THE HUNGER GAMES-When I first heard about this movie all I could think was “So it’s like The Running Man meets Battle Royale with kids?”. Even worse was the fact that the production company behind it was the same one as the Twilight films, and just like those films this movie was based on a series of books for young ‘tweens. The film already had two strikes against it, but with some good writing, a solid cast including Donald Sutherland and the always overlooked Woody Harrelson, and a talented director I’m happy to report that while this film does draw a lot of inspiration from those works, it also has the strength to stand on its own two legs.
Well paced, well written, and featuring characters that you grow to like especially quick, this film takes what was in my mind, a doomed idea from the start and turns it into a really enjoyable survival thriller. The cinematography, while off to a rough start with a crap load of shaky cam in the first fifteen minutes (I HATE shaky cam) quickly calms down and becomes even once the plot begins to be set in motion. I really liked the second act of the film, which surprised me because all it basically boiled down to was a training montage mixed with some expository back story of the games themselves. Normally I hate how they try to rush these scenes in movies like this, but in this film it came across smoothly and naturally, never jilted or rushed.
I loved all the performances in the film, from Jennifer Lawrence’s turn as the hardened front runner to Josh Hutcherson’s performance as the lovesick second banana, to Woody Harrelson as the haunted former champion. In my mind though Stanley Tucci once again steals the show as a flamboyant television host, and he makes the most of a somewhat limited screen time. All in all this film was a surprisingly likeable movie for those who like well paced and suspenseful movies, and from what I have heard, it is incredibly faithful to the book.
8.5 out of 10
HOPE SPRINGS-Two aging Oscar winners and a very talented comic actor in a romantic comedy is sure to win over countless people with its comic potential, and so it was that the wife and I decided to watch this movie. Some of the jokes are derivative and the direction very generic, but luckily the chemistry between the talented cast and the solid humor makes this film utterly charming and enjoyable to watch as a couple.
What makes this apparently generic romantic comedy so enjoyable is the slight twist of making it about two older people instead of two good looking Hollywood stars, one of them a sexually starved and timid housewife and the other a curmudgeony old fart. The end result is humorous because it’s like watching two people with even less sexual experience that two young teens try to connect with each other on an emotional level.
Meryl Streep is fantastic in her role, but Tommy Lee Jones absolutely blows it out of the water with what I honestly believe may be his best role to date. He perfectly encapsulates that angry, cynical old guy that makes everyone feel sorry for his wife, wondering “why the hell is she still married to him?”. Steve Carrell is dependable in his role, but I feel like his comic potential is wasted as the extremely soft spoken marital counselor bent on making their marriage work after all these years.
Be warned however, that for the innocent and happy romantic comedy this film is really trying to sell itself as, there is a LOT of adult material for the unsuspecting viewers. One such scene involves a multiple Oscar winning actress giving another Oscar winning actor a… “jump start” in the middle of a crowded movie theater… shown in its full entirety with no cuts or edits and a creepy grin spreading over Tommy Lee Jones’ face. Despite this little surprise however, this is a highly enjoyable film due to its smart writing and fantastic cast. Throw your wife a bone and take her to this film, since it is a romantic comedy that both sexes can get behind.
8 out of 10
THE EXPENDABLES 2 (WARNING-This review takes 2 minutes to read)-Let’s get one thing straight, this film clearly isn’t going to win any Oscars, but that being said it’s certainly a great return to the golden days of 80’s mentality action films. Let us travel back to a magical time when guns had unlimited ammo, cheesy one-liners were a necessity, and striking a pose with a gun was far more important than pesky things like recoil reduction and muzzle stability. And who among us in the military was not taught in basic training how to fan a single action revolver? In a movie where a mercenary dresses as a priest and utters the line “I now pronounce you man… and knife!” before stabbing a man in the throat, it can be safely assumed that traditional rules of what makes a good film can be thoroughly disregarded.
Now I have a confession, I am a male soldier in his 20s who has NOT seen the original Expendables, but despite my lack of knowledge of this tapestry of fine storytelling I can safely say that newcomers can jump into this new film without much confusion of what is happening. The majority of the original cast returns in this film, with newcomers Liam “2 Days Til’ Retirement” Hemsworth and Chuck “Boogeyman Repellant” Norris rounding out the heroes. Jean-Claude Van Damne enters in style as well, and solidifies his place in the film when he roundhouses a knife into a man’s heart the first time we see him.
Now obviously there are issues with the film, most notably that the clichés are absolutely rampant in the film, but that actually works as a bit of a strength because it almost acts as an homage to the action films of old. Also, as a Jet Li fan I was a little gut-punched to discover he is barely in the movie, I guess these super commandoes are impervious to everything except scheduling conflicts.
But let’s be honest, the action is the real star of this film, and the movie delivers it in spades. Gloriously overlong action scenes are shot in their full beauty, with massive men accomplishing miraculous feats with weaponry while uttering laughably cheesy dialogue. Now I know what a lot of you are thinking “How can a guy who claims he hates action movies like Transformers 2 and 3 like a movie that’s nothing but action scenes?”, while I can list about seven dozen reasons off the top of my head I’m going to narrow it down to three.
For one, this film is self-deprecating and meant to be schlocky while the Transformers films are meant NOT to be. This allows the audience to almost slip out of the bonds of traditional film making and take in this film as a giant homage to those older action movies. The guys behind the movie know this, and it’s written to actually remind us of that fact they are just having fun when it may seem like the movie is trying to take itself seriously. In a nutshell, this is the movie that GI Joe should have been, plus it was kinda refreshing to see Arnold back in action after such a long hiatus.
For two, the direction, cinematography, and stunt work is done in the traditional, old fashioned way, which makes it far more exciting than the Transformers films. Remember a few articles ago when I talked about how nowadays special effects didn’t mean anything anymore and that real stunts were becoming the much more effective filming tool? (if not, here you go… and you’re welcome (http://www.gump-o-rama.blogspot.com/2012/01/twofer-tuesday-rock-and-mission.html) Well this film shows how true this statement is. Seeing real effects and real stunt work using precision, timing, and talent comes off much more realistic and exciting than all the cartoon robot fights from all three Transformers films combined.
Finally, and most importantly, is the most remarkable irony I could ever have imagined in this film when comparing it to the Transformers movies. Despite the fact that The Expendables 2 is meant to be a silly, fun, schlocky throwback to the classic action films of old and NOT meant to make the audience associate with the characters, I still found myself caring more about these guys than the characters of the Transformers franchise. Sure, they may be cardboard cutouts of supermen, but I actually found myself more enthralled with their struggles than stupid Sam Witwicky and his robot cars and his girlfriend of the week. The greatest irony is that despite all their money and computers and technology Michael Bay still failed to create the most important thing of all when filming a movie, an emotional connection with the audience (Yes, I totally stole that from Mr. Plinkett from Red Letter Media, but holy crap does it fit in this review!).
If you can turn off your mind and gobble your popcorn, you might just come to appreciate this silly but fun action movie for what it is supposed to be, not mindless action or pointless action, but interesting action.
8 out of 10
