The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

http://www.thehungergamesexplorer.com/gb/epk/mockingjay-part1-gb-en/

You can find my previous reviews for The Hunger Games here and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire here.

Despite my blog post last week about my less than pleasant experience at the Mockingjay Premiere, I was still excited to see the first part of the final two movies in this series. Especially as I had actually managed to read the book entirely before seeing this film - which was not the case with the previous two films. 

For those who have not read the book I will keep my synopsis short and sweet. Following Katniss' (Jennifer Lawrence) exit from the quarter quell, she has been hidden by Plutarch (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in the underground District 13. Although her family and best friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth) managed to make it out of District 12 before the Capitol destroyed her home, she is still grieving over the loss of Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), and unforgiving to Plutarch and the president of District 13, Alma Coin (Julianne Moore) for not rescuing him from the games arena. Their plan is to make Katniss the Mockingjay, the face of the revolution against the Capitol. At first Katniss is completely unwilling to even discuss the proposition, but when she discovers Peeta is alive, and being used by the Capitol as their pawn, she knows she has to join the fight. But Katniss has conditions, the first of which is that Peeta and the other victors are rescued and pardoned for their involvement with the Capitol.

If you read my previous Hunger Games reviews you will know that it took the book to really make me appreciate the first film, and that reading the second book went a long way to my enjoyment of the second film. I read Mockingjay last Christmas so it wasn't exactly fresh in my mind going into this movie. However, I think that actually added to my experience, as it was nice to have little surprises when certain events happened that I'd forgotten about. 

Katniss' song for example, the hanging tree, I had completely forgotten about, and then when it appeared in the film it actually brought a tear to my eye. The moment is beautifully done, highly emotional, and Jennifer Lawrence has a very raspy childlike singing voice which fitted the song perfectly. The way the song is interwoven into another scene is equally brilliant and I thought it fused the book and the film together in a way I hadn't yet imagined. 

Fans of the book are definitely not going to be disappointed by this installment, and if you've not read the books but are enjoying the films so far I think you will continue to be impressed. I don't know about you guys but I can't wait for Part 2! 8.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 21st November 2014

UK Release Date - 20th November 2014

Cast Overview:

Jennifer Lawrence ~ Katniss Everdeen 

Josh Hutcherson ~ Peeta Mellark 

Liam Hemsworth ~ Gale Hawthorne 

Woody Harrelson ~ Haymitch Abernathy 

Donald Sutherland ~ President Coriolanus Snow 

Philip Seymour Hoffman ~ Plutarch Heavensbee

Julianne Moore ~ President Alma Coin

Willow Shields ~ Primrose "Prim" Everdeen

Sam Claflin ~ Finnick Odair

Elizabeth Banks ~ Effie Trinket 

Mahershala Ali ~ Boggs

Jena Malone ~ Johanna Mason

Jeffrey Wright ~ Beetee Latier 

Paula Malcolmson ~ Mrs Everdeen

Stanley Tucci ~ Caesar Flickerman 

Natalie Dormer ~ Cressida

Evan Ross ~ Messalia

Elden Henson ~ Pollux

Wes Chatham ~ Castor

Director ~ Francis Lawrence 

Writer(s) ~ Peter Craig (Screenplay), Danny Strong (Screenplay) and Suzanne Collins (Adaptation of her novel Mockingjay)

Out Of The Furnace

http://outofthefurnacemovie.tumblr.com/

The only problem I have with the cinema, and this is not limited to Cineworld, this is all cinemas, including the one I used to work at more than 10 years ago, is that they advertise films that are 'coming soon' that they then never show. 

This happened recently at Cineworld where they showed the trailer for August: Osage County for months leading up to it's release, and then they never got the damn film. The same thing happened with Out Of The Furnace. They showed the trailer, even had the poster up to signal the film's imminent release, and then lo and behold, they never showed the film. I found out a couple of weeks after it's scheduled release date that my local independent cinema, The Duke Of York's, was showing the film, and so my cinema buddy and I went to watch it.

The last film we saw at the Dukes was On The Road. Which was a pretty awful movie by any standards, but the fact that we paid £9+ for the privilege made the film that little bit more awful. I hoped Out Of The Furnace would not leave us with that same ache in our wallets.

