Movie Date: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (PG13)
The movie may leave fans wanting, but trust JLaw to satisfy the hunger as usual.
STARRING: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sam Claflin
DIRECTOR: Francis Lawrence
THE SKINNY: As the war of Panem escalates to the destruction of other districts by the Capitol, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence), the reluctant leader of the rebellion, must bring together an army against President Snow (Sutherland), while all she holds dear hangs in the balance.
MARS by SOLOMON LIM
You know it is the end when key characters start dropping like flies.
For fans of the franchise, this movie is the payoff.
It is the fireworks after the slow burn of Part 1. It is the final showdown between the Girl on Fire and President Snow. It is Team Gale versus Team Peeta.
So many loose ends to tie up, so little time and for someone like me who hasn't read the books, it all adds up to a big meh.
For all its promise, Part 2 starts off not with a bang but with a whimper, literally.
And while Katniss grows in strength, the movie does not.
Queen J is awesome, don't get me wrong and she is, I believe, the sole saving grace of the finale.
But like Katniss, she struggles with the content she is given and the role(s) she is made to play.
Katniss is all things to all people - the reluctant heroine, the stoic sister, the selfless rebel, the tormented lover - and it is a testament to Lawrence's acting ability that she pulls it off.
But the movie, in trying to tie all these strings together, veers from action to melodrama, explosions to exposition, which makes for disjointed viewing.
Oh, and it doesn't help that my favourite character gets zombie-chomped midway through.
What's up with those I Am Legend-looking mutts anyway?
Most of Part 2 may miss the mark, but at least Lawrence's arrow flies true.
Ratings: 3/5
VENUS by LISA TWANG
Having suffered through last year's claustrophobic, pointlessly long Part 1, Part 2 feels like a breath of fresh air.
This film marks a return to more action and less filler, which is exactly what fans want.
Who cares about seeing Katniss caged up in some bunker? We want to see her shoot stuff.
Fortunately, there is plenty of arrow fodder in Part 2, like President Snow's soldiers and even an evil dictator who needs a shot to the heart.
Lawrence is breathtaking as usual. You simply can't keep your eyes off her. Even when she is yelling at the family cat, she is charismatic as heck.
But while Katniss gets lots of character development, the same can't be said of her fellow tributes.
One of the flaws in the movie is how it spends too much time on some minor events and not enough on others. When main characters kick the bucket, it feels like they don't get a proper farewell. Instead, it is just on with the plot.
I would've liked to see more romance between Katniss and Peeta, to balance out all those fight scenes.
But Team Peeta supporters will definitely delight in their "real or not real" game, a crucial part of their relationship that leads to the resolution of the Katniss-Peeta-Gale love triangle.
But overall, as a fan of both the The Hunger Games books and movies, Part 2 is still a fairly satisfying conclusion to the whole saga.
Ratings: 3/5
Poster poser
ALLEGIANT
What It Looks Like:
Who misses the haze? We all do, but now you can relive the gloominess along with Shailene Woodley in Haze: The Musical.
With hits such as My Children Are Coughing and The World Smells Gross, it is depressing for the whole family.
What It's Really About:
In the third instalment of the dystopian Divergent series. Tris (Woodley) is taken into protective custody by a mysterious agency.
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