The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

My View:  The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2  (2015)  PG-13   Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is heading for a showdown with President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Katniss goes on one last mission and is determined to bring down Snow or die trying.  I liked Part 1, but this is a much better film, mostly due to the action sequences, including a brilliant scene where Katniss and her friends battle “Mutts” in the sewers of the capital city. The film moves at a quick pace, and Lawrence gives an intense and scintillating performance.  It is very evident that the script had to be rewritten when Philip Seymour Hoffman died before completing his work as Plutarch.  Though it was handled well, I think one of the last scenes of the film would have had more impact if Hoffman had been on-screen in that scene. I think both fans of the books and the movie series will be happy with this final installment.     My Rating: Full Price   The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2  

My View:  The Night Before (2015)  R  Ethan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Seth Rogan) and Chris (Anthony Mackie) have a tradition of going out on Christmas Eve.  Because Isaac is going to be a father and Chris has become famous, the guys decide to have one more night of adventure before their lives become too busy. This movie, while it’s message of the importance of friendship and family is well-meaning, it never really finds if momentum and very often the laughs are lacking. The last third of the film almost makes the film worth watching, mostly due to some surprises, but overall the film just doesn’t work. I did like Seth Rogan as a family man given a free pass for one night by his wife, and Michael Shannon as a creepy drug dealer who gives out marijuana like it is going to cure every ill. But overall the film never gives you the comedy buzz you want.     My Rating: Cable    The Night Before Website

My View:  Secret in Their Eyes  (2015)  PG-13   Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts) are two FBI investigators whose lives are changed when Jess’s teenage daughter is found brutally murdered.  Thirteen years later, Ray thinks he has located the murderer and needs the help of a former flame, Claire (Nicole Kidman). This film is based on the 2009 Academy Award winning Argentina film of the same name, which I loved. Unfortunately, what made that film work, brings this film down. There is absolutely no chemistry between Ejiofor and Kidman, who are supposed to still be attracted to each other after all the years gone by. I felt that aside from the scene where Roberts finds her murdered daughter, she sleepwalked through her role. Ejiofor seems to be the only actor who put out an effort in this film, and, while he is exceptional, it doesn’t make up for this lackluster film.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Secret in Their Eyes Website 

Indiefest:  Brooklyn  (2015)  PG-13   Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) leaves her sister (Fiona Glascott) and mother (Jane Brennan) behind in Ireland to go work in Brooklyn, NY in the early 1950’s.  She finds a job and a boyfriend (Emory Cohen), which makes her life seemingly full. But Ireland is calling, and she may have to choose between her new life in the US and her old life in Ireland.  I loved this film and especially the performance of Ronan, who is picture perfect in the role of the determined Eilis. She sparkles on the screen and makes the film worth watching. The second half of the film drags a bit, mostly due to a love interest in Ireland that is quite boring, but Ronan even makes those scenes better.   My Rating:  Full Price   Brooklyn Website     

Indiefest:  Man Up  (2015)  R   Nancy (Lake Bell) is tired of being set up on dates by her friends.   On her way across London, she meets Ben (Simon Pegg) who mistakes her for his blind date. Nancy decides just to go with it, and this chance meeting changes both their lives.  I love a good romantic comedy, one where the two future lovers are witty, fun and full of life. Actually, that’s not true.  I do love romantic comedies, but I like more than just your formulaic plots and fortunately “Man Up” is one of those creative films that you just don’t want to end as it is so much fun to watch. It takes the genre and turns it on its ear, giving us a movie about two unique characters whom you would never guess would end up together. Lake Bell is dazzling in the role of Nancy, the woman who is ready to try something new at a moment’s notice, although she is always waiting for something to go wrong. Bell gives us a cynical character, but who still hopes for the best. Bell’s comic timing is perfect, and she wins us over from that first meeting in the hotel room. She would be home in those spitfire roles of the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s.  And let me say this, her British accent is one of the best an American has ever attempted, coming off natural and real. Pegg is equal in Bell’s comic timing, and his facial expressions are the perfect capper to some very funny scenes. Pegg brings to life a character who, while full of anger, doesn’t let it dominate his performance. The two actors make us want for this crazy romance to work out against all the odds.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again   Man Up Facebook Page   

Indiefest:  Tab Hunter: Confidential  (2015)    This documentary centers on one of the biggest stars of the 1950’s, Tab Hunter.  Hunter, the object of desire for millions of women, had a secret:  he was gay. I never have been a big fan of Tab Hunter, the actor, but because of this film, I am a fan of the man. This film gives you an idea of what it was like to be a gay man in Hollywood during the 1950s. Hunter was a big star under the studio system, but the minute he rebelled, film executives let rumors go to the press about his homosexuality, and his career was finished.  This is an interesting and moving documentary that makes me appreciate both the actor and the man.    My Rating:  Full Price    Tab Hunter: Confidential Website

Forgotten Film:  The Paper (1994)  R   Henry (Michael Keaton) is a hard-driving editor of a New York City tabloid, who thinks nothing of blowing off dinner with his pregnant wife (Marisa Tomei) if there is a big story brewing. Henry has to mull over a job offer from the New York Times, a job that will let him have a normal life. He just about takes the job when a news story comes around that makes him thinks about staying. This film is part drama, part comedy and uses an outstanding cast to great effect. It’s a smart film that says a lot about the state of media today.   My Rating: Full Price   The Paper Info   

Weird Credits:  From the credits of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2:  Stunt Monsters

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Sisters  (2015)  Two sisters (Amy Poehler, Tina Fey) decide to throw one last party at their family home.  You got me at Poehler and Fey in a movie together.   Sisters Info

Until Next Time!

