustic.

The true testament of Lawrence masterful directing is the fact that the film, just like the book, shares certain plot points with its predecessor, yet Lawrence handles this film with such care and delicacy that somehow, it plays out better then the previous installment.

Like most book adaptions Lawrence certainly had to cut many things from the book but it only made the film more streamlined and focused. Fans of the book series wont necessarily have, as many complaints with this film and Lawrence narrative choices as they did with some of Ross’ more controversial choices e.g. Peta should have lost his leg.

One of the main strengths of the book was the cast of Victors that would be up against Katniss and Peta in the 75^th Hunger Games. This would prove once again to be one of the main strengths of the film as well.

The overall cast for the film is simply amazing with actors such as Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone and Amanda Plummer all added to this already magnificent cast.

From these newcomers, Jena Malone is certainly a stand out for me, playing the charismatic Johanna Mason. When I heard Jena got the role for Johanna, I knew she was the right person for the role. After watching the film I know she was the right person for the role. Jena plays the role so well bringing the right amount of brashness as she mixes it with swagger, giving you that straightforward, in your face, unforgiving nature of the character.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman portrayal of Plutarch Heavensbee in the film is much more understated, calculated and threatening compared to his book counterpart. However, it works so well.

Looking at the returning cast of the film, Jennifer Lawrence once again shows us why she’s one of the top young female performers today, as she once again steps into the role with all the vivacity and emotion you could ever want from a films lead. Jennifer is still on top of her game in this film, even though she’s not carrying much of the weight as she did in the first film, as a result of the expanding group of characters who share the weight with her.

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket is certainly testament to this, as her role is certainly not a large one, but she managed to cement herself in your memory playing this colorful Trinket. This time, Banks plays the role with so much emotion that she often represents the heart and despair of the story.

There are many films that come out each year, some of them good, some of them bad and very few of the men are actually great. The Hunger Games was a film that was certainly great when it came out, but Catching Fire certainly is one of few sequels that has managed to surpass or at the very least to maintain the greatness of the previous film.

Thus while I uphold The Hunger Games above Catching Fire when talking about the book series, in terms of the film series however, I’ll place Catching Fire above the first Hunger Games, as it’s a perfect example of taking all the strengths of the previous film and building upon it while ironing out some of its weakness.

Catching Fire is certainly one film you do not want to miss.

My Rating

9/10 

THOR: THE DARK WORLD – REVIEW

THOR: THE DARK WORLD – REVIEW

The Mighty Thor and mischievous Loki return for yet another adventure as they deal with the fallout of Avengers, while having to face an ancient foe that has been lost to myth and legend. Thor: The Dark World delves deeper into the nine realms and mystic side of the Marvel Universe, entertaining it audiences from beginning to end.

Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

At the beginning of Thor: TDW, we find our hero bringing about peace throughout the nine realms, but our hero is not quite Happy. He still thinks about Jane Foster and wishes to be with her, but his responsibilities as a prince of Asgard, being the safety of the nine realms, doesn’t allow him the joy of seeing his beloved.

Jane Foster, on the other hand, hasn’t been doing so well without Thor as we learn from the ever-charismatic Darcy that Jane has been hit by a bit of depression since Thor left her. She does continue her research though, in the hope of finding Thor one day. Its this endeavor by Jane that would lead her to find a magical source of power called the Aether that has been locked away. This Aether awakens the Dark Elves, an ancient race of mythical beings who want to destroy the world.

At this point the film really takes off with Thor sweeping down from Asgard to take Jane back with him to Asgard. The film picks up with adventure, comedy and tension.

As the film twist and turns giving fans one interesting and enthralling ride through Asgard and the Dark World, with Thor and Loki’s relationship once again the center of the story.

Asgard is expanded and grounded more so then we seen before, as a result this magical city feels organic and real, rather than the just a glorious piece of CGI.

As the norm for Marvel films, The Dark World is injected with a fair amount of humour that may come as a surprise to many, given the films title. Unlike Iron Man 3, which had an overwhelming level of comedy in the film, The Dark World perfectly balances its humour with drama, tension and action.

The film is not short of action by any means, as Thor picks up and brings down his hammer more in this film then he has in his two previous outings on the silver screen combined.

Unfortunately I do have some gripes with the film, for all the entertainment it brings, it falls short on numerous occasions.

The first big problem for Thor is Malekith, played by Christopher Eccelsson. Eccelsson plays the character well; the main problem is that the character has been developed quite poorly.  Malekith is a one-dimensional big bad villain for Thor to punch and nothing more.

The film also suffers by having numerous subplots in the film, which is either developed poorly or completely forgotten after its been introduced. A perfect example of this would be Thor and Sif’s relationship, which is hinted at, and yet nothing comes out of it.

Fans of the Warriors Three, Sif and Heimdall will definitely be disappointed with how the characters were handled in the film as they pretty much non existent for the majority of the second act and entire third act of the film. Which is especially disappointing considering Heimdall has one of the coolest moments in the film, and is played by Mr. Badass himself Idris Elba. Sif on the other hand, is played perfectly by Jamie Alexander but as with Elba Marvel continue to downplay their roles in film, making DC fans eager to see them jump ship to play Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, respectively.

