Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a nerd. I get giddy when I see or hear anything Star Wars/Star Trek/Hunger Games/Marvel related. When I pass by Star Wars toys in Wal-mart or other stores, I have a hard time just walking by without at least looking. I own all 6 Star Wars films, all but one season of The Clone Wars, several books and items of clothing, and even some jewelry that reflects my passion for Star Wars. I've been a fan since at least 2004, though I didn't see any of the films until late 2005/early 2006. So to say that I was excited when news of a new trilogy hit the internet is a major understatement. When the first teaser hit YouTube, I watched it 20 times (maybe more). I was a bit skeptical at the thought of J.J. Abrams tinkering with another of my favorite universes, but hearing that he was an avid fan helped allay my fears a little (he's admitted to not even liking Star Trek!).
My birthday was this past Friday, and two good friends of mine wanted to see the film with me. It also worked out since I'm leaving for Amarillo to start a new job soon and who knows when we'll get to visit together again! Anyway, I was VERY excited for Sunday afternoon because it not only marked the first time I ever would see a Star Wars film IN theaters, it was part of a historic film moment (after all, this film shattered records all over the place!).
As the title states, this review will be chock full of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film yet, stop reading NOW! I also will start with a disclaimer: these are my opinions ONLY. I'm very set in my opinions sometimes, and arguing does nothing. I don't mind differing opinion(s), but arguing doesn't accomplish anything. That said, here we go:
First, there were several things about this movie that I loved. I LOVED BB8. Who wouldn't? How could you not love a droid that gave almost the same quality performance as its human co-stars? I confessed to a friend of mine that I think I love him *almost* more than R2D2. I also have to give kudos to J.J. for being adamant about practical effects (like character suits). It gave the film a more old-trilogy feel, something I think turned people off about the prequel trilogy (incidentally, the overuse of CGI and digital effects is what tainted the Hobbit trilogy, IMO). I also loved Han Solo's return. He's a favorite of mine though, so I could be biased. The return of some characters, however, was more lackluster. C-3PO, for instance. I had hoped (though maybe it'll be explained in Episode 8) that there would be an explanation as to why he has a red arm. I mean, why? That is going to bother me until the question is answered!
I liked/loved Poe, but I really thought he'd get a little more screen time than he did. For the brief time we saw him unmasked, Kylo Ren. I almost refuse to 'love' a villain, but Adam Driver did such a fantastic job it's hard not to notice it or to like it. The 'twist' that he's really Han Solo and Leia's son wasn't much of a shocker to me; as the movie started and we met him for the first time, I had an inkling that he was related to either Luke or Leia (especially emphasized by the fact about his confrontation with the old man he killed in the beginning of the film). Maybe it was just me, but he seemed to be a mixture of Anakin Skywalker (pre-Darth Vader/pre-suit) and Darth Maul (post-Naboo duel); not quite fully evil at times, but also not fully grounded in reality. I liked how the film also touched on the issue of the stormtroopers vs. the clones. Stormtroopers are NOT the same as clone troopers, which is something I only discovered recently. It was slipped in in a way that I think the avid fans would have noticed, and the casual fan might have missed. Kudos to whoever made sure that made it in the film. And Andy Serkis? How does he manage to not sound anything like himself or any character he's played? If I hadn't known he was in the film, I probably would not have pegged him as Supreme Leader Snoke.
As for the other two new characters, Rey and Finn....I liked them. I was surprised that Rey turned out to be Force sensitive. All of the teasers and promos have pointed to Finn as the Jedi protege, not Rey. The twist in that was certainly surprising, and it was honestly refreshing to see a woman front and center wielding a lightsaber in a live-action film. I love Ahsoka Tano, but let's face it: she's a cartoon character and for a lot of fans, she doesn't exist. She's not canonical (even though it's been declared by Lucasfilm that she is). We have rarely seen a woman pick up a lightsaber and flat out kick someone's butt in these films. We've seen Leia and Padme pick up blasters, and in the background we've seen some women wield sabers, but a woman in the limelight? This was a first!
Also, though I missed a great deal of it, I know that Matt Lanter and James Arnold Taylor voiced characters/creatures in the film. Matt and James play the Clone Wars versions of Anakin and Obi-Wan, respectively; I think it was a great gesture to include them in this film (in whatever way they were involved). Also Ewan McGregor was included, but I am sad to say I completely missed hearing his voice, thinking it was Alec Guinness!
And, now....on to the things I disliked/hated (I do realized some of the things I address are now not considered canon by Lucasfilm, but I'll get to that at the end).
Leia is not a Jedi. Ugh. I'm not a big fan of the EU, as I haven't delved too deeply into it, but Leia is a Jedi. It's been an established fact for YEARS. Especially considering the whole, "there is another Skywalker" thing from ROTJ, she should have been made a Jedi, or at least something about her Jedi training mentioned in the film. She is NOT just a princess, or a diplomat, or a general. She. Is. A. Jedi.
Are Leia and Han even married? They married in the books (and had 3 children, btw), but there is no mention of their marriage in the film. It's basically implied that they had a fling, through which was produced Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, and then they went their own way. This lack of mentioning any kind of serious relationship, I think, takes away from what makes Han and Leia special. Yes, they bicker. No, they don't agree on much. But the Han and Leia of ROTJ would have married. Maybe not stayed married as in the books, but they would have gotten married.
Kylo Ren=Ben Solo. I had a discussion about this with a friend the day I saw the film. Ben Solo exists nowhere in the Star Wars universe, EU or otherwise. Ben SKYWALKER exists, but as the son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade (who makes no appearance at all in the film). Jacen and Jaina Solo (twins) and Anakin Solo are the only children Han/Leia ever had. Jacen became a dark lord of the Sith, killing Mara, and Jaina became a Jedi (I don't remember about Anakin). Where was Mara? Are we to believe that Luke re-instituted the old-Jedi code of no attachments? This goes way against what was established in the books. Luke abolished that code and the new Jedi order allowed romantic attachments. Granted, Mara dies, so maybe they did marry and we'll hear mention of her in the next film....or even see her in flashbacks. But, doubtful, so I'm going to put it here for good measure.
Han Solo died. Yep. Han Solo died. His son killed him. I fully expected Chewbacca to die, but was not expecting Han until he walked out onto that bridge with Kylo. I mean seriously, could anyone NOT see that one coming at that point? Needless to say, I'm miffed over that. Looks like Harrison finally got his wish of Han getting killed off.
I disliked Jakku. Tattoine is synonymous with Star Wars. Why introduce another desert planet that will only confuse newcomers to the universe? Maybe they were trying to establish that there were multiples of planets with similar environments, but I didn't like the desert aspect. Too similar to previous films, IMO.
How the heck did Maz get Luke's lightsaber from Empire? It fell down a shaft last we knew, along with his hand. I hate ambiguous things like that.
Rey and the lightsaber. *sigh* I'm all for suspending disbelief, but am I really to believe that this girl, who had never touched a real weapon before in her life, could suddenly pick up a lightsaber and basically defeat Kylo Ren? I know she's evidently strong in the Force (we're lead to assume anyway), but nobody just knows how to pick a lightsaber up and wield it. For someone who wasn't even sure that the Force/the Jedi existed, she certainly didn't need much training to learn how to wield it.