The film tells the story of the Baze brothers; Rodney (Affleck), who between tours of Iraq looks after his ailing father, and Russell (Bale), who has a simple but fulfilling life with his girlfriend Lena (Saldana) and a good job at the local steel mill. Russell's life gets turned upside down due to bad decisions made by his brother, all starting with Rodney's involvement with a small time loan shark John (Dafoe), and leading up to him taking part in a shady underground boxing ring upon returning from Iraq. Rodney and John meet some very unsavory characters on the boxing circuit, but none more-so than Harlan (Harrelson). They soon find out they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

From the trailer I knew this was not going to be a fun film, but it looked worthy of seeing, and like the performances would pack a punch. In that respect the trailer definitely sold the film on the right merits. And I have to say that I wasn't especially disappointed with the film, I just didn't love it. 

The performances are all exemplary, and although this is definitely an ensemble piece, Christian Bale yet again shines out the brightest. Something I think everyone has become accustomed to. I don't think he knows how to give a bad performance these days, but it's a good thing because everyone else seems to step up their game around him. I certainly don't think I've seen Casey Affleck or Forest Whitaker give performances this good, maybe ever?  Woody Harrelson on the other hand is another actor who I just think gets better and better with time, and he is a wonderful adversary to Bale's protagonist. I don't think I've ever seen him be more unhinged, and he certainly played a character the likes of which I hope I never meet. 

*Spoiler Alert* I just wish there had been a better outcome for Russell in the movie so that it didn't feel as though you went through this horrible situation with him, and then for him to come out the other side with nothing but his freedom? *End Spoiler*

If you enjoy the darker side of cinema, and want to see some really great acting from some of the best Hollywood has, I would definitely recommend Out Of The Furnace if it's showing at a cinema near you. But as that's unlikely I would recommend you get the DVD when it's out. If you prefer something a little more fluffy with a happy ending then avoid, this one is not for you. 7.5 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 23rd February 2014

UK Release Date - 29th January 2014

Cast Overview:

Russell Baze ~ Christian Bale

Rodney Baze Jr ~ Casey Affleck

Harlan DeGroat ~ Woody Harrelson

Lena Warren ~ Zoe Saldana

Wesley Barnes ~ Forest Whitaker

John Petty ~ Willem Dafoe

Gerald "Red" Baze ~ Sam Shepard

Director ~ Scott Cooper

Writer(s) ~ Brad Ingelsby and Scott Cooper

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

http://www.thehungergamesexplorer.com/us/epk/catching-fire/

After I was somewhat underwhelmed by the first Hunger Games movie (see review here), I was actually really pleased when a member of my book club suggested it as our next read. I was curious if it was just the movie I was less than enamoured with, or if it was the story and characters in general.

After reading the book, and loving it so much that I immediately made Catching Fire my next book club choice, I re-watched The Hunger Games and found that I enjoyed it more. It gave me a greater understanding of certain elements of the story that are only really explained fully in the book, and a deeper insight into the characters. With my preparation over, it was time to see the sequel.

Catching Fire is set a short while after the events of the 74th Hunger Games, at the end of which Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutchinson) were crowned joint victors after forcing the hand of the games makers. Katniss and Peeta are now living in the 'Victors Village' in District 12, a special part of their home town which only contains three previous Hunger Games winners (and their families). Yet despite the small number of people, and despite the show they put on during the games, Katniss and Peeta now barely speak to one another. But their victory tour of the districts is about to begin, so they need to mend their difficulties, if just for the cameras, until the tour is over. When Katniss receives an unwelcome visit from President Snow (Sutherland) prior to the tour, she is taken aback by how direct he is when he tells her that her 'performance' on the tour is going to mean the difference between life and death to those she loves, because if she convinces the world that her insubordinate behaviour was as a result of her love for Peeta, it could stop the uprising the President is fearing from the districts against the Capitol. Sadly Katniss' performance fails to stop the spark she started in the games, so President Snow is forced to amend the rules for the 75th games - the Quarter Quell that happens every 25 years - and this means that Katniss is going back into the arena.

I had started reading Catching Fire before the film was released but sadly, I did not manage to finish the book before I saw the movie. Having said that, as with the first book/film, I think the additional information gained from what I had read helped my overall impression of the second film. 

