The basic storyline is compelling: it’s a dystopic future and the totalitarian government that controls everything keeps a tight lid on the twelve outlying Districts with the annual Hunger Games. Each district must send two children chosen at random, and when District 12’s choice is Prim Everdeen (Willow Shields), her big sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) courageously volunteers to go in her place. The first film in the series, The Hunger Games, is about the Games, but…Read More
Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Let’s get this out at the beginning: Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is not a very likable young woman, and it’s puzzling why both Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are so enamored of her. She’s self-absorbed and sullen, and is just as likely to ignore either young man as offer them a smile. For their own part, the boys aren’t much better. Gale is the “bad boy” miner who has been friends with “katnip”…Read More
Review: The Eagle
After such amazing films as Ben Hur and Gladiator, I’m a definite fan of what the industry refers to as “swords and sandals” epics, films that take place during the first century or two of the common era. The Eagle takes place during this same era, 140AD, and is a tale of a Roman commander who seeks to restore his family’s honor by recovering a lost golden eagle from the far northern hinterlands of Britain….Read More
Review: The Mechanic
There’s a certain suspension of disbelief required for all cinema, an acceptance that what we’re seeing on screen is “reality” rather than a bunch of actors, lighting specialists, sound techs, set builders, cinematographers and a director all collaborating to tell a compelling story. With some genres of film, there’s a second level of belief required, one where the viewer has to also accept the basic premise of the film. That’s where The Mechanic fails miserably,…Read More
Review: Astro Boy
I like animation in just about any form, whether it’s the stop motion brilliance of Coraline or the computer graphics gleam of Toy Story or Shrek. I’m not a huge fan of manga, however, Japanese comics,though I am a definite fan of graphic novels and probably buy a dozen or so every month (which my kids definitely appreciate). Astro Boy was a mixed bag, therefore, because it’s animated (good) but based on a very Japanese…Read More