And the lens flares. Not a single one was in sight. What gives, J.J.?
Oh, wait. I LIKED that there was not a single lens flare in this film. See, it *is* possible to make a movie and not blind your audience at every turn! :)
Rating: 7/10
Bottom line: Worth seeing if you're a Star Wars fan. If you're new to the universe, I'd pass on this and start with the original trilogy first.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Meet Mr. Bilbo!
Recently The Battle of the Five Armies came out in theaters. It's the finale to a franchise millions of people love and some love to hate. The key character in this last trilogy is a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. So as you might guess, Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarves were all kind of on my mind when I was introduced to this stray kitten outside church. Being the vet tech that I am, I decided to try and give him a home. So I took him to the clinic since I didn't have anything at home to take care of him with. I got him fixed, vaccinated, tested, dewormed, all that good stuff. He checked out and came to live with me right after Christmas. He's been an absolute sweetheart, with the exceptions of the times he gets a little wild and likes to play attack everything in sight. He likes to snuggle with me sometimes but only on his terms.
Bilbo was the name suggested by my boss, though I was torn between two names for him: Obi-Wan and Boba (not ashamed of this nerdy fact!). Bilbo seemed to fit him, though he still doesn't really respond when I call his name. Here's a photo of him the weekend I brought him home. He's grown just a little since then. :)
Bilbo was the name suggested by my boss, though I was torn between two names for him: Obi-Wan and Boba (not ashamed of this nerdy fact!). Bilbo seemed to fit him, though he still doesn't really respond when I call his name. Here's a photo of him the weekend I brought him home. He's grown just a little since then. :)
He's also not too fond of his collar, so his nice little blue collar has stayed off. He somehow keeps figuring out how to remove it. But I love him and he has a good personality, even though he's still learning what's right and what's wrong! As I type this he's lying in my lap in the middle of it all.
And yes, I liked Battle of the Five Armies. It may have lacked some of the character development of Lord of the Rings (an unfortunate characteristic of the entire trilogy), but it was a good film. Worth seeing if you are familiar with LotR or you have seen all the others.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 (2014)
Wow. It's been a little while since I last posted a blog entry, but a lot has been going on. Since January I've been continually working at the job I started in Oct. 2013, and in March of this year I got to add "aunt to a nephew" to my list of titles. yes, my nephew Carter was born in March and is the sweetest thing ever! At the end of the summer I moved into my own house and have been faced with the ugly reality of paying more bills than I ever had in Mississippi (apartment living was actually a breeze compared to renting a house!). :) Nobody ever told me this was part of being an adult. Haha. Oh well.
Today I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 in theaters, and though yes, I did actually wait a week *gasp* to see the film, I think it was actually well worth it; I didn't have to deal with those annoying seat kickers, annoying people that will NOT shut up, or the like. It was a great theater experience. I think I'll do that more often. Be assured, this review will have plenty of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film and would like to save yourself the trouble, I wouldn't read any further. Although, I would like to make a teensy comment unrelated to the actual film itself: is the MPAA made up of morons? Why would you rate a movie PG-13 for 'a suggestive comment'? For real? [I think the film in question was the Age of Adaline]. However it was AWESOME seeing The Hobbit trailer on the big screen in huge, beautiful digital HD. But I digress. On to the review!
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What a film. My expectations were high considering the quality of an adaptation that Catching Fire proved to be. Granted that it has been at least a year since I've read the trilogy, so I may be stretching some of my praise of the film. But first, I felt like the first half of the book was captured in the movie. Mockingjay is a very dark book, and as such has a lot of depressing moments in it. I liked that it opened with Katniss playing her 'real' game: "I'll start with what's real: my name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm from District 12. I survived the Games. Peeta was left behind/is in the Capitol", etc. This isn't how the book began, but it gave us a pretty good starting point at where Katniss is emotionally and psychologically. She's a completely shattered heroine, the tolls of being strong for those around her showing through her cracked facade. And it was a good way film-wise to include a great many pieces of the book in just one 2 minute scene [the book has a lot of little moments where Katniss completely loses her mind and has to be sedated]. So on this note, can we please just discuss Jennifer Lawrence and why she's a several times Oscar winning/nominated actress?! We've seen a steady progression of Katniss: in movie 1, she was a reluctant hero for her sister. In movie 2, she's a broken but ready to fight individual who wants to ensure Peeta survives. In Mockingjay, she's a combination of the two, more broken than willing. her accumulated personal losses have caused her a great deal of emotional damage, as evidenced in the book. In many ways, she's only a puppet for the rebellion, her strings pulled by various parties in District 13 [a fact emphasized by the numerous 3rd person mentions of Katniss while she's in the room; they talk about her as if she's not there in person]. But she has the mental faculties to make several personal demands to President Coin if she becomes the Mockingjay. She wants Peeta and the other victors freed (funny how Enobaria wasn't mentioned in that demand; wonder where she ended up), as well as wanting them to let Prim keep her cat. Jennifer does an excellent job playing this side of Katniss: at times strong, but most of the time completely lost and in pain.
Peeta. Oh Peeta. you were one reason I was dreading this movie so much! The progression of Peeta's torture was one of the things I didn't want to see, but see it we did. he starts out relatively unchanged and by the end of the film, I don't even know the character anymore. Hutcherson did a terrific job conveying all of Peeta's nuances in this film; I won't even talk about how the hate in Peeta's eyes at the end was completely believable. It'll be interesting to see how he brings Peeta to life in the next film.
Gale. I still hate the character, even though he's really not all that unlikable in the film(s). I just don't like Gale, and I still feel like he's a bit of a pansy in this installment; they should have made him tougher or something. I don't know. I didn't like his portrayal all that much. But President Coin. I know what happens to her at the end of the story but she is the one new person I dislike the most. Maybe it's BECAUSE I know what happens to her in the end, but she's just...ick. Like a two-faced snake. And in passing I'll mention some of the newcomers, Cressida, Boggs. I had my reservations about Boggs at first, but I actually really liked him. And Cressida. And the film crew (though we don't see them much at all). Part 2 will be difficult. Really difficult.
Can we also just talk about The Hanging Tree? When I first heard it, I thought, "eh". It wasn't what I pictured. But as I've listened to it, and after having seen the film, it's grown on me. It was an important song from the book, and I feel as if the filmmakers captured it in the right way. Though I would have preferred a little more build up to the song [I think I remember Katniss telling a story about it in the book], but overall it was satisfying. And while at first I disliked Lorde's "Yellow Flicker Beat", it's grown on me as well.
Music was much the same as previous films, I wasn't overwhelmed by anything.
Okay so if you've gotten this far and you STILL haven't seen the movie, I want to warn you about the ending. It's ridiculously INTENSE. I knew more or less what it would be from comments I'd read about the movie, but I didn't realize how intense it would turn out. And for all those crying about how it ended, let me remind you: the book splits pretty evenly at chapters 13 and 14. Chapter 13 ends very similarly, and since there are 27 chapters in the book (minus the epilogue), then this was an adequate place to stop. Part 2 will be hard enough with the attack on the Capitol (and everything that comes with).
