The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)

About as unsatisfying as Part 1. Bits of unrealistic action followed by long bouts of boring conversation. They could have done a lot more with the pods. The book has a lot for them to draw from. And what was with the multiple false endings. I thought the credits would never come. Way to end the series on a low note.

Rating: C-

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)

The third book was the weakest in the series, in my opinion. So breaking it up into two movies seemed a bit much. Part one is mostly setup for the big capital city breach. It’s filler.

Rating: C

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

It followed the book quite closely and did a great job of bringing the story to life. Acting was all top notch, with my favorite still being Stanley Tucci. He’s glorious in that role. CGI and special effects were effectively used. They’ve handled the first two films adeptly, but they have their work cut out for them in the third.

Rating: B-

Cold Mountain (2003)

What a great supporting cast! Kidman and Jude law were adequate, but it was the small performances by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, and others that made it fun to watch. My favorite cameo was Jack White of The White Stripes. Not happy with the downer ending, or else I would have rated it higher.

Rating: C

Lord of War (2005)

This is a somewhat dark little film with flashes of comedy, political soapboxing, and violence. It gives us a glimpse into the world of gun running on a large scale, or at least Hollywood's version of it. Either way, it's an entertaining tale.

Rating: C+

Panic (2000)

This was a Sundance film I couldn't get into see, so I was happy to catch it on DVD. I liked it, although I didn't think it was great.

Rating: C

The Hunger Games (2012)

Extremely hesitant about the making of this film, as I am with all great books that are reproduced on film. Casting is very strong, with standouts like Stanley Tucci as Cesar the host and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. I had another candidate in mind as Katniss, but Jennifer Lawrence isn’t a bad choice, despite being too old for the role.

District 1 looks more like rural Kentucky than what I envisioned when reading, but the capital city shines in all its CGI glory. The film stays true to the book for the most part. The pacing is great. They do an adequate job leading up to the actual game. The hair, makeup, and costumes of the capital citizenry was spot on.

But my biggest concern, aside from the game environments looking stupid, was them watering down the kid on kid violence to Harry Potter levels. Now I knew this had to be a PG-13 film as I was reading the book. That didn’t stop me from dreaming of what a hard R version might be like though. Imagine the brutality of the Japanese Battle Royale, with the acting, source material, and production value of a Hollywood picture. It could be amazing.

So what did we get? Cutaways. Lots and lots of cutaways. A blade flashed. Cutaway. Blood flies. Cutaway. Body falls. It’s a shame studios don’t release multiple rated versions so appropriately aged audience members can choose to see the one that fits with their moral compass. (or level of blood lust) Still, they showed as much as they could get away with and I commend them for it. A solid effort overall. I’m curious to see what they do with the next game environment and Capital City siege. The next two books will be harder to convert.

Rating: B-

The Eagle (2011)

A very different adaptation from the other Roman Ninth movie, Centurion. This was a well-made and entertaining film. The cinematography is beautiful. Both are worth a rental.

Rating: C+

Horrible Bosses (2011)

Dark and funny. It’s a joy seeing Charlie Day do his thing outside of Sunny in Philadelphia. I actually really liked Jennifer Aniston playing the slutty dentist too. I forgot how funny she can be in the right role. This wasn’t one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in the last year—no huge belly laughs—but it was consistently funny.

Rating: C+

The Mechanic (2011)

Did this tired story really need to be told again? I’m not convinced this run-of-the-mill action flick needed to be made. It’s not terrible—just full of implausible scenarios. Overall, unnecessary.

Rating: C-

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

Looks fantastic on DVD, but the story was a bit too sci-fi/fantasy/spiritual for me. There is an extra disc chock full of extras, but most aren't worth checking out.

Rating: C