Movie Reviews

Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)

The-Hunger-Games-Mockingjay-Part-1-Stanley-Tucci

Mockingjay Part 1 (2014)

Director:

Francis Lawrence

Starring:

Jennifer Lawrence

Josh Hutcherson

Liam Hemsworth

Plot:

Katniss Everdeen is in District 13 after she shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta and a nation moved by her courage.

Review:

So happy to finally see a good movie. The last two were so bad I was starting to get depressed.

It’s been a while since I’ve read the books and I’ve heard that they changed some things, but I thought that they got the tone perfect. I was properly sad by the time it ended and wished, yet again, that I owned the books so I could read the ending. Though there’s a ton of even more sad stuff to come.

Great addition to the series and really looking to the last installment.

5/5

St. Vincent (2014)

stvincent2

St. Vincent (2014)

Director:

Theodore Melfi

Starring:

Bill Murray

Melissa McCarthy

Naomi Watts

Plot:

A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door.

Review:

I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a Bill Murray comedy, as in his recent darker comedies, or if this was going to be a Melissa McCarthy comedy, as in raunchy. For those who are curious, it was a Bill Murray comedy. Actually I wouldn’t categorize this as a comedy and feel it was a dramedy at best. Very few funny moments.

It was ok. The characters were difficult to like, though, none of them were horrible.

I don’t understand how the mom could be happy about the son nominating Vincent, Bill Murray, for sainthood. It’s like we were supposed to forgive him for taking the kid to horse races, bars, and having him spend time around a prostitute. Yeah he took care of his wife in a home, and sure he was a war hero, but I’m not sure if that overrides all the bad, I’m just not sure.

The movie wasn’t horrible but probably not one I would recommend.

2.75/5

Miss Meadows (2014)

Miss-Meadows

Miss Meadows (2014)

Director:

Karen Leigh Hopkins

Starring:

Katie Holmes

James Badge Dale

Callan Mulvey

Plot:

A story centered on a proper elementary school teacher who moonlights as a vigilante.

Review:

Bizarre. Boring. Bad.

The triple B’s, not good. I knew going in this movie was going to be bad and probably have its boring moments, but I was not expecting the bizarre.

I really can’t think of any one thing I liked about this movie.

To be honest I wound up fast-forwarding at the end and I’m hoping I missed something because all of a sudden her man is okay with the fact that she’s a vigilante. I don’t know what was going on with them.

Seriously I’m trying to think of something good but nothing comes to mind. It was bad and unfortunately not so bad that it’s good, like I was hoping for.

1/5

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Director:

Don Hall

Chris Williams

Starring:

Ryan Potter

Scott Adsit

Jamie Chung

Daniel Henney

T.J. Miller

Damon Wayans Jr.

Genesis Rodriguez

James Cromwell

Alan Tudyk

Plot:

The special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot Baymax, and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes.

Review:

What is with Disney and making me bawl? I swear, I knew at the beginning that the brother and Baymax were going to die, and I just cried even harder because of it. Disney has a death toll as high as George R. R. Martin. It’s starting to annoy me.

Loved the world that was created. Not sure why I’ve been noticing worlds so much, but I have, and I really liked this one. It kind of reminded me of Meet the Robinsons in the way that it felt like anything was possible.

There was a nice diverse cast of characters. The smart scientists weren’t just boys, they had girls, for my little girl to want to be like. I like that Disney thinks of those things. I know some people think that it’s very commercial, but at least they try and tic all the boxes.

The story was good, though, predictable. Hated the mad scientist and told my husband, as tears were streaming down my face, that I wanted to kill that son of a bitch. Because of him Hiro lost his brother. At least he was able to recreate Baymax.

Anyway, while I didn’t enjoy this movie as much as Frozen, I thought it was really cute and definitely worth owning.

4/5

Lucy (2014)

Lucy

Lucy (2014)

Director:

Luc Besson

Starring:

Scarlett Johansson

Morgan Freeman

Min-Sik Choi

Plot:

A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.

Review:

I know that the science in this movie is not real, I’m willing to give that a pass, though, I’m not willing to give other things.

It’s like someone said what do boys on the internet like? Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman and sci-fi shit. Ok, let’s make a movie. The entire thing was about what happens next, and Lucy’s decisions didn’t make sense, based on her past. Well, either that, or when you access more of your brain you don’t give a shit about anything but yourself and making sure you don’t die and are able to pass on your knowledge.

That is kind of the premise of the movie, I guess, which if that’s what he was trying to say than bravo to him, he got that across. What a sucky premise.

The story aside, I didn’t like all the shots of animals mixed in with the rest of the movie. It wasn’t necessary and just seemed to pad the running time. Also, when she accesses 100% of her brain and sees the universe, I wasn’t impressed with the imagery. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen Jupiter Ascending recently and it was visually stunning, but this came off as something from a science documentary. Again, that could have been what he was going for, but since evidently, there are streams of data coming from everything that fill the world, I thought he’d try to be more impressive.

Clearly I did not like the movie. The first preview I saw made me think that she was going to be some kind of action hero, and I would love to see a kick-ass female action hero. This is not what I got at all.

1/5