Rating: 4.5/5. It's the best of the 3 so far. Go see it!
Today I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 in theaters, and though yes, I did actually wait a week *gasp* to see the film, I think it was actually well worth it; I didn't have to deal with those annoying seat kickers, annoying people that will NOT shut up, or the like. It was a great theater experience. I think I'll do that more often. Be assured, this review will have plenty of spoilers, so if you haven't seen the film and would like to save yourself the trouble, I wouldn't read any further. Although, I would like to make a teensy comment unrelated to the actual film itself: is the MPAA made up of morons? Why would you rate a movie PG-13 for 'a suggestive comment'? For real? [I think the film in question was the Age of Adaline]. However it was AWESOME seeing The Hobbit trailer on the big screen in huge, beautiful digital HD. But I digress. On to the review!
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What a film. My expectations were high considering the quality of an adaptation that Catching Fire proved to be. Granted that it has been at least a year since I've read the trilogy, so I may be stretching some of my praise of the film. But first, I felt like the first half of the book was captured in the movie. Mockingjay is a very dark book, and as such has a lot of depressing moments in it. I liked that it opened with Katniss playing her 'real' game: "I'll start with what's real: my name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm from District 12. I survived the Games. Peeta was left behind/is in the Capitol", etc. This isn't how the book began, but it gave us a pretty good starting point at where Katniss is emotionally and psychologically. She's a completely shattered heroine, the tolls of being strong for those around her showing through her cracked facade. And it was a good way film-wise to include a great many pieces of the book in just one 2 minute scene [the book has a lot of little moments where Katniss completely loses her mind and has to be sedated]. So on this note, can we please just discuss Jennifer Lawrence and why she's a several times Oscar winning/nominated actress?! We've seen a steady progression of Katniss: in movie 1, she was a reluctant hero for her sister. In movie 2, she's a broken but ready to fight individual who wants to ensure Peeta survives. In Mockingjay, she's a combination of the two, more broken than willing. her accumulated personal losses have caused her a great deal of emotional damage, as evidenced in the book. In many ways, she's only a puppet for the rebellion, her strings pulled by various parties in District 13 [a fact emphasized by the numerous 3rd person mentions of Katniss while she's in the room; they talk about her as if she's not there in person]. But she has the mental faculties to make several personal demands to President Coin if she becomes the Mockingjay. She wants Peeta and the other victors freed (funny how Enobaria wasn't mentioned in that demand; wonder where she ended up), as well as wanting them to let Prim keep her cat. Jennifer does an excellent job playing this side of Katniss: at times strong, but most of the time completely lost and in pain.
Peeta. Oh Peeta. you were one reason I was dreading this movie so much! The progression of Peeta's torture was one of the things I didn't want to see, but see it we did. he starts out relatively unchanged and by the end of the film, I don't even know the character anymore. Hutcherson did a terrific job conveying all of Peeta's nuances in this film; I won't even talk about how the hate in Peeta's eyes at the end was completely believable. It'll be interesting to see how he brings Peeta to life in the next film.
Gale. I still hate the character, even though he's really not all that unlikable in the film(s). I just don't like Gale, and I still feel like he's a bit of a pansy in this installment; they should have made him tougher or something. I don't know. I didn't like his portrayal all that much. But President Coin. I know what happens to her at the end of the story but she is the one new person I dislike the most. Maybe it's BECAUSE I know what happens to her in the end, but she's just...ick. Like a two-faced snake. And in passing I'll mention some of the newcomers, Cressida, Boggs. I had my reservations about Boggs at first, but I actually really liked him. And Cressida. And the film crew (though we don't see them much at all). Part 2 will be difficult. Really difficult.
Can we also just talk about The Hanging Tree? When I first heard it, I thought, "eh". It wasn't what I pictured. But as I've listened to it, and after having seen the film, it's grown on me. It was an important song from the book, and I feel as if the filmmakers captured it in the right way. Though I would have preferred a little more build up to the song [I think I remember Katniss telling a story about it in the book], but overall it was satisfying. And while at first I disliked Lorde's "Yellow Flicker Beat", it's grown on me as well.
Music was much the same as previous films, I wasn't overwhelmed by anything.
Okay so if you've gotten this far and you STILL haven't seen the movie, I want to warn you about the ending. It's ridiculously INTENSE. I knew more or less what it would be from comments I'd read about the movie, but I didn't realize how intense it would turn out. And for all those crying about how it ended, let me remind you: the book splits pretty evenly at chapters 13 and 14. Chapter 13 ends very similarly, and since there are 27 chapters in the book (minus the epilogue), then this was an adequate place to stop. Part 2 will be hard enough with the attack on the Capitol (and everything that comes with).
Rating: 4.5/5. It's the best of the 3 so far. Go see it!
Saturday, January 18, 2014
The Lone Ranger (2013) Review: Not Quite Like The Original...
I finally got around to watching The Lone Ranger (2013) with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer today. I didn't see it in theaters, mostly because everyone was saying how much of a flop it was, how bad of a film it was, etc. I had some motivation to see this movie; after all, there aren't a lot of films with Gil Birmingham in them that I can watch without feeling awful after (most of his films tend to have a lot of language in them, I've learned). I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't waste the money on a theater ticket, and I'm only out $1.30 (Redbox cost). Let me start this short review by stating several things: first, I am NOT a purist Lone Ranger fan. While I'm somewhat familiar with the original story, I am not a big fan of the original (though there's no Ranger like Clayton Moore and no Tonto like Jay Silverheels), and so what I say may or may not hold much water for you. Second, I am also NOT a Native American/Comanche expert, and I don't claim to be; I only know a little about some cultures, so I go off that.
The one thing that has irked me about this movie from the very beginning was the casting of Johnny Depp as Tonto. I mean really. The man isn't native (he claims to have some ancestry through his 'grandmother', but hasn't produced any proof of this claim), though he is extremely talented. Depp is, for lack of a better term, a character actor. Just look at his career to know that: Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka, Rango, Edward Scissorhands, etc. I will be the last person on earth to say that Depp isn't talented. On the contrary, I think he's incredibly talented and he is able to pull of comedic parts with success. But this...this just wasn't it for me. While Depp's Tonto had some comic moments, I felt overall that it was all, I dunno. Fake? Forced? Now I don't know how a Comanche, who had spent his entire life speaking his native language and then learning English later, would really speak. But a consensus among most, if not all, Natives and native tribes is that Tonto's way of speaking is demeaning. It fits into the stereotype Hollywood has produced ever since the beginning of film in the 1890s. Also regarding Tonto, there are so many talented (and available!) Native actors out there now. Michael Spears, Eddie Spears, Zahn McClarnon, Gil Birmingham, Adam Beach, Chaske Spencer, Wes Studi. Just to name a handful! And that's not even the extent of the list, to be quite honest. Those are the actors whose work I'm most familiar with. But they are proven actors, who are not only talented and who not only have impressive credits to their names, but they are also the culture (give or take) that Tonto represents. Granted, the only real native in this list who is actually of Comanche heritage is Birmingham. But, I digress. You get my drift anyway. It's ironic that Birmingham and other Native actors were included IN the film, but not in very main roles! What is up with this? Is Hollywood so set in its racial bias towards Natives in film that it can't even fathom the idea of putting a Native actor in a main role that is also iconic? For however stereotypical Tonto may be, at least Silverheels was a Native actor. And I personally feel as if Verbinski and Bruckheimer missed a rare opportunity to kind of erase that Indian stereotype by not only casting a true Native in the role, but also making Tonto a more believable, more realistically speaking and acting person. But, Hollywood is all about money, and films are all about getting the actors who will make your film sell. Guess that didn't work out so well. Just look at the box office numbers for it and all the critical reviews!
