The Hunger Games: Catching Fire review

This movie ain't too bad despite the fact that the whole series is a ripoff of an awesome Japanese movie. Battle Royale came first people!
A soldier and it's fellow comrades stalk through a steamy foreign jungle. Bugs buzz around them, biting them. Their weapons are drawn. They just want to stay alive. This is war. What I am describing is the new Hunger Games movie, Catching Fire. At the same time, I'm also describing the Vietnam War. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), is the heroine of the Hunger Games films. She was the victor of the last games and is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. She goes hunting and lives with her family, trying to make things normal. But she is plagued to flashbacks and dreams and horrific images that all remind her of the awful experience that was the last Hunger Games. People applaud her and shower her with the attention that celebrities of today all get. She wants no part of it. It all seems so fake compared to her actual reality. All the excessive and ridiculousness of the Capitol (the central city of the dystopian world) seems unnecessary and almost cruel. She goes cross country on a Victory Tour. It's supposed to be a fun affair. But it is all a masquerade. She had become a Mockingjay to the people, a symbol of hope for the rebellion against the totalitarian government. Again, she really wants no part of this. To make matters worse she's shipped off to the Hunger Games again as part of President Snow's (Donald Sutherland) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) plan to destroy the image of Katniss as a beacon of hope for the downtrodden peoples. Yeah, things aren't looking to bright for Katniss Everdeen. So before I was making a comparison between Catching Fire and the Vietnam War. You see, I think these movies are pretty great and want to be serious deep films. Yet, they get caught up in pleasing the (mostly) teenage female audience and have to put in these cheesy forced "love" subplots. There's nothing wrong with a little romance here and there, but this movie doesn't need it. It's really about a girls struggle to stay sane in the face of war, similar to movies like Platoon and Apocalypse Now. It isn't really about the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. That stuff is in there for more for the entertainment and appeal of the Twilight audience. Honestly, this movie would be a lot better if it didn't shoehorn in stupid subplots like that. Besides those few issues, Catching Fire is an intense and fairly entertaining entree into the Hunger Games series. I think it's a decent entree into the dystopian sci-fi genre itself. Director Francis Lawrence certainly knows how to handle that stuff after his 2007 film, I Am Legend. Jennifer Lawrence (no relation to the director) gives a very nice performance here. She is already has an  Oscar and another nomination to go along with it. Lawrence does the whole wounded veteran thing as nicely as one can do the wounded veteran thing. I can't say the same for the rest of the cast. Woody Harrelson and Josh Hutcherson both do their roles fine, nothing special though, but Liam Hemsworth plays his character as if it were a block of wood with hair. Unlike his much more talented brother, Chris, Liam Hemsworth has yet to show he has any acting ability at all. Jena Malone (who I last saw in Donnie Darko, where's she been?) does a nice job as the very angry Joanna Mason. One of the best parts of the film in my opinion, was the effects and set pieces. There's one particular sweeping shot of the very realistic rain forest that was reminiscent of movies like Blood Diamond. It's really pretty cool how damn far we've come special effects wise. A lot of people have been saying how Catching Fire can't be that good because it's the middle of the series. Wrong, I say! Catching Fire is actually a lot better in my opinion than the first flick. And I actually really liked the first. This one is actually trying to be a deeper, more psychological movie. It doesn't always succeed, but it's quite good when it does. Despite it's pratfalls, I'd say it's a nicely done film. Looks like Catching Fire didn't burn out! (wink, wink). I give The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 3.6 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing everyone. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies.  

#tbt Natural Born Killers review

Sometimes when a man loves a woman very much they go on a cross country murder spree, killing anyone that irritates them in the slightest way. Wait, that's not right at all.
Way back in ol' 1994 filmmaker Oliver Stone made a little movie called Natural Born Killers. It's about two lovers named Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis). Both had very traumatic childhoods, and both have developed a certain bloodthirstiness that can only be satisfied by murder. They are quickly turned into stars, almost idols, by the media. Particularly Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.), who looks upon Mickey and Mallory as legends who can boost his ratings. The film documents their (fictional) crime spree through a very trippy directing job by Oliver Stone. Quentin Tarantino originally wrote the screenplay, but it was vastly changed by Stone, David Veloz, and Richard Rutowski. Thus Tarantino only got a story credit here. But a few of his trademarks are still present (i.e. it being very violent and a Mexican standoff being held towards the end). There was an outrage against the film for being way too violent when it came out. People said that it promoted violence. Yet, the movie actually does the opposite. If simply glance at the film, you would just see the violence and nothing past that. Yet, if you really watch it, you can see this is actually a pretty smart movie. Oliver Stone got a Golden Globe nod for Best Director here. I can see why. Natural Born Killers is a cinematic fever dream of an insane person. That's one reason that makes the film so damn cool! Certain scenes are shot in 35mm and Super 8, while others are given a strange grainy feel or put through a color filter. Not just the look of the movie is strange. There are some parts that feel as if it's all part of some bad drug trip or weird dream. At one point in the motel Mickey and Mallory are staying at, the images of the television are being projected onto the motel window. Another scene in the film is shot and edited as if it's a sitcom with a laugh track, while the scene is depicting Mallory's father abusing both her and her mother. It's strange, but it is effective in showing how Mallory's childhood was and it really solidifies the scene in your mind. You've got to hand it to Stone for really being creative with his direction here. Oliver Stone isn't generally known as an auteur director like say, Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino. Yet, this movie is perfect proof he could be. I am a pretty big Oliver Stone fan. I loved Born on the Fourth of July and JFK, and of course Platoon was great. Natural Born Killers may not be as good as those, but it comes close. Partially because of the direction, but also because of the acting. I really enjoy Juliette Lewis' acting. I think she is an underrated actress. She was terrific in Cape Fear and What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Personally, I think her performance here is her best yet. She plays Mallory with such a wicked fascination, she seems just to be a teenager who because of being all messed up as a kid, took her "rebellious' stage a bit too far. Woody Harrelson is great too. He's driven by his hatred but also by his love for Mallory. Harrelson portrays his character to near perfection. The best part of the film is how it shows how the killers became celebrities. Everyone knows that they're murderers, yet they think they are cool and the idolize them. At one point in the movie someone says, "If I could be a mass murderer, I'd be Mickey & Mallory!" It just shows how distorted these things can get. I personally think Natural Born Killers is an underrated classic. while it's not Oliver Stone's best, it's still pretty good. Happy Throwback Thursday and Happy Viewing! You can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies!