'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1' (PG-13) ***
Revolution is in the air. The Hunger Games are no more, and District 12 is no more. Now living in District 13, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) reluctantly must become a symbol for the rebellion and becomes determined to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the clutches of the Capitol. Series co-stars Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Sam Chaflin, Jena Malone, Liam Hemsworth, Willow Shields, and Jeffrey Wright all return, this time joined by Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin of District 13, Natalie Dormer as rebellion propaganda director Cressida, and Mahershala Ali as Boggs, Coin's right hand man.
Before I go into a mini tirade, let me point out that yes I liked this movie. Didn't like it as much as the previous two, but I still liked it. As usual with these movies, the acting is always a huge highlight. Jennifer Lawrence practically carries the movie in delivering yet another great performance as Katniss Everdeen. There are many moments in this movie that are flat out chilling. It's shot well and the special effects actually are pretty good. But the main flaw is that this feels incomplete. Seriously, as one whole movie this would have been great. No need to split a 309 page book into two movies. But Jake, the book has so much and the first half is way different than the second half. So? The same thing could be said about the previous two, yet both of those stayed as one movie a piece. The odds are halfway in this movie's favor...now I gotta wait until November 2015 for the other half.
Revolution is in the air. The Hunger Games are no more, and District 12 is no more. Now living in District 13, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) reluctantly must become a symbol for the rebellion and becomes determined to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) from the clutches of the Capitol. Series co-stars Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Sam Chaflin, Jena Malone, Liam Hemsworth, Willow Shields, and Jeffrey Wright all return, this time joined by Julianne Moore as President Alma Coin of District 13, Natalie Dormer as rebellion propaganda director Cressida, and Mahershala Ali as Boggs, Coin's right hand man.
Before I go into a mini tirade, let me point out that yes I liked this movie. Didn't like it as much as the previous two, but I still liked it. As usual with these movies, the acting is always a huge highlight. Jennifer Lawrence practically carries the movie in delivering yet another great performance as Katniss Everdeen. There are many moments in this movie that are flat out chilling. It's shot well and the special effects actually are pretty good. But the main flaw is that this feels incomplete. Seriously, as one whole movie this would have been great. No need to split a 309 page book into two movies. But Jake, the book has so much and the first half is way different than the second half. So? The same thing could be said about the previous two, yet both of those stayed as one movie a piece. The odds are halfway in this movie's favor...now I gotta wait until November 2015 for the other half.
Three groups of people are trying to survive Purge Night, when their stories intertwine as they try to survive the chaos and violence that occurs during the Purge.
Group #1: Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoe Soul), a mother-daughter team who have to escape their apartment building after paramilitary men storm it looking for people to capture and purge.
Group #2: Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez), a couple on the verge of breaking up whose car was tampered with by a gang just before the Purge starts.
"Group" #3: Leo (Frank Grillo) is out on Purge night avenging a personal loss.
Simply put, much like the first movie I liked it and as a rental it's pretty solid. I know the concept of a Purge is completely ludicrous but I thought this movie pulled it off in an interesting way that kept my attention throughout.
Dale (Charlie Day), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Nick (Jason Bateman) decide to start their own business but things don't go as planned because of a slick investor (Christoph Waltz), prompting the trio to pull off a misguided kidnapping scheme against the investor's son (Chris Pine). Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx, and Kevin Spacey all reprise their roles from the previous movie as well.
Let's face it: Did 2011's 'Horrible Bosses' really need a sequel? Probably not. But, this follow-up is still a fun time at the movies and is consistently funny, even though it doesn't quite match the hilarity of it's predecessor.
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