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GuardiaStar

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    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

    in Review That Movie! (Spoilers Allowed)

    Posted

    This movie was one hell of a emotional roller coaster ride..

    What comes to mind is a combination of the bravado from Fury, and the stance of unity from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

    While I know the claim about a lack of action, in a way itself it makes up with glued to your edge scenes and dialogue. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss nailed and made this entire movie. She should be nominated for an Oscar imo.

    There isn't one damn weak link in this movie, in terms of actors. The people who loved Dawn of the Planet of the Apes or the ones who were captivated by Fury, could find something to love with Mockingjay. The Hunger Games has changed for me in a lot of ways, excuse my language but a big mindfuck. I've been emotionally compromised. It brings you into Katniss's world and you see the true pain that lies within her, you can feel it and it's almost transparent while there are little minor slight bits of comedy sort of a black comedy feel but well done as maybe a form of levity (the audience laughed at some scenes meant to be humorous) but overall it's consistent with it's tone, it doesn't become a mess of a film. The way you were brought in they leave you there almost the same way but by the end you're caught in the line, and you'll be left with something even more especially if you came in with little to no expectations. My anticipation was killing me in the waiting hours, but walking in I didn't try to expect too much but be overjoyed at the fact I had gotten to see it. My mind is a mess of things however, this will definitely require a second viewing. My heart was about to jump and rip out of my chest, I've never had myself in this kind of state before.

    The Hanging Tree is The Hunger Games's new anthem. It broke away from their previous mold, and it just might surprise you. In terms of build-up, it was executed perfectly. To be honest, I didn't feel the scenes dragged on too long at all. I think there was always something happening to keep the story running, but paced out where there wasn't too much at once.

    It's bold, it has a lot of heart in many ways than one and it is truly grim. It takes your mind to an incredible new place. You learn to grow to care more intimately about the rebellion, the upcoming war. It's also very emotionally draining. Shit, I'm surprised by how impactful this movie is. This is the Hunger Games movie you've been waiting for.

    I give this an A

    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

    in Review That Movie! (Spoilers Allowed)

    Posted

    Saw this film a few days ago - finally got around to typing up my review. Spoiler-free [it's also on here]. I'll probably do a more spoilery review when the film comes out, or maybe a day or two before. 

     

    When Lionsgate announced back in 2012 that they were splitting the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy into two parts, people were skeptical at how they were going to make them a cohesive and alluring final two films. Considering the lukewarm reaction to the final novel 'Mockingjay' by Suzanne Collins and the less than encouraging history of film adaptions being split into more than one film (Harry Potter, Twilight and The Hobbit), the odds weren't exactly in this penultimate chapter's favour. However, two years on, it looks like director Francis Lawrence defied the odds and Lionsgate has another winner. 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' is the most daring, thought-provoking, rawest, darkest yet humorous film in the Hunger Games franchise filled with powerful performances from its new and returning cast members as well as an intelligently and beautifully written screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong.

    The film immediately opens to a powerful and haunting scene, mainly due to Jennifer Lawrence's stunning portrayal of our heroine Katniss Everdeen, that sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Katniss is no longer forcing smiles in flaming dresses or dropped into a televised reality game show wearing latex wet suits all designed to appeal and appease the Capitol audiences, she's now hidden underground in the bleak and gray District 13, a district that months prior, none of the characters even knew had still existed since its 'alleged' obliteration during 'The Dark Days'.

    One of the biggest surprises is that 'Mockingjay - Part 1' doesn't feel like a 'Hunger Games' film that we've come to know in the previous two installments, more so than how many felt about the third book to the previous two books before it. It almost feels like a complete reboot of the entire franchise. The film is almost entirely set in District 13; besides the short but poignant visits to District 12, 8 and little cutaways to scenes outside of Katniss's perspective in the Capitol, 5, 7 and 11. There are no more "games" - which means no more reapings, no more chariots, or any of that lead up. Mockingjay has well and truly reinvented the franchise to reveal what 'The Hunger Games' series at its core is really all about and gives us a shocking and horrifying portrayal of war in Panem and how media manipulation is used through the use of propaganda videos ("propos") in battle to control the populous.

    The score by James Newton Howard is also so wonderfully done and woven so seamlessly into the scenes. The use of cues from the previous two films, blended with some new melodies really help set the tone of the scenes, whether it'd be a more tense, thrilling action sequence or a scene with a more quieter, somber atmosphere. But the biggest thing in the music department that I took away from this film is 'The Hanging Tree,' a haunting but beautiful song that fans will recognize from the novel. Walking out of the theater, I could hear the room -- filled with not fans, but local celebrities and members of the press repeating the tune. That was how powerful that song had on the people in my screening, and it still echos in my mind days later.

