I wish I had time to write full reviews on both of these films but with all the albums and movies I need to catch up on by end of the year, it's just not possible. I promise I'll write full reviews on any new movie I see over the next couple of weeks. For now, here is a brief overview of my thoughts on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire expands upon every good idea and corrects a majority of the flaws of the first installment. The first film scratches the surface of how bad things are in Panem while Catching Fire puts you right in the middle thanks to the victory tour. As Katniss and Peeta go around to the different districts, you see in great detail the distress and poverty each district is going through. I can't remember the last time a dystopian film portrayed such a state of pure devastation while also providing strikingly accurate social commentary on class divide in our current society. The ramped-up emotional backbone of the film is accentuated by the top-notch acting from the entire cast. Jennifer Lawrence outdoes her work in the first film as Katniss goes from symbol of hope to leader of the revolution. There is plenty of talent in all aspects of the film but this series wouldn't be nearly as good if Lawrence wasn't leading the charge. The supporting cast is once again headlined by Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, the boozy mentor to Katniss and Peeta and Donald Sutherland, who becomes even more sinister as President Snow, who wants Katniss dead so the Capitol can maintain their power without any threats of an uprising. The new additions certainly pull their weight as well with Phillip Seymour Hoffman chewing up his limited screen time as new games maker Plutarch Heavensbee in typical impressive fashion and Jena Malone providing a manic energy to Johanna Mason, the tribute from the District 7, that easily makes her the most interesting character to enter the fold in the Quarter-Quell. What I found to be odd about Catching Fire is that the film was at its finest when it was outside of the actual games sequences. I was completely enthralled and blown away by the first 90 minutes then the film kind of slowed down when the Quarter-Quell began. The games sequences were still cool and well-done, it's just that there was this sense of familiarity that wasn't present when the film was focused on the bigger picture outside of the actual fighting of the games. Catching Fire is one of the most dense, gripping and just plain impressive blockbusters I've seen in quite some time. Catching Fire has officially put me on The Hunger Games bandwagon and I can not wait to see how things unfold in Mockingjay.
4.5/5 Stars
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug: Well something has to happen in the third Hobbit movie... Just like An Unexpected Journey, Desolation of Smaug is essentially just filler leading up to the (hopefully) climatic final part of the trilogy. The sheer amount of dead space present in this movie is absolutely mind-blowing. You really just shouldn't try to adapt such a short, standalone book into three incredibly long films. It's completely competent filmmaking, it's just far too long and drawn-out to garner much excitement or produce anything that even resembles the level of substance that the original trilogy had. I will say Desolation of Smaug is marginally better than An Unexpected Journey thanks to the much-lauded barrel scene where Legolas gets to be a badass and take out a majority of an orc army himself. Hardcore Lord of the Rings fans will love it, I just don't really see the appeal in this franchise so far.
2.5/5 Stars
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