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anthonywaynesteel
Reviews
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)
Amazing! (A book fan review)
First of all, I have been anticipating this movie for almost a year long and it was well-worth the wait! After watching the first movie, I started reading the books with lots of excitement. Then the second movie finally came out and with a huge success.
Director:
Who would have thought that a director like Francis Lawrence can make something so good? Where he usually directs music videos for Britney Spears, Will Smith, Sarah McLachlan etc. Although, I like his directing and looking forward to see more.
Acting:
Jennifer Lawrence has shown great performance with the character Katniss Everdeen. She knows very well on how to show the sad emotion running through Katniss's current life of pretending to love Peeta after the incident with the berries for her own protection. Not to mention, the anger that also haunts her and in her dreams.
Josh Hutcherson, on the other hand is acting well as Peeta Mellark, the one who is always good with words and the meaning they all carry. He also plays the part well where he is confused of whether or not Katniss really loves him or is just pretending.
Woody Harrelson's character is funny, smart, serious and exciting at the same time, Haymitch Abernathy as the mentor of Katniss and Peeta. Well done.
I also liked Donald Sutherland's performance a lot as the brutal President Snow, who rules the cruel and violent Capital that is fighting against the districts in an uprising.
Last but not least, Johanna Mason, she was one of my favorite characters in the movie. Jena Malone played her so well with an entertaining rebellious attitude.
Bigger and better budget:
Thanks to a $140 000 000, everything looks awesome. The outfits were very well designed, like the moment when Katniss spun in her wedding dress then suddenly it setting on fire while turning into a Mocking-jay suit, epic! The CGI has also improved a lot, from the Capital city to all the way to the arena and it's exciting turns and dangers.
Story-line/script:
The script was well-written and stayed quite true to the book. As I was watching the movie, it had a great feel to it while watching so there was never a dull moment. Another thing that I liked a lot about the movie is the fact that it didn't feel like it took forever just to get to the arena, it came with good timing.
The ending:
This was one of my absolute favorite parts in the entire movie. Jennifer Lawrence plays the part so well when she attaches the wire to the arrow, aims upward then shooting it into the arena sky, just as the lighting hits the tree that results in her being thrown across the ground and destroying the arena itself!
We then literally see the system losing full power over the arena and President Snow in shock. Then parts of the "sky" start to break as the hovercraft is in progress to save Katniss.
Meanwhile, there is an awesome close-up of Katniss's face and we see in the back ground parts of the falling "sky" catching fire that well represents her as "The Girl on Fire".
Soon after wards, she goes crazy after waking up on the Hovercraft where Haymitch reveals the big secret plan to her and Plutarch Heavensbee is forced to inject her to fall asleep.
Finally, she wakes up again with Gale along her side where he tells her that District 12 has been fire bombed and no longer exists. Here we again see a close-up view of Katniss's face and we see it turn from sad emotions to a furious expression on her face and in her eyes showing that she wants to destroy the Capital...
All-in-all, this movie is amazing, with great script, stunning acting, successful directing, a well spent budget and it will not disappoint.
My opinion: 8.4/10
The Walking Dead: Live Bait (2013)
Great character development episode, for the Governor!
The introduction for this episode has been one of the best, especially for the main antagonist! I really liked how the director showed us what the Governor was going through for the past months after he went mad by killing off almost all of his people.
Soon after wards, the Governor made his way in a big truck to Wood bury and there he burned it all down to the ground while there were still walkers around. I really liked this scene's camera work! Further on, he just kept on ignoring the walkers.
Eventually, he reached a family, where he told them his name is Brian (is that his real name?). But after a deep conversation they let him stay for the night. After this, the Governor sat in his room where he looked again at the photo of his family and himself. The tone of this scene explains well how broken the Governor is inside after the loss of his wife and daughter. (He later burns the picture, to forget about the past)
He then made a visit to the father of the family and helped him by getting a backgammon set, meanwhile he picked up a gun after killing a walker laying in a bathtub. He gave them the backgammon game set and the father showed his thanks.
The next day, the father of the family was running low on oxygen, his daughter then told the Governor about how much he means to his youngest daughter. So, the Governor made his way to the hospital, in order to find more oxygen tanks.
When he entered the hospital, he avoided killing every walker that came his way. This kind of showed us his good side, where he doesn't want to just kill anyone or anything, probably after what happened. When he finally does reach the oxygen tanks, a bunch of walkers started hearing him and he only made it back with one bottle.
The Governor then decided to bond with the little girl by playing chess with her. Here she asked questions about the different pieces and gave the white king an eye patch to represent the Governor, he then smiled.
Meanwhile, the father is dying and the Governor has no choice but to kill him with the gas bottle, right in front of the little girl. He then buried the body and that night the oldest daughter started showing interest in the Governor (is that a good idea?).
The following morning, they all get into the van that soon ran out of gas and they have continue to walk. But suddenly, the Governor spots a bunch of walkers and tells everyone to leave the luggage and start running.
The Governor, runs with the little girl until they fall into a hole filled with hungry walkers. The Governor here kills the walkers with his bare hands in ways that I didn't even think were possible! He then admitted to protect the little girl no matter what (reminds me of his own daughter). But suddenly Caesar shows up, wondering what is going on and then the episode ended.
All in all, this episode has shown great character development for the main antagonist, the Governor. Although I still missed Rick and his crew.
My opinion: 8.5/10