    Despite having a shared budget with next year's 'Mockingjay - Part 2' of only $250M (films like The Avengers, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Potter; to name a few, all had individual budgets of over $200M) and an extremely tight and short principal photography and post production schedule; director Francis Lawrence, visual effects supervisor Charles Gibson and production designer Phil Messina all make the most of what they had to provide fans and viewers with a film worthy of blockbuster status with huge, epic production designs and beautiful, stunning cinematography. Surprisingly, a lot of the set pieces are all real and practical - there's very little CGI or green screens in the scenes that you'd expect.

    The tricky source material was adapted onto the big screen by Danny Strong (Game Change, The Butler) and Peter Craig (The Town). Each screenwriters bring something different to the table; Strong laid out the groundwork for the political arc of the film and Peter Craig's contribution was evident in the action sequences. The two manage to work with Francis Lawrence and Suzanne Collins to create a cohesive screenplay from the first half a novel and make it feel as if it really was just one story.

    Despite the 'young-adult' connotation that has been placed on the franchise, Mockingjay - Part 1 is daring and never does it feel like they're ever holding back on the emotional value of a scene. The film is dark, gritty and horrific, which is what it needed to truly be able to convey the horrors from the novel and the film successfully manages to do just that.

    The film, however, would probably not be half as good without Jennifer Lawrence's incredible and honest portrayal of Katniss Everdeeen. Since the first film, she has brought something refreshing and relatable to our archer and it's assuring that at no point during the movie does Katniss ever feel like a 'superhero'. Katniss Everdeen doesn't have any superpowers, she isn't invincible, she doesn't look badass during big action sequences - Katniss Everdeen is a survivor. Only 17 years old and with two games under her belt, never do we once question her deteriorating mental state and motivations. Jennifer also does best during smaller, quieter moments with little to no dialogue. She doesn't need words to convey Katniss's emotions; we see, feel and understand everything just by her facial expressions alone.

    Returning cast members include Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, the once oblivious and 'oh so Capitol' escort to Katniss and Peeta during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games has now been completely stripped away from the bizarre dresses and wigs; making do with the District 13 gears (or as she refers to it as, "jumpsuits") and only agreeing to be part of the rebellion due to her connection with Katniss Everdeen. Haymitch Abernathy played by Woody Harrelson is also in District 13, having now been forced to "dry up" and put behind the days of excessive drinking. His relationship with Katniss is complicated and tricky, Katniss no longer trusts him after he broke his promise with her on ensuring Peeta's survival before hers. The late Philip Seymour Hoffman shows us who Plutarch Heavensbee really is - someone more warm, humorous and witty than what we thought was the 'real Plutarch' in the previous film. All three bring moments of levity and hilarity in what would have been bleak and melancholic film. These moments also never feel overblown or out of place, there is a good balance.

    Liam Hemsworth finally gets an opportunity to shine here as Gale Hawthorne - receiving a lot more screen time than he did in both 'The Hunger Games' and 'Catching Fire' combined. We begin to see more of on what his character represents for Katniss and his views on how to handle the war; a view that causes friction between him and Katniss. Josh Hutcherson, despite the decrease in screen time (appearing most of the film only through broadcasts from the Capitol) still manages to excel in his portrayal of Peeta Mellark. If people were still questioning his casting as Peeta Mellark, than this film will relieve those doubts as Josh manages to bring out the Peeta fans have come to know in the books, while showing incredible range during scenes where Peeta has supposedly been tortured. Donald Sutherland as President Snow is still so creepy and so very effective. Snow manages to become even more brutally evil, no longer pulling no punches in his attempts to show Panem who's really in control.

    Sam Claflin is excellent as Finnick Odair. This is the movie where we finally get to peal the layers from the charismatic and at times cocky Finnick Odair that we were introduced to in the previous film. In this film, he's someone with a lot of soul and heart who cares deeply for his girlfriend and is feeling slightly lost in District 13. Unfortunately though, mainly due to the script, some of his key signature moments from the books are either lost or underplayed. You only get a few seconds of Finnick tying a knot and one of the most defining moments in his character arc - his 'revelation' is downplayed as the audience's attention is more focused on the film's climax, which is intercut with Finnick's major scene. Stef Dawson, who made a short appearance as Finnick's lover Annie Cresta in Catching Fire, has very little to work with here but manages to show so much emotion in the short time. Annie and Finnick both steal the show when they're together, you can feel their love oozing out of the movie screen.

    As with every film so far, we're introduced to a plethora of new characters. Easily the biggest and best addition is President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), whose portrayal is so charismatic and great that you believe on why the citizens of District 13 would put their trust in her and the rebellion. It should be very interesting to track her political arc from this film as we enter into next year's final chapter.

