Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

It’s finally here, the final instalment of The Hunger Games, it’s a bittersweet moment leaving me both excited and apprehensive.  I’ve been so excited about seeing Katniss, Peeta and Gale back on the big screen but this means that it is the end, what if it isn’t as good as the others (or only just as good as Mockingjay Part 1) what kind of sobbing mess would I be then?!  A gaping Hunger Games shaped hole in my life and no way to fix it (other than read the books again!).

Following on from the Mockingjay Part 1 (funnily enough), Peeta has been trained to hate Katniss, Katniss is the face of a revolution, Gale is a soldier and Primrose is a nurse.  Along with some firm favourites, Finnick Odair (Sam Clafin), Cressida (Natalie Dormer) and Pollux (Elden Henson), Katniss leads the team into the capitol and to President Snow’s mansion.  The route is fraught with ‘pods’ which release various terrifying booby traps from explosions to oil slicks. 

This is basically another Hunger Games, as noted by Finnick “Welcome to the 76^th Hunger Games” but set in the streets of the capitol instead of an arena.  All that was missing from that line was a 'looking into the camera breaking the fourth wall' moment. That would have been perfect! The gamemakers have made it near impossible for anyone to get to the mansion without being killed or maimed in the process.  

I will admit that the third was my least favourite book, there was a lot of talking and it seemed so much less action packed that the previous two.  However, what happened with the film it seems, is that all the boring stuff was jammed into the first film (my least favourite of the movies) and all the action and emotional gumph is in this one, making it ten times more awesome than I imagined.  Maybe it’s because I’ve see the first and second one a hundred times and this one is completely new but I think it might be my favourite of them all.  I spent much of the time tensed up while Katniss and co try to break free of another cruel booby trap and Josh Hutcherson was brilliant to watch as he fought the demons in his own head and tried to decide what was real and what was planted in his mind. After 4 years I'd thought I would have grown tired of being Team Peeta, but I loved all of his scenes!

I'd forgotten actually how much dialogue was in this part of the book. That's the main thing that frustrated me with this movie, the pacing was all over the place. It went from 5 minutes of solid dialogue to crazy action, back to chatter again. It was a bit stop start! I actually really liked that, it kept me on my toes - plus for me, the dialogue is what made the films so close to the books.

I think they really captured the reason behind Katniss’s choices, maybe more so than the books.  I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but her decision at the end of the book baffled me a little bit as it wasn’t what I expected but in the film it felt like the perfect ending.  I also didn’t find myself as emotional watching the film as I had in the book, I was sobbing like a small child when I read the third one but managed to scrape by this one without a single tear or sniffle.

One thing I'd forgotten from the books was how dark some of those scenes were! I won't mention because of spoilers, but with everything happening in the world right now one scene in particular was quite harrowing to watch.

I stand by my thought that Mockingjay didn't need to be split into two parts. If the dull, unnecessary moments from both parts were taken out and made into one movie, it could have been amazing, but my favourite from the series is still Catching Fire. 

I almost wanted this to be my least favourite of the films so I wouldn’t be sad that it was over but it has turned out to be my favourite, now I’m gutted all over again that it’s finished!  Back to the books I go…..

Looking Forward to Seeing in the Cinema this Month...November 2015

So when I came to do this post I went to search for all the films in the month and by mistake searched for October, because there is no way its nearly November....is there?! Where has the year gone....

There is only one film I'm looking forward to seeing this month and that is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.  Admittedly, the third is not my favourite book and the third film wasn't my favourite of the films but I'm so excited to see how they play this final out.  I don't think I need to say anymore, I'll just leave you with this:

Oh and the trailer of course:

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 will be released in UK cinemas on 19th November 2015

I am so stuck this month! Despite not making it to the cinema nearly as much as I would like to, there are two films this month I am desperate to see! They're both so very different, and that's why I can't pick. I need to pick though, I need to pick...eeney, meeney, miney, mo. Okay, I'm really looking forward to seeing Burnt! (but also The Lady in the Van!)

It's no secret that I love food (I mean, who doesn't?) so when I first saw Chef (2014) I instantly fell in love, and also wanted to eat the contents of my kitchen. That said, there are similarities between the two films, as they both feature down-on-their-luck chefs. Only, Burnt looks much more serious and dangerous, and I like that. How weird, I saw the trailer for this (and you know I too love food) and thought it looked terrible, I can't find anything to like about it.  I may let you watch it and give me an update ;-) Booooo!

Did I mention food? The wedding diet is going great, by the way. Anyway, here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet:

Burnt will be released in UK cinemas on 6th November 2015.

Review: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

This was my most anticipated film of the year and for November, see here for further information on that.  So, after looking forward to this film for 12 months, was it worth it...

The Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part 1 returns to not long after where we left off in Catching Fire, Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) has been captured by the Capitol, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) is holed up in District 13 under the watchful eye of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman).  Katniss is recruited at the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion and thrust into the limelight to rally the troops.

I loved these books, the last was my least favourite but was also the most dark and grown up of the three so I had high hopes for the movie.  What it definitely did was keep to the dark tone of the book, it was much bleaker than the first two and the death and destruction seen by Katniss is a lot more jarring and heartbreaking in this one.  They do a really good job of making you feel as though you are seeing these horrific scenes through your own eyes, I got a bit teary when Katniss goes to visit District 12 by herself and seeing the sights that I had toned down in my head when reading the books.