I felt that although parts were missing, what was present stuck very closely to the book, and worked very well. I was unsure about the casting going in as I had heard that a lot of fans were less than pleased about Jena Malone being cast as Johanna Mason. I have always enjoyed Jena's performances so I was less worried about her, and more unsure if Sam Claflin would pull off playing Finnick, as I have previously found his characters a little insipid. I am happy to report that both Malone and Claflin did a great job of instilling their characters with the same qualities as their written counterparts.

The movie very much felt like a middle film, a point which has been echoed by a few of my friends, but it was also follow-able to another of my friends who had not seen the first movie, so that is in no way a bad thing. My only criticism would be that the ending is very abrupt, but then so is the ending in the book, so again, I can't really fault it. 

An improvement on The Hunger Games in terms of character development and an exciting installment in the grand scheme of the story arc. 8 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 21st November 2013

UK Release Date - 21st November 2013

Cast Overview:

Jennifer Lawrence ~ Katniss Everdeen 

Josh Hutcherson ~ Peeta Mellark 

Liam Hemsworth ~ Gale Hawthorne 

Woody Harrelson ~ Haymitch Abernathy 

Elizabeth Banks ~ Effie Trinket 

Lenny Kravitz ~ Cinna 

Philip Seymour Hoffman ~ Plutarch Heavensbee

Jeffrey Wright ~ Beetee Latier 

Stanley Tucci ~ Caesar Flickerman 

Toby Jones ~ Claudius Templesmith 

Sam Claflin ~ Finnick Odair

Jena Malone ~ Johanna Mason

Lynn Cohen ~ Mags

Amanda Plummer ~ Wiress

Willow Shields ~ Primrose "Prim" Everdeen

Donald Sutherland ~ President Coriolanus Snow 

Director ~ Francis Lawrence 

Writer(s) ~ Simon Beaufoy (Screenplay), Michael Arndt (deBruyn) (Screenplay) and Suzanne Collins (novel Catching Fire)

Secret Screening - Now You See Me

http://nowyouseememovie.com/

It turns out Cineworld membership has some serious perks. Other than making it incredibly cheap to watch as many movies as I want per month, and giving me discount on food and drinks, they recently introduced a 'secret screening'. For Cineworld Unlimited members only, you could get a ticket to an as-yet-unannounced film which would be revealed on the night of the screening. I hope, from the success of this one, they make this a regular occurrence. Especially as the film they chose to secretly screen - Now You See Me - isn't out here until the start of next month.

The film tells the tale of four magicians who are brought together by an unknown figure and given a fantastical plan to bring those in power, a bank, a millionaire who built his fortune on the misfortune of others and the police force, to their knees. And they achieve this, all by the art of illusion. Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco play the Four Horsemen, while Mark Ruffalo and Mélanie Laurent are the ones in pursuit.

I had a feeling from the clues that had been given to the secret screening, that we were sitting down to watch World War Z. I would have happily sat through any film, but I could not have been more pleased that we were actually sitting down to this. I am a huge fan of Mark Ruffalo and had been looking forward to this movie for some time. And I have to say that I really enjoyed it. 

I love a mystery and this one had me guessing right up until the reveal. The cast are a dream. We know from Zombieland that Eisenberg and Harrelson work well together, but throw in firecracker Fisher and James Franco's charismatic and cute younger brother Dave and you have a team that can't be cracked. Ruffalo's ruffled cop has great chemistry with Interpol detective Laurent and the thesps Freeman and Caine are clearly having a whale of a time. And so the audience does too. 

It's well put together, pacy, got a good story and great actors. I really don't see what more you could want? How about locations? Vegas, New Orleans, New York and Paris all look stunning in this movie. It's not going to win any awards but if you want a fun and intriguing night out, you can't really go wrong. 8 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 17th June 2013
UK Release Date - 3rd July 2013

Cast Overview:

Jesse Eisenberg ~ J Daniel Atlas

Mark Ruffalo ~ Dylan Rhodes

Woody Harrelson ~ Merritt McKinney

 Isla Fisher ~ Henley Reeves

Dave Franco ~ Jack Wilder

Mélanie Laurent ~ Alma Dray

Morgan Freeman ~ Thaddeus Bradley

Michael Caine ~ Arthur Tressler

Director ~ Louise Leterrier

Writer(s) ~ Ed Solomon (Screenplay), Boaz Yakin (Screenplay and Story), Edward Ricourt (Screenplay and Story)