THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Review

By Darin Skaggs

     Over the past few years, culture has become overtaken with the phenomenon of Young Adult book series being adapted into a film series and released in separate years.  These include the decade long Harry Potter series, the five part Twilight series and most currently the four part The Hunger Games series.  Part two of the series titled Catching Fire just came out and is definitely one of the better adaptations. 

     The Hunger Games is set in the future.  Every year there are “The Games” in which two children, a girl and boy, are chosen from each of the twelve districts and forced to play in games where it is a death match.  The winner is the last one standing and is deemed the Victor.  In the last film Katniss, played by Jennifer Lawrence and Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson, were the first contestants to be part of the game that had two winners.  In this new film the government is upset about it.  After a long tour through the twelve districts, Katniss and Peeta are then forced by President Snow to compete in a game with new rules.  The new rule is that randomly selected Victors will compete in the 75^th Hunger Games.

     The first film in the series was good, but nowhere near great.  What happens before the games was good.  All the looks at reality TV and how Katniss feels about being forced to be in the games is compelling.  When the film arrived to the games it all fell apart.  The action in the film was clunky and it seemed to just be rushed through.  The main problem with the film is that the director, Gary Ross, was just doing a greatest hits of the book instead of adapting the source material to make the film its own thing.  Catching Fire, who is directed this time around by Francis Lawrence, does not do that.  This film is its own thing.  I have not read the books but this film had a better through line.  Nowhere in the film does it seem like they are trying to appeal to the readers only.

     Jennifer Lawrence, who was great in the first one, does even better in this film.  She is one of the most noticeable people in the world but she sinks into this role so well, you believe Katniss Evergreen exist somewhere out there.  Most of the actors do better in this film as well.  It seems they care more about the roles that they are playing.  No one stands out as a bad performance.  The last film had the two leads be the only focus during the games.  They seemed that they were supposed to have other characters have more story arcs throughout the film, but were just turned into caricatures.  This time around about half the contestants all have personalities and we get to know them better.

     The film explores the darkness of the situation better than the first.  Katniss wakes up screaming at night from nightmares, but puts on a brave face whenever in public.  There are some amazing images that will stick with you that you probably don’t expect from these kinds of movies.

     The film is great and doesn’t just get to the games and the action.  It explores it themes first and even during the games.  The only real problem in the film is the action is still clunky.  It was almost like they shoot the violent stuff and then edited it to make the film PG-13.  There is also a love triangle story the film doesn’t really need.  The creators do a good job of slipping it in the story for the romantics out there, but still having it be in the background.  It could be viewed that Katniss is struggling with who she loves because she’s young and that is what she should be worrying about, but she can’t because of the games.  The film basically ends like The Empire Strikes Back with a big cliff hanger to make you want to see the next one, and honestly I cannot wait. 

SIDE EFFECTS

SIDE EFFECTS Review

By Darin Skaggs

     Most movies are made to mean something.  They are made to make you feel happy or sad.  They are here to make a point or explore a theme.  The script is what makes these things possible, but is not always good.  Some films have nothing to say and are purely made to try and be creative and poignant.  Just like Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects.

     The film starts out with Emily Taylor, played by Rooney Mara.  She is depressed because her husband Martin, played by Channing Tatum, has been in prison for a few years.  She has been depressed about this fact for a while and after Martin comes back she starts to take pills to fix it.  She is taking pills from her therapist Dr. Johnathon Banks, played by Jude Law.  Desperate to help Emily, Banks looks to her previous doctor, Victoria Siebert who is played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.  The film takes off from there going many different directions.

     Everyone in the film is doing great work.  Mara gives an amazing performance, maybe one of the best of the year.  Sadly, that does not save the film.  At the half hour mark something happens.  It changes the whole direction of the film.  This moment has potential to add a real interesting aspect of the film, but the movie does something similar to this several more times during the film.  It seems the script just wanted to trick us instead of saying something important.

     The story zig zags not to try to make us think about the film, but it wants us to feel stupid.  It has no point to make except that Mara, Tatum, Law and Zeta-Jones are good actors.  It is not enough to make the film satisfying in any way.

FRANCES HA

FRANCES HA Review

By Darin Skaggs

     Most people can probably relate to not knowing if your rent will be paid, where their life is going and where any of your relationships are heading.  Noah Baumbach’s new film Frances Ha is all about learning to grow up and figure out how to live life.

     The film opens with Frances and Sophie.  It is clear from the way they act that they are best friends.  They are acting silly and laughing.  They are acting in almost an obnoxious way, but they are enjoying themselves.  They live together, happy as can be.  Frances is also dating someone.  He asks her to move in with him but she declines.  There is no scene with her boyfriend with any love, fun or passion.  It is clear she does not care about him as much as she does about Sophie.  Sophie then tells Frances that she has to move out because she is going to live with someone else.  The rest of the film is her dealing with that.

     The film looks at how hard it is to grow up and how silly we are trying to do it.  At one point Frances goes on a date and while trying to pay for dinner her credit card is declined.  So instead of letting the guy pay Frances runs to find an ATM.  She needs so bad to feel accomplished she would run anywhere to feel like she’s an adult.

     Frances is played by Greta Gerwig and she does wonderful in the role.  She brings out the comedy from the script while simultaneously playing the awkwardness and stress in Frances’ life.  The film is filmed in black and white which is a nice touch.  It gives the film a timeless quality.  It makes the film feel like it is really happening, like we are invading in on a moment in Frances’ life.