[Side note for this section: Tonto's entire look was based on a painting of a Crow warrior. I'm pretty sure that the Crow and Comanche are about as related as a dog and a cat. No Comanche actually looked like Tonto, and I find his costume design rather insulting and demeaning; they could've jazzed up a traditional Comanche warrior outfit for goodness' sake!]
As for Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger/John Reid. Ouch. What a hapless nit-wit! Watching the Lone Ranger series, I never get the feeling that Reid is stupid. Or that he's hapless. Or that he's essentially so helpless that it's luck which gets him through situations. Clayton Moore's Lone Ranger, while it may be cheesy (it was the 1950s after all), is a guy who understands the value of life and of justice. The right kind of justice. That's kind of thrown in there in this film, but I honestly feel as if Hammer's Lone Ranger's sense of morality and soul is undermined by his pure lack of competence as a crime fighter. This is not Clayton Moore. This is not the Lone Ranger you're probably familiar with.
The gratuitous violence by the film's villains is unnecessary. The constant weirdness perpetrated by Tonto is tiresome and laughable [maybe on purpose]. Overall? This movie is NOT worth your time or money. Sure, you'll have some laughs along the way. And if you like Johnny Depp, then you'll probably like his Tonto (to me a mix of Jack Sparrow and something original). However if you are looking for a fun modern return to The Lone Ranger of Clayton Moore's and Jay Silverheels' era, then you are looking in the wrong place.
Rating: 1.5/5. Though the movie did have decent music to it. It should; the score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and pieces of the score were composed/arranged by Geoff Zanelli (responsible for the beautiful scores of Into the West (2005); at least that's what I know him from). But that's about the only good thing in this film.
The one thing that has irked me about this movie from the very beginning was the casting of Johnny Depp as Tonto. I mean really. The man isn't native (he claims to have some ancestry through his 'grandmother', but hasn't produced any proof of this claim), though he is extremely talented. Depp is, for lack of a better term, a character actor. Just look at his career to know that: Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka, Rango, Edward Scissorhands, etc. I will be the last person on earth to say that Depp isn't talented. On the contrary, I think he's incredibly talented and he is able to pull of comedic parts with success. But this...this just wasn't it for me. While Depp's Tonto had some comic moments, I felt overall that it was all, I dunno. Fake? Forced? Now I don't know how a Comanche, who had spent his entire life speaking his native language and then learning English later, would really speak. But a consensus among most, if not all, Natives and native tribes is that Tonto's way of speaking is demeaning. It fits into the stereotype Hollywood has produced ever since the beginning of film in the 1890s. Also regarding Tonto, there are so many talented (and available!) Native actors out there now. Michael Spears, Eddie Spears, Zahn McClarnon, Gil Birmingham, Adam Beach, Chaske Spencer, Wes Studi. Just to name a handful! And that's not even the extent of the list, to be quite honest. Those are the actors whose work I'm most familiar with. But they are proven actors, who are not only talented and who not only have impressive credits to their names, but they are also the culture (give or take) that Tonto represents. Granted, the only real native in this list who is actually of Comanche heritage is Birmingham. But, I digress. You get my drift anyway. It's ironic that Birmingham and other Native actors were included IN the film, but not in very main roles! What is up with this? Is Hollywood so set in its racial bias towards Natives in film that it can't even fathom the idea of putting a Native actor in a main role that is also iconic? For however stereotypical Tonto may be, at least Silverheels was a Native actor. And I personally feel as if Verbinski and Bruckheimer missed a rare opportunity to kind of erase that Indian stereotype by not only casting a true Native in the role, but also making Tonto a more believable, more realistically speaking and acting person. But, Hollywood is all about money, and films are all about getting the actors who will make your film sell. Guess that didn't work out so well. Just look at the box office numbers for it and all the critical reviews!
[Side note for this section: Tonto's entire look was based on a painting of a Crow warrior. I'm pretty sure that the Crow and Comanche are about as related as a dog and a cat. No Comanche actually looked like Tonto, and I find his costume design rather insulting and demeaning; they could've jazzed up a traditional Comanche warrior outfit for goodness' sake!]
As for Armie Hammer as the Lone Ranger/John Reid. Ouch. What a hapless nit-wit! Watching the Lone Ranger series, I never get the feeling that Reid is stupid. Or that he's hapless. Or that he's essentially so helpless that it's luck which gets him through situations. Clayton Moore's Lone Ranger, while it may be cheesy (it was the 1950s after all), is a guy who understands the value of life and of justice. The right kind of justice. That's kind of thrown in there in this film, but I honestly feel as if Hammer's Lone Ranger's sense of morality and soul is undermined by his pure lack of competence as a crime fighter. This is not Clayton Moore. This is not the Lone Ranger you're probably familiar with.
The gratuitous violence by the film's villains is unnecessary. The constant weirdness perpetrated by Tonto is tiresome and laughable [maybe on purpose]. Overall? This movie is NOT worth your time or money. Sure, you'll have some laughs along the way. And if you like Johnny Depp, then you'll probably like his Tonto (to me a mix of Jack Sparrow and something original). However if you are looking for a fun modern return to The Lone Ranger of Clayton Moore's and Jay Silverheels' era, then you are looking in the wrong place.
Rating: 1.5/5. Though the movie did have decent music to it. It should; the score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and pieces of the score were composed/arranged by Geoff Zanelli (responsible for the beautiful scores of Into the West (2005); at least that's what I know him from). But that's about the only good thing in this film.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
The Desolation of Smaug-Are the Critics Right? (Review: Warning, spoilers ahead!)
As many of you are I'm sure aware, last night was opening night for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in the U.S. I have to confess, because of the year long wait, I had kind of lost my excitement over the film, especially in light of Catching Fire coming out a mere three weeks before DoS. But, I was determined to see it in theaters anyway, especially since I didn't get the chance to see LotR in theaters. And since it's a love of the films my dad and I share, it made seeing the film in theaters worth it. So, what follows is my review. Take it with a grain of salt, as I am NOT a Tolkien purist (though I did think the book was rather good as it is written). And, there are lots of spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen it yet and you want to go into it cold, better click on something else to read. :)
Here goes.
