Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I

Even Jennifer Lawrence couldn’t save this placeholder of a movie from falling flat. (Lionsgate Films/aceshowbiz.com)

Of all the things that made the last installment in the Hunger Games series – Catching Fire – so enjoyable, it was the strong performances from high caliber actors and intense and very gripping story which made it such a damn good time at the movies. With one book left to tackle, Hollywood did as only Hollywood can do: split it unnecessarily into two movies spaced a year apart (money!). The outcome, at least the half that I’ve been able to see, left a lot to be desired. Almost all of the excitement from the last film vanished, and I never once got pulled it by a character or moment from the story.

Picking up after the beginning of the rebellion in the prior movie, Katniss, and her family and friends, are now living in another district. Peeta is behind held in the capitol, his brain washed by the president, spewing propaganda to counter the rebels. The entire film is essentially a very slow back and forth of Peeta being recorded saying something bad about the rebels, and Katniss being recorded saying something bad about President Snow. It’s quite repetitive, and there weren’t spurts of action exciting enough to keep me wide-eyed and intrigued. I’m not saying I needed it to be a popcorn summer hit kind of film with all-out action, but boy was this dragging and in need of a little firepower. Also, it may have just been me, but half the movie felt like Jennifer Lawrence walking slowly to look at something and then breaking down in tears. It happened so often that it just got humorous by the end.

All of the A-list actors that brought so much goodness to Catching Fire – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman – as well as newcomer Julianne Moore, were quite underwhelming across the board. Nobody gave a performance that I can point to as a standout, or bright spot. Nobody seemed really inspired, and when you put that together with a slow story, it doesn’t turn out well in the end.

I’d like to think that the franchise took a big downturn only due to the splitting of the last book into two movies. My hope is that this time next year, the final movie regains that fire and excitement and ends with a bang. Mockingjay – Part I felt like boring holdover material, which in a word, was disappointing.

 

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART I:   (out of 4)

Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Jennifer Lawrence and an impressive supporting cast make ‘Catching Fire’ a huge improvement in the popular series. (Lionsgate Films/aceshowbiz.com)

Of the three biggest and most popular book series among young adults in recent memory – Harry Potter, Twilight, and the Hunger Games – I have read just one, in Harry Potter. I thought the books were some of the best I’ve ever read, and the movies were quite good as well. The other two series though? Little to no interest is putting it nicely (especially Twilight). But just a few weeks ago, I watched the first Hunger Games movie, and it ended up being almost exactly what I expected: silly, strange, unimpressive effects, childish, and just mediocre overall. So I was more than pleasantly surprised this past weekend when I saw, and very much enjoyed, the Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

There are plenty of good things to say about this movie, but one of the biggest and best changes was the transition from a kid-friendly or childish kind of movie, towards a more intense, violent, and gripping film. There are plenty of scenes that really would make me think twice about taking a pre-teen to watch this, even if they’d read the books. A fair amount of credit would have to go to the director, Francis Lawrence, for taking the franchise in a more adult direction while staying true to the uber popular books (I was assured this was indeed the case).

While I still can’t get over the oddities and strangeness of parts of the movie (the party in the Capital, Elizabeth Banks, etc.), it has a serious amount of damn good actors and actresses that helped transform this fantasy world into something that felt much more real and gritty. Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, and Philip Seymour Hoffman were all very, very good in their respective roles, and brought a certain legitimacy to the film. Jennifer Lawrence is one incredible young actress, who at age 23, is already an Oscar winner and lead of this worldwide phenomenon.

The special effects were improved, the story was darker and more intriguing, the acting was better, and it actually left me wanting to see the next installment in the series. When you combine all of those impressive aspects of a movie, it’s hard to say it was anything but good. Catching Fire was nothing that blew me away, but it was a tremendous amount of fun to watch and a healthy improvement over the first film in the Hunger Games trilogy.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE:    (out of 4)

Review: Role Models

This movie wasn’t hyped up a lot or expected to make any good money at the box office. But the buzz was good, critics loved it, and it shattered expectations opening weekend – making almost $20 million. But starting many months ago, I had already been eagerly anticipating Role Models. As the release date inched closer, and the commercials actually started to come out en mass, my excitement grew: for a few reasons. First, this movie has a killer cast. Second, David Wain is the director – I’ll get to that later. Lastly, well…the plot and trailer looked hilarious. What I saw tonight was a movie that met my expectations, but surprisingly, not in the same ways I thought it would.

Rudd and William Scott are just two pieces to this crazy comedy puzzle (Collider.com)

The two leads in this movie were terrific, with Seann William Scott really being surprisingly good. I loved him in some of his past roles, and people pass him off as a one trick pony. Whether that’s true or not, he was damn funny again in Role Models, and showed a rare human, touching side too. Paul Rudd, the best supporting character funnyman in the business perhaps, got a chance to shine as the number one guy – and nailed it. He was hilarious as he was touching. The rest of the cast, including some very recognizable people from Wainy Days (I’ll get to that in a bit), and Judd Apatow movies, completed a very well rounded group of characters. And seriously, how well does Elizabeth Banks have it right now? She’s been in approximately 28 movies in the past 3 weeks.

One word I just used a couple of times was “touching”. Role Models, following the working formula of Apatow comedies, had just as much heart as it did laughs – and it was very genuine. Now, don’t get me wrong, the laughs were crude and quite often. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie with so many sexual innuendos passed off in such a subtle yet effective way. But through the laugh-a-minute first 2/3’s of the movie, you gain a liking for these characters, and that hits home in the final lap.