One major positive for the film though, as to Tom Hiddleston as Loki once again. Tom certainly shows up to play what has to be one of the most beloved villains onscreen as he takes on the role with such poise, grace and flair.  Tom enjoys playing Loki and fans love seeing him as Loki, and they will not be disappointed with the mischievous god in this film.

While Thor: The Dark World is entertaining, fun and action filled, it falls short of being something truly great with a story that lacks focus and at certain times a disconnect in emotion from characters, which prevents the film to be one truly memorable comic film, instead its just a good one.

My Rating

7/10

RED 2 - REVIEW

RED 2 - REVIEW

Mary Louise-Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis all reprise there roles from the fun action packed joyride, Red, for the overplayed mediocre gung-ho sequel, Red 2.

The film reunites Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses with his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.

My biggest problem with this film is probably one of my biggest gripes with many sequel films, which is the fact that they are lazy and Red 2 is extremely lazy.

There are many potential avenues for a film like this to go and yet all that Red 2 is, is a rehash of the first film. Instead of getting a fresh film we get a retread of everything that was done with the first film. Many times in the film you will get a heavy dose of déjà vu, as the two films really are that close in terms of style and plot.

The film does have some fun moments, action madness that’s thrown together with some humour and even then, the film really tries to be its predecessor as opposed to its own film.

The approach of the film seems to be a tad bit nihilistic which doesn’t help it much as characters show a blatant disregard of there own sense of danger, trying to sell a joke at the wrong time. While it may work with others writers, directors and actors, it just seems to be distracting, as there never seems to be a sense of danger for any of the characters.

The cast of the film is probably the films biggest selling point with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, Neal McDonough and Byung-hun Lee all joining the ranks this time around.

Its this blend of cast and characters that may certainly distract you from the fact that this film is quite derivative, as each new cast member plays a new character that you might find you like.

Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a Katja a Russian secret agent, who had a relationship with Bruce Willis’ character, Frank Moses. Jones has a lot of freedom with role as the character has many different facets about her; sexy, cunning, sincere, deceitful, loyal, deadly…

Byung-hun Lee is definitely proving to be one of the coolest kickass badass action Asian stars in recent times. Lee plays the top contract killer in the world, Han Cho-Bai, who he plays with such a calm demeanor. Hopefully this will lead to Lee gaining more roles in future as he certainly proves in this film that he has the charisma as well as fighting skills to become one badass action headliner star.

Red 2 is a lackluster sequel that takes all the same twist and turns as its predecessor and hardly does a good job at that. The storyline isn’t very good, some of the humour falls on its face but the action is good and cast of the film will certainly get your attention.

Red 2 really is a mediocre joy ride with an impeccable cast that will coheres your senses to keep watching while your brain slowly shifts into screensaver mode.    

My Rating

5/10

2 GUNS - REVIEW

2 GUNS - REVIEW

Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg team up to bring us a buddy cop action comedy that’s reminiscent of all the old good buddy cop films that we come to love. Its old school in its approach, with much of the film resting on the chemistry and charm between our two leads. 

The story revolves around DEA agent Bobby Trench (Denzel Washington) and U.S. Navy intelligence officer Marcus Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) who have been working under cover as members of a narcotics syndicate for the past year. The twist: Neither man knows that the other is an undercover agent. When their attempt to infiltrate a Mexican drug cartel and recover millions goes haywire, their superiors disavow the men. Trench and Stigman must go on the run lest they wind up in jail or in a grave.

The plot of 2 Guns quickly gets convoluted and all twisted up with the navy, CIA, DEA and a Mexican Cartel all thrown into the mix for good measure. Each one is after the money for various reasons but when you spend more then a minute thinking about everything that has happened, some of it just doesn’t make sense.

Thankfully 2 Guns is really a film that doesn’t require you to put your thinking cap on. Instead the film is really just a set up to see Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star in an action fest, with this marking the closest we will ever see Denzel to a comedy.

It’s really Wahlberg and Denzel’s chemistry that sells this film. Everything you love about a typical Wahlberg role, he manages to kick up a notch in 2 Guns, while Washington gets in a joke or two, its really sense of dry humour and interplay with Wahlberg that really make them a dynamic duo.

Paula Patton, James Marsden and Bill Paxton are the supporting players in the film, and they have just as much fun as our two leads.

Especially Bill Paxton, who plays a CIA agent hell-bent on getting the money back. Paxton plays the role with such swagger and yet he really is an intimidating force.  

James Marsden on the other hand, plays a Navy officer with a cool bravado while showing he has what it takes to be taken seriously as an action lead, playing the role with a physical intensity.

Overall the film is a fun comedic action romp with Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg proving to be worth the price of the admission ticket. 2 Guns proves to be a fun filled action film regardless of the fact that the plot and some characters needed a lot of work.

My Rating

6.5/10