Jennifer Lawrence and the rest of the cast were brilliant as they have been in the previous two movies.  The make up work on Josh Hutcherson was great, but what I couldn't get my head around was if they have all these make up techniques in the Capitol why did they let Peeta go on camera looking gaunt and sick.  Logically, Peeta could have stayed looking his healthy self until Katniss sees him when he is brought back and then realised that he was being forced, after realising how damaged and gaunt he is.  It's a minor gripe but it bothered me!  Effie Trinket played by Elizabeth Banks brought some much needed humour to the proceedings, Banks did an amazing job of portraying someone who has been raised with everything handed to her having to fight with the 'lower classes' to save people she has actually grown to care about.  Her lack of understanding of why she has this bond with these people is brilliant and provides a bit of light-heartedness in a very dark movie.

There didn't seem to be much need for splitting the final book, this one felt quite dragged out and like it could have easily been half the length it actually was.  This has reinforced for me that they have only split the films for the finance side of it not because it would make better movies.  Bit disappointed but it does mean I get to look forward to another instalment next year :-)  I don't know if anyone else thought this, but when I read the Mockingjay book, everything that happened up to the end of this movie felt like an introduction to the real story, the attack on the Capitol.  In that respect, this movie just felt like an opening to the 'real' story in the next movie.

The only part of this movie that REALLY bothered me was Jennifer Lawrence's terrible wig, it was quite obviously not her hair and looked awful to the point that I probably missed a few key points obsessing about it.  (This is what happened to me with Footloose when I got obsessed with the leading ladies wide shoulders and missed most of the film because it was annoying me that much!!)

Fans will love it, even if they do find it a bit long for the story it's telling and it makes you itch for the next instalment but all in all really good adaptation of the book, kept to the story well and didn't shy away from the dark and sometimes uncomfortable.

Would have been 8 if it wasn't for that damn wig!!!

Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

I watched this film at the cinema when it was released but I recently saw it on a list of films on a flight to Qatar so I went for it again...

 

I had completely forgotten how much I love this film, I actually think I loved it more than the first one (which is impressive for a sequel), its tougher, scarier, grittier and more heartbreaking than the original.  I loved that the first half was not in an arena but showing Katniss, Peeta and Gale coping after the first Hunger Games and how they respond to being sent back in again.

 

The arena is much more brutal and horrific than the first with blood rain, deadly smoke and evil baboons.  There were more characters to get your teeth into and many hints to the 3rd book (3rd and 4th films) that only readers of the book will understand (makes be feel abit smug when watching it to be honest!).  

 

I'm totally one of those annoying people who sit there with a smug face, reminding everyone who will listen that I've read the book! I was pleased at how well they kept to the book in Catching Fire, they just played around a bit with the timeline and missed out one of my favourite moments which pained me.

 

There's a scene in the book at the party which in the book happened after the names had been picked for the Quarter Quell, where Katniss is dancing with Plutarch (I think) and he whispers in her ear, 'It begins at 12'. This was the major clue for the Quarter Quell arena and would have been an awesome inclusion in the film.

 

I loved the build on the characters from the first film, such as Cinna and President Snow but the additional characters added this time round really gave it more edge. Jena Malone's, Johanna Mason was amazing - ideally at the beginning you are supposed to hate the character but I loved her and the impact she had on Katniss.  She seemed to be the only character that could get a rise out of her, which gave Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss more depth.   

 

Jennifer Lawrence as always was amazing and stole every scene she was in.  She made the character more tough this time round but also showed more vulnerability than has been  previously touched on.  The scene where Katniss isn't allowed to say bye to her family and the scene when she's hit by the Jabberjays in the arena were heartbreaking to watch and admittedly I cried a little on the plane. 

 

Catching Fire was brilliant and I'll definitely be watching it again just before the third film comes out. I'm a bit nervous about the third book being split into two films though, and I hope it allows them to do justice to the book, and not to just make as much money as they can.

I would without a doubt recommend this to anyone, preferably after reading the books and watching the first film but definitely a must.  Everything was bigger and better, from the arena to Effie Trinket's hair and eyelashes.

Review: Bridge to Terabithia

Last week I posted a message on the IMDB boards, asking for some recommendations. I asked about films that had a huge plot twist, after watching The Usual Suspects. Now I know, asking for that is kind of a spoiler in itself, but I was curious! I had several replies with the usual Sixth Sense, Fight Club, etc, but one post stood out to me in particular. They suggested Bridge to Terabithia, which I'd heard of, a Disney film! That alone was enough to make me dig this film out.

Although curious, I was a little apprehensive too. I love Disney films, don't get me wrong, but at 24 years of age I worried I was too old to appreciate this. Oh, how wrong I was!

Do you recognise that baby face by the way? It's Peeta from The Hunger Games! I couldn't get over just how young he looked, this film isn't even really that old! It even has Zooey Deschanel in it, but I got really confused because she is basically Jess Day in it...

Anyway, the film is about two children Jess and Leslie, who have a really tough time at school, and in Jess' case, at home too. They find some land just a rope swing over the river away, and turn it into their own imaginary, magical land. Each creature they imagine is based on someone in their lives, which is an interesting and often comical idea.

I won't ruin the twist for you, but I didn't see it coming at all, and I was looking for it to, and it really hit me hard. This is a Disney film, folks! I almost turned it off just so that I could imagine it never happened...

I really loved this film and I knew my Mum and littlest Brother had seen it, so I asked them what they thought about it. They had a completely different opinion to me and thought it was boring and depressing! So this film isn't for everyone, I now know. But if you have a spare hour and a half, and you feel a little curious too, just give it a try.