The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Movie Review

 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire - Movie Review

by Brian Wezowicz

Quality sequels are hard to pull off.  Making a sequel that is better than the first is even harder.  There's only a few of them that come to mind (T2: Judgment Day, The Dark Knight, Empire Strikes Back, Speed 2: Cruise Control... kidding).  The general idea is to set up the world and characters in the first film, while creating a rich story without relying on a ton of special effects.  Truly great "first" movies do just that.  The original The Hunger Games movie worked because they did everything right.  They didn't stray too far from the source material.  They had great characters played by quality actors.  They didn't overkill it with special effects.  Everything came together and the results were astronomical: over $400 million earned at the US box office.  The problem with a lot of franchises is that studios take away everything that worked in the first movie and just blow up a ton of stuff with overbearing special effects (See Iron Man 2).  It has to be bigger than the first one in every way possible.  My question is why do studios almost always forget about the script when it comes to sequels?  I guess that once they establish a fan base, they figure people will show up no matter what.

This was my fear going into The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.  Initial reports were that because of the success of the first film, they were rushing this movie into the theater as well as splitting the final movie into two parts (thanks Twilight!).  Gary Ross, the director of the first film, dropped out in preproduction citing his need for more time developing the script.  I just hoped that they wouldn't forget what made the first film great for the sake of a quick buck.  Also, another thing this movie had going against it was that it's a middle film.  Middle films usually only serve a purpose of setting up the third and final one.  They just have to get you from point A to point C.  They just have to set up the chess pieces to make the final assault on the board, and because of that, middle films can struggle.  But, occasionally, they can truly shine.  For this film, the producers brought in Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend) to direct, and I have to tell you he did a hell of a job bringing Susanne Collins' vision to life.  Everything about this movie was bigger and better (in a good way) than the first film.  The script was phenomenal, the acting was sublime, and the special effects were excellent while not being overpowering.  This is a must-watch sequel, joining the ranks of Empire and The Dark Knight as truly exceptional "second" films.  It held my attention from the beginning all the way to the ferocious final moments.  It can stand on its own two feet and be proud of what it accomplished.

The last time we saw our star-crossed lovers (if by star-crossed, I mean two teenagers, who because of a sinister government hell bent on reminding its citizens to never rise up against it again, must compete in a fight to the death aired on national television until there can only be one winner, then yes I do) Katniss (Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (the kid from Bridge to Terabithia), they were getting the upper hand on the Capitol of Panem and its sinister President Snow (Donald Sutherland in the role he was born to play) by finding a loophole in the 74th Annual Hunger Games.  They found a way share the victory.  Needless to say, this act of defiance royally pisses El Presidente off to the point of him killing his head game maker (thanks to a poison berry smoothie) and making our winners lives a living hell.  Catching Fire begins with Snow threatening Katniss to sell her hopeless romance with Peeta to the public because the districts of Panem are starting to believe they can rise up again.  They have become a symbol of hope.  President Snow sends them on a national misery tour of the districts with a message of unity.  You really get a sense of the pain that these characters must go through and that "winning" the Hunger Games doesn't really mean so much.  They have to look into the eyes of the families of the deceased tributes (the name for the other competitiors in the games) and talk about how great the Capitol is.  Yikes!  Talk about something I couldn't do.  As the tour goes on, coupled with the fact that they have to pretend to be in love, Katniss and Peeta become more and more miserable.  They know their every move is being watched and any slip up will cause the President to send in Peacekeepers (Stormtrooper like figures) to beat their districts into submission.

Another wrinkle in the story is that President Snow knows he can't simply kill Katniss because she has become a symbol of strength and power over the Capitol.  He must devise a way to kill her without getting his hands totally dirty.  Well, luckily, it's the 75th Hunger Games and they can do anything they want.  Snow and new game maker Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman in a role that's a tad beneath him, but whatever) devise an all-star contest composed of former Hunger Games' winners.  The Games' arena, which is divided up into twelve quadrants, each with a different method of death or torture, is truly sinister.  Once the Games begin, Katniss quickly notices that something is different.  She seems to have allies, but she's not sure why or how.

I won't ruin the ending for you, but I will say that the final third of this movie is truly exceptional.  You feel like you are there competing in the games with these combatants.  There is the right blend of special effects and real world scenery to give it a true-life feel.  It perfectly sets up the final movies (I'm considering them as one movie split in half) while having enough in it to feel like its own story.

I'm giving this movie 3.5/4 stars.  I'm docking it a little for the lame three way love story between Katniss, Gale (her District 12 love) and Peeta.  I hated it in the books and I hate it in the movies.  I'm also docking this movie a little bit because Jennifer Lawrence seems like she's going through the motions in the first few scenes.  I guess winning an Oscar and being forced to return to a studio franchise will do that to you.  However, she does kick it into gear shortly after these first few scenes and kicks ass for the remaining two hours of the movie.  I also didn't really like the actor who played the mysterious Finnick Odair, Katniss and Peeta's closest ally in the Games.  He just seemed to be overdoing his lines just a little bit too much.

Definitely see this movie in the theater, although hopefully not in a theater full of chatty teenaged girls.  Really, girl behind me... You have to analyze every scene with your group of friends?  It's sooo important to your movie going experience?  And be sure to laugh at every serious scene.  That makes you seem so cool and better than the rest of us!

10 down! 40 to go.

Greetings from snowy Too Fat headquarters.  I woke up this morning to a few inches of snow on the ground and a good weigh-in.  My current weight is 241.7 pounds, which means I am down a full 10 pounds!  I am 1/5th of the way to my goal weight loss of 50 pounds.