Let me just begin this by saying that the last hour of the film was so far off of the book, it surprises me that more people aren't upset by it. However, before I go into the negative aspects of the movie, I'll talk about the things I really liked in it (in no particular order, just as it comes to mind). I might be a little biased, but I LOVED the appearance of Legolas in this movie. It was the same character, but also so different. His introduction in the film was genius and so well done. Who didn't love that little nod to Gimli when Legolas saw the picture of a young Gimli and his mother? I giggled over that scene if only because of its irony! I also couldn't help but like how very agile Legolas was in the movie. The sequence of Legolas literally tiptoeing on the dwarves' heads as he shot orcs was nothing short of hysterical. No wonder Leggy was a little snobby in Fellowship; he could do that and not lose his balance OR his aim! Lee Pace was phenomenal as Thranduil. I always disliked Thranduil in the book, if only because he came across as very arrogant and self righteous; Pace delivered on that very well. And while we're discussing Elves, what about Tauriel? I was kind of expecting to hate her, but I really liked her. I know she wasn't in the books, and like Evangeline Lilly, I agree that there should not have been any sort of romantic angle in the film. It's sad that the studio was pushing for that, even after Lilly signed the contract on the condition that she NOT get into a love triangle! She did a great job of delivering her Elvish lines, as did Orlando. I might even go so far as to say that Orlando's Elvish was better in this film than in LotR; maybe he was studying in the 10 years since?
And Smaug. Holy dragons. He was everything I imagined and more. I really did like Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as both the Necromancer and as Smaug. Smaug's design was terrifying, if only because he seemed to me to resemble a snake at times more than a dragon. I can't believe the scale on him either; I thought he was massive when the camera first hinted at his size, but I was way off base! Oh, and by mention of baddies, I would just like to say it was nice to see Lawrence Makoare's name in the credits this time around. He played the Witch King in Return of the King, so it was just really neat to see his name in the credits again! Bard. Oh Bard. I have mixed feelings about you! I liked Bard; he was a likable character, even for his flaws. But, could the filmmakers have made him look anything MORE like Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) from Pirates of the Caribbean? If you don't believe me, look here:
See? What'd I tell you? When I first saw the first trailer, I had to do a double take to be sure that it WASN'T Bloom who was playing Bard. But aside from me having to remind myself it wasn't Will Turner, Bard was a cool character. Can't wait to see him in the next film! I also really liked all the backstory bits. I know some people criticize that, however, as someone who is not into all of the canon of Tolkien's works, I'd rather just see it on screen. Peter Jackson has the opportunity to explore that backstory; he needs to take full advantage of it. I don't berate him for that because I'm sure other fans are curious about some of these things as well (just where did the Ringwraiths come from exactly? is one question I can think of off the top of my head that has always puzzled me).
I might be leaving something out of this section, but I'm writing this review in parts so I can't remember where I wanted to go next. Haha. Moving on.
What I didn't like:
Beorn. Ugh. Just ugh. So underwhelmed by this character. I thought he was kinda cool in the books; and he had a terrible look in the movie. He looked like a cheesy costumed character from the 70s or something. Or, like I originally thought when I saw the first image of him, he looks like a version of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Was that the best they could do at Beorn? I mean really? Sad, sad makeup there. And I'm kind of like some others; I wish he'd had more screen time.
The Tauriel/Legolas/Kili triangle was completely unnecessary, and at times, incredibly awkward. I'm mainly talking about that whole hinting-back-at-the-FotR-scene-where-Arwen-appeared-to-Frodo sequence. Seriously. They made a very bad move by making that scene resemble Arwen's first scene from Fellowship of the Ring. I know Elves are ethereal, and they're other-worldly, but seeing as how Tauriel is a tough chick, that didn't match her character. Although I did like the inclusion of athelas. And the fact that Bard referenced it as a weed. Okay, Samwise. ;) I could maybe see Legolas and Tauriel, but the triangle? Not a fan of it, and neither was Lilly, especially when she signed her contract on the condition there wouldn't be a triangle! Which I said before. In which case, I'll move on. I didn't like Smaug getting covered in molten gold. That part of the film was WAY too long, and WAY out of step with the book. Jackson could literally have trimmed off about 20 minutes of footage, and ended it with Bilbo asking, "what have we done?" as Smaug flew towards Laketown...and it would've been perfectly suitable for an ending. Instead, we get an overextended action sequence with Smaug hunting Bilbo and the Dwarves through Erebor. I'd like to know what made Jackson extend that entire sequence with Smaug, because I felt like it was very unnecessary and superfluous.
Overall: this movie was a vast improvement over An Unexpected Journey, if only because it was more interesting. It plodded on, yes, but everything was pretty fast paced and it was nice to the Mirkwood elves kind of fleshed out. I will applaud Jackson yet again for the rendering of Smaug. It was well done and I think Tolkien would have been pleased with how they brought his dragon to life.
My rating: 8.5/10. Now we just have to wait a year to see the conclusion!
Here goes.
Let me just begin this by saying that the last hour of the film was so far off of the book, it surprises me that more people aren't upset by it. However, before I go into the negative aspects of the movie, I'll talk about the things I really liked in it (in no particular order, just as it comes to mind). I might be a little biased, but I LOVED the appearance of Legolas in this movie. It was the same character, but also so different. His introduction in the film was genius and so well done. Who didn't love that little nod to Gimli when Legolas saw the picture of a young Gimli and his mother? I giggled over that scene if only because of its irony! I also couldn't help but like how very agile Legolas was in the movie. The sequence of Legolas literally tiptoeing on the dwarves' heads as he shot orcs was nothing short of hysterical. No wonder Leggy was a little snobby in Fellowship; he could do that and not lose his balance OR his aim! Lee Pace was phenomenal as Thranduil. I always disliked Thranduil in the book, if only because he came across as very arrogant and self righteous; Pace delivered on that very well. And while we're discussing Elves, what about Tauriel? I was kind of expecting to hate her, but I really liked her. I know she wasn't in the books, and like Evangeline Lilly, I agree that there should not have been any sort of romantic angle in the film. It's sad that the studio was pushing for that, even after Lilly signed the contract on the condition that she NOT get into a love triangle! She did a great job of delivering her Elvish lines, as did Orlando. I might even go so far as to say that Orlando's Elvish was better in this film than in LotR; maybe he was studying in the 10 years since?
And Smaug. Holy dragons. He was everything I imagined and more. I really did like Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as both the Necromancer and as Smaug. Smaug's design was terrifying, if only because he seemed to me to resemble a snake at times more than a dragon. I can't believe the scale on him either; I thought he was massive when the camera first hinted at his size, but I was way off base! Oh, and by mention of baddies, I would just like to say it was nice to see Lawrence Makoare's name in the credits this time around. He played the Witch King in Return of the King, so it was just really neat to see his name in the credits again! Bard. Oh Bard. I have mixed feelings about you! I liked Bard; he was a likable character, even for his flaws. But, could the filmmakers have made him look anything MORE like Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) from Pirates of the Caribbean? If you don't believe me, look here:
I might be leaving something out of this section, but I'm writing this review in parts so I can't remember where I wanted to go next. Haha. Moving on.