     The film is funny and even touching.  It has great characters that feel realistic due to the acting and the script.  It is one of the greatest films of the year and a good time.

12 YEARS A SLAVE

12 YEARS A SLAVE Review

By Darin Skaggs

     If I have to compare Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave to any other film I would compare it to Schindler’s List.  Both explore horrible real life events.  Both are based on true life people who went through these events.  Both films do not shy away from the tragic violence that was acted upon the victims.  And both films don’t have much to say besides this was bad.

     12 Years a Slave stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, who is a black man living in the northern United States.  He is a free man, with a wife and two children and is an expert at the violin.  While his family is away he meets two men interested in hiring him to perform in Washington.  He takes the offer and unfortunately is drugged, captured and sold to slavery.  He spends the rest of the film dealing with his life as a slave.

     Like I said this film is comparable to Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List in many ways.  This is a high compliment because both films are amazing achievements.  There is a scene in Schindler’s List, a look on the holocaust, where a young Jewish women tells the Nazis that they are constructing a building incorrectly and if they continue to build it the way they are the building will be a danger to all who enter.  They shoot her on spot for questioning them, and also do what she suggests right after.  There are many other scenes like that in the film and 12 Years a Slave has many like it as well, including a scene where Solomon has upset a white man, so for punishment he has been hung from his neck just short enough where he could stand on is tippy toes.  The most effective part of this moment is that all the other slaves are just going about their day not even looking at Solomon.  It is clear that they have seen this before and they are used to the idea of this happening.  By the end of both films your heart is heavy with the powerful emotion that the movie has left you with.

     Ejiofor carries the film so well and gives a performance that will be remembered for years to come.  He is a victim, a witness to victims, acts like a man who was once free and shows many emotions.  He is the best performance in the film.  Others do good as well such as Paul Giamatti, Paul Dano, Benidict Cumberbatch.  Lupita Nyong’o as Patsey is amazing as well.  Other performances are not great like Brad Pitt, who is the biggest star in the film which is convenient with the role he plays in the outcome of the film.  Another performance from an amazing actor comes off as over the top and too evil from Michael Fassbender who plays Edwin Epps.  He is great in everything he does like the other Steve McQueen films, the great Hunger and the silly Shame.  He is great as Magnito in the new X-Men film.  Epps is a downright evil character, which I’m sure that there were people like that in the days of slavery, but his character is does not work. 

The film says these slave owners were wrong and what happen to the slaves was also wrong.  This is all the film explores, not much else.  It’s hard to call this film a masterpiece with just one simple point to make.  It is not a film that makes you think.  It sure does stick with you but it is not very intellectual.  Not many debates are to be had after this film. 

That hurts it a little, but the film is still a crowning achievement.  It is hard to watch at points in an effective way.  The film is filled with mostly great performances.  There are some nice touches near the end that add to the film, but not enough to make it grand.

PACIFIC RIM

PACIFIC RIM Review

By Darin Skaggs

     Guillermo Del Toro has made some of the most creative, smartest and entertaining films of recent years.  His debut film, Cronos was a vampire film without ever saying it.  He also made Pan’s Labyrinth which is a darker version of Alice in Wonderland.  With all that genius he brought to the film world I thought he could do no wrong.  Turns out I was wrong.  Pacific Rim, one of the most anticipated films of the year is also one of the dumbest. 

          The film opens with a rundown of what is going on with earth, complete with a scruffy “cool guy” narration.  Well, a portal to another dimension has opened up and Godzilla like creatures, called Kaiju, crawl out and start destroying our planet.  And because we’re human we build giant robots, called Jeagers to fight them.  The catch is that no one person can handle piloting these Jeagers by themselves; this is a two person job.  The catch to this is the two people have to have some sort of connection.  The main character Raleigh Becket is partners with his twin in the beginning of the film.  Another team is a father and son.  This is confusing and a downright ridiculous premise.  Why don’t they build a Jeager that can hold one person?  How come unrelated people can pilot it later in the film?

     Oh well, the rest of the film is pretty much Becket returning to the Jeager program five years after his brother’s death.  Then him and someone he just meet, Mako who is played by Rinko Kikuchi pilot a Jeager accompanied by two other Jeagers and they fight the Kaiju.  This film is familiar with movie character clichés.  It includes the hunky male lead, the tough boss who does not get along with our lead but eventually earns his respect and vice versa, the damsel who is not in distress yet still needs help sometimes and the comic relief side characters who are unsuccessfully mirroring a C3PO/R2D2 or Dr. Honeydew/Beaker (of Muppet fame) like team.  Some of the choices the characters make are roll your eyes worthy.  At one point the Kiaju have defeated a Jeager, even though the men inside are still alive.  They, for some odd reason, decide to crawl out with their flare guns in hand and shoot the ten plus story monster in the eye.  What was next in that plan?  I have no idea and neither will you.

     The movie with all its flaws has some positives.  The fight scenes are pretty cool but maybe if there was a little more character or story it would justify making a movie based around this action.  It is all special effects based and the Kaiju look really cool.

     The film looks awesome but the performances and script are only subpar.  Filled to the brim with cliché moments and characters, I cannot get behind this film.