Month: November 2013

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

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So I had the opportunity tonight to watch “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”. I was disappointed by the first movie because of the lack of Nazi cannibalism. In fact, I ended up reading the entire Hunger Games trilogy to see if there were any moments of Nazi cannibalism. There isn’t. Having read “Catching Fire”, I was not looking forward to watching the movie. I was annoyed by the ending and found the general premise to be repetitive. For some reason, everything just worked so much better in the movie and it ended up being very enjoyable.

The biggest improvement in this movie over the first is the removal of shaky cam. The first movie relied on it way too much and it just became disorienting at times. In “Catching Fire” everything is clear, allowing you to easily see all of the action rather than just a giant blur. I wonder if the reliance on shaky cam in the first movie was just to cover up the fact that most of the action scenes are pretty uneventful. Maybe it is just me, but I would expect a movie about putting 24 people in an arena to fight to the death to be pretty gruesome. I mean, Katniss is extremely accurate with a bow. She could easily shoot someone in the eye. The kills by the other contestants could also be more extreme. It would be great if there was bodily dismemberment and geysers of blood. Even ripping someone’s spine out Mortal Kombat style could work.

While the majority of the action scenes are not particularly special, the settings are exciting to look at. There is just so much going on in the background of each scene. From the snow covered wastelands of the districts, the incredibly colorful buildings of the Capitol and the lush scenery of the Hunger Games arena, “Catching Fire” might be worth buying on Blu-ray just to admire all of the detail. Even the way people in the Capitol are dressed is fascinating to look at, even if it appears that everyone got fashion advice from Lady Gaga.

“Catching Fire” may just be rehashing the same formula as the first entry in the series, but the movie switches it up just enough for it to still remain exciting. Each character is unique and memorable. I don’t know how Lenny Kravitz got involved in the series, but he should make a comeback.

Men in Black Film Review

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I have always been fascinated with the title “Men in Black”.  Something about it just feels right when you are saying it, just like “Gone in 60 Seconds” or “Zenon: The Sequel”.  The title lives up to all expectations, there are indeed men in black suits.  What else could you possibly want?  Aliens?  Giant guns?  A rap song by Will Smith?  This film has all of that.  Some of the special effects may not have aged well, but since the movie does not take itself too seriously, it just makes it more entertaining.  “Men in Black” is an energetic film and is great if you are looking for something easy to watch.

Elevator (2011) Film Review

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The cover that Netflix uses for this movie is so misleading. It features a woman being dragged into an elevator by some sort of monster. There is no monster. The woman on the cover does not even appear in the movie. Elevator is about nine people that get stuck in an elevator after an insufferable ten-year-old stops it. It is revealed that one of them has a bomb and they must figure out a way to escape. It is not a deep psychological thriller like Netflix claims, but it does manage to hold your attention and it ends up being rather humorous.

Since the premise is so simple, I don’t want to reveal too much. Aside from the intro, the entire movie takes place in an elevator. There are a few things about the setup that left me kind of confused. The movie starts off with people arriving to a party that is at the very top of a 52 story building. Clearly taking an elevator is the only logical way to get there as walking up that many flights of stairs in formal attire would be a nightmare. It sounds like there was going to be a lot of people attending this party as there is someone waiting outside the elevator urging people to wait for it to get full before going up. I would imagine that it would take a few minutes for each trip to be completed for a building that tall so it is understandable that elevator travel be as efficient as possible. An easier solution would have just been to host the party on the ground floor. Other than that there are no plot holes that I found while watching this movie.

What makes Elevator pleasing to watch is the acting. None of the characters are bland or generic and you can feel the tension between them as their futures continue to grow bleaker. I really hope that this is intentional, but it feels like a dark comedy. Some moments are just too absurd for it not to be a dark comedy. Absurd is the perfect word to describe this movie. If you are looking for a crazy movie to watch, Elevatormight be just what you are looking for.