What I didn't like:
Beorn. Ugh. Just ugh. So underwhelmed by this character. I thought he was kinda cool in the books; and he had a terrible look in the movie. He looked like a cheesy costumed character from the 70s or something. Or, like I originally thought when I saw the first image of him, he looks like a version of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. Was that the best they could do at Beorn? I mean really? Sad, sad makeup there. And I'm kind of like some others; I wish he'd had more screen time.
The Tauriel/Legolas/Kili triangle was completely unnecessary, and at times, incredibly awkward. I'm mainly talking about that whole hinting-back-at-the-FotR-scene-where-Arwen-appeared-to-Frodo sequence. Seriously. They made a very bad move by making that scene resemble Arwen's first scene from Fellowship of the Ring. I know Elves are ethereal, and they're other-worldly, but seeing as how Tauriel is a tough chick, that didn't match her character. Although I did like the inclusion of athelas. And the fact that Bard referenced it as a weed. Okay, Samwise. ;) I could maybe see Legolas and Tauriel, but the triangle? Not a fan of it, and neither was Lilly, especially when she signed her contract on the condition there wouldn't be a triangle! Which I said before. In which case, I'll move on. I didn't like Smaug getting covered in molten gold. That part of the film was WAY too long, and WAY out of step with the book. Jackson could literally have trimmed off about 20 minutes of footage, and ended it with Bilbo asking, "what have we done?" as Smaug flew towards Laketown...and it would've been perfectly suitable for an ending. Instead, we get an overextended action sequence with Smaug hunting Bilbo and the Dwarves through Erebor. I'd like to know what made Jackson extend that entire sequence with Smaug, because I felt like it was very unnecessary and superfluous.
Overall: this movie was a vast improvement over An Unexpected Journey, if only because it was more interesting. It plodded on, yes, but everything was pretty fast paced and it was nice to the Mirkwood elves kind of fleshed out. I will applaud Jackson yet again for the rendering of Smaug. It was well done and I think Tolkien would have been pleased with how they brought his dragon to life.
My rating: 8.5/10. Now we just have to wait a year to see the conclusion!
Saturday, November 23, 2013
The World is Catching Fire. And It's Easy to See Why
I was pretty bummed that we had a severe winter storm blow in yesterday, which meant that my sister and I had to cancel our movie night to see The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Honestly, seeing it all over Twitter, Facebook, etc. made the whole thing even worse, so when a break came today from the weather, I took the chance and headed out over an hour to see the movie that's already set a domestic opening record. After sitting through about 20 minutes of pre-show commercials, then at least 6 previews, the movie FINALLY started. And warning, this review comes with spoilers for those of you who haven't yet seen the film. I'll spare no details.
The movie opens with Katniss silently sitting on the bank of a lake her father used to take her to. There is no music, no sound, nothing. It's completely silent for the first minute of the film. Gale soon joins her, and we quickly realize just how much the Games have affected Katniss. Not only has it affected her relationship with Gale (more on that in a second), it has changed how she regards things around her. When she shoots at a turkey, she thinks she's shooting Marvel again. Katniss completely loses it, ever remaining on a delicate mental balance for pretty much the remainder of the film (probably pretty true to the book). When I say it's affected her relationship with Gale, it's because it seems as if a lot of the scenes between the two of them are incredibly strained and awkward. Maybe this is the result of some choppily written dialogue (even more on that later), but regardless, their scenes seem to be strained.
I digress. THG is the only film I've seen Jennifer Lawrence in, but there is a reason Lawrence is an Academy Award nominated and winning actress. As one of the reviews on mockingjay.net said, Catching Fire showcases her incredibly diverse talent. Katniss is broken, vulnerable, strong, brave, etc. I think perhaps the best moment for Jennifer in the film, for me personally, was her District 11 speech. This was the first (but not the last time) in the film where I just couldn't keep from crying. The acting was superb in that scene, not just from Jennifer but from Josh Hutcherson. The dialogue was so well written, and the entire scene captured the heart of the books. It's so rare to watch a movie but be able to feel the emotional intensity on screen as if it were your own. The buildup to the execution of the man in District 11: excruciating. You know it's coming (if you've read the book), but it's the trigger that I think makes Katniss choose what she'll do from there on out. Lawrence delivers another exceptional performance throughout the movie. I think she even more perfectly captures Katniss in this film than in the previous one. Not that she didn't, but she proves why she was the perfect choice for the character.
Elizabeth Banks. In the first film, it appears as if Effie has no soul. Effie is just a shallow, vain person who cares about nothing but the latest trends and fashions. Not so in this film. I LOVE Effie in this movie. She is everything from the book and more. My heart just broke when Effie said goodbye to Katniss and Peeta, and I nearly cried when she pulled Katniss' name out of the bowl. The entire reaping scene, I was just thinking how much more I loved Effie in this movie than in the first one. Banks did an incredible job portraying those different facets of Effie, and I think that overall, it made Effie a more likable character.
Josh Hutcherson. I didn't think I could really like the film version of Peeta...but I did in CF. We get to see the many layers of Peeta, the one Collins wrote. I LOVE that we get to see that Peeta in more detail this time! I actually came away being more on Team Peeta than I was before. In the book I'm always sorry for him because he seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Katniss, and that was carried over into the film.
Woody Harrelson. Can the man get any more perfect at playing Haymitch? My goodness. Haymitch was even more snarky in this film than previously, but that's completely fitting within his character. And Lenny Kravitz? Well...he did a good job for the minimal amount of time Cinna appeared. I felt slighted that we didn't get to see much of Cinna in this movie, a shame since he dies before Mockingjay (at least, in the books). That was one scene I was dreading the most, but also looking forward to. It's so critical to Katniss' character that it had to happen. I'm glad the filmmakers kept it in.
Now, onto the newest characters to join the club. I'm still kind of out on Sam Claflin as Finnick; I can't decide if he is suitable or not. I'd probably have to see the movie again to really decide if I like him. However, Jena Malone? Her Johanna was SO true to the book! I didn't like that they had her yelling bleeped F words (I feel like the cussing in this film is/was very unnecessary as there's none in the book(s)), but I loved that they showed how much she hated the Capitol too. And the elevator scene? That was probably the best moment for Johanna, not to mention, I died laughing at Katniss' reaction(s). It was priceless, and I'm glad they made that scene better. Oh yeah, and I'm glad they kept in that brief scene of Chaff kissing Katniss; that was a laugh out loud moment, and it was funny to see Katniss caught off guard. And Mags? Who doesn't just fall in love with Mags the second you see her on screen? Even though she didn't say a word, she was Mags. She (Lynn Cohen) was the perfect choice for the character. Sad that she died! As for the others, they were all kinda 'eh' for me. Wasn't really blown away by any of them or underwhelmed. They were just there. I expected to feel some sort of emotion over Wiress' death, but I didn't. I felt like that may have been a miss on the part of Francis Lawrence, but it really wasn't a big deal in the scope of things. And just as a random note: what about the guy playing Thread? Perfectly cast for just about 5 minutes of screen time!
now, some things I didn't really like that much. I didn't care for the way Katniss/Gale scenes were redone. I felt like they lost their impact, and maybe it's the book purist in me, but I just wasn't happy with the Katniss/Gale scenes in general. There were also some things done that were taken out of their context from the book (ex. Ripper; she's mentioned and seen, but there's no explanation of who she is to Katniss), but I guess overall, there's more context to this film than its predecessor.
