The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Hunger Games is in many respects a series that deserves acknowledgment for how it stands out within its Young Adult genre. The themes handled are mature in comparison to those of its kin—even when the execution isn’t consistent as such. Such themes are present in the second installment of the Hunger Games trilogy: Catching Fire—where we get to see the consequences of Katniss and Peeta’s survival at the conclusion of the last film’s games. Consequences which have set their world on the verge of a revolutionary rebellion—a rebellion that can either be sparked or pacified seemingly only by Katniss. But as we delve into the film, we learn, as Katniss does, that there are larger puppeteers at hand.

12 Years a Slave

The topic of African slavery is one that Hollywood has never shied away from, but has rarely executed in a wholly satisfactory manner. And to be fair, this is a feat that would be daunting in the eyes of any writer—especially with a work based on real events. How does one properly tell a story set in unarguably the darkest era of America’s history, which continues to bare negative repercussions on many of the country’s people to this very day? Especially with the Political Correctness Brigade waiting round every corner, and every individual just waiting to be offended by misrepresentation or unjust shaming. In their latest film, 12 Years a Slave, director Steve McQueen and writer John Ridley successfully tell the engaging story of a free man unjustly enslaved for over a decade, and his quest to survive and reclaim freedom, without also losing his hope.

Gravity

“How could anyone make a 90-minute long movie just about someone getting lost in space?” was the first thing that would come out of the mouths of my friends whenever Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film, Gravity, would be brought up. And I must confess I found myself asking the same question. I did this in spite of my belief that a good movie can be made out of anything with a proper vision and within the appropriate hands. Adding to my folly was the fact that I did enjoy the trailers I’d seen for the film. They were intense yet vague enough to pique my curiosity. And they did their jobs—they got us talking about the movie. My incredulity was tamed by the high praise of James Cameron, who called Gravity “the best space film ever done” (whatever that vague praise means, it’s definitely high praise). Upon watching the movie, the answer to the aforementioned question is simple: Cuarón did not make a movie just about someone getting lost in space. He made the movie about getting lost in space, and it was so much more than just that.

Pacific Rim

Ever since I was in elementary school I’ve watched mecha anime like Dai-Guard, Full Metal Panic!, and The Big O; and I’ve grown to love more series as I’ve grown up such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann. I’ve also had an affinity for giant monsters, or Kaiju, such as Godzilla (I’ve reviewed Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster). Guillermo Del Toro’s new film, Pacific Rim, is a love letter to the giant robot and monster genres—packed full of action, heroes, carnage, and beasts. However, what separates this project from other blockbuster fair (such as Michael Bay’s Transformers, a film that regrettably has been compared to this one) is the passion and creativity imbedded in its design.

Trance

Trance, latest film from Danny Boyle of Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire fame, is a movie I find comparable to Christopher Nolan’s Inception in a couple of ways. Both use interesting visuals in stories about a group of criminals utilizing mind-delving techniques that play with both the conceptions of both the characters and the audience. However, they are also similar in that these premises are made needlessly convoluted and once you look past the interesting idea; there isn’t a lot of character depth or writing to really carry it.