Apparently this movie had a bit of trouble getting a hold of a director, and it wasn’t until Paul Rudd suggested David Wain for the job that the movie really got rolling. Wain is, for lack of a better word, bizarre. But he’s hilarious too, and can tell a joke in ten different ways. It’s hard to explain, but the big box office and favorable reviews should get him another gig quite soon. And I highly suggest you check out the web series – Wainy Days – it’s had a few seasons online, and while that kind of bizarre/outrageous humor isn’t seen precisely in Role Models, the comedic undertones are certainly there.

All in all, this movie, like so many others in this dreary movie year of 2008, will be forgotten as the weeks move forward. Like a Get Smart, with far different approaches at humor, it’s a truly fun ride in the theater, but not something you’ll be quoting a few months from now. But in a year of scarce good movies, this was a great pleasure to watch.

ROLE MODELS:

Review: Zack and Miri Make a Porno

How does a movie, that is so vulgar, so over the top in sexual content, and is centered around making a pornography…how does that movie end up being quite touching? It’s a question you can only answer by seeing Kevin Smith’s latest film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The Jersey-born director has traveled this road before however. In Clerks 2, some of the most disgusting (hilarious) comments about hobbits made a die-hard Lord of the Rings fan throw up all over the place. There was a donkey and …well, I’ll just hope you saw it so I don’t have to repeat it. But Kevin Smith makes characters that you genuinely care about, that’s the bottom line, and it’s pretty incredible. The sentimental parts of Clerks 2 or Zack and Miri don’t fill up the whole running time though – these movies, this movie…is absolutely hilarious.

Now when I say that Zack and Miri is hilarious, your taste in humor has to be broad and very accepting. This isn’t light humor to get a few laughs, this movie has outrageous moments to bring the house down. And it does that in a number of ways. First of all, yes the movie is based around a porn movie, so there’s sex (spoiler!). But who says the sex can’t be the funniest parts of the movie? The locations of the sets, the different cast members in their porno, and the reactions by the cameraman (you might recognize him) are hysterical to say the least. As for that cameraman, there’s one scene where…well I don’t want to ruin it. Just be ready.

This movie centers on sexual humor, crude humor, vulgar humor, and some extreme physical humor. But this movie is absolutely nothing without the cast that it had. Kevin Smith chose the perfect people in the perfect places to make it work. Let’s start out with the producer – Craig Robinson (aka – Daryll from the Office, and the scene-stealing doorman in Knocked Up). The way he delivers his lines may be the best part of all, but like he does in The Office, he steals laughs from the main characters with regularity. His quiet demeanor can switch to a race filled rant in half a second: it’s incredible.

Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks make a damn good porno (The Weinstein Company/Pop Matters)

But speaking of the main characters, Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks – they absolutely nailed it. No pun intended. They’re best friends…high school reunion attendees…unable to pay bills…make a porno together. They come across as real and genuine, caring friends. The high school reunion is hilarious desperation and mockery. When it finally comes to the characters making a porno and the anxiety that builds – is it just sex for money? – we already care enough about the characters to let this film slide into the sentimental and touching scenes. And trust me, there was enough humor to carry it this far anyway.

Kevin Smith has a knack for choosing situations we might have thought of before, but never dared to imagine it the way he puts on film. They’re almost typical, yet they produce something beyond humor. Past the laughs are genuine heartfelt moments. Zack and Miri is loaded with them at the back end (again, I apologize, no pun intended there). The scenes are emotional, touching, and really work. As this crazy cast can film sex scenes, they can also film a little love. Zack and Miri really touches all the bases.

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO:

Review: W.

Oliver Stone has a knack for annoying people, and with his film W. – he may have annoyed audiences across the country. Coming into this film, his last two efforts were box office bombs and extremely mediocre (to be nice). There was World Trade Center back in 2006, which was alright, but made perhaps too soon. Before that was Alexander, the dreadful and seemingly never-ending flick that sent Colin Ferrell’s career into temporary disarray. Now comes W., a bio of our “still president” George W. Bush – the first film to ever come out with the president still in office. Maybe Stone should have waited, because the result is about as satisfying as Bush’s presidency.

Josh Brolin couldn't save this disappointing film (Lions Gate/MSN Movies)

I will say that the only thing that came close to being well done in this movie was Josh Brolin’s lead performance. He wasn’t given a heck of a lot to work with in this scipt, but he was pretty dead on and gave a good job as our country’s 43rd commander in chief. But what about the rest of the cast? Yikes. Elizabeth Banks (who, humorously, stars as Laura Bush in W. and Miri in the upcoming Zack and Miri Make a Porno) is a talented actress, but her forte thus far in Hollywood has been humor, and she didn’t exactly shine here. But again, she wasn’t given a large pallet to work with. Ellen Burstyn was hardly used as Barbara Bush, and James Cromwell seemed like he had to try and carry the entire film at times – a bit of overacting? Richard Dreyfuss was a dismal Cheney and Thandie Newton was perhaps the worst of them all as Condi Rice. It didn’t feel authentic, it didn’t look authentic, and it just didn’t work.

The film in itself was a complete bore. It went back and forth from two angles: young Bush growing up in college and his rise to the Oval Office, and Bush as President in 2003/2004. Stone, not exactly loved by the right-wingers, actually presented a mostly non-biased view of this president. Maybe he should have gone after it a bit more. We were presented with a story that dragged on and never got its legs. It never established itself as something great or entertaining, or even interesting. Sure, we saw how W became W, but so much of the plot was the internal strife of Bush – none of which was interesting and the characters were surprisingly plain and flat.

Twenty years from now, someone will make another film about George W. Bush. I would wager that that movie would trump W. in more ways than one. History gives us a chance to reflect on the times, and Oliver Stone just couldn’t leave this story untold. A dry cast of characters, an empty plot, and no clear direction made this movie boring, far too long, and told like a bad book. A bad movie for a, well, awful president.

W. – (out of 4 stars)