So far, I think the biggest reason for my weight loss has been the reduction in size of my portions during meals.  I appreciate all the diet tips, but I have found them almost impossible to follow.  Don't get me wrong... I love eating meat (that's what she said!), but the Paleo and Bullet Proof diets have been a challenge for me.  I've followed a variation of both of them, but haven't been successful in following them 100 percent accurately.  I would say that, of the two, I have more closely followed the Paleo diet.  I've been eating loads of proteins, fruits and vegetables.  I start my days off with an egg white and spinach wrap.  I try to do a salad or some lean protein for lunch.  For dinner, we've been making chili and other assorted goodies.  I've also drastically cut down the amount of sugar and sodium in my diet.  But, to be fair, it is Halloween candy season so I haven't been perfect.

Sorry for the lack of video this week.  I am working on something, but it is taking up my time and I hope to have it ready for next week's weigh-in.

One final note.  I have signed up for the Pittsburgh Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning.  My sister will be running with me and I will be bringing the cameras to do a video for you all.

That's it for now.  I'm 10 pounds closer to fitting into some sweet, hipster approved, skinny jeans.  So long from Too Fat 4 Skinny Jeans headquarters.  You stay classy, planet earth.

Thor: The Dark World Movie Review

Thor: The Dark World Movie Review

by Brian Wezowicz

There is no doubt that Marvel has become THE major player in the movie industry recently.  Their Phase 1 movie rollout, starting with 2008's Iron Man culminated with the smash hit, The Avengers in 2012.  In this rollout, we were introduced to a series of intertwined characters and films whose success (both on screen and off) were unparalleled (just ask DC Comics, who are desperate to launch their own Avengers-like superhero saga, The Justice League.  So far, they haven't been as lucky, both critically and financially).  It was a highly successful, meticulously planned movie series that had fanboys and non-fanboys linked arm in arm reveling in the joy of the cinematic superhero.

The beauty of these films and characters is that they all seemed to be grounded in real life scenarios (well, as real life as a superhero can be).  Watching these movies, you get the sense that these things COULD happen.  For example... Could a billionaire playboy philanthropist, sick of seeing his company and his weapons used for evil, create a suit made of iron and wreak havoc against said evildoers?  Absolutely!  Could a genius scientist expose himself to gamma radiation in the hopes of bettering himself only to see the experiment go south creating a giant green rage monster?  Sure.  Could a scrawny, sickly World War II soldier be given an experimental serum, which in turn creates America's first and last super soldier?  Yeah, why not?  Could an Asgardian god come to earth after being expelled by his king father in an attempt to teach him a lesson about humility and grace?  Ummm, sure?  That was the challenge with 2011's Thor.

Of all the movies from Marvel's Phase 1 (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America), only Thor seemed totally implausible.  But the makers of that film managed to make it plausible.  They brought in Kenneth Branagh and all of his Royal Shakespearean Company training to direct the first movie, and it was the most pleasant surprise out of the original run-up from Marvel.  He turned a supernatural film and gave it some humanity.  He turned it into a Shakespearean tale of brother vs. brother and sons against father.  We were also introduced into the star of the Marvel movies: Tom Hiddleston's brilliant Loki.  He would go on to play the villain in The Avengers, and he's back this time around in Thor: The Dark World.

Marvel's Phase 2 began with the highly successful albeit slightly underwhelming Iron Man 3 and continues with this film.  I have to admit that after six Phase 1 films and one Phase 2 films, I was beginning to feel slightly Marveled out (Blasphemy!  I said SLIGHTLY.  Settle down nerds, I'm still one of you).  It's not that the films were bad, it's just that it seems like every other movie, and now, every other television series was from the minds of Marvel (News just broke that Netflix just reached a deal with Marvel to develop more original television series this week).  I found the first third of this most recent Marvel movie to be slightly boring.   We last left off in the Thor-niverse with Thor helping the mighty Avengers defeat his brother Loki and bring peace to earth.  However, a darkness is rising in the universe.  A once defeated race called the Dark Elves (kind of a lame name for a group of baddies, but whatever.  Despite their name, they're pretty cool villains.) is rising in search of a mysterious substance known as the Ether, which will bring darkness to the nine realms of the universe.  Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), heart broken that Thor (Chris Hemsworth) never called her back after New Mexico, somehow finds an anomaly in London.  This leads her to discover a realm that contains the secret hiding spot of the Ether.  She instantly becomes infected, which leads to Thor coming to the rescue.  He whisks her away to his home planet of Asgard in an attempt to hide the Ether from the Dark Elves.  Of course, they find out where she is hiding and wreak havoc upon anyone that gets in their way.  It's up to Thor to enlist his imprisoned brother to help him find a way off their home planet and save the day.  This is where the film really (and I mean REALLY) picks up.  Thor and Loki have undeniable chemistry.  They also bring some highly enjoyable humor to this movie.  You really get the sense that these two characters are brothers who bicker like brothers would.  The final act of this movie is a non-stop thrill ride and the final battle feels real and exciting.  There's chaos and destruction, but it doesn't feel forced like a certain film starring a certain flying superhero (cough, cough, Man of Steel).  This film has the perfect amount of excitement and humor that will keep you captivated once you get through the somewhat boring first act.  It more than removed any of my Marvel fatigue.  I guess I am ready for another 10-15 films.

I am giving this movie 3 out of 4 stars.

I recommend seeing it in the theater, but don't waste your money on the 3D version of this film.  It's very dark and unnecessary.  Please stay through the credits.  There is an important scene that sets up the next film in the series during the credits and a pretty funny scene after them.