Inter-Dimensional and Fatal Movie Reviews
I am being hassled into writing movie reviews, so here’s my go at it.
We’ve been to see a couple of movies since my last review: Thor 2: The Dark World, and Catching Fire, the second installment to the Hunger Games.
I am a firm believer that the places beneath rocks have the internet, so even if you were living underneath a rock you have most likely heard of at least one of these movies. Thor is huge, partially because of the wonderful story, partially because of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, and partially because of the huge hit, the Avengers. Catching Fire has had even more press than the first installment, the Hunger Games. Now on to the reviews.
Thor 2 is stock full of very, ahem, handsome men and women, not to mention the multiple dimensions/universes, the rainbow road that literally leads to a crystal castle, difficulties with the space continuum, and a couple of bad guys and a wee bit of betrayal for added effect. This version of Loki (and just about every other version, too) is fantastic, hilarious, troubled, broken, and very ambitious. He yearns for the throne his “father” promised him, the throne he was assured was rightfully his, and the revenge he feels he deserves, after all the total trash his father pulled on him last movie. Thor, a wonderful superhero and Avenger, just really wants to do the right thing. I am very pleased with his character development since the last movie, going from an irresponsible, cocky, I-should-get-everything-I-want typical rich jerk to a responsible, kind, merciful leader, and they did it so gracefully with just enough pain that it felt like a flawless, smooth transition. I was quite pleased.
The bad guy was played by Christopher Eccleston, who also played the 9th doctor, which I fangirled over for a good solid fifteen mintues, was great in this movie. Just a few days ago I saw 28 Days Later in which (spoiler alert!) he seemed like a good guy but was really a raping jerk who needed to be shot down by one of their lovely 9mm pistols. He brought back this bad guy creeper feel and executed it quite well. It was well played.
Jane, the wonderful scientist girlfriend of Thor, was teleported to another dimension in which she got infected with the Dark matter of the area and, well, stopped the rain in its tracks. Not joking. Her story was also interesting.
Someone I liked died, someone else nearly died, a couple of people kissed, Captain America made a cameo, and then it all ended with a bang that came in the form of a wonderful fight scene. I would go back and watch the whole movie if only to see that scene.
It ended well and with a twist, as all the best (A.K.A almost every movie every because that’s just part of the basic plot, seriously don’t you read?) stories do, and the movie was a hit. Everyone talked about it for a long time and Tumblr cried. I cried with it.
I loved this movie. I love anything to do with Marvel, I love Thor and Loki and everyone else. Loved the movie, 10/10 would at least recommend, and I went away jumping for joy. literally.
Now for Catching Fire.
Jennifer Lawrence. Nuff said.
No but seriously, this was one of the best movie adaptations I’ve ever seen. It was incredibly similar to the book, was acted perfectly (Kudos to just about everyone, but especially to Sam Claflin and Jena Malone, who played Finnick and Johannah, respectively.) The Elevator scene was probably one of my favorites and the design team was amazing because Katniss’ wedding/mocking jay dress was absolutely beautiful and better than I imagined it.
There were a few discrepincies and things I didn’t like, but very, very few. Over all it was a fantastic movie. Jen Law deserved that Acadamy Award, even if it wasn’t for this movie or series. Her acting was spot on, conveying emotional depth, raw fear and pain, and, very importantly, the growth the character went through in this installment. Her acting while Katniss was having a panic attack was beautiful and heartbreaking and had my best friend, Hannah, grabbing onto my arm (which became a theme for us during the movie.) It’s clear she put a lot into this (even if you haven’t seen any of her interviews) and her hard worked paid off, giving us a beautiful and moving character.
Woody Harrelson (Haymith) and Josh Hutcherson (Peeta) and Elizabeth Banks (Effie) all did beautifully as well, and they definitely deserve recognition for their work here.
I mentioned Jena Malone and Sam Claflin earlier and I’m going to again. So very rarely do the actors of a movie adaptation make me like their character any more than the book did, but Jena made me fall in love with Johanna, and Sam made me realize just how much I really liked Finnick. They were more than flawless–they were fantastic, and I loved all of their scenes. Jena brought more sass, more depth, more history, more life, to Johanna than I could have ever dreamed of. She made a character I already loved into a character I identified, enjoyed, and deeply cared about. Her anger became my anger, her righteous rage became my outcry, and her want to be free made me want to run in their and punch everyone who had ever told her not to be. Sam gave love to Finnick and now when I imagine the love between Finnick and Annie, I see a face faking faking a love letter to a supposedly fake lover. I’ll see the twitch in his jaw and the haunted eyes, and I’ll know that he loved her and felt for her something no one could ever understand. He fell in love with a broken, insane girl who killed not only other children (as they had all done) but also a bit of herself. Sam conveyed the Finnick who had fallen in love with flaws so flawlessly is definitely hurt. To quote Johanna, “Love is weird.”
So, more death (lots of it), more life (less of that), more freedom (less of that than even the other less) and a wee bit of a rebellion (more of that than anything else, in fact.) There were arrows, a bit of water, Nuts and Bolts, shields, and a couple of other things that might deserve mention but should be saved for when you definitely see the movie if you haven’t already seen it. And there were tears, but we’ve come to expect nothing less from a distopian tragedy/action/romance/everything-in-between-besides-Aliens and I’m still not entirely convinced the Capitol doesn’t have at least a couple of aliens living in it.
It was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Go see it. Now.
Oh, and one more thing? Tick-Tock.
~Sabra
Sabra Says 