In short, Catching Fire outshines The Hunger Games just by one thing: better scripts. The dialogue, while awkwardly executed in several areas, is spot on. Instead of being Francis Lawrence's story, it's Suzanne Collins' story that is seen on the big screen. This is something lacking from the first film, as I have always felt that it was more of Ross' story than what was written. It's refreshing to have a director who clearly cares about the material as much as the fans do, and it assures me that he can do an equally good job on Mockingjay 1 and 2. Unlike some directors who clearly have no understanding, respect, or appreciation for the material they're adapting (like, ahem, a certain Michael Apted), Lawrence demonstrates that he respects the material/fans. Many of the scenes adapted could have been deemed unnecessary, but they remain. What few changes have been made were made probably because of time and streamlining. Truthfully, if they didn't make any changes at all, this film would have taken much longer than 2 1/2 hours. The last few minutes of this movie, before Katniss discovers the truth about D12, contains some of the most beautiful cinematography found in this franchise so far. The montage of Katniss being lifted into the hovercraft: exactly like the book and just as satisfying. The film ends with Katniss learning of the destruction of District 12; she turns to the camera, tears streaming out of her eyes. Then, the final shot: Katniss takes a breath, grits her teeth, and you can see truly she has now decided the Capitol must go. All of the anger, bitterness, hurt, frustration, and emotion Katniss feels toward the Capitol is all summed up in about 10 seconds of her looking solidly at us, the audience. As the credits fade to black, we see the Hunger Games logo of the Mockingjay, which catches fire and becomes the Catching Fire Mockingjay, which then turns into something else entirely (I haven't decided if this is their interpretation of Mockingjay's mockingjay, but someone else is free to give their opinion on that), at the last second or two of the Catching Fire logo transformation, we hear the infamous mockingjay 4 note call, giving the audience a spine chilling feeling of what's to come in films 3 and 4. I had goosebumps as the credits began to roll, knowing it's going to be a full year before we see the start of the war between the rebels and the Capitol.
If Francis Lawrence can repeat Catching Fire's heart and soul with both Mockingjay films, I have no doubt that fans of the books will be satisfied that Collins' work is finally being given the film treatment it deserves. Catching Fire *almost* makes up for the first film's shortfalls. On another note: I'm still not really happy with the music, soundtrack or inspirational soundtrack. It's not what I'd like to hear for the franchise, but I guess we're stuck with it.
My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
P.S. I feel like I'm not doing the movie justice, but I'm starting to forget everything I wanted to talk about, so maybe when I see it again, I'll write a better review.
The movie opens with Katniss silently sitting on the bank of a lake her father used to take her to. There is no music, no sound, nothing. It's completely silent for the first minute of the film. Gale soon joins her, and we quickly realize just how much the Games have affected Katniss. Not only has it affected her relationship with Gale (more on that in a second), it has changed how she regards things around her. When she shoots at a turkey, she thinks she's shooting Marvel again. Katniss completely loses it, ever remaining on a delicate mental balance for pretty much the remainder of the film (probably pretty true to the book). When I say it's affected her relationship with Gale, it's because it seems as if a lot of the scenes between the two of them are incredibly strained and awkward. Maybe this is the result of some choppily written dialogue (even more on that later), but regardless, their scenes seem to be strained.
I digress. THG is the only film I've seen Jennifer Lawrence in, but there is a reason Lawrence is an Academy Award nominated and winning actress. As one of the reviews on mockingjay.net said, Catching Fire showcases her incredibly diverse talent. Katniss is broken, vulnerable, strong, brave, etc. I think perhaps the best moment for Jennifer in the film, for me personally, was her District 11 speech. This was the first (but not the last time) in the film where I just couldn't keep from crying. The acting was superb in that scene, not just from Jennifer but from Josh Hutcherson. The dialogue was so well written, and the entire scene captured the heart of the books. It's so rare to watch a movie but be able to feel the emotional intensity on screen as if it were your own. The buildup to the execution of the man in District 11: excruciating. You know it's coming (if you've read the book), but it's the trigger that I think makes Katniss choose what she'll do from there on out. Lawrence delivers another exceptional performance throughout the movie. I think she even more perfectly captures Katniss in this film than in the previous one. Not that she didn't, but she proves why she was the perfect choice for the character.
Elizabeth Banks. In the first film, it appears as if Effie has no soul. Effie is just a shallow, vain person who cares about nothing but the latest trends and fashions. Not so in this film. I LOVE Effie in this movie. She is everything from the book and more. My heart just broke when Effie said goodbye to Katniss and Peeta, and I nearly cried when she pulled Katniss' name out of the bowl. The entire reaping scene, I was just thinking how much more I loved Effie in this movie than in the first one. Banks did an incredible job portraying those different facets of Effie, and I think that overall, it made Effie a more likable character.
Josh Hutcherson. I didn't think I could really like the film version of Peeta...but I did in CF. We get to see the many layers of Peeta, the one Collins wrote. I LOVE that we get to see that Peeta in more detail this time! I actually came away being more on Team Peeta than I was before. In the book I'm always sorry for him because he seems to get the short end of the stick when it comes to Katniss, and that was carried over into the film.
Woody Harrelson. Can the man get any more perfect at playing Haymitch? My goodness. Haymitch was even more snarky in this film than previously, but that's completely fitting within his character. And Lenny Kravitz? Well...he did a good job for the minimal amount of time Cinna appeared. I felt slighted that we didn't get to see much of Cinna in this movie, a shame since he dies before Mockingjay (at least, in the books). That was one scene I was dreading the most, but also looking forward to. It's so critical to Katniss' character that it had to happen. I'm glad the filmmakers kept it in.
Now, onto the newest characters to join the club. I'm still kind of out on Sam Claflin as Finnick; I can't decide if he is suitable or not. I'd probably have to see the movie again to really decide if I like him. However, Jena Malone? Her Johanna was SO true to the book! I didn't like that they had her yelling bleeped F words (I feel like the cussing in this film is/was very unnecessary as there's none in the book(s)), but I loved that they showed how much she hated the Capitol too. And the elevator scene? That was probably the best moment for Johanna, not to mention, I died laughing at Katniss' reaction(s). It was priceless, and I'm glad they made that scene better. Oh yeah, and I'm glad they kept in that brief scene of Chaff kissing Katniss; that was a laugh out loud moment, and it was funny to see Katniss caught off guard. And Mags? Who doesn't just fall in love with Mags the second you see her on screen? Even though she didn't say a word, she was Mags. She (Lynn Cohen) was the perfect choice for the character. Sad that she died! As for the others, they were all kinda 'eh' for me. Wasn't really blown away by any of them or underwhelmed. They were just there. I expected to feel some sort of emotion over Wiress' death, but I didn't. I felt like that may have been a miss on the part of Francis Lawrence, but it really wasn't a big deal in the scope of things. And just as a random note: what about the guy playing Thread? Perfectly cast for just about 5 minutes of screen time!
now, some things I didn't really like that much. I didn't care for the way Katniss/Gale scenes were redone. I felt like they lost their impact, and maybe it's the book purist in me, but I just wasn't happy with the Katniss/Gale scenes in general. There were also some things done that were taken out of their context from the book (ex. Ripper; she's mentioned and seen, but there's no explanation of who she is to Katniss), but I guess overall, there's more context to this film than its predecessor.
