Movie Review - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire   $$$$ 

 

PG-13

146 Minutes

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson.  

Director: Francis Lawrence. 

 

            I made the mistake of being in the theater on opening night for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. It was a madhouse. Young people packed the halls and excitedly talked about the film. Some were dressed in Capitol City styled costumes that evoked memories of the rich and decadent citizens in the first movie. Even after we walked into the auditorium to see Thor, the noise of the crowd penetrated the walls.

            Fortunately, I only had to wait until the following morning to see it myself and didn’t have to sit on the floor for hours to do so. If I were young, I have no doubt that participating in an opening night rush would have been a highlight of my month, maybe even the entire year.  

            Katniss (Jennifer Lawrenece) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) embark upon their victory tour, traveling through all twelve districts giving speeches to the masses and attempting to smile as they do. This should be a joyous time for our winners, but it isn’t. The government has cracked down on the population in order to crush a rebellion before it has the chance to get started. Katniss wants to run off into the wilderness with Gale (Liam Hemsworth). Peeta wants to be with Katniss regardless of where that might be. And the people want hope.

            For the people, Katniss represents hope.

            For President Snow (Donald Sutherland), Katniss represents trouble. Snow announces an unprecedented move to hold a special hunger game with the previous winners. This promises to be the most dangerous game ever.  

            The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is an excellent movie. I gave it my top rating of 4 Movie Bucks and feel that this is sequel that will not disappoint fans of the original film.  

            1. Fun – The beginning of the movie moved a bit slower as Katniss and Peeta work through their victory tour, but I enjoyed the character development that happened during this part of the film. There are plenty of tugs on the emotional heart-strings. I give it a full MB for solid entertainment throughout.  

            2. Story – Superb. The plots are nicely developed. I especially enjoy the romantic subplot that makes it so easy for us to tell Katniss to stay with the boy she’s with—in that scene. When she’s with Gale it makes perfect sense that she should stay with him. And when she’s with Peeta that seems right as well. I’m not normally much on the romantic triangle aspect of a story, but find myself enjoying this one. I found the writing to clever and powerful. I gave this element of the film a full MB.  

            3. Technical – Top notch. Special effects were great. The director, Francis Lawrence, put together a seamless story that hit on all the right notes. I gave this aspect of the film a full MB.  

            4. Acting – Tremendous. I can’t think of any role that wasn’t performed well. My only disappointment was that Woody Harrelson did not capture my attention with his soul-weary former champion as he did in the first film. It was still a good performance though. I give a full MB for acting.  

            That amounts to a perfect score of 4 Movie Bucks for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This film will certainly give Ender’s Game a run for its money as my top pick for the year. Go out and catch this movie at your favorite cinema and experience in all its cinematic glory. 

 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

Movie Review - Free Birds

Free Birds   $$$

 

 

PG

91 Minutes

Starring: Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, and George Takei.  

Director: Jimmy Hayward.

 

            Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year. It beats out Halloween, it beats out my birthday, and it even beats out Christmas as far as I’m concerned. So it bothers me that there aren’t more movies and television specials that focus on all the turkeylicous wonder that is the holiday. As you can guess, my hopes for this movie were high.    

 

            Reggie (Owen Wilson) is not your usual turkey—he’s smart. Call it luck, fate, or clever plotting on part of the writers, but Reg ends up getting a Presidential Pardon and is taken to Camp David to live the dream of intelligent turkeys. His new life consists of watching Mexican soap operas and ordering pizza by the truckload. Until, Jake (Woody Harrelson) turkeynaps him.

            Jake has a plan to sneak into a secret government facility, highjack a time machine, and travel back to the first Thanksgiving to save countless gobblers from their deaths at the hands of future holiday feasters.  

            Free Birds is good family entertainment. However, it failed to hit the mark as an instant holiday classic. I had hoped this film would be the Thanksgiving version of A Christmas Story, but some uninspired writing and directing have dashed that dream on the jagged rocks of disappointment. On the positive side of that news, that leaves an opening for me to create the first definitive Thanksgiving movie. Free Birds earned 3 Movie Bucks and this is how it rated in each of the areas.  

            1. Fun – Good. The funny parts in the trailers were not the only entertaining bits in the film. The turkey characters were likable and fun to watch. I enjoyed the romance between Reggie and Jenny (Amy Poehler) and the rivalry between Jake and Ranger (Jimmy Hayward). All of it added up to a full MB 

            2. Story – The basic concept of a pair of turkeys traveling back to the first Thanksgiving was good. Unfortunately, past that point the plot was mundane and predictable. It just felt that the writers were going through the motions of cranking out a funny family film. On the plus side, they created a funny script that was funny enough to earn a half MB.   

            3. Technical – The animation was good, although I don’t know why turkey chicks come in red, blue, and yellow varieties.  The problem I had with the film was with continuity, which is the responsibility of the director. I know this is meant to be light entertainment, but Myles Standish (Colm Meany)  character really bothered me. He is depicted with what looks like a match in his mouth—which weren’t invented until 1826). His clothing and the gun he wields have an 1800s style to them. This character was not so much a villainous pilgrim as a Wild West gunslinger.

            The overall technical efforts earned a half MB.  

            4. Acting – Good. Owen Wilson puts in a wonderful voice performance for the main character. The rest of the cast did well. I particularly like George Takei as the voice of S.T.E.V.E. the time machine.  

            If you want some good clean Thanksgiving fun, I recommend seeing Free Birds as a matinee. The kids will love it and the adults should get enough laughs to make the trip worthwhile.  

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.

 

The Gathering

 

            Today is the big day.

            Well, it’s one of the big days. My first novel goes to print. The next big day will be January 14^th when the book is officially released and I can run down to the nearby stores and look for it on the shelf.

            Until then, I’ll just have to settle for revealing the cover and telling everyone what the book is about. Ready?

 

 

 

                Many of the prophets have spoken about the events that will happen prior to Christ’s return. It has been described as a “Great and Terrible” day. The Gathering follows the lives of the Williams family as they struggle not only to maintain their faith, but also survive the calamities and disasters which have been foretold.