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 Hunger Games
In a dystopian future where the government keeps a tight rein on the populace, the annual reminder of a failed uprising is The Hunger Games, a televised battle to the death of teens from each of the twelve districts. When her young sister Prim (Willow Shields) is selected as the female tribute from District Twelve, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) volunteers for combat instead, getting paired up with local baker’s son Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). They’re…Read More
Review: The Messenger
What does it take to be a soldier on the Casualty Notification Team, the “Angels of Death Squadron”, traveling the United States and letting spouses and parents know that someone has died while in the Army? And at what cost personally? That’s the question underlying The Messenger, a stark film that follows decorated and troubled Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster) as he joins with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) on this detail. “Captain Stone…Read More
Review: 2012
Can you hear that sound? It’s a crack slowly but unceasingly running through the Earth, a crack that will tear buildings apart, leave gaping crevasses where previously there were roads, and rip children out of their parent’s hands, to plummet to their deaths as the world collapses. But all is not lost, a few hundred thousand people have a secret plan to escape the worldwide destruction and start humanity anew, reseeding the Earth post-apocalypse. Or…Read More
Review: Zombieland
It takes a certain sense of humor to enjoy a horror comedy film like Zombieland, but if you can laugh at graphic violence and can see the humor in parody, then this is a great movie for you to catch. Brilliantly funny, full of great lines, Zombieland offers a zombie film unlike any other I’ve seen, though perhaps the cult hit Shaun of the Dead comes somewhat close. The film is set in the present…Read More