Spectre

My View:  Spectre  (2015)  PG-13  While M (Ralph Fiennes) battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond (Daniel Craig) ties to uncover a sinister organization called, SPECTRE, after receiving a cryptic message.  This film is a step back from the brilliant Skyfall (2012). Spectre opens with an exciting action sequence that takes place in Mexico City during a Dia de Los Muertos celebration. Unfortunately, the rest of the film can’t live up to that opening pace or action. The film has one of the worst Bond credit rolls of all time with a horrible song sung by Sam Smith, and the film just goes downhill from there. It is overly long, the plot is confusing and full of holes, and Daniel Craig seems to be bored by the whole thing. Monica Bellucci is in the film for about 3 minutes, and it takes forever to get to the bad guy played by Christoph Waltz. While Daniel Craig is signed for a 5th film, he apparently wants out. I think he got a look at this script and said, “I’ll do this one, but then that’s it.”  The film is the costliest Bond film ever, but I don’t think they spent any money on a script, and it looks it.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Spectre Website   

Family Faire:  The Peanuts Movie  (2015)  G   A new girl is attending Charlie Brown’s school, and Charlie tries to figure a way to get the courage to talk to her. Meanwhile, Snoopy is embarking on his most dangerous mission: flying his doghouse in World War I.  I had a smile on my face the whole time I was watching this movie. While the film has a new type of animation, it still has plenty of roots in the old specials and comic strip. A lot of your favorite gags are in the film; Lucy and the football, Snoopy and the Red Baron, but there is a new story with Charlie Brown trying to get up the courage to talk to the Little Red-Haired Girl. Fans of the specials and the comic strip will be happy, and this film may  create new fans from a generation who hasn’t seen the antics of the Peanuts Gang.  The film uses 3-D to great effect, and it’s worth the extra money. There is a bonus scene, so stay through all the credits.     My Rating: Full Price   The Peanuts Movie Website   

Indiefest:  Miss You Already  (2015)  PG-13  The life-long friendship of two women (Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette) is put to the test when one starts a family, and the other gets sick with cancer.  Collette and Barrymore have great chemistry together, making it very believable that they are life long friends. I am not a big fan of Barrymore, but I felt she gave a very restrained performance that emitted warmth and humor. Collette had the hard role of a person who is selfish and a bully, but she carried it off with grace. I liked that the film dealt with relationships in a real-world sensibility that made you want to be apart of the two women’s world. It’s a film that doesn’t pull any punches, just like best friends should.    My Rating: Full Price    Miss You Already Website

Indiefest:  Suffragette (2015)  PG-13  Maud (Carey Mulligan) has worked at a laundry service since she was twelve.  Maud is married to Sonny (Ben Whishaw) who also works in the laundry service, and they have a young son named, George (Adam Michael Dodd). It’s hard, dangerous work with boiling water and harsh chemicals. It's a job that is filled with long hours and unappreciative bosses, and Maud believes that her workplace is unfair as women do the toughest work but earn half of what the men earn. She starts listening to friends, including rebel rouser Edith Ellyn (Helena Bonham Carter), about the woman’s right to vote movement and starts getting involved with the cause. It’s a path that causes Maud great pain and anguish as she soon has to choose between a cause that is dear to her heart and her family who needs their mother and wife.  Carey Mulligan gives a powerful and touching performance as the headstrong young woman who risks everything for women to have the right to vote. Helena Bonham Carter gives an intense and vivid performance as one of the leaders of the movement whose own health is compromised by her repeated jailing. Though short, Meryl Streep gives a compelling and charismatic performance as the head of the suffragette movement. I found this film moving and compelling and well worth the experience of discovering the history of the struggle for women’s rights in the United Kingdom.   My Rating: Full Price   Suffragette Website 

Indiefest: I Smile Back (2015) R Laney (Sarah Silverman) seems to have the perfect suburban life with two loving children, a great husband and a home that everyone dreams about. Laney has a secret: she suffers from depression and has a drug problem. Can she get the help that she needs or will she destroy her family? This is a difficult film to watch as we watch a woman go deeper and deeper into a huge valley that she may never get out of. Silverman gives a gutsy and powerful performance of a woman who feels that she will never be worthy of love and doesn’t want to deal with the pain of life. Josh Charles plays Silverman’s put-upon husband who deeply loves his wife but can’t save her from herself. Charles is brilliant in the role as we feel his pain in dealing with a situation that he can’t fix. The biggest problem with the film is we never really get to know Laney and her past is quickly dealt with in one brief scene with her long-estranged father. The film is worth watching for the two leads, but I would have like more substance and background to the story.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee     I Smile Back Website     

Forgotten Film:  The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)  R   Blue (Robert Shaw) leads a group of armed men to highjack a subway in New York City.   Police Lt. Zachary Garber (Walter Matthau) takes the lead in negotiations and then tries to figure out how the men can be caught before they disappear into the bowels of the subway system. I love the casting in this film. Shaw, with his proper British accent, is in direct contrast with the gritty New Yorkers.   Matthau, as the world-weary lieutenant, is perfect in the role. The rest of the cast are mostly New York-based actors including Jerry Stiller, Martin Balsam and Lee Wallace, who all offer the film an authentic feel. It’s a tension filled movie that works while using the Subway as its main character.   My Rating:  Full Price   The Taking of Pelham One Two Three   

Weird Credits:  From the credits of Spectre:  Snow Consultant

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:   Brooklyn  (2015)  PG-13   An Irish immigrant (Saoirse Ronan) moves to Brooklyn in the 1950’s and finds a job and a new romance. But her mother country is calling, and now she has to choose between love and family. Critics are gushing about this film and Ronan’s performance.   Brooklyn Website

Until Next Time!