    Unfortunately, my one criticism is that despite the split, a lot of the side supporting characters seem to fall flat in terms of character development and screentime. We see more of Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) and Mrs. Everdeen (Paula Malcomson) than in prior films but it never feels like enough. Beetee (Jeffrey Wright) and Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) both have crucial scenes - but they get far less than they did in the previous film. Besides Coin, the rest of the new characters don't have much to do as well. Natalie Dormer as Cressida is intriguing and seems like it has a lot of potential, but the character of Cressida never really goes anywhere. The same with the rest of her camera crew - Messalla, Castor and Pollux, who all don't say another word outside of their introduction. Patina Miller as Paylor is unrecognizable, but she's also forgettable. All of them seem very comfortable in their roles, but are unfortunately all underused.

    There was a lot of speculation and buzz surrounding Robert Knepper's casting as newly created character Antonius, and yet I can't recall if he even had a line. However, when you're working with a movie that's less than two hours in a story solely focused on Katniss, it's hard to put much attention to every single person in the enormous and growing cast. The problem also lies within the source material... there are just too many (crucial) characters to really do them all justice. Considering the influx of new characters in next year's Part 2, there probably won't be much development outside of the core group of characters once again.

    The film's split was not a problem at all. Out of the three novels in the Hunger Games series, 'Mockingjay' was easily the novel that required a split to fully flesh out the characters and to give justice to their arcs. There is a clear objective at the beginning of the film, laid out by our heroine and by the end, that objective is solved but also sets up another plot line that will most definitely be followed up on in next year's final chapter 'Mockingjay - Part 2'. The way the creative team are handling the split feels slightly like a television show - you get 24 episodes in a season, and that is usually split into two with a mid season break in between. Part 1 ends with a bang, it has a conclusion and resolution, but you know the story isn't over just yet.

    Overall, 'Mockingjay - Part 1' manage to overcomes its obstacles to become another dark, epic and very chapter in the unstoppable 'Hunger Games' franchise. The film will surely make back its entire budget for both films alone within the first week of release alone. If 'Mockingjay - Part 1' is anything to go by, than next year's 'Mockingjay - Part 2' will be an absolute treat as we follow Katniss and her squad in their final journey to stop the Capitol. And I can't freaking wait.

     

    tl;dr - I loved it. I thought it was dark, gritty, epic and thrilling. The split was not a problem for me. Then again, I'm kind of biased because I loved the source material but I have faith others will love it as well. 

    Thank you for your detailed review, and taking out the time to write it! :shades: I'm very much looking forward to this movie especially now..

    :congrats:

    • Like 2

    Are typical ROM COMS kind of dead?

    in Box Office Discussion

    Posted

    Yeah the typical ones are pretty much so, but I really loved how Silver Linings Playbook at least for me changed the typical, cliche romance movies. I have nothing against them, but I got to say the rom-coms that are pretty generic are dead. If you have a decent story, or even great dialogue for a rom-com it's not a bad thing at all, it's just the oh-so-typical romance movies I just never see to be honest.

    Top 3 Movies of the Year (2014)

    in The Speakeasy

    Posted

    Lol what

     

    This thread is pretty pointless if it's just about what films you want to be the best or are most excited about.

     

     

     

    As for me, best films have been:

    1) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

    2) Pride

    3) Guardians of the Galaxy

     

    But why not throw The Hobbit on there as well, since I'm excited for that... or something.

    Sorry posted this response in the wrong place :)

    • Like 1

    Top 3 Movies of the Year (2014)

    in The Speakeasy

    Posted

    So you haven't seen your number 3?

     

     

    Haven't seen many movies since summer, but top 3 remains:

     

    1. How to Train Your Dragon 2

    2. Edge of Tomorrow

    3. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

     

    a class above everything else at present.

    I'll be seeing my number 3 this week coming up :)

    Top 3 Movies of the Year (2014)

    in The Speakeasy

    Posted

    What are your top 3 films for this year?

    It's not what film overall wins the BO, it can be your own rankings from personal preference.

    I know it's been a great year for movies.

    My Top 3:

    1) Guardians of the Galaxy

    2) Big Hero 6

    They both ran emotional homeruns with me

    3) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Looking forward to another emotional homerun!)

    I feel like they're all tied essentially for the first rank but I'll rank them like this for now.

    Weekend Numbers (Nov 14-16) pg 39

    in Numbers and Data

    Posted

    Nothing went wrong with Interstellar, and nothing will go wrong with Mockingjay.

    So there's literally no reason to be disappointed unless you have high expectations.

    MJ2 it could come very close to high territory next year, it being the final installment and the epic finale making the possible top 5 WW..or even 10..it's just called being reasonable and realistic.

    • Like 3
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