In short, Catching Fire outshines The Hunger Games just by one thing: better scripts. The dialogue, while awkwardly executed in several areas, is spot on. Instead of being Francis Lawrence's story, it's Suzanne Collins' story that is seen on the big screen. This is something lacking from the first film, as I have always felt that it was more of Ross' story than what was written. It's refreshing to have a director who clearly cares about the material as much as the fans do, and it assures me that he can do an equally good job on Mockingjay 1 and 2. Unlike some directors who clearly have no understanding, respect, or appreciation for the material they're adapting (like, ahem, a certain Michael Apted), Lawrence demonstrates that he respects the material/fans. Many of the scenes adapted could have been deemed unnecessary, but they remain. What few changes have been made were made probably because of time and streamlining. Truthfully, if they didn't make any changes at all, this film would have taken much longer than 2 1/2 hours. The last few minutes of this movie, before Katniss discovers the truth about D12, contains some of the most beautiful cinematography found in this franchise so far. The montage of Katniss being lifted into the hovercraft: exactly like the book and just as satisfying. The film ends with Katniss learning of the destruction of District 12; she turns to the camera, tears streaming out of her eyes. Then, the final shot: Katniss takes a breath, grits her teeth, and you can see truly she has now decided the Capitol must go. All of the anger, bitterness, hurt, frustration, and emotion Katniss feels toward the Capitol is all summed up in about 10 seconds of her looking solidly at us, the audience. As the credits fade to black, we see the Hunger Games logo of the Mockingjay, which catches fire and becomes the Catching Fire Mockingjay, which then turns into something else entirely (I haven't decided if this is their interpretation of Mockingjay's mockingjay, but someone else is free to give their opinion on that), at the last second or two of the Catching Fire logo transformation, we hear the infamous mockingjay 4 note call, giving the audience a spine chilling feeling of what's to come in films 3 and 4. I had goosebumps as the credits began to roll, knowing it's going to be a full year before we see the start of the war between the rebels and the Capitol.
If Francis Lawrence can repeat Catching Fire's heart and soul with both Mockingjay films, I have no doubt that fans of the books will be satisfied that Collins' work is finally being given the film treatment it deserves. Catching Fire *almost* makes up for the first film's shortfalls. On another note: I'm still not really happy with the music, soundtrack or inspirational soundtrack. It's not what I'd like to hear for the franchise, but I guess we're stuck with it.
My rating: 4.5/5 stars.
P.S. I feel like I'm not doing the movie justice, but I'm starting to forget everything I wanted to talk about, so maybe when I see it again, I'll write a better review.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
National American Indian Heritage Month-Days 6 and 7
I usually post these on Facebook, but I missed a day, so I have to combine them. Plus, this may help quit flooding people's feeds with my statuses several times a day. So, here are days 6 and 7 of NAIHM!
November 6th: I've been talking about several of my favorite actors, so now I'm going to switch gears and talk about an actress I love. Her name's Tonantzin Carmelo, and she is most known for her role as the younger (not teenage) Thunder Heart Woman in Into the West (2005) and as Shayla Stonefeather in Imprint (2007). I haven't seen as much of her stuff as some of the other actors I like, but she's still very talented and I enjoy watching her films. I think my favorite role of hers so far is as Thunder Heart Woman. Just watch the first 3 episodes of the series and you'll totally get WHY I like her so much in the series! More recent roles include Shouting Secrets and The Activist, though I have yet to see Shouting Secrets (and I'm DYING to see it!). I also really liked her in Imprint, as she was able to realistically portray someone who is caught between two worlds, and someone who really is unsure of where she stands in each. I love the movie in general, and the wonderful cast/writing just helps make it better! She is an underrated actress in today's Hollywood, Native or otherwise. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0138371/?ref_=nv_sr_1
November 7th: Another actress I love is Irene Bedard. You probably would recognize her voice from Disney's Pocahontas (1995), but she has been in a ton of other things, like, oh, Smoke Signals (1998), Lakota Woman (1994), Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), Love's Long Journey (2005), and...oh yeah! Of course Into the West as the older Margaret Light Shines. Of all her roles, Margaret is my absolute favorite. There is a depth to the way Irene plays the character that is simply captivating. Margaret experiences so much of the injustices done to various tribes by the US Army, and Irene conveys that incredibly well. Of all the scenes that speak for her the best, it would probably be found in episode 4, near the end. Margaret has just gone through the pain of the Washita massacre, and is found by her younger brother (who is an Army scout), who later tries to free her from the makeshift prison of Custer's. I just dare you to watch that scene and NOT feel emotional over it. Margaret staunchly refuses to abandon the Cheyenne women and children, who she now feels responsible for. Another enjoyable actress that is worth watching! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065942/?ref_=tt_cl_t2
November 6th: I've been talking about several of my favorite actors, so now I'm going to switch gears and talk about an actress I love. Her name's Tonantzin Carmelo, and she is most known for her role as the younger (not teenage) Thunder Heart Woman in Into the West (2005) and as Shayla Stonefeather in Imprint (2007). I haven't seen as much of her stuff as some of the other actors I like, but she's still very talented and I enjoy watching her films. I think my favorite role of hers so far is as Thunder Heart Woman. Just watch the first 3 episodes of the series and you'll totally get WHY I like her so much in the series! More recent roles include Shouting Secrets and The Activist, though I have yet to see Shouting Secrets (and I'm DYING to see it!). I also really liked her in Imprint, as she was able to realistically portray someone who is caught between two worlds, and someone who really is unsure of where she stands in each. I love the movie in general, and the wonderful cast/writing just helps make it better! She is an underrated actress in today's Hollywood, Native or otherwise. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0138371/?ref_=nv_sr_1
November 7th: Another actress I love is Irene Bedard. You probably would recognize her voice from Disney's Pocahontas (1995), but she has been in a ton of other things, like, oh, Smoke Signals (1998), Lakota Woman (1994), Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994), Love's Long Journey (2005), and...oh yeah! Of course Into the West as the older Margaret Light Shines. Of all her roles, Margaret is my absolute favorite. There is a depth to the way Irene plays the character that is simply captivating. Margaret experiences so much of the injustices done to various tribes by the US Army, and Irene conveys that incredibly well. Of all the scenes that speak for her the best, it would probably be found in episode 4, near the end. Margaret has just gone through the pain of the Washita massacre, and is found by her younger brother (who is an Army scout), who later tries to free her from the makeshift prison of Custer's. I just dare you to watch that scene and NOT feel emotional over it. Margaret staunchly refuses to abandon the Cheyenne women and children, who she now feels responsible for. Another enjoyable actress that is worth watching! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0065942/?ref_=tt_cl_t2
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